[h1]Emily: Displaced is a choice based visual novel that allows you to see the effects of refugee camps, border crossings, and seeking asylum from a child’s eyes.[/h1] I bought the “Help: The Game bundle “ specifically for this game, as well as for Malkia, and Savana which I will also be reviewing. If you enjoyed playing This War of Mine, and/or you care about children’s charities, then this game is something you can enjoy for an hour, with no replay value. The whole bundle is worth about $5.00, so you can consider the other ten dollars a donation. Malkia would not launch on any computer I tried. I felt like I got my money’s worth with this game and Savana, as well as the donation to a worthy cause.
[b]Narrative:[/b]
The story is presented in simple on-screen text, with the ability to click through the story in the same fashion as similar choice based games. You progress through 3 chapters each play-through; but the story is built around a flowchart that will change based on your choices.
Within each chapter, your choices have only cosmetic effects on the story. But, at the end of the chapter you are only allowed access to a certain route on the flow chart based on those same decisions. So, yeah… those seemingly unimportant choices mattered. The earlier choices seemed simple, like ham or cheese choices. But, the later choices were things like, ‘Should I go and search for my Father, or remain here where I’m safe?”
I finished the 1st play-through in 30 minutes, even with time to reflect as I read. Twenty minutes would probably be average time. After that, you are able to choose restart points from the flow-chart to attempt opening other directions of the story, without going all the way back to start every time. This is a great feature. All in all, it took me an hour to unlock all routes, because getting “The Border” ending seemed a bit random to me. But, it was the best ending by far, so totally worth the hour I spent.
[b]Graphics:[/b]
The graphics are simple 2dimensional drawings. Screenshotting doesn’t work, so you must copy/paste if you want to save image files. It looks good, does the job, nothing spectacular or emotional here. Moving right along.
[b]Help: The Game[/b]
The title “Help: The Game” is simply a sub-browser for launching each of the 12 games. You can simply launch them from within Steam, but the sub-browser gives a little more overview. Charities raise money for diverse causes every day and you are presented with many requests, even here where you are gaming. Ultimately, you have to ask yourself if, one, this charity is a cause you’d like to help, and 2, if what you are getting in return is worth it to you. I feel it safe to say that most people want to help where they can, and it’s great that in this case War Child (and 11 game studios) have teamed up to give us something in return for our donation, while also raising our awareness of the problems children face in war-torn countries. But, keep in mind that the entire project was completed in only 6 days, so it’s a simple set of quickly developed, donated-time games.
[h1] Emily’s story is emotionally charged, and something you will be glad you experienced. I recommend this visual novel for those interested in the experiences of children in war.
