Vespers

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Average Rating: Number of Reviews: 4 Write a review

Most Helpful Member Reviews

Haunting, memorable, January 17, 2008
I still think about Vespers nearly a year and a half after first playing through it. In the game you are a monk in charge of a monastery during the plague years of Europe. The nearby town has succumbed to disease, and the abbey is the last available refuge. The game takes place over a few days as the plague begins to infiltrate this remaining sanctuary. Dark secrets are uncovered, and the abbey itself is one of the strongest and most dynamic characters in the game. Though not for the faint of heart, or those who are easily offended by violence or religious questioning, the sense of place, immersive character, and interesting NPCs make this one of my favorite IF works.

Apocalypse a Few Centuries Ago, July 2, 2008
As a hypochondriac, I stopped playing Vespers as soon as I read the word 'plague'. And then, a few days later, I started playing it again. Something about its atmospheric depiction of an abbey barricaded against the Black Death drew me back, not because it was pleasant, but because it was quite thoroughly sinister.

Another thing that quickly had me hooked me was the way Vespers starts out as a medieval detective story. Alongside the plague, murder has come to the abbey, not to mention a mysterious waif and stray, and the monks are all acting strangely - among them the player character. As things progress, Vespers only becomes darker and more sinister, something that I would normally expect to repel me - but this carefully constructed rendition of apocalyptic Dark Age sentiments kept me hooked until, naturally enough, the detective portion gives way to a set of uncomfortable decisions - some of which you will have already made before you realise their portent.

This kind of IF game, where you must explore a world and form a moral reaction, has obviously been done before, most notably in Slouching Towards Bedlam. But whereas in that game I found myself having to refer to the hints to get the least thing done, my experience with Vespers flowed quite nicely towards its dramatic and nihilistic conclusion.

Ewww. Catch 22., April 17, 2013
I'm starting to think games with a Christian component really aren't for me. I always end up feeling dissatisfied and conflicted, that ultimately, I'm somehow to blame for having an IF mindset or an ethical code. I understand that in Vespers' case, it was kind of unavoidable, but I'm still left feeling like I've been judged unfairly. Maybe I am just angry that none of the endings I found were really to my liking.

The best thing about the game was how the monastery and monks change over time. You really get a sense of how inexorable their fate is. However, implementation is uneven. I enjoyed the changing scenery but then would fetch up and be thrown out of the story when I asked someone about something and got an answer that didn't make sense considering what the PC knows or how he's interacted with the person. I also felt like some of the disgusting imagery could have been toned down, that it served little purpose but to be revolting. I'm aware the Plague is going on, but it was just so raw and unrelenting. Not to mention none of the characters are really likable.

This was one game I did not need hints for. That was nice. There are plenty of ways to die, and some timed puzzles, but if you cultivate a habit of saving games, it's not that much of a problem. It's not like you have to play really far back. They are just sections that take trial and error to get past. Somehow, this was not frustrating, since every time you die, you get clued in on what you did wrong. So the puzzles were satisfying and logical.

In the end, I don't feel very edified by this game's experience. I would not replay, even though there are other ways through it. (Spoiler - click to show)I got the middle path, but you can also be excessively evil or try to be the Christian your character is. My advice: Heed the disclaimer in the game menu. I made the mistake of thinking the gore wouldn't be so bad. It gets worse as the game progresses.

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