I Want to Fly is a story about anxiety, friendship, and achieving your dreams no matter what. Sounds nice, right? I wish I could say that was the case. However, it also has a second message that's horrible and overall toxic. Of course, I'll not leave you with that—I never do—so, dear reader, let me explain my thoughts and experiences playing this.
First things first, I hated the main character.
In the beginning, she's fine—a shy girl with lots of social anxiety—very relatable to myself. So you may ask yourself, why the hate? Well, it might boil down to that we're too similar or that her approach to another person who has experienced life differently to her is “wrong” in her eyes and she needs to “fix them” because she believes it's not right. And that is so wrong on so many levels.
On one hand, now we know that she's very flawed. She's critical, narrow-minded, and seems to have a saviour complex.
On the other hand, that's not the character I got from before this incident happened. Previously she was awkward, a bit quirky, and hard-working.
So yeah, I became both confused and very angry after this whole fix-it thing. Mostly because I am this other character. Growing up, I never had a dream, achievement, or goal. I live in the here and now. And this game is now telling me that I'm wrong and needs to be shown to be right?
One, I'm highly offended.
Two, once again, it's overall a horrible message.
Second, this has to do with the text.
You can't apply what is considered social media, or texting writing to prose. It won't look good. Apply it however you want when the characters are texting to each other. That's perfectly fine! But when you apply it to description and dialogue, it looks sloppy. This of course is in reference to how some words are written and the overuse of question marks and exclamation points.
Every time I see two or four exclamation points, I die a little inside. I know, that's mostly down to personal preference. But the more you use, the less you allow your words to speak for themselves. And by placing more exclamation points it does not automatically boost a word or sentence.
This is the same for question marks. When I read a word or sentence that has more than one question mark, I'm not getting the emphasis of those things. Instead, it becomes painful or just annoying to read.
Third, this is also text-based.
The difference between American English and British English.
Yes, I know it sounds ludicrous. And this point is mainly about my personal issue with this. So by all means, skip this one. But if you're still interested to hear what I have to say, then let me explain. I have a big issue when these two are mixed. Why?
Well, because it's inconsistent and when I can see that, it takes me out of the story instantly. Because all that's on my mind now is [i] it's not right [/i] over and over. Like I said, this is a very me problem. But, I'm going to include it.
Fourth, let's go into some of the storytelling.
Overall, it's not bad. The pacing is pretty nice, there's a good amount of moments where we get to know different characters little by little, and nothing feels hurried. Except for when we got closer to the end. All of a sudden, things are mailed in and shoehorned everywhere. If we ignore that though—and the overall writing in general—then the storytelling is pretty good.
However, there were some parts that didn't need to be mentioned. For example, [spoiler] early on we get to know that Evie and Calvin are the same age and became friends because both were bullied in school. [/spoiler] This is something that made me very scared of what might come later. And as I predicted, another character basically brought up what we already knew.
This is redundant.
And unfortunately, as I kept playing this whole redundancy business became a regular thing. If it didn't have these parts and wasn't rushed for the rest of it, then I would consider the storytelling not just good but great.
Fifth, the sense of mystery is nailed.
As you progress through the story, you'll get to know some things about our main character—Evie. This part is done well. There's a mention of something but not exactly what. And the way it's done feels natural. It is so hard to resist the urge to explain why someone or something is a certain way until it's time for the reveal. That's very nicely done.
Sixth, credit is where credit's due, I do like every other character.
They're interesting and feel three-dimensional. Personally, I find them much more compelling than Evie. Everyone's personality just comes across so well. They feel more real than some that I've come across in other visual novels. I also really enjoyed the art style that portrayed them.
Seventh, there are no choices despite having them.
Yes, you read that right. This game gives you choices that has no effect whatsoever. In fact, if you choose the wrong option, you're sent back to the main menu. That's it. I honestly can't understand the reasoning behind giving the player the illusion of choice. All it does is get in the way. It doesn't make me feel fulfilled for choosing the [i] right [/i] option at all.
This would've done lots better if it didn't have this mechanic. Or better yet, have the other option be fun. Example: Evie feels the crushing weight and wants to give up, but has someone who encourages her to continue. That way, you're still giving the illusion of choice, doesn't change the story whatsoever, but it did at least something instead of nothing.
Eighth, one of the characters were made to only fit the plot despite a clear show that she doesn't. Here I'm talking about the love interest. At first, I really liked her and could relate to her person. However, it seemed that most of her character was ignored which didn't make much sense. She started out as an apathetic, logical thinker. And yet, she continues to do things that goes against these parts. It's not very realistic nor does it seem natural for her to change so suddenly for the sake of the plot or because she's affected by Evie.
I also realised two other things.
One, their “friendship” is built on nothing. They have absolutely zero in common, no chemistry whatsoever, and the whole saviour complex thing does not help at all with this.
Two, if you removed her from the story, the plot wouldn't be any different. She's literally only there for the “romance” aspect. Which would have been fine if she contributed as a character. As it stands, this is not the case. [spoiler] The only time she does something is near the end when she tells Evie to not give up. But that was so odd that it didn't even flow well. [/spoiler]
Ninth, the romance is unnecessary.
Now, usually I'm an advocate for this as I absolutely love the genre. However, in this visual novel it felt too shoehorned in. Near the end, it's forced through awkward and “cute” conversations that don't read well to me based on what I've said in my first and eighth point. Needless to say, it could have been done better if you gave the characters more time to interact.
Tenth, never tell, only show.
This is something that every writer struggles with. But it's crucial for good storytelling. If you keep telling the readers about things that's happened instead of showing—either through dialogue or description—then your story becomes less interesting. It's even duller when you've already told us and then proceeds to show us through dialogue anyway.
[i] Why? [/i]
Just, why?
I can't tell you how many times this happened when it could've been shown through dialogue and made it ten times more interesting. That's all I really have to say about that.
Honestly, I really tried to like I Want to Fly.
I mean, I finished it. So clearly it has something to offer, or I'm just a masochist. Still debating on those two. Anyway, don't let me and my review deter you. Give it a shot.
