Life On Mars?

I really enjoyed Life on Mars?, and found it to be a surprisingly immersive experience, even though it's not a terribly interactive game. This sounds counter-intuitive, perhaps, but because of the situation the PC is in, the approach felt very appropriate and was executed very well. I was less keen on the later game, but feel that this game is definitely worth playing for its somewhat novel approach to revealing backstory. Clearly the author put a lot of effort into this, and it paid off with a haunting experience that generates a great sense of empathy in the player.

(A full review in French is available here)

You'll spend a lot of time reading in this game, in fact there is almost nothing to do except reading the e-mails of the protagonist. The e-mail system is however well implemented, with the text appearing in real-time. Some might not like it (in fact I don't like when I cannot read at my own pace either), but it wasn't troublesome here because it really helped immersion.

And the game is immersive indeed. The state of mind of the protagonist is well retranscribed and you can feel her feelings. The game is well written too.

I found the end really amazing, though I cannot explain why without spoiling. If you like a game with a good atmosphere, you'll like this game. If you prefer "real" games, you should still give it a try, but you'll like it less.

That piece of fiction is in french. So, be warned !
The atmosphhere is gloomy and excellent. The story telling, and the ways background information is distilled, create a believable main character, which is deep rooted in our decade's preoccupations.

Unfortunately, its main narrative innovation is also its biggest flaw :
There is an intensive use of auto scrolling text, creating a special connection to the main character and breathing much life into the game. However, it often scrolls way too quick to allow reading the text. It went to the point, that I felt I had entirely missed the ending...

This technical flaw would be easy to fix, but has been a big setback to my playing experience.