izigame.me

If you are at least a bit interested in buying this game, please do.

I’ve played games conceptually similar to this one, and the fact that who dies doesn't really affect the characters and narrative has always bothered me. It's easy to fall in the assumption that this game will be just like any other "trapped in a death game" gimmicky setting, without any actual message to give.

But this game is something different.

For starters, I think this game does justice to its main characters. Everyone's "first state" and transformation is something you can feel while you play, especially if you love interacting with everyone and everything in this type of games. I feel like every time a character gets killed, it is a sign that their transformation arc has come to an end. For me, no main character dies without growing first, which is something I truly appreciate, because it shows: 1. that the author cares about every character as an individual and as a piece of the group, 2. doesn't end up causing a feeling of lack of closure. Also, the bonds that every character makes with one another care, so the growth of one affects the growth of another and vice versa.

I also feel that it's main topics and message are clear. Sometimes, this type of games get so lost in the gimmick part that forget that good narrative centered games have questions or ideas that they wanna propose to the player for them to interpret. I feel like this game questions about the essence of humanity, the importance of union, the nature of hope and the heavy mental toll of questions that truly have no right answers are treated in a serious manner. That honestly makes this game special, because it leaves you thinking, and empathizing with the characters a lot more.

I can't say its 100% perfect, since there´s some narrative issues here and there that sometimes make the story fall into the "action without consequences" pit, especially when more characters are introduced, such as the third act and the dummies. Even tho I like some of them, it is just more of a visual and personality liking, rather than actual importance or impact to the narrative. Some of them, such as Kurumada (my beloved) are an exception, I think because his role as a protector that doesn't really has his survival as the main objective aligns well with the dummies role as temporal support to the narrative. but I can forgive that if it means I can play the rest of the game.


VERY SPOILER HEAVY FOR ACT 1 AND 2: BEST PART PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED YET
For me, this is the strongest part of the game, especially the Logic/Emotion choice, and the death of my girl Nao. Some people theorize that the logic/emotion choice will change the game ending enormously, but I disagree. I feel like the choice has the same implication in both cases. In Kanna's case, she wanted to die as in a physical and mental death: to stop existing. In Sou's case, he didn't wanna die, but when taking the role of another, sneakier and more insincere person, he was killing who he really was. So either choice kinda means to give a second chance in life to one of them.
I feel like the 0.0% probability of winning thing that Sou had was bc Midori knew Sou, and he knew he didn't believe enough in himself to actually act as himself, which made him untrustworthy, so, by that same reason made him 0.0% probable of winning. But that's just a theory, a game theory.

So, in summary. PLEASE PLAY. Especially if you are one of my friends reading this. I need a friend to talk about this game with :3