Ratings and Reviews by Andromache

I was warned that this was the kind of game that you have to play through several times. This alone put me off. But I was slightly curious and figuring the game was tiny, I could try it out anyway.

Interaction is very minimal, which is a mercy for a game you have to replay but also means it's hard to get very invested in the story. I played through a few times and made different mistakes each time. But I'm not motivated to figure out the winning combination because to get hit with so many "random" tragedies just takes its toll.

Characters, setting, writing - I'd characterize everything as flat or bland. Everything has a kind of generic feel, there to serve a function that will inevitably turn on you. I couldn't even feel sorrow. If anything, the emotion I feel right now is frustration and even a little apathy. There's just no reason to care about the people and nothing particularly striking about the prose. I don't play games or read books for this kind of feeling. For tragedies to work, you have to get to know the people and like them, as well as caring about their plight. None of that here. Tragedy can be incredibly cathartic and beautiful, but it has to have heart, to speak to a person's emotion. There has to be just enough individuality in the character to make them real, as well as a plot with elements people have experience with. The subject matter was too narrow for me to relate to, and there was no other angle to view the plot from, no other sorrow that might have engendered pity or a sense of loss. This kind of game might have worked if the object was simply not to get killed, without trying to be sad, because the genre isn't served well by constant replays and short game length.

Okay, I confess. I needed the hints. I was on the right track, but math really isn't my forte. I see numbers and my brain gets confused and I become intimidated. But don't let that deter you, if you're like me. The game is not all about math.

This game was fun. Absolutely a joy. Learning the magical language was a snap, and most puzzles except the numerical one were totally intuitive. I spent a lot of the game not even worried about getting out - just trying things to see how far I could push conditions before I died. And you can die, but it's very easy to undo and carry on. Puzzles are so well-clued and I felt a real sense of accomplishment solving the ones I managed to do on my own. Well worth my time.

This is not a proper review. Didn't finish the game and don't really intend to. Already having problems in the beginning of the game. It's possible to lose vital items or worse, unknowingly lock yourself into areas. At least, the author does give warning that the game is like this, so people who don't care for that kind of experience can turn back quickly. From what little I saw, puzzles seem logical but also arbitrary. It's like things are difficult just for the sake of being difficult. Even though some of the difficulty comes from the player character himself and his attitudes, it still feels not entirely justifiable. (Spoiler - click to show)PC doesn't like to get his hands dirty, or his clothing. Can't just eat anything. Needs a proper meal. In short, someone who seems all too ashamed of his peasant heritage and annoyingly stuck-up. Heck, there's not even a way to boil water that I found, 'cause the characters can't do it themselves. Oh no. They need slaves, even if those slaves are machines.

I'm wondering how anyone got far enough in the game to make a walkthrough, unless they used hints. What little I saw of the story seemed intriguing, but the puzzles make it so I'm stuck wandering around and whatever attraction the story holds gets lost in the frustration. I could play through with the walkthrough, but if I need it for most or all of the game, seems like what's the point of playing it? For me, getting stuck a few times in a game is normal. You can imagine my impatience for more than that. To play a game through with no hints is rare and means the game is super easy.

The one good thing that came out of trying this game was that I learned why I'm not a puzzler, and that there are degrees of difficulty in terms of puzzle solutions. It's great that the author incorporated the PC's characteristics into the game, but just made the atmosphere less enjoyable.

The puzzles in this game were sensible and fair. I got stuck twice, but after discovering the solutions, I didn't feel too badly about not being able to find them. There are some red herring items that obscured some puzzles for me, and I'm not really sure why they were there when they're not really useful. Specifically, it made no sense to be able to manipulate them. I realize the point of red herrings is essentially to be useless. Made one puzzle more frustrating than it needed to be. The endgame puzzle was a bit incredible, however. Well-clued but who would expect it would have the effect it does? Couldn't suspend disbelief enough.

The story was a bit confusing and characters were pretty flat. Gameplay was good, but this isn't really a game I'd recommend to friends. This is definitely more for puzzle solvers.

I can’t really comment on the story of this game because it’s clearly not meant to be taken seriously. I’ll say that some of the writing made me laugh aloud. Comments where the author directly talks to players, the inventive score system, and the sheer idiocy of the king were fun reading. The ending was actually quite enjoyable to play through and magical music was quite a clever device.

