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It hurts. But what else can you do?, November 6, 2023This was quite a difficult parser to play, not much because it is a parser (and those are usually difficult for me), but more so because of the subject of the game. It is about dementia. But more so, it is about experiencing advance dementia.
Honestly, I think not being good with parsers makes the experience all the more compelling and heartbreaking. It helped me, at least, understand the game better, through my frustration, through my fighting the needed commands. Like the PC, I felt like I did not have control over what I was doing, what I wanted to do was wrong (error messages), and what I managed to do brought hurt. I felt like I didn't understand what I was supposed to do next, what I could expect after doing something, or couldn't remember what word to use. [Type hint at any point, see what you want/need to do]
You know there is a fork on the table, but you can't use the word fork here, it's a pointy thing you can grab and stab other with, because this is the only thing that makes sense to you right now. You know there is a TV in the corner, but you don't remember what it was called or its purpose, and you don't understand what the shrilled noise are saying, and it's confusing you, and you want it to just stop! What can you even do?
This confusion and frustration felt throughout the game does just work narratively and interactively. The game manages to capture the psychosis in a way I've never seen before: it is real, it is raw, and it hurts.