Monorail Stories
I finished Monorail Stories yesterday. So, this is more of a casual type of game (no puzzles really), set in more futuristic setting. It focuses on two characters you play as, Silvie and Ahmal, and they're both traveling on a monorail, I think in opposite directions between the cities of M and L. It's hard to tell if they're in the same universe or not because certain things are different. In my playthrough, the two characters never intersected. But you spend your time walking back and forth between the cars and talking to the characters and sometimes helping them, like helping a cat lady find her cat who's run away or assisting the train inspector with checking tickets. Certain things you do with Silvie, have an impact on Ahmal's side and vice-versa. For example, you might not find an athlete's ring with Silvie, but then be able to find it with Ahmal. I enjoyed the back and forth, and talking to the various interesting characters aboard the train.
However, towards the end, things become more perilous and the game becomes more punishing, and this I did not enjoy. I was liking the game's lightheartedness until it took a dark turn. It would be easy to miss talking to certain characters before the game shifted to the other perspective, and then I was called to actually save the train, and it was so easy to make mistakes, which I did do, and got the bad ending. It's not like I could go back to a previous save because of the autosave system. If I wanted to try again, I probably would have had to start the game over, and I didn't want to do that. I really didn't like this and found it frustrating.
Interesting concept, interesting characters to chat with (except with that one little boy with the really grating voice-acting), and relaxing vibes up to a certain point, but I felt like, for the lack of a better phrase, the game pissed all over me in the end, and I didn't appreciate it. I'll probably read up on the better ending, but otherwise I felt very mixed about this game. I don't understand the 4.5 star rating. I feel like Adventure Gamers has been really generous in their reviews as of late. It's interesting, when I think about rating adventure games and those that are adventure game adjacent, I'm more critical than when compared to how I rate other forms of media such as books and movies, where I'm more generous. Maybe I expect more out of games? I don't know what it is, but I do think Adventure Gamers tosses out five stars to games more than they should. Every review is just one person's opinion though. I know that. to Regardless, here's a screenshot. Forgot to mention, the way you interact with the characters can make them either like you or hate you.
Now I've started a game called Universe For Sale. This is a sci-fi adventure. First impressions is it has impressive animation, and seems really unique like something Philip K. Dick would dream up. But it just kind of drops you into the world, so we'll see how it goes.
However, towards the end, things become more perilous and the game becomes more punishing, and this I did not enjoy. I was liking the game's lightheartedness until it took a dark turn. It would be easy to miss talking to certain characters before the game shifted to the other perspective, and then I was called to actually save the train, and it was so easy to make mistakes, which I did do, and got the bad ending. It's not like I could go back to a previous save because of the autosave system. If I wanted to try again, I probably would have had to start the game over, and I didn't want to do that. I really didn't like this and found it frustrating.
Interesting concept, interesting characters to chat with (except with that one little boy with the really grating voice-acting), and relaxing vibes up to a certain point, but I felt like, for the lack of a better phrase, the game pissed all over me in the end, and I didn't appreciate it. I'll probably read up on the better ending, but otherwise I felt very mixed about this game. I don't understand the 4.5 star rating. I feel like Adventure Gamers has been really generous in their reviews as of late. It's interesting, when I think about rating adventure games and those that are adventure game adjacent, I'm more critical than when compared to how I rate other forms of media such as books and movies, where I'm more generous. Maybe I expect more out of games? I don't know what it is, but I do think Adventure Gamers tosses out five stars to games more than they should. Every review is just one person's opinion though. I know that. to Regardless, here's a screenshot. Forgot to mention, the way you interact with the characters can make them either like you or hate you.
Now I've started a game called Universe For Sale. This is a sci-fi adventure. First impressions is it has impressive animation, and seems really unique like something Philip K. Dick would dream up. But it just kind of drops you into the world, so we'll see how it goes.