Heaven Alive

One of the several games on the list from a jam I happened to take part in – this time, it’s Neo-Twiny 2024. I didn’t play this one back when it released, probably because there’s been 141 entries total, 138 if you don’t count my own. That’s a whole lot of games so some of them just didn’t come into my field of vision, which is why I was happy to see Heaven Alive as the next entry. I might never be able to read every single Neo-Twiny 2024 entry but I’m glad I get a chance to experience one of them now.

Heaven Alive abides by the “500 words maximum” rule with the total wordcount of 498 so it was a fairly quick read. There are two sides in this story – The Executor (who is, according to the description, “a space-faring warlord”) and The Wretched (“his visier”). While “visier” sort of implies an advisory position, it becomes very clear that The Executor probably wants advice only if it aligns with what he wants.

Briefly about the visuals. For me, they’re definitely the highlight of the entire experience. Absolutely gorgeous styling that definitely evokes the sci-fi vibe the game is meant to have. The bar code motif, coupled with the fact that The Wretched, which we play as, is implanted with some sort of a device, kind of makes my skin crawl. Is The Wretched disposable? Are we just one of many, lined up to serve?

Due to the wordcount limit, the conversations are quite short and in some cases, that makes things feel a bit sudden. Then again, we are dealing with a space warlord who will torture you for disrespect, so perhaps the suddenness is appropriate. Anger and violence can be lightning quick, after all. There is no good ending here, really: if you end up defying him, he’ll torture you. If you end up bowing down to him, you’ll still lead a life of pain from the device (a transmitter of some sort, clearly an instrument of punishment) implanted within you. How long can you keep The Executor satisfied? How much longer will the torture last?

In all honesty, I’m not entirely sure what to think about it. I can’t say with clear conscience that I “had fun” or “enjoyed it” but also I can’t say that it was a bad game. The visuals are beautiful, the prose is neat, it’s all executed really well. Guess it’s just another one of those things that simply didn’t hit for me specifically and this is completely fine because the world doesn’t revolve around me. Try it out for yourself and see if it’s for you.

I’ve played quite a few Neo-Twiny Jam games recently (they’re great to show students) and I’m always really impressed by the richness of story that authors can build into such a limited word count. This is a really fantastic example of that. The relationship between the warlord and the vizier is richly drawn through the dialogue (which feels authentic and not overly explanatory), and the music emphasises the atmosphere of dread and unease. It effectively builds a lot of tension in just a couple of minutes. The styling is just gorgeous, too. I played a few times to try and see all the different endings, and I appreciated that the variations between outcomes felt meaningful. I actually didn’t notice the approval counter in the top corner until a few playthroughs in (this is on me for being unobservant); I’m not sure if the numerical representation of the relationship added much to the narrative for me, but that might just be personal preference. A really well-made short game!

This game is very brief, with just a small handful of choices with a small handful of text.

The graphics are lush, though, with active elements and of lot of decorations like bar codes and other elements, giving a sci-fi feel. There is also music in the background that responds to the current situation in the game.

You are some kind of intermediary or servant for a space fleet leader, and you can choose to be rebellious or not, with at least two different endings.

Fun concept, characters are well-differentiated and the small bits of dialogue establish a setting effectively. The brevity of the game means that I was left wishing for more interaction, but the plot arc did feel fulfilled. As always, this author's writing and design were excellent.