Next of Kin

I was looking for obscure recent indie games and felt like giving this a go. I want to like it, I think there are very good elements to it. I found the characters interesting and the writing portrayed emotions very well. And after the brief intro, I do like how it dumps you into a state of confusion with all the surroundings feeling surreal and nothing making sense, it's very smart to do for a short game like this. The sprites and environment are colorful. What I feel really mixed on is the story and it's structure. I'll avoid spoilers in this paragraph and then give thoughts with spoilers below. I will give props for even attempting to cover the topics the game talks about, it's a shame larger games almost never do that. But it kind of detracts from what you would expect the game to be about just from the title and description alone. And despite being short, it jumps from one chunk of the story to another pretty suddenly with an odd flow. The ending was fine, just not what I was hoping for. Thoughts on story with spoilers: [spoiler] When I saw a big theme of the story was miscarriage, I got really curious because I've never actually played a game that touches on the topic. It's not even discussed by much media at all. It's not one that I can relate to (can't give birth and never plan to have kids) but I'm aware that it can be a very traumatic experience, one that warrants a lot of grieving. So when the story then flipped and became all about Thomas struggling with psychosis, I felt disappointed. It felt like Martha's story was cast aside. On the other hand, and this is part of why I feel mixed, I do love how they portrayed a schizophrenic character as someone that is caring and kind and not just a crazed murderer who needs to be locked up. It's a common myth that people with schizophrenia are all violent and it creates awful stigma. Someone in psychosis is more of a danger for themselves rather than other people, and this story acknowledges that very directly. I can really appreciate that. I just wish that it didn't derail Martha's story in order to do so. It felt like the game was just trying to fit too much into the short playtime but clearly there is passion and good writing. [/spoiler] Also, and I guess I failed to read this in the description before buying, AI generated content, just...no. Just please no, artists were already struggling to get by before AI and now its only made things worse for them along with the enormous power waste AI requires. It's only the cover art and not anything in the game itself, but still, commission an artist instead please.

Great atmosphere and an awesome little adventure. 9/10 - PlayZine.net

A really well made, great written and beautiful game! Takes around 2 hours to finish first playthrough. I'm also a sucker for psychological thriller so this just hit perfect!

Dont miss out!!

Great story, a somber and melancholy vibe/atmosphere, and fantastic music. My only complaint is that I wish there was more! Definitely recommend.

5/5