Reviews by Heli N.
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Hit or Miss, April 8, 2023Note: So as not to give out spoilers for the game, I will only write a short review and edit it after a few weeks have passed from the release date.
For everyone who played and replayed the demo, waiting for the full game release, the anticipation and expectation's for the upcoming game, were set very high compared to what was delivered. It started out very well, with the level of interaction and impactful choice variety, comparable to Wayhaven Chronicles Book 2, yet, as one dives deeper and deeper into the playthrough, the story starts getting more and more linear. Getting choice variety without any of them being impactful to the story was not something I was expecting. It felt as if no matter what choices you made, you were being pushed towards a rigid direction.
Then you have the BIG pacing issues. The conflict parts and action scenes of the story just felt so RUSHED. Not to mention the endings! (I'll elaborate more on this later). The villains' huge potential was wasted.
On the things that I liked on the book:
Romance: Not a surprise really. It is the main selling point of the game(s) after all. A's route is the first one I tried, liked and suffered from. Since I've tried the other routes too, and don't want to spoil. I'll only say this: there are sweet, romantic, angsty and nsfw choices galore. Enjoy yourselves with your RO(s).
Parent-Child relationship: From the very first book, we can choose the relationship MC has with their absent mother, their feelings on it and if they want to make an effort to mend or not their relationship.
The villains: I loved the villains' entrance yet I despise the way they were handled in the end.
I will stop here the review, and edit it later, yet the one thing I can say about the book is that you will have to try for yourselves to form an opinion on it.
Meeting the Parents, December 20, 2022This is an interactive fiction game written on Twine format, which follows one of the most nerve wracking events in one's life in the most exaggeratingly humorous narrative humanly possible: Meeting with the Parents of your sparky girlfriend who's either about to fan the flames of your love further or light up the pyre for your relationship. Depending on your choices, you could kiss her goodbye forever :]
Storywise
CAUTION! Don't use your common sense and logic when you read the story. Exaggeration and ridiculous humor is sprinkled throughout the game which is essentially a tragic comedy of the main character's situation.
1. Narrative POV: The writer makes use of the second person POV
2. Characters:
a)The main character is the "fool-in-love" type still in the honeymoon phase of their 6-month-old relationship with their girlfriend(every time they think of her, it's her image and some anime-like flowery background). Has a habit of overthinking and worrying too much over doing something wrong and upsetting her. Still a university student.
b) Kelsie Spark, aka the girlfriend, who sparked a fire in the main characters life, aka you, the protagonist, from the first moment you saw them at the bar. Understanding her as a character is only possible through the dialogue and not through MC's description of her (they are an unreliable and biased "narrator" of sorts). To me she sounded like an assertive, driven woman who will not take crap from anyone. Is very protective of her family so keep that in mind when you pick options.
c) The parents: (Spoiler - click to show) spoiler because they are the main actors in the main event
3. Romantic scenes were very sweet but at the same time I couldn't stop my bursts of laughter (sorry to the author). There were some lines which sounded kind of... awkward though (maybe it's just me)
4. I appreciate the usage of flower language and symbolism and it playing an integral part in the success or failure of the meeting (oops! spoiler!)
5. Impeccable humor sprinkled with sarcasm: Read the story and you'll understand what I'm talking about
6. Detailed and descriptive writing: This can be a hit or miss for most readers. Some may like to "headcanon"/use their imagination more, some skip through the descriptions when they read, some others need clear and detailed description to visualize things in their head while some others simply like this style of writing. I belong to the second-last case.
Gameplay
1. Replayability: Different choices lead to different outcomes
2. UI: Starts off like a movie with the author's name and logo and then directs you towards the starting page. Has paid attention to details: from the settings widget to the calming color picks. It's user-friendly.
3.Accessibility: Two theme options: Dark and Light (you can make the difference between them if you look at the way the title "Meeting the Parents" is written (backwards like AMBULANCE on an actual ambulance vehicle or normally). You can also switch on the numbers you need to press on your keyboard if you are planning to play by using the key-binding feature.
4. Key-binding is a self explanatory feature: You can use only keys on a keyboard to play
5. Languages: The story is available in both the English and French. You can switch the language on the Settings Widgets
6. I enjoyed the phone chat image at almost the beginning of the game. It was cute and made the reading feel even more personal.
7. A little but nice detail was enabling the player to input their preferred food along with being able to add the name, but not requiring to pick a gender or pronouns. I was able to enjoy the story without worrying if a bug would mess up my chosen gender and pronouns.
8. Can be played on itch.io both on computer/PC and on a mobile phone.
Ending(s)
There are in total 10 endings/outcomes depending on your choices. From ending the game early to a happy ending, you can find a huge variety of outcomes where only 1 of them is about not going to the meeting at all since you left early.
After you unlock the first ending, the endings link is unlocked and is updated every time you unlock an ending. You can see there which endings you have and have not unlocked.
Would I replay the game again? Yes, I would if not for the comedy, for the replayability since I'm a fan of it.
