Reviews by Juuves
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Perhaps we are all just children of Asemia, March 14, 2023I am very frustrated right now. I just completed a very long review of this game, hit preview, and then it switched onto the Log In page and all my work vanished. I'd forgotten I had cleared my history (and cookies) in the midst of doing this. Well. Lessons learned. Next time don't type directly in the box when writing reviews (or at least copy everything before you hit the button to leave the page), and maybe don't spontaneously clear your history (and cookies!) when you're in the middle of doing something.
A shortened version of what I wrote before:
I liked this game, mostly. The writing? Inherently poetic. I found it a very accurate (and if not accurate — because I have never been a refugee in my life up until this point, factually speaking — then at the very least, immersive) of the refugee experience, and a moving depiction of war / the effects of war / and what it does to a people, to a country. I had no idea how the glyphs worked, not really (I intend to spend some time trying to unravel that mystery with an investigation, if I have the time, later), but they were very pretty. The fact that I had no idea what I was doing with the glyphs kind of resonates with (Spoiler - click to show)the translator's (the character that the player plays as in this story) frustration over her work in-game, creating parallels in fiction and reality, which I like and thus didn't mind half as much as I usually would've. The soundtrack was distressing, but I suppose distressing is fitting for works with subject matter such as this.
I think I'm going to go back after this, sometime, and try to get all the variations (the ones that make sense, anyways) of the paragraphs in this game.
Fingers crossed.
Cozy and dystopic, March 13, 2023I have a special love of science fiction and futurism, especially. In fact I have a love of speculative fiction — which in my book includes both science fiction and fantasy, being that they both speculate on the nature and possibilities of things — in general, and this was one that straddled the line perfectly. I mean, a girl who can create universes?! That sounds like something straight out of a fantasy novel, but here they attempt to explain it with scientific theory, (Spoiler - click to show)with time and relativity and whatnot, which is gratifying to see. The graphics were amazing, having an (they were right) old-timey feel to them, and as well as being very organic, matched perfectly with the soundtrack. Contrary to what one might expect of the sci-fi genre nowadays — very dystopic, all gloom, death, grit — and though this one is a dystopia as well, there's still a rather cozy feel to the entire series of scenes. So I rather enjoy the fact that this one has something quite different from the rest of its peers. This work has an Italian version, and I in fact believe it was published originally in Italian (the English translation was very good!), so it'd be interesting to go through it again and practice my Italian.
I've always been into space, ever since I was a little kid, and I just recently got into stargazing (the night sky is astounding!), so the fact that this was set on Jupiter was *chef's kiss*. Again, though it's sci-fi, the settings are much more like those of whimsical fantasy, at least physically — the explanations, the mental gymnastics behind it all, are all very science fiction-ish, and I, again, enjoyed this contrast greatly. One thing I really appreciated was (Spoiler - click to show)the audiovisual effects of the constant thunder — it really made you feel as if you were there, in the teashop, on Jupiter, with the characters.
Only the prologue is out as of the timing of my review. I am very curious to see where else the creators plan to head with this, with the amazingly detailed worldbuilding and the quirky cast of characters. From what little I've seen of the plot, it's bound to be an exciting one.
This is a highly immersive piece of interactive fiction and comes highly recommended.
A ghost story with hints of apocalypse and atmosphere, March 13, 2023A ghost story with hints of apocalypse and atmosphere. Fairly short. I've been curious about spooky, paranormal things since I was a kid (I did my Grade 3 end-of-the-year speech on witches, and the Grade 4 one was about ghosts), so this was a hit for me. The ending I got was very satisfying, and I was left after wanting to know more about the world and character(s). Setting was an important factor in this work and was interwoven spectacularly into the elements of the plot, which I appreciate. Overall, great work! A fun little piece to try out. I'm curious to see what endings other people achieve on their first (if not only) round of playthrough.
Risqué, but short and sweet and effective, March 13, 2023I loved the style the author went for with this game. Risqué, but short and sweet and effective. It was enjoyable to see the effects of the "choices" in-game, rippling as if in water. The feeling of being "let in" on a secret in the ending was also greatly satisfying. Highly recommend for readers seeking un-traditional interactive fiction works; also for writers looking to expand the "innovative" repertoire in the interactive fiction genre.
I would love to see a series of vignettes utilizing this style to explore a single storyline, chronological or not. It'd be like playing connect-the-dots, as we did in the above work, but on a slightly larger scale.
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