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Number of Ratings: 60
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Previous | << 1 2 3 >> | Next | Show All - raccoonhands, December 28, 2019
- Denk, November 24, 2019
4 of
4 people found the following review helpful:
High school ghost investigation with teen romance, September 22, 2019I had this game mixed up with the short Birdland sequel Open Up, and so I never got around to playing this until after the XYZZY Nominations. Then I had to see what it was all about.
Brendan’s writing is what I wish I could write like. Characters are so vivid, and the text takes startling turns of phrase that you can’t help from laughing at. The characters felt alive to me.
Part of that left me with a bad aftertaste in a way that a lesser artist couldn’t do. The events in the game are the kind of thing I was terrified of growing up. My area had a lot of teen pregnancies and deaths from alcohol and drugs that affected people I knew. The idea of going to parties where all the highschoolers are getting drunk, watching each other have sexual experiences, using drugs, and having young men who won’t listen to ‘no’ (like Jayden) wander around seems like a reminder of personal nightmares.
But I don’t believe that’s what the author intended. Games are a Rohrschach test that brings out whatever the reader is thinking. I wouldn’t have had such a strong reaction to the game if Brendan hadn’t written such strong characters.
The rest of the game is wonderful. The use of emoji is like a comedy version of 10pm, and the overall mystery and romance were well done. I liked the use of red options to distinguish paths that were very different from the others. It made choices feel more significant.
I also found the structure really interesting, with conversations like multi lane highways and exploration segments like city streets.
This game’s craft level is very high, and I’ve found myself thinking of it frequently in the last few days as I’ve been working on my own games.
- hoopla, August 7, 2019
- Max Crow (United States), February 7, 2019
- JoQsh, January 22, 2019
- wohanley, January 15, 2019
- Bartlebooth, December 6, 2018
- anarchaferromagnetism, November 26, 2018
- mirandamiranda, October 2, 2018
- CMG (NYC), June 16, 2018
- ikkinlala, June 16, 2018
- Doug Orleans (Somerville, MA, USA), May 29, 2018
- dgtziea, May 9, 2018
- Rubel (Hawaii Island), April 24, 2018
- Squidi, March 4, 2018
- mapped, January 4, 2018
- Wanderlust, December 27, 2017
- helado (a small ceramic bowl), December 26, 2017
- Pseudavid, December 19, 2017
- Caleb Wilson (Illinois), December 15, 2017
10 of
10 people found the following review helpful:
a capstone to loose trilogy and a major achievement in interactive fiction, December 13, 2017(I had IFDB erase a nice long review--thanks!--so this is much abbreviated).
I played all four parts of Known Unknowns in one fell swoop and was to put it frankly blown away by it. I could see how it might seem a bit underwhelming serially but if you haven't had the chance to lose yourself in this richly imagined world, I highly recommend it. Set in the same universe as Bell Park Girl Detective and Birdland, I would say that Known Unknowns is the equal to Birdland, downplaying the supernatural elements to an extend and going deeper into the characterizations.
And the characters are amazing. A game like this lives and dies by the strength of its writing and it's probably not much of a surprise that Known Unknowns is running on all cylinders, with a gut-wrenching range of emotions with a HUGE cast. I'm sure you will find your favorites (shout out to my pal Olivia).
The game expertly switches from dialogue/conversation mode to exploration mode, as the two feed off each other.
Finally, this game is really really queer, and the range of people in this high school trying to figure their own identities out is tender, hilarious, melancholic, and ultimately human. And the choices you are given reflect that high school rollercoaster at every turn.
This game is a treasure and you should play it. It's one of the most affecting works of IF I have ever played, in fact.
- LayzaSkully (Italy), October 28, 2017
- alltheirises (Chicago, Illinois), October 25, 2017
- Sobol (Russia), August 6, 2017
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