The puzzles were mostly fair, but I did get desperate enough to turn to the walkthrough at about mid-game. In hindsight, the solutions usually made sense, though my one quibble is the last one before the endgame. (Spoiler - click to show)It was getting the key to the door to the surface. Yes, it makes sense if you play with words, but it’s not something that I think really comes to mind, since the solution uses an object that you’re told you can’t really make sense of. Also, the pamphlet tells you one of the NPCs has the key, which he doesn’t. For reference, the other places that stumped me were the key to the safe and getting into Squiggy’s tower. Those solutions were fair, though you can make the game unwinnable by using the solution to the tower in a different way. In my opinion, the tower puzzle could be better clued. For example: "The cleft is too small to enter. Perhaps if you could widen it…" For some reason, it didn’t occur to me to try to get rid of it, thinking it had something to do with Squiggy’s demise. Though I didn’t test it to make sure, I think you can make the game unwinnable without realizing it, particularly because you need to destroy the object. Therefore, the loss of said object might not immediately tip you off that you’ve just broken the game.

I’d say the game is worth playing just for the laughs. My favorite puzzle was probably the maze, and that’s saying something. It was a maze that was satisfying to solve.

I finished the game with a near perfect score. Much of it was done without the hints. In fact, I didn't need them to actually win. I just used them for some checking to make sure I didn't miss anything. The puzzles were that intuitive. I only found one minor bug. (Spoiler - click to show)Since I managed to get the cube late in the game, after stunning Leela, she was out cold but was still able to point it out when I boarded the shuttle to leave. If I wanted to replay the game, I could probably get a perfect score, but since the endings weren't all that interesting, I'm not inclined to.

Technically, the game played very well. But story, setting, and characters all didn't work for me. I didn't care for the player character, didn't like Elysium, and especially didn't like the NPCs there. (Spoiler - click to show)Soolin and Andrew would have made a better couple, IMO. Because I didn't like Elysium, I couldn't feel all that bad about the tragedy that happened over two hundred years ago, for which the Elder still holds the Empire accountable. Yes, they did wrong, but no need to blame Andrew. And I knew Leela was hiding something when I found her camp. Besides, didn't the Elders kill Mark? This really wasn't a place or a role I enjoyed inhabiting, and because it was so distasteful, I can't be as kind as I know the game deserves. (Spoiler - click to show)But I like the idea of the drik. What a handy tool. I want one.

Being from Hawaii and having read Whale Rider, "Aotearoa" was on my watch list once I was made aware of its existence. It plays much like "Blue Lacuna" in terms of parsing, so I adapted to the keyword system pretty easily. I like it, and definitely appreciated all the scenery and background information implemented. I mean, even down to a guardrail.

This game was so easy I did not need to resort to hints. There was never a case where I wandered around wondering what I’d missed. I was also told explicitly what to do and why some solution or other wouldn’t work. I really appreciate those sorts of feedback responses, so I know at least I’m on the right track and just need to fix whatever the problem is.

Again, being from Hawaii, I am familiar with Maui and some of the stories about him. I also recognized some words, like "tapu" ("kapu" in Hawaiian), mana (same in Hawaiian), and "taro" ("kalo.") Also, "atua" ("akua.") I appreciated the history and backstory implemented into the menus. Helped to flesh out the game world. And naming the animals was lots of fun. (Spoiler - click to show)Riding the Notoceratops and the scene where we’re staring at each other for magical, spiritually connected moments is something I won’t soon forget. Such a mighty, magnificent creature - deadly but also friendly at the same time. I named mine Boga, because it kind of reminded me of Obi-Wan’s battle mount in Star Wars Episode III.

Characterization’s not that deep, but what’s there is very engaging. (Spoiler - click to show)I liked looking at Tim’s backpack and piecing together his backstory and getting to talk to the captain and Eruera about themselves. Speaking of Eruera, I really liked him. He was a great mentor for Tim and I could see him becoming an adopted dad, since he’s got his aunt. Having Tim be the one to help Eruera and having Eruera encourage Tim with stories and tidbits of Maori culture really helped me to bond with him and made me feel empowered. It was also comforting to have an adult there who was calm and practical. The nanakia was cute. I confess I was laughing at the poacher when the nanakia was getting the better of him, and the end sequence being chased by poachers is really well done. There’s not a move to waste, and a fair amount of ways to die. Adds to the urgency that there’s really no time to try to explore, but it’s not exactly a timed puzzle that requires a lot of trial and error. Was rather fun to plow into the jeep and kill the poachers inside. I hope that dinosaur got away and destroyed the place. I think it’s implied it did, but we don’t see it conclusively.

