Karaski: What Goes Up...

Fun detective type of game, you wake up on a blimp with no memory and try to figure out who tried to sabotage it. There are multiple suspects so you have to figure out motives of each and eventually accuse someone. The game has plenty of approaches and there are different endings dependent on how you play and who you accuse at the end. It has plenty of play styles from smooth talker to stealth, there are different decks on the blimp and each one has different mechanics, in some you have to stealth in others you are free to move but cannot break any trespassing rules, etc. OST is a banger and it's an overall good game with plenty of replay value.

This game is one of those little gems you stumble upon from time to time. I hadn't heard about the game until I found it in a bundle and bought the bundle on the strength of how interesting this game looked. I was not dissapointed. Yes a playthrough can take under an hour if you rush, but it's a game that needs more playthroughs to get the full essence of what was done. Basically there's a mystery to solve, but unlike other games, which may pretend that you are in control, this game really does leave full agency up to you. You select which tools you want, you steer the conversations as you want and the conclusion you reach will be up to you. I would compare the style of the game to Consortium, another game I enjoyed. It's a style I'd refer to as 'short, but wide'. The story itself may only be as long as a movie, but there are many ways to get through it. Is it a perfect game? No, not if you're expecting AAA production values, and some people may find the stealth a bit annoying (I didn't, and there are slippers you can find which help with that). But it is exactly what indie games and steam direct should be about. It's a fascinating little experiment in alternative story telling and game design and it's sad that games like this which show some creativity and originality get lost in amongst the spam of asset flips and cheap cash-ins. It must be a bit disheartening to see games that literally sell achievements and trading cards making money, whilst something you've laboured over gets ignored. An unfortunate by-product of a free market I guess, although still sad to see. But I wish the developer well, and hope they do make more games, as they've demonstrated good potential with what they did here. Maybe one day when they've hit the big time they'll come back and do a sequel to this. As a side note, after thinking the few broken achievements would never be fixed, the developer showed up and removed the ones that weren't working, so this game is absolutely beatable now for those who enjoy hunting achievements. Always nice to add a game you enjoyed onto the 'perfect' game list. So if you've been holding off on playing/buying for that reason, worry no more.

Who sabotaged the Airship!? That's what you need to find out in this mystery adventure game. This is a fun stealth detective game with a good story that changes depending on the choices you make, which keeps it interesting. The stage is set on a steampunk airship and you have to explore, investigate and talk to various passengers to uncover the truth and answer the question, who sabotaged the airship? The game is extremely flexible and your choices and conversations with the passengers can actually change the fundamentals of the story. Unlike other so called "choices matter" games. You can even suspect yourself! Maybe you sabotaged the airship... well? huh? Well, did ya, punk? So if you are into detective mystery stories this one is definitely for you. The Good: + Good mystery story + Choices matter, you can change the outcome + Multiple choices and endings + Great soundtracks and sounds + Useful tools you can use + Cool steampunk graphics The Bad: - Stealth part gets boring after a while - Minor bugs The game can be completed in about 3 hours, however due to the choices matter element, you can get multiply playtroughs out of this game. 15 minutes of gameplay so you get a good impression of the game: https://youtu.be/qDbMd9MK1zc

It's like Deus Ex mixed with Consortium, minus shooting, on a small scale. And on an airship. Basically it's a stealth game, where you try to solve a mystery. You go around the airship looking for clues, talk to people, uncover their secrets, sneak into guarded areas, drink alcohol and make some choices during the adventure. It has many flaws like glitches, completely broken achievements (what hurts me the most) and stealth sections (in which you spend most of the game) that at first are tense, but quickly get repetitive, boring and become just unnecessary duty. However, the story, setting and characters are interesting, game also allows some freedom in how you want to play. It's one of those situtations, where I'd give the game neutral rating if I only could. But because I love titles, where I can achieve a lot just by talking to NPC's and it reminds me a little of The Ship, my thumb goes up. And I'd also want to help the game get some attention, because as far as I can see very little people know about it.

Nice little indie game with a intriguing story. +Fun stealth +Good mystery +Nice history on the airship +Good gadgets and tools +/-Lots of conversations 8/10 based on sale price.

Karaski: What Goes Up... es un interesante ejercicio en el campo de la Player Agency, o paquenosentendamos, la capacidad del jugador de alterar la historia a través del diseño del juego o el gameplay. El “your choices matter”, vamos. Nos embarcamos en un dirigible, el primero en surcar los cielos, con la mala suerte de coincidir con un grupo de malas personas que han decidido sabotearlo bien saboteao. Entre los posibles sospechosos se encuentran un comandante con una pasión desmedida por su país y sólo su país, un doctor [strike]perteneciente a una secta[/strike] muy religioso, una ricachona que se dedica al negocio ferroviario, y al diseñador del dirigible en plan ermitaño. De nosotros depende recorrer toda la nave buscando pistas que nos permitan descubrir los intereses que cada uno de estos personajes tendría para querer que este viaje salga mal. El juego tiene un sistema de sigilo bastante básico. Mientras no estemos en la línea de visión directa de los vigilantes, no nos pillarán. Y si nos pillan, podemos sobornarles con dinero o alcohol. Si no tenemos ninguno de estos, nuestro nivel de sospecha aumentará, por lo que se nos quedarán mirando más fijamente cuando vayamos por las zonas comunes. Algunos personajes también reaccionarán de manera distinta a nosotros si somos unos rebeldes de la vida. Claramente tiene sus inspiraciones en Deus Ex, y el juego ofrece una cantidad de alternativas bastante jugosa (para ser un juego con un alcance tan limitado). Iremos desbloqueando, en el orden que queramos, herramientas que nos permitirán movernos más libremente: conductos de ventilación, puertas cerradas, mecanismos de engranajes… En general el mapeado, si bien es básico, está muy logrado en este aspecto. Da la impresión de que siempre hay una forma de llegar a nuestro objetivo, independientemente del enfoque utilizado. De hecho, hay un logro por pasarse el juego sin utilizar ni una sola de estas herramientas. Otro aspecto importante son los diálogos. Como es lo habitual, conviene tener a todos estos personajes de nuestro lado. Es fácil cerrar por completo toda opción de diálogo con un personaje si no le hacemos la pelota correctamente. Por ejemplo, el comandante del barco se negará a hablarnos en detalle si mencionamos que somos de la mancomunidad de turno. También tenemos la opción de emborrachar a los personajes para que se vayan un poco más de la lengua. Es un juego bastante corto (4 horas si lo jugamos sin ninguna prisa) y con un componente de rejugabilidad bastante mayor de lo esperado. Personalmente recomiendo echarle un ojo. Es una experiencia relajada. Eso sí, de oferta o bundle. El slogan del juego vendría a ser “La historia tiene agujeros. De ti depende llenarlos como te parezca”. Al final, no hay manera correcta o incorrecta de jugar a Karaski. No hay forma de perder, y la historia es la que tú mismo te montes. Puedes recopilar todas las pistas del juego y en el juicio final decir “¡LOL YO ERA EL SABOTEADOR!”, y tirarte con el paracaídas mientras el dirigible se va al carajo. Es una opción. ¿Y no es eso algo maravilloso?

Starts off with potential but is ruined two minutes in with an absurd and impossible mandatory stealth section. Avoid.

A quite a fun little who-done-it on a steam ship, you'll sneak, you'll talk and you will try to solve a murder