izigame.me

And I thought Road 96 was stressful. This was on another level man. It was really intense most of the time, but overall, I do have mixed feelings about the game. Since I didn't dread starting it up when I would have to stop playing because of adulting reasons, I do lean more towards recommending. I am also passionate about writing, so most of my criticisms are going to be on that. So be afraid. Maybe. Likes and dislikes will be listed below, but keep in mind that I will have quite a few spoilers listed, and I don't want half of my review to be a dark abyss on your (or my) screen.
Overall, I thought the story was alright. Jay was an interesting character and I genuinely cared about Adam Jensen - I mean Vince - and his family. (Vince is voiced by the same guy that plays Adam Jensen from Deus Ex, and I could not un-hear it the whole time, to my entertainment. I like to think that Adam became a family man after Mankind Divided.) Bonus points to the game for having Vince be a part of the aviation industry, and having the story bring in a bit of history with the issues of the DC-10 (yes, I am an aviation nerd-person-geek-whatever you call it ).
What I Liked:
- Your choices really feel like they matter.
- The writing had some genuinely well-written moments that I thought were pretty impactful. Some.
- The voice acting is good.
- I genuinely cared about Vince and his family, as well as Jay.
- I like the fact that the game includes the Holt family's side of the story. It humanizes them and gives you a bit of background on why they are doing the things they are doing.
- Gameplay isn't complex.
- Artstyle is pleasing.
What I Didn't Like (deep inhale):
- The game is mostly static frames, which took me a bit to get used to.
- The Holts constantly make stupid decisions and are not good at being criminals. I don't understand how they became "infamous."
>> Make sure you don't wear gloves for anything. And we don't care about body fluids being at the crime scene. (Yes I know this takes place in the '90s, but come on man. Even I know this.)
- There's alot of characters that I genuinely started to hate, which I get is the point, but it did not help the stress factor. Do you have any idea how many times I said "Leave," out loud at my screen? (Don't worry, my neighbors already know I'm insane.)
- Quite a few characters make decisions that seem really out-of-character for them. I felt like the most consistent people were the ones in Vince's family.
- Sometimes there are a few dialogue/option choices that made me think "Wait, that wasn't what I meant to have them say."
- Some lines of dialogue had me thinking "Dude, there was a way better way to respond to that than how you just did."
>> Yes, I know, realism. We don't think properly under stress.
- Every single TV/radio that turns on in this game just so happens to be talking about the Holts. Is there nothing else going on in the world? More importantly, is the news the only channel that exists in this game's universe?
- Falsely-accused criminal trope.
- The somehow-extremely-corrupt-cop-that-somehow-still-has-their-job trope.
- The seemingly mandatory trope of teenagers going into a party where they are the only ones that are left out. I hope this dies one day because I literally don't know anyone that likes going to parties, much less knows everyone there, especially in high school.
- You can't pet the dog in the backyard.
- You can't pet the cat in the trailer park.
- The motel heist goes on for way too long.
- I tried to mess with both sides (police/the Holts) during the motel heist, and the game apparently thought I was on the side of the Holts because reasons? I was genuinely trying to be neutral.
- I don't care about the motel lady's kid. I know why this chapter was included in the game, but it really could have been left out in my opinion.
- Some characters bring up some really dumb ideas. If I do the thing you suggested, we will definitely look guilty, so I am ignoring you and your existence.
- Just some mind-numbingly dumb decisions that you can't control are made in general.
>> Ah yes, hotwire a convertable car and have the roof DOWN when you have wanted posters of you everywhere and you are on every single TV in the universe because no one has anything better to watch in this game I guess.
>> Ah yes, your dad is very controlling and strict. Why not pay for a hotel with HIS credit card when you are clearly running away? Good idea. Good ideas all around-
>> Ah yes, Dale, why don't you get high on top of a roof with a bunch of holes in it?
- Dale just suddenly dies on my playthrough for seemingly no reason.
>> and then his death is barely mentioned afterwards. The Holts especially don't seem too broken up by it. Selfish pricks.
- Book 2 starts off with way too many flashbacks and flash-forwards.
- The game finishes on this weird cliffhanger that makes it feel like there are a few chapters missing. I don't know if this will get a sequel or not. I don't even know if I will even be motivated to play it.
Would you look at that? This game got me monologuing. The overall story is basically one where things can be solved if people just talked to each other. Drives me nuts. But overall, again, I do actually recommend the game. I just have alot of dumb nit-picks about the writing because I can't not analyze anything after AP Lit in high school several years ago (yes I know I need help, but so do the Holts, dear God my brain cells are dying thinking about it). If you like choice-making games, this is definitely up your alley. But I am not responsible for any pre-mature aging if you get stressed easily like I do.