Last in Line, December 18, 2022This is a Twine game narrating the story of the protagonist, you, the second prince/princess of the warmongering kingdom of Arcadie. Your parents have given you everything, but expected nothing of you. While, your sister, the heir, was the one to garner all the attention from everyone in the kingdom. The assassination of your parents leaves both of you orphans and with the heavy responsibility of dealing with the mess created from this event.
Storywise
The main story focus points are:
1.Sibling relationships: How the main character feels about their sister Ariana. Do they feel inferior to her, hate her for hogging all the attention from their parents, are indifferent or do they have a good relationship with her? Keep in mind that Ariana is headstrong and a person who is the queen first and then your sister. Expressing your distaste or disagreement with a decision she may take could lead to a not so likeable reaction from her.
2.Inner struggles: Second child syndrome, inferiority complex (optional), vengeance or forgiveness, dealing with parent's death and (Spoiler - click to show) later Ariana's death .
3. What it means to be a monarch? What path must Arcadie choose for the future?
4. Aether
5. Romance
6.Managing the kingdom's foreign relations and preparing for the upcoming siege
a) The game is more stat-oriented in action scenes but in general I would put it on the choice-based interactive fiction games category. What you have focused on learning through the years as a prince/princess will be the deciding factor on whether you are successful or not in combat and battle scenes. It also effects some choice availability in other scenes too.
b) Your choices will affect the relationships between the MC and other character around you, mainly Ariana and the romantic options. As I stated before, you should really take into consideration each character's personality before making choices and if you want to unlock a romantic route (maybe a guide could be published later by the author to make it easier for other players).
c) Costumization were neither too many nor too few, but just the right amount subjectively speaking. It was a nice touch, adding options to choose if you've inherited the eye color and/or hair color from your parents which is accompanied by some flavor text.
d) For a fantasy setting there is quite a realistic narrative of a family with a firstborn golden child and a normal second-born. And MC is reminded everyday they are less important than their sister even if they are both royals. This bothers them,as can be understood from the inner monologue, but they can choose how it affects their relationship with their parents and their sister.
e) Personally, I went with C's romantic route. and it was a very satisfying experience. They are an important commander coming from the richest family in Arcadie and a very sweet lover. You can choose three ways in how your relationship will play out, but I chose lover route, naturally (How could I choose differently?). One thing to note for this route: There are optional NSFW scenes: fade to black or mildly explicit, but nothing smutty don't worry.
f) Dialogues are excellently done. Through them, we can see each character's worldview, but also think of the underlying fundamental question which make up the themes of the story: Vengeance or Forgiveness? War or peace? what is the right thing to do after what happened? Do the traitor's reasons justify what he did?
g) Now, while I can understand at the beginning why MC is treated as if they are almost invisible, thanks to their parents, but, it's kind of random the way they are treated later in the story. Even if they are inexperienced on governing, how come the nobles dare to treat their monarch, the last of the royal line, the way they do? And also the diplomatic representative's proposal came out of the blue? What would our ally gain from a second royal marriage between the two countries? I can understand the personal benefit for them, but not of the country itself. Even if a guess-explanation was provided from an MC with high stat on kingdom politics, again it doesn't justify the huge risks the plan itself would pose for the country.
h)As for aether, though explained briefly at the beginning and towards the end by the aether connoisseur,N,there are many questions left unanswered and raised at the same time.
Ending
As for the ending, it left me with mixed feelings, to tell you the truth. I was expecting something more. To see how the monarch fared after what happens. How they rule. Or at least to see the ending of some of the other characters met throughout the story. Alas, my expectations were misplaced. If you are to start playing the game, you should keep in mind that this is the tale of how the last of the royal bloodline of Arcadie succeeds or fails in dealing with the event and protecting their kingdom's future.
Car Chase or Not?, November 28, 2022A short but intense and fun game (not interactive fiction game format you are used to), where you and your friend, who is skilled at getting you both in trouble, have to run (more like speed drive) for your lives. You will either have to completely rely on them (word of advice: DON'T) or be smart and rely on your fast reflexes which includes/means pushing a button "SPACE" on the keyboard before the time runs out.
Replayability, the dialogue and the surprises you get when reaching each of the eight endings are what made the game enjoyable to play (personal bias). You have to figure out by yourself how to reach all the endings, making it a simple yet clever puzzle.
Since the game is a submission of ONE Button Jam and the Goncharov Jam, the one button mechanism was implemented so that you advance/go to the next page/scene with only the click of a button on time or when the timer runs out. Those are the choices the player can make. It was a wise decision to implement this mechanism as it makes the game that much more immersive to the player.
UI was simple yet aesthetically pleasing with themes the player can choose to create the proper atmosphere before starting the playthrough. It was a template the developer had created from scratch and modified themselves which added to my giving the current star rating to the game.
The characters and their dialogue is a huge part of the story and they are funny as hell. I'm not going on much details to avoid spoilers but the comedic starting part is my favourite part.
Being this short and not needing anything to be added to it is just proof of the writer's skills. There may be some fixes or add-ons they make afterwards but to me this game is great just as it stands now. I highly reccomend to everyone to give this game a try.
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