Pendula Swing - The Complete Journey

I have to give this a thumbs down review for now (I'm willing to revise it if things change.) This is a very interesting game with a very neat premise, but there's one seemingly common game-breaking bug that hasn't been fixed in over a year and doesn't seem to be on the devs' priority list. Unfortunately, as someone who's played 5 hours (a lot of exploration, I'm a completionist) into the game, being completely unable to proceed & potentially needing to restart the game, I can't bring myself to play anymore. There is an issue where keys disappear from your inventory on a regular basis, and as there are some main plot points in this game that are key-based, if you lose your key you're SOL. I want to like this game, but I have to play this game to like it, and right now I can't play it. I hope the devs are willing to work on the issue.

一句话简介：点击游戏，中年女性主角，西幻与工业革命的碰撞，丰富的种族描写，大量的故事，反转视角、隐喻现实给人带来无限思索。 我承认，当时买这个游戏主要是冲着1920s的美术风格，对游戏的故事线没做太大期待。等到我真正开玩的时候，本作的世界观和剧情给了我极大的惊喜。（还有好听的爵士乐！） 350年前，主角矮人布莱妮所在的勇者小队杀死了兽人首领，结束了潘多拉大陆上人类、矮人、精灵联盟与兽人、哥布林联盟之间的战争。布莱妮随后与同队的人类魔法师结婚，带着自己多年的冒险所得与妻子远渡重洋，在与世隔绝的小岛上过起了自耕自足的田园生活，并在100年前送别了深爱的妻子。寡居的岁月平静悠长，直到一只哥布林闯进了布莱妮家，偷走了她当年的附魔斧头。 追踪着哥布林留下的线索，布莱妮来到了潘多拉大陆的首都，并发生了一系列故事。 一、爽文！还是中年女性作为主角的爽文！ 在游戏的开始，布莱妮已经是一个传奇。 她不再年轻，只剩下一些肌肉，但仍然是这个世界的武力巅峰（因此游戏不会有战斗）；她的名声响彻大陆，npc依旧赞颂她的力量和美德，城中充斥着与她有关的艺术品——雕像、画作、书籍、电影，她甚至还拥有粉丝俱乐部，如果布莱妮不隐瞒自己的身份，海关政府会为她开绿灯、行业大佬会邀请她参加聚会、粉丝们会向她索要签名并前往她隐居处朝圣、城市报纸会狂热地追踪报道她的每所作所为……她拥有数不尽的财富，金币当然可以通过劳动、交易和任务赚取，但最简单的方法当然是从家里的宝箱抓上一把。 游戏共有5个浪漫对象，分别是女精灵（因为bug这条线我没法激活），男哥布林、男兽人、女人类和男矮人。每一个对象相对布莱妮都是“年轻人”，都非常尊重、崇拜布莱妮，每一条线都很香。 男哥布林非常自卑，穷困潦倒，布莱妮的出现照亮了他的生活，给了他心灵上的鼓舞和工作的机会。“我可以留在你身边为你打理家务吗？” 高大的男兽人正在攻读护理专业，他是一个清醒、坚强、努力的学生，有一手精湛的厨艺，“我的族人都痛恨你，但我无法恨你”“我希望能为你准备晚餐”。 女人类是一位高挑苗条的富家千金，第一次见面便称呼衣着朴素布莱妮为“majesty”，因为“您闪耀着女皇般的光辉”，她叛逆又大胆，醉心于探险，曾经驾驶飞机跨越山河，“来吧，参与我的小小冒险吧，来找我吧”。 男矮人听着布莱妮的故事长大，是她的骨灰粉丝，“你对于我们这些新矮人来说是一个传奇，你代表着我们再也无法拥有的特质；在与你相见之前我已经想象了无数次了，因此，我第一眼就认出了你，你和我想象的一模一样，光辉照人”。 当然，布莱妮可以继续孤寡，甚至还能通过某些方法召唤亡妻，告诉她“我每一天都在思念你”。 二、隐喻现实的故事 布莱妮是英雄，但不再是这个时代的英雄，她不得不面对新时代的冲击和落差。 350年后的世界面目全非。作为战争的胜利者，魔法天赋稀缺的人类靠着对科技的探索，掌握了潘多拉的经济和文明。人类发起了工业革命，为这个社会制定了种种规则。其他种族不可避免地被卷入人类社会的框架中，短命种族的生活发生了天翻地覆的变化，大部分长生种族虽然还维持着旧时的习惯，但改变正悄无声息地发生着。 老派精灵依旧轻视人类的造物，过着超然物外的生活，“我真的不明白，你为什么对飞机这么兴奋，这不是魔法早就能做到的吗？”“我的表兄在海关工作，这令我们不齿”；少数新生代的精灵意识到了现代化的不可抵挡，他们积极进入人类社会，学习人类的知识。 许多矮人因为矿脉枯竭离开了聚集地，他们放下了锤子和矿镐，组成了城市中最广泛的工人阶级，活跃于工厂和码头。 至于当年的战败者，哥布林和矮人，则成为了备受歧视的三等公民。 对战胜者而言，布莱妮是旧时代的遗物，有人质疑她，有人怠慢她。过去的勇者队友们都故去了，唯一在世的精灵队友在战后患上了ptsd，他所拥有的的技能不再被社会需要，最终只能穷困潦倒地露宿街头。年轻人们追捧关于他昔日英姿的电影，但对他本人毫无兴趣。 对战败者而言，布莱妮是恶魔般的屠杀者。哥布林和兽人曾经拥有这片大陆，外来者们向他们发起了战争，无情地摧毁了他们的文明，将他们赶入了城市的底层。他们没有工作、受教育的机会，只能靠小偷小盗维持艰苦的生活。在城里找到工作的哥布林必须与贫民区的家人断绝来往；举全部落之力供养的大学生兽人只能进入兽人学院，无法和其他大学生一样申请奖学金，反而要缴纳高昂的学费，更可恶的是学院的师质堪忧，对他们的未来毫无帮助；当然，兽人也可以进入其他学院，但所有的课程都是为“胜利者”准备的，历史课程将他们的过去归结为邪恶种族，就连医学系也没有哥布林和兽人的用药标准，因为胜利者从未将他们纳入受试者。男兽人攻略对象就对主角说过：“我学习护理，却不知道怎么护理自己的族人，但起码这个专业可以帮助我就业吧”。他们甚至不能按传统方法度过节庆，因为人类社会禁燃烟火。哥布林和兽人将怒火倾斜在布莱妮身上，他们一遍又一遍地质问、咒骂她，接受了布莱妮的帮助、对她千恩万谢的小女孩也在知道布莱妮身份后对她大喊“杀人犯”。 地图中有400多个可对话角色，超过160个任务和故事情节。作者通过这些文本详细地刻画了各种族的习性，种族内的矛盾，种族间的冲突，这些斑斓的幻想有趣又浪漫，映射了现实社会的种种问题，如文化霸权、种族问题、LGBT、战争反思、工业化、资本主义等等。我印象最深刻的是一对人类哥布林夫妻，商人丈夫努力赚钱，想供妻子的5个孩子上大学，以便在人类社会找到位置；妻子认为丈夫是个好人，因此尽管她对丈夫乐观的预想不抱希望，还是愿意支持丈夫的想法，一面忍耐哥布林社区对她施加的压力一面辛苦地拉扯孩子；孩子们则觉得丈夫友善但古怪，他试图融入他们的文化，但在这个家里他始终像一个“儿童一样的成年人”。这种文化、价值观的碰撞非常有趣。

