DeVuego ES_COR

This is precisely the kind of small, warm story that is fundamentally impossible in our bombastic, capitalist conception of the games industry. If all we celebrate are the big games, the ones that leave us feeling like we got our money’s worth, the ones which have us posting screenshots on Twitter and the ones which blow up on Twitch – if this is the zeitgeist of our medium’s discourse, then what place could there be for the ordinary, the mediocre, the quintessentially human? I don’t know if Essays on Empathy will find an audience. If anything, it incorporates numerous design decisions which seem to impede its ability to find an audience. But it is a game which I, personally, am thankful for, and will be for a long time to come.

Ultimately, The Red Strings Club tries and succeeds to be deeply thought provoking. Whereas other sci-fi games can tell a great story and make the player fear for a hypothetical future, few have made me question my personal definitions on fate, ethics and humanity. Maybe it’s because The Red Strings Club isn’t weighed down by all the empowerment that traditional action sci-fi games wear on their sleeve. Maybe it’s because the writing is simply out of this world. Either way, I can imagine this game is something which sci-fi and narrative game fans alike have been waiting eons to see – so try it out for yourself and just try to come out unchanged. 

I’m really glad that a game like Solo can exist – I can easily imagine the many different walks of people who would appreciate the opportunity to be open and honest about their understanding of love. By building upon universal human experiences, Team Gotham have created a poignant game which distills romance without being sappy, compassion without ulterior motive and self-reflection without the fear of others’ expectations. Perhaps it’s not the most exciting or enjoyable of games, but I’m sure Solo will find a core audience which will appreciate it for what it does best. 

But the thing which makes Anima: Gate of Memories work is that despite the individual failings of nearly every part of the game, the finished package is coherent. I loved being transported into this mellowed out, warped yet familiar world – the designers are not just clear fans of the source material, but they’ve mustered a good understanding of why their inspirations were so effective. Being able to unravel the mystery of the tower and Anima Project’s dense fantasy world is fascinating. Had this game been released in 2004, there would be a dedicated online community clamouring for a sequel, or at least a remastering. If you’re playing this game in 2018, its verisimilitude is so strong that you almost feel like you’re playing a sister game to Chaos Legion, or Genji: Dawn of the Samurai. It’s an old game which is worth a look, even if it’s not going to live up to the lofty expectations of a modern Action RPG.