Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You
Preface
This review is being written before the conclusion of the game in episode five. I’ve played through the first four episodes a couple times exploring different outcomes, however, as episode five is not out yet I’m not able to comment on the totallity of the story.
The Machine
Orwell has a very close Person of Interest vibe. The government of the fictitious country has obtained a Machine, or System, that surveils the populous gathering information however it does not act on the gathered information. The idea of the game is that the system, aptly named Orwell, isn’t able to decern human subtlety, sarcasim, or deciet. As such, the fictious government has outsourced the task of resolving conflicts in the data, and identifying what is relevant and what is not. You as the player take on this role as an outsider to the country, tasked with sifting through the data that Orwell gives you access to inorder to identify person(s) of interest. This is a role somewhat like Person of Interest’s Harold Finch.
– Real player with 14.4 hrs in game
Read More: Best Choices Matter Dystopian Games.
My playtime: 10h (based on steam, 100% achievement; 2.5x playthrough)
Grindy Achievement(s): No.
Optional Achievement(s): Yes (17 achievements).
Difficult Achievement(s): No.
Intro
Orwell: Keeping an Eye On You is a massive information gathering system where you, an investigator, is taking a role in sorting the relevant data and fix conflicting data that the system gathered to assist a crime. The game has story branching that persists over 5 chapters.
– Real player with 10.5 hrs in game
Beholder
16.4.2018. Game #33
If this game was a woman, my wife would have left me
I didn’t just enjoy Beholder, I was obsessed with this game, in fact, obsessed is putting it mildly. As soon as I learned how to play the game I was infected. I couldn’t stop playing it. I played it till 4 am (I know that’s probably not so hardcore, but for me it’s quite late) for 3 days and whenever I wasn’t playing it I thought of playing it. I even dreamt of this game. I beat the game about 10 times, played it for 30 hours and got all the achievements and EVEN THAT WASN’T ENOUGH FOR ME, so I bought the DLC played it for another 10 hours (all achievements too) and only now am I finally satisfied.
– Real player with 41.0 hrs in game
Read More: Best Choices Matter Dystopian Games.
Beholder is all about trying to be a decent person when the rules require foul play. You are Carl, a new government employee charged with running an apartment building. Of course this job is handed to you with strings attached. While you may occupy the landlord’s office, your primary occupation is collecting intelligence on your tenants. Hide cameras in all the apartments, search people’s belongings and eavesdrop on their conversations; just don’t get caught. When I was given this warning I assumed the consequences would be severe. I could only imagine the outrage I would feel if I came home to find my landlord rifling through my personal possessions. However, the residents didn’t seem all that upset by it. Sure they would tell you to leave immediately but there were no fisticuffs, fines, or complaints lodged with the ministry.
– Real player with 20.9 hrs in game
Song of Farca
Playing status: 100% achievement
Grindy Achievement(s): No.
Optional Achievement(s): Yes (~20 achievements).
Difficult Achievement(s): No.
Intro
Song of Farca sets in the state of Farca, an imaginary island that is still connected to the rest of the world. The story focuses on the life of a private investigator whose job is to find information about people, both online and offline.
Pros:
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Unique puzzles
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2 endings with minor story branchings
– Real player with 35.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Choices Matter Dystopian Games.
First, props for using a person-of-color female main character that doesn’t fit the standard mold. She’s a lesbian, black, tattooed, blue hair, under arrest, etc. It’s refreshing to have someone who differentiates from what other main characters are, but also has great background leading up to the events in the game.
I very much enjoyed this game. Since it is focused heavily on dialogue, the developers did an amazing job fleshing out the characters and making you feel for them. Everyone has their own personality and it certainly shines throughout their interactions with the female MC. I felt for everyone in the game, with whatever happened to them.
– Real player with 14.2 hrs in game
Above the Fold
Full Disclosure- I got my key at no cost, from the developer, to playtest the game, from Alpha 4 on.
This in no way affects my review of the game. If it sucked, I would be brutally honest about it. I call then like I see them.
