Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between

VERY mixed bag. As long as you want to treat it as a relaxing, kind of contemplative game, it's good enough. On one hand, what it attempts to do thematically by touching on subjects such as death, loss, societal shortcomings etc is cool. The subjects it gets into are interesting, and it does offer you lots of subjects to look up if you are so inclined. The concept of just talking with some characters on different journeys and experiences was intriguing, in the sense that I think the game attempts to help you, the player, process and think about all these subjects on the spot, to consider whether what's being said and perhaps broaden your views on it. The gameplay is... sort of weird? The train level and the in between stop are really tedious to play compared to the others, due to the movement control being clicking, while all others have WASD movement... That being said, I enjoyed the other three levels as far as exploration went, I can see myself playing them to unwind and not think about my day while listening to music or an audiobook. Speaking of music, this game has a great soundtrack if you want to relax. Art direction was cool too. Now as far as negatives go, truly for a game so dependent on its dialogue you'd think the writing would have been better. The themes are there and they're great, but the way everything is being discussed feels very unnatural at times, and takes away from the immersion. This is somewhat character dependent; I find the writer person to be the worst culprit, while I think death and the artist have some relatively better written things to say. It's not super bad or anything, just lackluster at many points. And, again, the control system is somewhat messy. Each minigame has you relearn the movement system. It's odd and feels underthought by the game designers. I think it's worth a try if you're looking for something relaxing that feels cozy and friendly, though do beware the subjects discussed get rather heavy at times. Manage your expectations on the writing though.

While I think a lot of the added content detracts from the simplistic abstract charm of the first game, The Spaces Between still carries such a unique dreamlike quality that reminds me just how much I love unobstructed motion through the dark. Now, not just on a highway, with the lights of other cards blinking in and out in the distance, but also on trails, in an airport terminal, and on a train. The dialogue can feel a little, I don't know, "fake deep" sometimes, in the way that it doesn't feel wholly natural because really there is no natural way to ask random people you've just met these existential questions without sounding kind of like a stage play character talking and responding to themselves. I still think there's something here, it needs some work, but I can still see myself booting up the original Glitchhikers for a quick drive in the dark with my headphones on. Or maybe at this point I should just travel more, last time I took a nice night drive was mid-quarantine when I was depressed and needed the space.

As someone who is currently going through a lot of things mentally, this game fills a niche that most others could not. Sometimes, it takes an external perspective to re-frame preconceived notions about an individual's situation, and this game's writing seems designed to provide just that. In the right context, what might seem like schlocky, one-note dialogue between characters becomes a powerful vehicle to break out of negative feedback loops. While this is not a game that you would frequently come back to in order to get all the achievements or play for hours on end, it can be a powerful tool for pulling oneself out of a bad situation - or at least help to re-frame one's thinking.

This game is an emotional journey, very fitting for the setting. The topics are deep and complex, navigated in a beautiful manner of brief encounters with others. I really appreciate the fact the game has the ability to toggle content warnings, checks in on you as you play, and provides resources if you arent doing well. This game very much is worth exploring, though be prepared to be emotionally affected by deep complex topics like death and existence

when you play this game, you have to be in the mood to read, when you arent, you will find this game boring and horrible, but i do enjoy it, i first played it for like 10min, hated it, a bit later i started again, in the mood to read, and i indeed like it, and it did made me think more... even when its mostly about maps now TwT

emotionally impactful yes yex

i had one story. I could really feel it on an emotional level

made me cry. slow paced and contemplative

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soothing or stimulating or both