Paws of Coal

Paws of Coal is different to what i had expected. From the description i thought it was gonna be a kind of detective game, where you walk around questioning people, analysing stuff and then putting the clues together. It kinda is that but very very shallow. The big question of what or who caused the outbreak was very on the nose and i only kept investigating the issue because i couldn't believe it would be this easy. The game is also a bit tricks to navigate, it took me a while to get the hang of stairs or the journal riddle-solving mechanic (as there is no tutorial). I could have completed the game in about an hour without these little obsticles (and knowing what you are supposed to do to end a run). Still a somethat solid game but disappointing if you expect something that you actually have to use your brain for.

The controls are clunky and somewhat buggy, but serviceable. Got soft-locked by choosing particular dialog options that should've been mutually exclusive - after having interacted with everything, I just don't have enough info in my journal to come to a logical conclusion.

Small interesting game, though the journal can be confusing.

This is a very cute game that has some clever and even funny writing. It touches on things not often seen in computer games: class struggle and scientific method. It does succesfully bring a taste of both. Since the main character needs to process similar information multiple times to deduct the truth, his animal interlocutors are varied and interesting. Narrative choices are strong, subtle and eye-opening. Class struggle is illustrated by workers strike, and shown not to be a clear-cut situation. The game is not perfect and with a bigger budget could have been presented better. As is, most of the game is presented thru narrative interface. There are some bugs, but nothing game breaking. It is a self contained prequel of a possible bigger game, with more cuteness, class consciousness and science! Definite recommendation to buy, play and with that support alternative, more mature vision for games.

Paws of Coal, though short, is quite the fun detective game. There is really only a few things to solve and a lot of people to talk to. The systems and controls in the game can be a bit confusing to figure out and with it being so short, by the end of the game I didn't feel like I had enough time to sit with it and learn how it was supposed to work. But the writing is where this game shines! Everyone feels unique and has their own charm, fitted perfectly for their individual species. There is a lot of information that is thrown at you though your dialogs and when you get around to making the big deduction at the end it felt really overwhelming with little conclusive evidence for some of the suspected causes and I was second guessing my choices for a long time. I think the main problem I was facing is that I had remembered some things people had said to me in conversation but that did not show up in my list of clues and this is where I got confused when making my final deduction. In the end I did choose the right cause and made the correct cure for the illness but but because of my uncertainty it did not feel as satisfying as you would usually expect from these kinds of games. Would definitely recommend when it is on sale if you just want some light reading and a logic puzzle to solve for an evening.

For the price it's a pretty good deduction game with a lovely aesthetic, but it does lead you too much to the right conclusion. Towards the end I mentally thought I had two options, one of which I was almost certain of, but the other was an option, but the game just plain said "nah, that's the solution" so not a fantastic deduction game, but a good time and certainly for the price.

Really enjoyable investigative game with an interesting storyline revolving around work in a coal mine and how it effects everyone.