Okay, that said, up there ^^^…
I don’t really tend to enjoy manangement sim games, I usually find them too simple, shallow, or just plain uninteresting.
This game is different. It may be because I have been inside, watching it evolve (and will continue to do so through Early Access, and beyond…), but this game has depth. The subject matter, a paper print newspaper from the 1980’s- (when I was a teen and young adult) is very relatable for me. The game is still in development, but it already very rich with details that hold your interest, tension that makes you hustle and make snap decisions, humor that pops up and relieves some of the tension, in a very silly way, and more challenge than I expected. I like challenge.
– Real player with 65.0 hrs in game
Its very early and developed by one person with a budget smaller then my allowance during all 4 years of high school combined. That probably isn’t true though.
Anyway, this game is a gem, and will be a gem in the future.
Yes, turn your music off asap or adjust using your systems audio mixer, that is a bit of feedback that can be acted on.
At the core this game is charming, you have a deadline you need to meet, an owner that can get angry with you, but also praise you. I imagine it is as similar to managing a news paper in the late 90’s was, and a news website today is. This is after all a simulation.
– Real player with 47.8 hrs in game
Orwell: Ignorance is Strength
Orwell: Ignorance is Strength (genre: Story Telling - Investigation)
SCORE: 7.5/10
I have to say this game is more direct, genuine than the first game but lack the crush of having the ability to handling life and death situation on your hand. Also in the first game, the ending is somewhat more impactful than this one not to say this game’s ending is not. Secondly, I understand why this game sometimes get mixed reviews even though most of them is positive, it is mostly based on preference and I guess the person who tends to read more will eventually enjoy this game more than those who referred storytelling games like heavy rains and until dawn, etc. But even that doesn’t justify why this game isn’t good in my opinion.
– Real player with 29.4 hrs in game
Report for duty, Agent. Time to gossip our way to victory.
With season one of Orwell (or well, before we actually knew we would be getting another Orwell game) being an incredible experience, who wouldn’t want to revisit that universe again? Who wouldn’t want to be the person that spies rather than the one that gets spied on? We return with a whole new case to dig our hands into and more secrets to peek at.
Right as you start up, you will see changes that improves the immersion. Before you are even put into the system, you have to take a small survey to determine if you will be accepted. If you played the first Orwell game, this is also the time to choose whether you want to link your playthrough with it. This not only lets you skip the tutorial but whatever you did in that save carries over. If you haven’t noticed yet (like I didn’t) this canonically takes place during the events of season one. While you and well… past you will not interact, you will see those events referenced here. Once you get the survey out of the way, you will get a cutscene that does a great job in visualizing the “fake news” focus and, surprise, showing that this is voiced.
– Real player with 11.8 hrs in game
Beholder 2
I love this game. The dark setting, the artwork, the way the characters speak. If you are reading and wondering if you are going to buy it or not after watching the videos just go buy it already. Good value for the money.
– Real player with 34.9 hrs in game
I really love this game!
– Real player with 15.6 hrs in game
Doomsday Room
Can we have character customization, and also-I don’t know how to actually stir conflict in nations, is it the nuclear testing? Because I’m trying to do the Covert Ops and I don’t actually know how to do the tasks given, nor does it show any indicator saying that the covert op is complete. Can anybody help?
Other than that, this a really good game, I love it already, and you guys should keep developing it! It’s a very educational game, and also fun to know you can lead something! I recommend this game.
– Real player with 13.5 hrs in game
When i was young, i remember a Time where the United States and Europe where in Conflict with the Soviet Union todays Russian Federation. It was West against East and there was fear in the Air, nuclear Fear.
Both Sides armed and armed theirselves up in Fear of each other, having big and enough Weapons to scare the other Side.
It all started 1947 and ended 1990.
What if you are send in to prevent the World from a Nuclear War?
Take a seat and welcome to DOOMSDAY ROOM.
DOOMSDAY ROOM is a fictional take on these Events.
