Blood and Company

This shirt game has strong writing , good descriptions, and a variety of paths to take.

I generally like vampire games because they give a chance to explore the human condition from an extreme viewpoint. This game is no exception. It tells two stories simultaneously: one of a vampire looking for anonymous, quick blood, and another of an ace loner who skirts around the edges of societies and relationships without committing.

The simultaneous stories play off each other well. And I liked the fact that I could open up or keep it all close to my chest, or let my little fish go.

Overall the only nitpicks I have are minor. A few too many choices felt like “stop playing now or continue on to more interesting material”, although on replaying a lot of the “stop playing” choices actually lead to the same place as the “keep going” (specifically (Spoiler - click to show)trying to leave Lyle early on). But overall has a lot of good stuff for its brief content.

In this lovely meet-cute moment, Blood and Company follows Zach, a vampire looking for his next meal. He walks into a local bar, currently hosting a student meetup for the local architecture department - one he frequented once - and finds Lyle. The two strikes up a conversation... and may end up with something more.

To say I was gushing as their interactions was an understatement - it as so adorable seeing two ace not only finding each other but also vibing to the same wavelength. Two peas in a pod! When things click so well and the chemistry is flying off the wall, you only need to sit back and enjoy the events unfolding. It is so smooth and so right. Every beat just fit with the others so well - whether you do take the bitey path or not.

I went an played it again and again to try to find all the different endings (still looking for some), but even the more... bummer(?) ones felt satisfying - though none beat the more romantic one.

Such a delightful read!