Neoproxima

一部杰出的法国科幻故事，值得被更多人了解。 优异的文笔勾勒出了一个若即若离的世界，一场熟悉冷战中的一个陌生星球，偕同两位性格鲜明的伙伴，去探访数个奇异的遗址以期了解猝然消失的外星文明并终止噩梦般的时间循环。故事高度原创且构思缜密，叙事推进自然，结尾出人意料。凝练的文字与复古未来主义的审美呈现完美结合，足以使人沉浸于这个过去中的未来。此外，故事亦因其法国视角而独一无二，置身于二超级大国夹缝中却又欲与之比肩，这个纷乱却不失美丽的国度竟真的立于人类命运的前沿。 机制上受启发于优秀的前驱如Outer Wilds和Citizen Sleeper，时间循环机制和非线性叙事赋予人充足的自由去探索新比邻星的青色草原，靛蓝丛林以及散布其间的残破巨筑。极具原创性的同伴切换机制使得法拉每次循环中交替与邓肯或陈为伴，他们二人的故事又与核心叙事紧密交织。

Game is set in the original timeline, in which mankind has made great technological progress thanks to 6 UFO crafts that crashed on Earth in the 1960s. Countries where they crashed, became part of a new space race and the “Cold War” - towards an alien planet called Neoproxima and the ruins found on its surface. ✅[list] [*] Time-loop mechanics with some consequences transcending from loop to loop. [*] Great UI design. [*] Aesthetics set in a 1970's vision of the future. [*] Good sound design (various additional sounds and background noises) and soundtrack. [*] Art style is comic (for NPCs and locations) mixed with low poly (for travelling on map). [*] Unique world setting. Some of differences are immense and indicate that alt-world is a rather grim reality. [*] Game touches the topics of [b]very[/b] advanced physics in relation to the nature of time. [*] World lore wasn’t forgotten and is available in-game. [/list] 😐 Visuals displayed on the loading screen are tiring to the eyes. ❌[list] [*] Car driving model. It’s hard to figure out (they mixed top view with perspective view and they didn’t quite get it right). [*] Short. [*] Some achievements are bugged. [/list]

Great game, liked art-style, story and overall atmosphere

I like to take the time to find, play, and review recent indie releases that have been overlooked every few games I play. I was in the mood for a point and click, so I set some filters and found Neoproxima. At 100% rating and just under 30 reviews, it fit the bill. Well, except that the point and click tag isn't really right... it's more of a visual novel with some minor gameplay elements tacked on. I haven't played either game, but I've seen several describe Neoproxima as Outer Wild's time loop with gameplay heavily influenced by Citizen Sleeper. Seems right from what I know. The overarching plot was very cool. The setting is an alternate 70s Cold War where alien technology was recovered in the 50s, leading to very early interplanetary travel. You play as explorers trying to solve the mysteries of the planet Neoproxima, which, of course, had an ancient and no longer present alien civilization. I don't want to say much more for risk of spoilers, but you get stuck in a timeloop and things get strange and interesting. These sorts of stories can fall flat without strong resolution, and Neoproxima luckily delivered a very satisfying ending. The characters were all well fleshed out and likeable as well. The style is great. The UI is composed of very neat retro-futuristic gadgets, giving you that much more immersion. The sound track is super chill and spacy, with mixes that that land somewhere between downtempo, low-fi electronic and dream pop. It's an absolute treat that I've been regularly listening to outside of the game -- easily one of my favorites of the year. The character art is well done and conveys a lot of personality. There were a couple of issues, though. The game was made by a French team and the translator didn't seem to be a native English speaker. The quality of the original writing always shines through, but there are some awkward word choices and typos that stood out. There was also an event that you were expected to come across early that I missed until later in the game. I couldn't progress on one of the paths I was exploring until I completed that event, even though I had found all of the information I missed elsewhere. I assumed I'd ran into a game breaking bug until I found a long play and saw what I missed early on. The text from that event assumed I hadn't seen some things I'd already seen, as well. It was frustrating, but that was luckily the only notable continuity type issue I ran into, and I had missed some obvious cues early on. Still, those issues were relatively minor, and the setting, art design, and narrative were all excellent. Neoproxima is a solid hidden gem and easily worth the 5-6ish hours if you're into time loop science fiction.

I strongly recommend this under an important caveat. Do not go in expecting a game like Outer wilds (or Elsinore to give a more text based time loop puzzler). The time loop is cool narratively for sure, but the puzzles are not that interesting. The game took 7 hours, and probably could have hit just as hard if not harder with a bit of trimming. However, I think the plot of this game is a phenomenally well written piece of science fiction. Perhaps on the level of "classic" sci-fi literature (I am no bookworm, but have read enough that I think I can somewhat say this). The world is strange and interesting in a unique way that has a really strong pay-off, and the time loop finally hooks in beautifully with a small mechanic having large impacts towards the end of the game. If you like story focused games, I think this is a really cool experience and worth the time investment. I find the quasi-RPG mechanics really funny. On the one hand, they are meaningless because of the time loop, so any roll with a 50-50 chance either means try again tomorrow or succeed. On the other hand I kind of like this because it reflects a real groundhog day style truth which is if stuck in a time loop you would eventually do anything that's possible. So, narratively again this is cool but gameplay wise I don't have much to say. I do wonder if this would have been better as a book, but there are a few details that I won't spoil that only work in a game which are done fairly well. Overall, if you like the idea of a cool sci-fi narrative adventure, you cannot do much better. If you want something to play like outer wilds, this is not it.

It's not about gameplay and making meaningful choices, it's about telling a good story. Story, characters and very unusual setting make this time loop story a very good time investment. Suprisingly, even the meh ending matters not that much - this story mimicks a game well enough to hide it under things that look like a game mechanics. Very good job, every visual novel should try to feel like Neoproxima.

Great little science fiction story. Interesting and original art style. This game does lots of things I haven't seen anywhere else, and it does them well. The story is originally French and the translation isn't perfect, but it's a good story with novel worldbuilding, and it meshes with the gameplay really well. The length is just right, IMO: not too short, not too long. Well worth the price. The game has a free demo. Try that, and if it grabs you at all, get the full version. Have fun controlling nanotechnology with your 10-pound computer from 1975, and try not to get eaten by the wildlife.

A good little game with a lot of heart. Recommended for fans of Citizen Sleeper.

Absolutely delightful aesthetics of retro-futurism. Has some puzzle mechanics but its not a 'hard' game by any means. The story is quite interesting and fun to think on. Little easter eggs of names and dates are fun to chew on. If I were to have any complaint, is that there isn't something to zip through dialogue when you misclick and accidentally go through one you've read before.

Really fun visual novel with time travel and exploration mechanics, sometimes the scripts stumble a bit when you do something unexpected, but the universe and characters are definitely worth it.