– Real player with 6.2 hrs in game
HEADLINER
Video Review:
Headliner caught my attention with a simple tagline “What if you control the national news?” Interesting premise and a question that made me wonder “What if I did control the national news?” Fact-based reporting? No slant? Spread the writings of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense… I could do so much. So what would Headliner allow me to do?
– Real player with 5.4 hrs in game
I recently got this game for free from a curator connect offer. This 2D simulation game with 2D side-scrolling adventure game elements by Unbound Creations features a custom male/female protagonist Dianne Kalushky who is married to a custom male/female spouse Andrew or Sasha and has a daughter Amber(names of any character can be changed). Dianne has just started work as a Headliner at a news broadcaster Galmedia in the fictitious nation of Galixia.
Amidst the backdrop of a deep polarised divide between the genetically modified population and the non-modified minority known as Purists and an ongoing war in the neighbouring nation of Lerisia with a subsequent influx of refugees to Galixia, Dianne must manage his/her company’s expectations as a corporate entity which needs to rely on broadcasting the type of news to attract interest and subscribers, the conflicting interests from the pro-modified and the Purists as well as on whether to allow or control the number of Lerisian refugees into Galixia, Andrew/Sasha’s declining health, job security and concerns over Amber’s idea on having fun at a festival in a week’s time as well as Amber’s plans to enrol at a secondary and study biology which is beyond the family’s finances.
– Real player with 5.3 hrs in game
Ostalgie: The Berlin Wall
It’s hard to really describe what makes this game so much fun.
Is it the ability to save the Warsaw Pact? Maybe, but that’s not quite it.
Is it the possibility of reforming the Eastern Bloc? Hm, perhaps…oh, no, got it!
It’s the ability to do both those things, while building an excessive number of TV towers and imagining that you’re broadcasting the amazing in-game soundtrack to every citizen of Europe, constantly, at 100 decibels, forever.
Seriously though, this is one of the best ‘small’ games I’ve played in a while now. It’s fairly short, spanning three ingame years, and although you can go longer, not much really happens after 1992, but what happens in those years is enthralling.
– Real player with 258.0 hrs in game
Reminds me of the old-school Paradox Interactive games. You want tooltips? Clear explanations of what is what? Too bad. Stare at a statistics screen for a while, you’ll figure it out.
There is a neat game here, but good luck surviving for even a year. It is very hard.
edit: Okay, I have played enough I can write a little more.
Did you play Crisis in the Kremlin? It was about leading the USSR through the time of political turmoil and reform when there were many factors that would eventually bring the country to its collapse into many autonomous states. In the game you had a lot of freedom to pursue your goal. You could become a liberal reformer, play as a hardline-communist or somewhere in-between with many other variations. However, you were the main actor. You could decide how you would play. The only real condition of the game was “don’t let the USSR collapse outright.”
– Real player with 250.2 hrs in game
We. The Revolution
More interesting reviews on Fenol Baron Approves Curator Page
Well, it was not perfect, but a very unusual and memorable gaming experience. The story of the Judge of the Tribunal, Alexis Fidel, who was at one of the most significant moments in the history of his country - the French Revolution - on the very crest of a revolutionary wave, which is rapidly beginning to turn red. Large-scale historical figures, ordinary citizens, judges, poets, dissolute women, grooms - they all pass through the ruthless court of the Tribunal, a guillotine blade hangs over each one, and only your signature and seal separates life from death.
– Real player with 16.4 hrs in game
A quick overview
We. The Revolution is a story-driven adventure game with strategy elements developed by Polyslash. The game takes place during the French Revolution, and it combines historical realities and characters with fiction. In the three acts, you go through the start of the revolution to its near end.
You play as a judge of the Revolutionary Tribunal, Alexis Fidèle. Your goal is simple – keep your head on your shoulders. To survive, you need to maintain good relations with Revolutionaries, commonfolk, Aristocracy, Juries, and your family members. However, this is not a detective game, as some would expect. You are not there to find the truth. You are there to achieve your own goals, and it is solely on you who you set free, send to prison, or straight to the guillotine.
– Real player with 15.1 hrs in game