I highly recommend this game. Good writing, enjoyable characters, and I appreciate that while this is a game that reads like juvenile/young adult fiction, I don’t feel excluded or patronized. This sort of thing would probably make an entertaining cartoon. A great effort.

This is my second time playing "Worlds Apart" and it was an incredible, cathartic experience. It just pressed all the right buttons for me. Yes, I needed the Hints twice - once because I genuinely didn’t know what I was supposed to do, thinking I’d tried everything, and the second time was that I hadn’t realized one of the items was useable in a certain way. (Spoiler - click to show)Specifically, getting rid of the guardian and using the globe. But the rest of the puzzles were solvable pretty intuitively. That being said, the Hints system is one of the best I’ve seen. Context-sensitive, gives hints little by little, and it remembers where you left off if you call it up again. No need to go through all the hint revealing again.

There’s some disorientation because there’s no explanation about the game world. Player character knows more than the player and the game narration doesn’t really elaborate on setting, races, culture, etc. However, these things can be pieced together with character interactions and there’s more of a sense of being there because of the lack of initial exposition. Still, separate documentation about the basic races, continents, and social structure would be nice from the start, so that names and places aren’t confusing.

The game was completely accessible. The status actually had a command, which more games should implement. Some screen readers cannot access game status lines, and if compass directions are put there, it’s pretty useless for a blind player. Also, menus are number-based, which is the most useable for blind players. True menus do not work well with any Mac interpreter, that’s for sure. As a blind player, this aspect alone would make me rate it higher than I otherwise would. But even without these considerations, I still give it a perfect score. This is just icing on the cake.

Interestingly, the game map is tiny, yet the content is huge. It does help that the world changes often, so due to repeated exploration, it’s a good thing the map is small. Flashbacks are implemented well, and the tutorial for using unconventional abilities for the player character was cleverly done. There was an in-character reason to have it, so it felt seamless.

But I think the best aspects of this game were story and characterization. The people are definitely distinct, believable, and evoke strong emotions. (Spoiler - click to show)I had Lyesh sever ties with Yuri and found I didn’t feel all that bad. It was like, "You don’t need a coward for a friend." But I could also see it in Lyesh’s character to forgive him. Then I had Lyesh go and help Lia, since I reasoned she still cares for the girl. In fact, my thinking is she still cherished the memories of Yuri, but she was an adult now and it was better for her to just complete the separation that he started. My favorite character would have to be Saal, though. A warrior but not cruel; a lover of tricks but not dishonest; a predator but compassionate; someone with agendas but not to use people. It’s neat to be able to talk to the characters and ask them about things I’ve seen and heard and get a lot of information that way.

The story, though, had elements I adore. A close-knit mother/daughter, mentor/student relationship; special abilities; losing friends and making new ones; transitioning from codependence to independence and empowerment; bonds that last forever; and a bit of pain just to make things interesting. (Spoiler - click to show)There is even a winged serpent in the game, and I *love* that. I have a fascination with snakes and reptiles. And I tend to prefer dragons that are serpentine as opposed to lizard-like and fire-breathing. Truly, this game had everything I enjoy: integrated puzzles, a knapsack to satisfy my packrat tendencies (at least in IF), in-character puzzles, vivid and reasonable characters (not dysfunctional), and a story that left me feeling cleansed and comforted.

This was a cute and satisfying game. Fluffy. If that’s not to your taste, you may really dislike the game. But when you have cats with nine tails and a pseudo fantasy feel with American cultural references shamelessly borrowed, it’s kind of to be expected. This is light entertainment and it was nice to play a treasure hunt game with a story. You can choose to play as a mage, warrior, or rogue and as a male or female. I played as a rogue female. One day, I will probably try playing again as a different class. I liked the rogue character and the items were well-imagined. Even the characters, while nothing deep, were distinct because each one had specific personality traits. Writing is spare, but mostly error-free.

