Gigantomania

To be sure, Gigantomania is realistic. You can feel it in your pores like sodden air. It also authentically Russian, with realistic detail, and all manners of dark humor and deception. However, as a game, Gigantomania falls short.

The plot slowly unfurls the corrupt nature of communism in every strata of society across separate scenes, linked together only via the main characters as types of workers that embody that failed totalitarian system. Although that abstract (instead of personal) linkage may well radiate the cold cruelty of Stalin's Russia, it does not build a strong plot. It also dries up the wells of sympathy which are engaged when you know more of the character by being in his or her skin for an appreciable length of time.

The puzzles themselves are fairly easy except for the ending puzzle in the third scene, which I could not solve; that there is a fourth scene suggests that this is possible, although it would be far more realistic if there were there no solution -- making every ending a win, or perhaps a loss.

Grammar problems occasionally crop up in Gigantomania, but there are no coding errors that I discovered. In the first scene, depending on what you do, you will find a character that delivers a horribly profane monologue. While I understand his desperation, it says little for the authors' creativity that they chose to reveal it in this way. I could easily conceive of his words delivered through clenched teeth as being more forceful without such.

In the end, I'm not sure how well Gigantomania works as a game; it is like several mini-games in one, connected abstractly to one another. The subject matter is a very much overlooked era of history, but this and the oppressive atmosphere still don't compensate for the lack of unity and the lack of plot. So, my hat's off for the authors sticking a thumb in the eye of those who whitewash history, but I hope that they pay more attention to game aspects in future releases.