As soon as I found
out about this game and realized it was by the same creator as of The Stanley
Parable, I instantly went to Steam and bought the game. Spending the following
1-2 hours "playing" the game made me reflect on a lot of random things
like the credibility of the narrative, the immense happiness of being able to
jump, the three dots always arranged in the same way, using the video game
medium as an art form... along with topics that were a lot more personal like
loneliness, being honest with myself, taking the time to appreciate the present
moment, the little things...
Before I delve any
deeper into this review I'd just like to say this will not be a traditional
sort of review where I assign numbers to categories like graphics, sound and
gameplay. Instead I'm just going to talk about it and about what I felt during
the time I "played" it. The reason I use the word play so loosely
here is because this is more of a story then it is a game. It's not about using
some sort of fun number balancing while reaching your goals as quickly as
possible gameplay mechanic, but instead about listening to what the narrator is
saying and experiencing that story aided by the levels you are placed in.
Needless to say, spoilers abound.
So the
"game" starts off by the narrator (who also happens to be the creator
of the game) introducing himself and the purpose of this creation. The premise
is that he has an introverted friend (Coda) who likes to mess around with game
engines and churn out little levels that he never releases or publishes and
usually just forgets them as soon as he is done. The narrator sees some of
these games and decides that they are absolutely amazing and that the whole
world needs to see them, thus making this game which is a compilation of some
of Coda's games.
Now there's no point
in me detailing every single little game and level that you as the player
experience since that's the whole point of the game. There's no point in
reading about the "gameplay" of this game or watching someone else
play it on YouTube since it's supposed to be a personal experience. There are
several points in the game where you engage in some dialogue and if someone
else gets to make the choice of what to say next for you, then you're missing a
large part of the game.
The whole game
carries an air of slight creepiness and eeriness. Listening to the story and
experiencing some of the levels puts you in a slight state of unease and the
deeper you get into the game, the deeper you start delving into the mind of
both Coda and the narrator and even yourself. This is perhaps the first and
only game I've played where I have experienced such emotions. Not only that,
but thinking through some of the dialogue options you start reflecting on
yourself as well. Comparing yourself to Coda, the narrator, the experience
they're going through and contemplating about some of the decisions you have
made in your life. This is why I almost found this game to be therapeutic. By
putting you into someone else's shoes in a morbid situation, you empathize with
the characters and make it part of yourself. Playing this game felt like
reading a good book.
The game ends in a
somewhat predictable and perplexing situation (super spoilers incoming, don't
read this paragraph before playing). Really though, you should see the ending
for yourself. Turns out Coda didn't appreciate the narrator showing his games
to the rest of the world so he made him one last game and shutdown all
communications. As a desperate plea to reconnect and apologize, the narrator
makes this game in hopes of someone playing it and reaching out to Coda on his
behalf. This whole part of the game kind of turns everything on its head and
makes you feel uncomfortable as the reassuring voice in the sky always leading
you forward is all of a sudden on his metaphorical knees on the edge of tears,
begging for forgiveness, acknowledgment, something, anything...
