Paws of Coal

I'm quite impressed and given this is basically a prelude to a bigger game, it makes me quite excited for the full product! If you like the sound of this, you probably will.

Frustrating controls which do not work. I was able to use my keyboard to walk briefly, and then that stopped working. Clicking with my mouse will only move me when my journal is open, except for occasions where I right click and then immediately move to interact with either the books or the Doctor. I can't get to the door to get out of the Doctor's office, as I either walk past it to read the books on the desk, or walk the other way and begin another exchange with the Doctor. Not worth my frustration - will request a refund.

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.

I loved this game and want more. I really liked the main character and the mechanics and choices. I read online that the developers have another game they're working on with the same character and mechanics, but that it has been put on hold while they work on other things. If, by some chance, they read reviews, I hope they'd consider breaking down the larger game into short chapters like paws of coal, so that each is a smaller project and we could have more Charles adventures sooner. I would buy each one.

Adorable art and cute characters. Relaxing music in the background and mysteries to solve! Worthwhile but short. Looklng for more from the dev,

[i]More reviews like this one [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45764125/]here![/url][/i] At the time of writing I've played many detective games, and this is far and away the best one. The writing was excellent, the hand-drawn, old-school animation gave it an incredible feel, and it require the most actual thinking and deduction of any game I've played so far. It's honestly brilliant and I completely recommend it. In Paws, you play as Charles, a porcupine, who's doing research in a coal mine when the rabbits -- and only the rabbits -- who work there start developing a serious illness. It slowly becomes clear that the animals in the kingdom are subject to a harsh caste system and the powers that be don't really care about the well-being of the rabbits, who strike in response. The local doctor asks you, as a scientist, to try to figure out what's causing the illness, hoping that because you're something of an outsider to the entire situation you can see if with a fresh eye and get people to talk to you. Along the way you can decide which factions to support and how, and the game explores the complexities of collective action, broaching questions like internalized bigotry and personal responsibility in a collective. It's really brilliantly written and thought-provoking. [spoiler]The sequence where Rowan is willing to sacrifice his job for the greater good of the workers but Ingo won't let him was one I found really powerful -- I went through a unionization at my own job recently and very much empathized with Rowan's frustration at people claiming to support collective action but not seeing that enacting it sometimes requires personal sacrifice. One of the challenges I saw organizers face in real time was definitely people liking a union in theory because of the potential benefits but struggling with the reality of the praxis of getting those benefits, the same thing Ingo enacts. And I really loved the no-win situation it puts Charles in. Do you refuse to rat out Rowan to the boss, preserving the position of the leader, or do you betray him, securing the outcome that they strikers want? It's a question with no satisfying answer or result, the best kind of question. [/spoiler] The gameplay here was also really unique and effective. The first thing the game does that sets it apart is organizing Charles' notebook really, really well. Being able to minimize and filter by evidence type meant none of the scrolling forever like in Case of Distrust. But the unique thing was the way you put it together -- you could select evidence from the right side of your notebook, and it would allow you to make if-then statements on the left side. For a completely made-up example, say you have these pieces of evidence: [i]All the sick miners wore blue hats. Jim wore a blue hat. Jim did not get sick.[/i] Selecting those three and putting them on the left side would then generate a conclusion, something like, "Because Jim wore a blue hat and didn't get sick, the blue hats can't be the cause of the illness." But if you didn't take all the evidence into account, you could also generate an incorrect conclusion. If you only selected, "All the sick miners wore blue hats.", for example, you might generate, "Because all the sick miners wore blue hats, the hats must be the cause."  This meant that, unlike any other of these games I've played, solving the mystery *actually relied on my ability to make sound deductions.* I had to notice details and be able to connect them together in meaningful ways that held up to logical scrutiny. And let me tell you, the first time I noticed something that truly let me fully eliminate one of the suspected causes was so ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ exciting. I loved it. It must have taken forever to write, but it was brilliant, easily the best and most satisfying investigative game I've ever played. I genuinely felt like I, personally, was solving the mystery. This game is apparently a side story of a larger game that's been in development for a while, to be titled Trip the Ark Fantastic. There's a demo on their itch.io page, though it looks like they've been prioritizing other projects lately. Fingers crossed Trip eventually makes it to release -- I so badly want more of this world, this writing, this gameplay. [strike]Wild that billionaires could do things like fund the arts and animal shelters and ♥♥♥♥ but they instead just want to murder people. Do you know how much art I would buy if I had money. All games would get full releases. Also I'd have 25 dogs.[/strike]

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.

its peak good plot, dialog, prose, art, pacing. meh ui and engine. the only real complaint i have is the scope of the game, but given that its very reasonably priced, its not really an issue.

Cute game, there is few small things it couldve done better (mainly the soundtrack), but nothing major