Don't buy this. Glitches (some of which have been known about for years without being resolved), and no ability to save your game or have separate saves to protect against glitches. There is a reason that one of the two guides on steam is about how to save your game. I like the idea, and I think I would enjoy the game if it weren't for the frequent glitches. Like quests disappearing and having no way to continue the story, or conversations being unobtainable if you previously left the conversation before asking everything. Or, the issue I just encountered after 4hrs of playtime, keys disappearing from your inventory. Meaning I can't get into the apartment where certain items are placed. This issue with keys has been known about for TWO YEARS. And they still have not fixed it.

[b]Pros[/b] [list] [*]Great worldbuilding and 1920s atmosphere [*]Music and art help flesh out the world [*]Game depicts a diverse population and addresses relevant social issues without being contrived [/list] [b]Cons[/b] (mostly bugs) [list] [*]Keys may disappear from inventory. This was not a game-breaking bug for me since it only happened twice during my playthrough and I didn't need those keys to proceed, but some areas will be inaccessible. [*]Players sometimes can't get back to the same dialogue option if they didn't exhaust the dialogue tree in one go. If you fail to get a quest during your first conversation with certain characters, you won't be able to get it for the rest of this playthrough. [*]There's no manual save option. If a key disappears or a quest is missed, players can't load previous saves. [*]Main character easily gets stuck. Can mostly be fixed by sending your animal companions away. [*]Some minor quests can't be completed since relevant dialogues simply don't pop up. [*]The game may crash on startup or take a long while to load. [*]Can't trigger the romance with [spoiler]Marla Lee[/spoiler]. [*][spoiler]Two Aidans will appear in his room at the end of the game should the player choose to romance him. It's actually kind of hilarious.[/spoiler] [/list] Still would recommend this game to anyone who genuinely likes the 1920s vibe. I'll edit this comment if the bugs are fixed.

