Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between

This game is like being slightly drunk at a college dorm party. The ambient is nice, there is a neon-DIY-decoration in the room and some sombre 80s synth music in the background, yet, you’re stuck with this second semester philosophy student talking about how everything is actually affected by entropy, that the light that reaches your eyes while stargazing is actually from stars that are long dead and did you ever think about how fish actually [i]fly [/i] in the water, man? In other words, it's pretentious, slightly annoying and not nearly as profound as it thinks it is.

Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between is a one-note philosophical conversation game. While the visuals and general atmosphere are enjoyable, the characters are cardboard cut-outs. Each character is one dimensional and overtly moralizing over an agenda, often on topics directly related to contemporary culture. Regardless of my own personal sympathies to any one character's agenda, the dialogue choices feel impactless. The dialogue does occasionally stumble into an interesting idea to consider. The most unfortunate design choice was to put almost all journey movement on rails. The inability to explore outside of a specific pre-defined path was disappointing and detrimental to the game. It limits interactivity in a game already thin on interaction, and reduces focus from one of the game's strengths, its environment and visuals. I would not recommend Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between, though there is value here and can see myself going back to it on occasion.

This is an interesting one, while I did enjoy it and I do think it's worth playing, I think it's also very mixed bag, and in a very earnest attempt to be as accessible as possible, it almost undercuts itself. The point of the game is to have interesting, somewhat profound conversations with strangers, from a variety of worlds on a variety of topics and a variety of viewpoints. It wants to lead you to introspection, and while it's not necessarily bad at that, it ends up being a bit flat if you happen to already be an introspective person who has given a lot of thought to the conversations at hand. The concepts breached are generally surface level, meant to be more of a jumping off point or an idea sparker than an in-depth conversation- But the thing is, the best, most interesting conversations in the game don't follow that pattern. Some of the best conversations actually come from the handful of characters that you need to unlock in a specific order, and so you can experience their lives and worldviews over time. There's an evolution and a process to follow that makes it very engaging, and getting to watch a philosophy change slowly over time makes the conversations feel as if they have some of the depth they're striving to achieve. This is the same reason I think the Train ends up being the most interesting and effective of all the liminal scenarios, as instead of having one singular conversation, you get to have three of them broken up over time, creating a small character arc and the feeling of evolution, even if the conversations don't actually change much from experience to experience. In contrast, many of the one-off conversations end up being a bit repetitive, having to cover the same ground multiple times since it can't trust that you did or will experience their conversations in another area. They inherently can't go as deep as they want, because they can't establish a foundation. Which brings me to something that isn't really a flaw, and not even something I'm necessarily against, but I have to question the use of- In the game, you have the option to bar certain topics from showing up. In doing so, this removes or alters entire characters and conversations from the game. And while I'm all for protecting your peace, I have to ask- Why would you play a game about deep conversations and introspection, only to flinch from the darkness that invites? You might as well not play the game at all- not only would you be blocking yourself from the most interesting routes, you are probably not in the right headspace to engage with this game at its level to being with. Maybe it's for controlling when and where you encounter these conversations- it's not as if the game bars you from turning it off again, restoring the characters and conversations at any point in time, but it seems an odd function to have. For best play experience, I would honestly recommend simply not playing the game until you are in a space to have some potentially upsetting conversations that touch on the topics of death, grief, and nihilism. Sometimes, the best curation is done within yourself, not the game. I've said a lot of negative here, but I want to be clear, I did like this game! I think the concept is really strong, and I actually enjoy the process of serenely driving down the highway, or walking through the park, or flying about the terminal. I enjoy the character designs a lot and expanding the collection of drinks at the rest stop. As much as I found some of the conversation topics to be bland or repetitive, there were several I found genuinely interesting, and certain characters I grew very fond of, and was excited to find in other locations. The aliens, the digital dragon, the prophetic bird, the faceless woman and the student of structures were especial highlights to me, and I always looked forward to finding them wandering about. In the ways it's bad, it's fine. In the ways it's good, it's great. If you like art games, or walking sims, or just want something kind of short and relaxing, I do recommend it. I just would go in knowing that it's more of a series of thematic concepts being pitched to you rather than an in-depth study of any singular one. If you want to go deeper, you'll have to do it yourself in the real world. And maybe that's the point.

可以坐火车

I really wanted to like it but I don't think I did. Exploring the environments the first and second time are cool, after that its really boring. The writing doesn't really challenge you to think about anything or personally engaged with me.

I tried to like this, but it felt like what a teenager would think was profound.

[h3]"The real function of art is to change mental patterns, making new thought possible." - Jean Debuffet[/h3] In of itself the game is art, which is hard to quantify in one's mind when you're wanting to know whether to play it. However, if you give this game the time and attention it deserves, and yes, that means eliminating all distractions for at least an hour, you may just find yourself in a magical, otherworldly experience that gives you the sort of vibes you won't find in many other places. [hr][/hr] [h3]Important:[/h3] One thing to note, however, is that Glitchhikers doesn't necessarily conform to the traditional ideals of a video-game. What I mean is: navigation is limited, your dialogue choices don't have any immediate impact and there isn't a whole lot to interact with. Despite these points, if you think of it as somewhat of an interactive movie, or something akin to a reflective journey - rather than a game in the conventional sense - you’ll find meaning in its quiet moments. Let's take the train segment for example; your dialogue choices don't drastically change the course of events, [b]but that's not the point[/b], because after you've had your conversation you get to sit alone in a quiet carriage to dwell on the ideas you just explored. It's the practise of giving purpose to these topics and intentionally engaging with them through thought that brings this game to life. If you play it as any other video-game, merely attempting to tick the boxes or complete the objectives (though there are none), then you are doing yourself a disservice, as you're not playing the game with the spirit it was created for. [hr][/hr] I can say with certainty that this game is one of my favourites of all time, and though I can understand some of the other reviews that refer to this game as talking to their "16 year-old self", or to a "Philosophy 101 student", I don't believe that such judgements are entirely fair. The topics explored in this game - [spoiler]accessibility, the nature of art, personal growth, love and friendship, privacy, the existential weight (or lightness) of life [/spoiler] and more - are deeply real and worth reflecting on at any stage of life; dismissing these themes as juvenile or overly simple assumes that these questions should only be asked once, rather than revisited and reinterpreted as we grow. I truly believe that if you can open your mind before you engage in this experience, and offer yourself to the in-game conversations in an intentional manner, you will come out of it a more thoughtful person in the very least. Be ready to put down that damn phone, challenge your presuppositions, and sink into the depths of this game. [hr][/hr] My mind is bursting with ideas and thoughts relating to everything covered in the game, and I can't quite seem to form a coherent layout for this. As such, I will simply end with: [b]Experience it for yourself.[/b]

I had high hopes for this game, I wanted to like it. It was just too boring for me.

feels like therapy but less fun

Chill out and drive. An alternate world just enough not like this one to give you freedom to ask some big questions of yourself, while just enough like ours to make your answers useful in this one too.