I did need the walkthrough for a couple puzzles and there were some minor bugs. (Spoiler - click to show)Jeremiad is still reported to be in the garden after you free him. If you ask Threnody about the impossible cube, she talks about symbols that aren’t even on it. It’s as if it’s the wrong conversation or the puzzle used to be different but the advice was never changed to reflect the revised cube. As for the puzzles I had difficulty with, one of them was purely a "guess the verb" problem. The other one I probably could have gotten if I went through my items more methodically. I just didn’t want to bother taking the time. Also, there’s one unfair area that gives no indication you’ve missed a treasure. I would not have gotten it without the walkthrough. It’s not clued at all that I can remember, or only clued once and not a part of the room description. That’s a major failing. And be advised you don't need every item you can pick up, so it can be overwhelming. At least, inventory is not limited that I found.

Unfortunately, because of the specific wording required to reach the optimal ending and clearly not enough beta testing, I have to rate this lower than I would have liked. I don’t regret playing it, but I do regret the mechanical problems that made the game a bit more difficult than it needed to be.

Based on prior reviews, I was uncertain whether or not to try this game. I got the impression I would like some aspects and dislike others, and I have to conclude that I was correct. But in the end, taken together, it's not really a satisfying ride. Smooth enough to keep me playing to the end, but I found a couple rather glaring bugs which made the game pretty much unwinnable if you didn't have a restore before that section. One of them actually printed a weird error message that should have been caught in beta testing. Travel by landmark was a nice touch, but conversation was sometimes clunky, giving odd responses or errors that a character was unavailable when you're standing in the same location.

I will say that the setting was remarkably rendered. It was neat to play a game where weather and time of day actually matter, and though the interface took some getting used to, I found it convenient and well-implemented for the most part. The vividly imagined environments were described clearly, but not overdone. Specific but not verbose or dull to read.

However, as great as the setting was, the characters and themes were wishy-washy, inconsistent, and frustrating. It was like the author couldn't decide who anyone was. While I understand about the importance of imperfection in crafting compelling characters, this was more like behaving based on whatever feels right at the time. And that's just not enjoyable. (Spoiler - click to show)For example, Rume chastises the player character for painting, for following her own nature, but it's not her fault. If the player tries to have her wake him to explain properly, there's a message that Rume's asleep and you'll say goodbye later. Okay then. So you paint and then Rume just assumes you weren't going to say goodbye at all. And let's say his impassioned plea for you to give up who you are for him is granted. Well, twenty years later, after your daughter abandons you to pursue her own life in anger and impatience, the player character is in turn abandoned by Rume, who says he must follow his own nature. And he doesn't say goodbye. No. He's gone and leaves a letter. Hypocrite much? And the same goes for Progue. Sometimes, he's submissive and deferential and sometimes surly. At the end of the game, it's even more jarring because the game tells you his attitude is submissive but he's willing to attack the player on his own initiative. He also scolds the player for not helping him when earlier, he said he hadn't Called her, and then uses the fact she didn't help him when he needed her as some twisted justification for why he deserves to get his way. It's flat-out emotional blackmail. It's true that people don't always act predictably, but
actions and words really should match up better. If you say a character feels a certain way toward you, that should be borne out consistently unless something dramatic changes the mood. And I don't just mean disagreement. That's not enough. It was like the characters had to do things to make the plot go a certain way, so weird contrivances without proper explanation or foreshadowing had to be used. If the player cannot tell the character they're controlling to do something, it is unfair and annoying to then blame the player for not doing it.

(Spoiler - click to show)And then there's the weird dichotomy between art and love, which I don't think are mutually exclusive. Love or hate, art or science, friend or foe. These make sense. But it's very possible to be capable of both love and art, and if anything, I think they enhance each other.

The endings, too, didn't work for me. I think they might have worked better if I could actually respect and like anyone, but as it was, everyone was selfish and manipulative, to a greater or lesser degree. They either ran away from their problems, blamed the player character for not doing as they wanted, or abandoned the player character when they no longer needed her.

"Lacuna" is worth playing at least once, for the game world and innovative interface. But don't go in expecting to connect with anyone or to have your horizons expanded. And definitely don't go in thinking you can change the story. You can move through it at your own pace and with your own play style, but you really can't influence how events play out unless you play as a manipulative, dysfunctional person.