Repeat the Ending

I think that, so far, it’s the parser adventure that has impacted me most on an emotional level, and I think it’s the one that’s succeeded most on a literary level. Despite the baroque meta level referring to a buggy game restored after 15 years, the heart of the story is incredibly raw and doesn’t fall into cheap sentimentalism to describe the experience of living with bipolar disorder after a childhood and adolescence ruined by the complicated relationship with a mother and the absence of a father. It doesn’t fall into an easy redemption arc either. As well, it’s impressive how the narration takes advantage of trivial parser responses to delve into the psychological state of the protagonist with a coherent voice throughout. Whether it allows you to go through with an action or not (an action that would be trivial or get a default parser response in another game) it reminds you that your mother is dying in the hospital, and what it means to waste your attention on those types of actions in this context. That is to say, it reminds you that you’re a shit person, to play how how we usually play parser adventures despite the gravity of the situation, which I think is great.

The core mechanic is a brilliant metaphor of how chronic depression works. On the other hand, despite the darkness of the story, it exhibits a gallows humor that serves to lighten the experience. The fact that it rewards you for losing and dying in distinct ways is original, entertaining, and amplifies one of the themes of the game: the difficulty of escaping a vicious and deadly cycle.

Without a doubt, one of the best games I’ve ever played.

(The translation of my original review in Spanish is courtesy from Aster Fialla)