Island Off Outer Darkness

Ramshackle Fragmented-then-Collected Knowingsfromotherplaces. Island Off Outer Darkness is very clearly inspired by the touch of his slimy embrace in ways that I'm not sure come across to those who do not know it. While by no means a perfect game, Island Off Outer Darkness shows a real vunerability that it would be disrespectful to not admire it. For those who aren't interested in speculating on if they'll resonate with the themes of the game that touch on community, the character writing and original sound track spar with the best of them. Worth picking up and vibing with for fans of Disco, and other character driven narrative experiences.

Really charming, I was fully engrossed in the atmosphere and world the whole way through. There's a lot I could talk about with this game, well worth experiencing for yourself, but I'll just point out a couple spoiler-free things: 1. I love the look of this game, deceptively stylish but also very readable. Sparse environments without much detail are honestly so much easier to navigate than modern high-fidelity game worlds. Which is good, because you'll be spending a lot of time exploring this island with no map. The hidden upside is that you also become very attuned to even the smallest of differences in the environment, day to day. And the big changes hit so much better. 2. Speaking of big environmental changes, another thing I love about this game is its use of negative space, specifically, the time it takes to traverse in certain scenarios. Since E.Y.E. Divine Cybermancy back in the day, I have had a soft spot for games that utilize large empty spaces to communicate distance and difficulty for the player. There are some deliveries that are a pain in the *ss, and that's great! Or these magical moments near the end of the game that let you linger in the mood. IYKYK. 3. If Clavichord has no opps that means I am dead. In all seriousness, the characters are great. Games so rarely have characters who are so confidently wrong about the world they inhabit, depending on their perspective, There are a few characters I can recall off the top of my head saying absurd sh*t but meaning it 100% earnestly, which makes them so funny. Atmospheric, well-written, I'll remember it for a long time to come. Highly recommend!

I will take all of the this that you've got. The Morrowind dialogue system is great. The soundtrack is great. The Island feels like a place and its inhabitants feel like people. The world of the game has a mystery that I don't recognize from other media. Each sentence preceding this one excepting the first is itself reason enough for me to try a game. Again, I will take all of these that you can make.

Extremely remarkable for a first time developer; some of the best games writing I've encountered in the past few years, with a sharp attention to details both political and personal. It does have some jank and clunk, but it wears it on its sleeve. It makes you want to make games of your own.

A wonderful, special little place. It's a very tight game, it will twist and make beautiful shapes. I'm wracking my brain with how much I love it and how bare it is to me for having played it. It is a simple game and it is unforgettable.

A strange slow dreamy sort of game. I look forward to diving into it more.

charming little game that constantly manages to surprise you despite its small scope

Picked this up because it seemed interesting and turned put to have some of the best writing in a game ive ever played and had me invested the whole way through. Extremely well written and interesting characters while having a tone thats both mundane and surreal. Will probably be thinking about this one for a while. I also played the whole game on steam deck and had no issues. Occasionally had to use the touch screen for some things but the most part worked well with the controller.