Bookend

Harika...

A cute game with a nice idea, but it’s a bit rough around the edges, and the ending seems to be bugged. It’s also not clear why control is taken away from the player in some sections. Perhaps the VR version is more satisfying to play.

[h1]Overview:[/h1] '[i]Bookend[/i]' is a very linear 2.5D point and click puzzle game where you play as "Abigail", a small witch set out on a treacherous journey to save the world from utter destruction from an incoming meteor with a twist ending. The game itself takes place in a pop-up book, each different map represented by a turn of a page. The concept itself is very unique and isn't something I recall seeing before. The story if I remember goes like this. You play as Abigail, a witch that ends up being a target of a nearby village as they believe the source of the falling meteors to be witch magic and ultimately caused by her. However, the entire situation is a huge misunderstanding as Abigail is actually trying to [i]save[/i] the world from being destroyed by the meteor and is in fact trying to help the villagers. The story itself is pretty much something you'd see in a kid's book but has a funny little twist at the end which I won't spoil for people who want to experience it for themselves. There's also a narrator that reads out the story as you play the game so there's a nice little touch of storytelling as well complimenting the whole concept of a pop-up book being a game. There's also light elements of puzzling and there actually [i]is[/i] a way to die. It's not just an interactive novel you're playing, you can actually lose in this game which I found surprising. It's not a bad little game although there are a few quality of life things that could be improved. [h1]Gameplay:[/h1] Like every pop-up book ever, '[i]Bookend[/i]' stays true to that format by implementing little interactive tabs that the player must pull to either reveal parts of the story or reveal something that Abigail will need in her quest to save the world. Whether it's an item she must take with her or a box of text that progresses the story, the player must explore around the book to find things that might be helpful. Some parts also involve moving the camera to a certain angle to expose a hidden object vital to the progression of the story. The game takes plenty of measures to make these pop-up tabs to do many different things but at the same time maintains a very linear and straightforward story even though there are some elements of backtracking. It's a nice little game that even children can play and understand. [h1]Controls:[/h1] Pretty easy to get down considering it's a point and click game. Abigail can only be moved to sparkly areas, pop-up places or stars so movement is very restricted and may be why the game is so linear. Some things that are a bit wonky (at least for me) were the items that you can pick up and move with the mouse and the camera movement. I personally used the mouse to move the camera but based on the perspective, I honestly think an option to invert the horizontal axis would've been nice. The items that you can pick up either barely move or spaz out around the book and table even if you just briefly move your mouse. As for settings, the only things you can adjust are the volume and zoom. Something funny that I discovered however was that during initial launch, there's actually an input tab in the configuration window that almost makes '[i]Bookend[/i]' look like a first person shooter. There's a key for jumping, keys for movement and even 3 fire modes. Now [i]that[/i] is hilarious. [h1]Graphics:[/h1] Adorable and made of paper. It's a book after all so I did expect everything to be 2D. Even the 3D items were created with paper. The entire game is colorful and the movement looks as if a kid was playing with the book itself. It's super cute and I love everything about the game's visuals. [h1]Audio:[/h1] This is kind of where the game kind of fell flat but not too badly. The sound effects are fine enough but not very good. The music is also mediocre at best and frequently cutoff other tracks during certain event triggers which kind of takes away the ambience of the game. The voice acting is also alright, not the best but also way better than many other humorous voice acting I've heard in other games. [h1]Conclusion/TL;DR:[/h1] '[i]Bookend[/i]' is a short and linear point a click puzzle game where you play as a witch trying to save the world while being hunted down by villagers. The game is extremely short clocking out at 10-15 minutes and the puzzles are easy enough for even kids to solve. The storytelling is average and pretty cute and honestly the game feels like something kids might enjoy more than adults but personally I admire the charm that '[i]Bookend[/i]' brings to the table. Literally, the book is on a table.