I was expecting a fun, swinging adventure but found myself bored, understimulated and frustrated. This game is very buggy to the point that important objects suddenly disappear, npc's repeat themselves or do not talk at all, etc making it impossible to continue and to get all the achievements. Music score and scenery is good, but the characters are ugly and the story is dull. It feels half-done. -------------------------------------- Achievements/Completionist: FML :( Do Not play this game if: - You lack patience... - You have better things to do - You are a completionist when it comes to achievements - You are looking for a fun Point&Click game, this game is neither Play this game if: - You want to experience the roaring 20s in a world where Humans, Elves, Dwarves, Goblins and Orcs co-exist Verdict: 4/10

I'll continue the game if they ever solve the millions of bugs and crashes :((

So, I promised to update my review, so here we are. First things first: I have a love-hate-relationship with the fantasy genre. On one hand, it gives me life. But on the other, I've grown tired of the same old cliches and stereotypes in stories that lack true innovation or self-reflection. I'm also tired of the voices who claim that everything in fantasy is completely unrelated to real life, and diversifying the genre would be unnecessarily "political". Bleh. Tolkien, the father of our current fantasy genre, was a mastermind, but he also grew up in a time where old racist ideas were very much in fashion, and spent his first years in apartheid South Afrika. What he writes about the dark skinned orks is 1:1 what was written about Black people in order to justify their enslavement during the Atlantic Slave Trade. When racist ideas permeate culture, you soak them up, and it takes active work to get rid of them instead of reproducing them. But I don't want to argue. I just want diversity in fantasy. I want characters and stories that still resonate in current times. And Pendula Swing really shows how this could be done. In this game, you play a retired hero who has lived her (seemingly) well-deserved pensionary years on an island with her spouse. The game starts when she is forced to leave her isolation and to enter society again. A lot has changed there. The world is no longer black and white. Races that she once fought because they were seen as enemies have now migrated into the city. For the first time, their voices are being heard. It's a time of protests, civil unrest and change. How will she - or rather: you - respond to this? Are you still a hero of war, or did you commit genocide? Will you proudly wear your name or will you prefer to not be recognized? Pendula Swing weaves together three different layers: The basic tropes and stereotypes reflect Fantasy, the atmosphere is set in the 20s, whilst the story centers on very current topics and questions. It discusses colonianism, racism and transphobia (briefly), among others. Much of the game consists of exploring the city, finding out what people think and need, and helping them. If that's not your cup of tea and if you expect an RPG to have combat, then this will not be the right game for you. I for one, had an tremendous amount of fun. The writing is witty, the characters interesting, and the world draws you in. I found it hard to lay down Pendula Swing once I started playing. That said, there are a few things that diminished my joy with the game: - First, bugs. I had to start over once because a bug prevented me from continuing in the main quest. In my second save, I couldn't help the [spoiler]homeless orks[/spoiler] even though I think I fulfilled all the requirements. Those are just the worst bugs I encountered, and they were frustrating as heck. - Some things seemed clunky. For instance, I was dating this person who clearly said they only wanted a [spoiler]monogamous relationship[/spoiler]. Yet, when they met [spoiler]my other partner[/spoiler] in my home, they said... nothing. [spoiler](No one addresses a non-monogamous playstyle in this game.)[/spoiler] That's also part of another set of 'soft' criticism: Some threads of the story left me aching for more. I would have loved to have more content in the final quest with my wife, for example. Same as all the dating routes. I don't count this as a negative, though. Of course the game could have improved if more work went into it, if the team and budget had been bigger. I still give Pendula Swing an enthusiastic thumbs up because I ache for these kind of games, I had fun and I can clearly see the love that went into the game. I'm hoping that the bugs will be smoothed out, and above all I hope the developers will make more games like this one. Gimme more immersive RPGs with that don't need traditional combat. Gimme more smart, innovative stories. Gimme more like Pendula Swing.

英雌迟暮但仍精彩的生活

A very underrated and charming gem of a game. The story is basically what happens after the big fantasy adventure. The main character is a retired adventurer who settles down on an island with her wife. The game takes place about a few hundred years after that and the world has changed a lot. The writing is very well done and provides a unique take in the fantasy genre. Great characters, fun writing, and an interesting world to explore. And so much to do in see so the world is utilized very well. My only issue with the game is the controls/pathfinding is a bit clunky at times. Still highly recommend the game. It definitely deserves more attention.

I'd like to give it a recommendation cuz I really like the concept of being a retired female hero, also the world building and the music are above average. However, to be honest the overall playing experience wasn't very enjoyable. The quest lines are wayyy too straightforward, repetitive and plain. Sometimes almost feels as if the dialogue was AI generated based on the main script. me: Let me see the person who stole my stuff. NPC: NO! I shall protect him! me: I just want to talk. NPC: Okay, come on in. That's literally what happened in the main storytelling, like seriously???