Recent reviews by EchoTango

Part visual novel, part point-and-click adventure, Purrgatory surprised me in all the best possible ways. Now, the art and soundtrack (excluding the last song) may be simplistic in nature, but they serve to highlight the mundanity of the bland space between heaven and hell. Instead, the game shines everywhere else, from the characters' personalities, backgrounds, regrets, and post-death hopes, to the puzzles that progress the stories of each character, to the piecing-together of the protagonist's past, to the puns, oh so many puns.

You may laugh and you may cry, but you will certainly be smiling from ear to ear. Purrgatory is a truly purrfect experience.

South Scrimshaw Part One is a visual novel in the form of a nature documentary describing the life of a young whale on an alien planet from birth to the end of adolescence. With beautiful art, polished sound effects/soundtrack, great narration, and of course, impeccable writing, the game will have you care about a whale as if he were your own. It just might be one of the most uniquely beautiful games in the western visual novel industry right now, providing an experimental, fresh, and exciting experience.

memories is a bittersweet visual novel about putting on a series of outfits, with each outfit conjuring a memory of a failed relationship. Within thirty minutes, your heart will go from being bathed in the warmest light to being shattered into a thousand pieces. The story is just that moving.

missed messages. is a short love story about the importance of presence and kindness. Even the simplest act of being present for your friend can go a long way and make a positive difference in that friend's life.

On the surface, Emily is Away is a nostalgia trip to the early 2000's when Windows XP was hot and AIM was all the rage, but deep down, the game is about the inevitability of drifting apart. Sure, you can compose meaningful messages. Sure, you can have the best intentions. However, with physical distance, time, and differing paths in life, drifting apart from old friends is bound to happen.

Now Emily is just somebody that you used to know.

I first played Katawa Shoujo five years ago, during my last semester of high school. I completed all five routes to their good endings. Since then, there isn't a day that goes by when I'm not thankful for this game and all it has taught and shown me.

But first, let me tell you what Katawa Shoujo is NOT:

It is NOT about seducing and railing disabled girls.
It is NOT about fetishizing disabilities.
It is NOT about looking down on those with disabilities.

Now, let me tell you what Katawa Shoujo IS:

It IS about developing a strong, healthy relationship with one of five girls with varying disabilities.
It IS about working with current circumstances and adapting to new situations.
It IS about discovering the girls' hobbies, tastes, preferences, and all the things they find comfort in.
It IS about supporting each other's ambitions and goals because there is always a tomorrow to prepare for.
It IS about sharing hopes and dreams because there is always a tomorrow to look forward to.
It IS about learning from past mistakes because there is always a tomorrow where things can be better.
It IS about realizing that the girls' disabilities do not define them; that their disabilities do not decide their futures.
It IS about understanding that they feel the way they feel not because they are disabled, but because they are ordinary.
It IS about accepting that despite their differences of all sorts, they are inherently no different from us; they are human too.
It IS a pedagogy for building trust, especially where that trust had eroded a long time ago.
It IS a pedagogy for not just being the best significant other, but also for being the best friend.
It IS a pedagogy for acceptance, benevolence, collaboration, communication, cooperation, determination, empathy, integrity, justice, kindness, patience, perseverance, presence, reassurance, respect, and most importantly, love.

Katawa Shoujo changes lives. It might just change your life too.

A Hat in Time might seem like a cute 3D platformer about a girl trying to collect her timepieces to return home, but there is so much more. You see, you get to engage in tomfoolery. No, not just a mild amount of tomfoolery; I'm talking about A LOT of tomfoolery. You get to mess around with the mafia and have them running scared. You get to infiltrate a movie studio and cause property damage. You get to rig the outcome of a movie award with just your antics alone. You get to traverse a creepy forest and make the life of its owner a living hell. You get to forge new paths in a land high in the sky and then save it from imminent doom (wait, that's actually productive). There's just so much tomfoolery to commit.

So what are you waiting for? Explore a crazy world, collect timepieces, do a funny dance, and of course, engage in tomfoolery.

With lots to explore, fun quest lines and climbing puzzles, a unique and beautiful graphic style, a calming soundtrack, and the freedom to ride a speeder across vast sandy landscapes without harm or worry, Sable is the perfect open-world game to play after a long hard day of work. It is always satisfying to complete a quest line to acquire a new mask, conquer an arduous climb, or simply watch the sun set over the desert. What you want to do, what you wish to become, how far you want to travel: that is all up to you.

NORCO is a game of hauntingly beautiful contrasts, where on the backdrop of the titular town of Norco, Louisiana amidst a country in chaos, swampland meets oil refinery, contemporary suburbia meets cyberpunk future, and quiet, beautiful days meet loud, mysterious nights. All these contrasts surround the mystery of a brother gone missing, which on the surface seems simple enough, but deep down involves multi-generational secrets and conspiracies. Are you ready to dive into the bayou and learn more?

The Longest Road on Earth isn't really a game, but it is definitely an experience. The narrative is up to interpretation, but it covers themes of going to work and growing up, which anyone can relate to. The black and white pixel art properly fits the idea of playing the game as looking back into history. And the soundtrack? Holy cow, Beícoli did an amazing job! The soundtrack, without question, makes this game beautifully unique.