Tapes

Tapes is a linear work about, as the author states, sex and disability. At its centre, though, it is a close-up look into a moment of intimacy. Both characters are shown naked in the game art and they hug-wrestle, but this is not sexual intimacy. This is emotional intimacy: about showing vulnerability to a loved one.

The exact disability from which the PC suffers is never really stated, but from context, we gather that the PC experiences painful muscle spasms which are relieved by kinesiology tape. Is the name important, though?

The sole two reviewers on IFDB (as of this writing) express their distaste at the linearity of this game, but it might be worth having a think on Linear IF, or dynamic fiction, is becoming increasingly accepted. Dynamic fiction borrows the structures and conventions (e.g. second person narrative, platforms) of branching IF to enhance storytelling, either through visual text effects, or by inviting the player to participate in revealing the story step by step. Tapes veers toward the latter, with the game art in each passage illustrating the dialogue.

Tapes is a sweet, peaceful vignette of an intimate moment. Play if you like linear, dialogue-driven scenes and 8-bit art.

I had no idea what disability the main character had in this game. The other reviewer was right about there being no choices. This is a perfectly linear visual novel.

There's no sex to speak of, though. Although it is fully illustrated and full of pixellated nudity (The characters are nude throughout the entire game). So it's erotic, but not necessarily pornographic.

I just wish the author said something about why the tape was needed. I might have missed it but...I felt like I was being a given a glimpse into something no one talks about and...no one talked about it.

This one is more akin to "flash fiction" than anything else.