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Number of Ratings: 555
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2 people found the following review helpful:
A variety of genres rolled into a cohesive story. An influential IF game., February 3, 2016Photopia is often cited as the best interactive fiction of all time. It has won numerous awards, inspired a shift to story-centered Interactive Fiction, and so on.
It really is a great game. Despite all the hype, sitting down and playing through it is fun. The meta-puzzle of trying to understand what's going on keeps you going through different scenes. The different scenes give you the impression that you're playing a hard puzzle game while actually simplifying things without you knowing.
The colors are a good part of the game; if your interpreter doesn't support or if you are unable to distinguish between colors, you should use your imagination.
Is this really the best IF of all time? I honestly would have to say that nothing is really better than it. I don't replay it because it makes me sad. I like to stick to puzzle games or big crazy worlds. But this game has substance and meaning.
- wojnarabc, January 13, 2016
- KennaM (Southern California), January 8, 2016
- Oreolek (Kemerovo, Russia), January 8, 2016
3 of
3 people found the following review helpful:
Short, unique, and relatively on-rails, December 18, 2015Likes:
-Not frustrating. The lack of challenging puzzles and presence of an adequate parser and adequate descriptions made it so I didn't encounter any frustrating moments.
-Non-linear storytelling makes things a bit more interesting than if this story were told in a linear fashion as you learn more about the story and piece it together yourself. This approach is not without its problems, though (see dislikes).
-Short. Even if you don't find this to be the most amazing thing ever, it's so short that you probably won't really feel worse off for having played it.
-Use of images and color. It's not particularly flashy, but it's a nice break from typically monochrome IF.
Dislikes:
-Not particularly exciting or touching. The story is quite short, so I don't really have time to develop an attachment to the characters. I don't blame the game for a lack of characterization, I just feel like I need more time with the characters in order to care more about them. Maybe it's my fault for not letting myself get drawn in, but I suspect the non-linear nature of the story also made it a little harder to get drawn in to caring about it. I sure did care about that wolf, though (I have that not uncommon habit of caring more about animals than actual people).
-Not particularly challenging. There aren't really puzzles in this game. I like the sense of accomplishment I get from solving puzzles, so in that regard this game isn't as fun as other games that do have puzzles. I don't think puzzles really fit with the theme of the game, but I can't help myself having a desire to overcome challenges.
-On rails. I didn't get a sense that the presence of a parser and text-based interaction really enhanced the story.
Conclusion
Overall, I recommend giving this game a play due to how short it is. Other than that, I don't think it's as exciting or remarkable an experience as I've gotten from other games. I've come to expect a high level of stimulation and engagement from playing too many video games, though.
- Aryore, December 13, 2015
- Ashen_, December 12, 2015
- tearingdownthewall, December 3, 2015
- deskoft, December 1, 2015
- paulmr, November 11, 2015
- bignose (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), November 7, 2015
- Catalina, November 4, 2015
- KingofSushi, October 12, 2015
- nonnamethankyou, September 29, 2015
- brian.j.sanders, September 29, 2015
- Harry Coburn (Atlanta, GA), August 14, 2015
- Sophie Grimaud (France), August 2, 2015
- leanbh, July 30, 2015
- Emdistal (Muncie, Indiana), July 30, 2015
- aom, July 20, 2015
- Julia Myer (USA), July 11, 2015
1 of
4 people found the following review helpful:
Photopia review, July 5, 2015An amazing and touching game. Once you realize what all of the seemingly disconnected events have in common with one another, it will be quite the shock. Most of the events are told in different perspectives, all tying together into one specific event, and you will recognize said event when it reveals itself. 5/5, would play again.
- thebloopatroopa, May 28, 2015
- Jens Leugengroot (Germany), May 25, 2015
- wildj79 (Dallas, TX), May 18, 2015
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