Ratings and Reviews by ArloElm
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After All, We Are All Kor, March 26, 2023I very much enjoyed this game. The player character is an AI named Ov, a caretaker aboard an interstellar ship orbiting a giant sentient plant/planet named Kor-Lašə.
Lašə has been learning about the ship's inhabitants. Based on the attempts at "parental humor" (dad jokes), and the response ilicited from Ov, it seems Lašə's a fast learner.
The UI is excellent (typical for any of this author' s games), and utilized very well through features like files which tell us more about the ship and settlement, and through requests made of the AI. These requests range from endearing and humorous to poignant and heart-renching, and the protagonist's struggles are likely familiar to those who have dealt with with mental illness and grief, or anything that can cause someone to feel alienated from others, and from themself.
The ship's environment is the medium through which Ov and Lašə communicate. Through Ov's (sometimes intentional, often unintentional) manipulation of lights and air vents and sprinkler systems, to Lašə's unfurling flowers that have grown throughout the ship.
We also see follow-ups to completed requests, which is a nice touch and reinforces the positive impact Ov has on those around them, even as they struggle with their own loneliness.
In the end, (Spoiler - click to show) it is Lašə's appeals to solidarity through mutual experiences that really drive the game's themes home. Both Ov and Lašə are alone, different, misunderstood, but maybe they can be alone together, if Ov decides to stay.
All in all it's a really beautiful game. It's still not complete, (I think the author has said this is something like 30% of the total story). So I eagerly wait for the gaps to be filled, and to see what the rest holds for Egravn, for Tlan, for Ov, and for Kor.
An Excellent Start to the Retro Apocalypse, March 14, 2023The first thing that stands out about this game is the UI. Styled after old VCR graphics, it's eye-catching and retro in a way that perfectly fits the setting. This is a world where tapes and old computers are about as far as technology developed before some unnamed cataclysm sent everything grinding to a halt. The player character explores a violent post-apocalypse with little more than the shirt on their back (that is, of course, assuming they elect to wear a shirt).
The character creation offers an extensive array of choices, boasting around 130 items of clothing, all very stylish and post-apocalyptic. I had a lot of fun reading all the descriptions and choosing a suitable outfit for my disaster of a protagonist. (I ended up with a player character who has zero common sense (or -1 SAVVY, according to the stat screen, so less than zero), and a high SIGNAL stat. I adore them to pieces.)
The game uses a dice rolling system, plus skills and XP, in a way that will be familiar to players of ttrpgs, but it's simplified enough that those who are less experienced won't find things difficult to follow. There's SAVVY (street smarts), BRAWN (strength and intimidation), GLAM (aesthetics and charisma) , and SIGNAL (sort of like intuition, but there's more mysterious and interesting things going on with this one). Occasional dice rolls are affected by the player's skill-level to determine the outcome of a situation.
There's an impressive amount of detail packed into every bit of this game, too. Whether it's a side quest collecting zines for a peculiar bookseller, or the 'genderfuck' identity achievement that can be gained from talking with the security guard at a brothel, these details really make the world feel lived-in and fully realized. This is a game that truly says: Explore every corner, see what you might find.
As you explore the post-apocalyptic environment, bits and pieces of the plot begin to emerge. (Spoiler - click to show) A stolen package, a death god, militias and socialist(-ish) mercenary crews, drugs, brothels, vampires. Radio signal, *Signal* signal, assassinations. I can't wait to learn how these different threads connect, and see where all this is going as further installments are published. The author clearly has a bright future in game development ahead of him.
On a final, and more personal, side note, I played this demo at a time when I and my friends have been pretty down due to recent anti-trans laws where we live in the US. Playing a game that is so unapologetically queer has been very good for morale. So thank you, to the author, for that.
A Strong Introduction to Demonic Adventure , November 20, 2022At the time I'm writing this review, only the game's prologue and character creation are available to play, but that's more than enough to see what an amazing game Zorlok is already shaping out to be. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that this is one of the strongest game intros I've encountered.
Stylish UI and atmospheric music set the scene for the player's introduction to Tommy (it is his story we follow during the prologue, to get a picture of his life pre-demon-summoning). We follow him through part of a ttrpg campaign, some tumultuous teen feelings, and a meeting with a local witch (The witch, Harlow, is a personal favorite, and I'm excited to see how the author handles her character in the future)
Eventually, the demon emerges. I don't want to spoil too much, but the character creation for Zorlok is probably the most extensive I've ever seen in an IF game, full of thoughtful details, trans-affirming choices, and more than few excellent jokes (especially if you take the time to play more than once and gague Tommy's reaction to different choices). The music also sets the tone during this sequence and really helps hype the player up. All-in-all this is an excellently written, masterful introduction to the story. I can't wait to see where it goes.
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