Perfect Tides

I loved Octopus Pie very much and count it as one of my favorite comics of all time. When I heard about this game, I quickly backed it and played it on release. Stuck halfway through on a puzzle, I set it down with a plan to revisit it once a walkthrough came out. Time has a way of getting away from me lately, and It wasn't until the sequel popped up on recommended that I gave it another run. The game evoked a lot of feelings I hadn't had since the 2000's era of hanging out on the internet. The amount of emotional tension waiting on an IM reply is well captured, and when Mara gets worried or frustrated, you feel it right along with her in those moments. It is a fantastic representation of the suspense those moments had, especially when you're young and unsure of yourself. A young crush can feel equally euphoric and devastating. Mara aspires to be a writer and with that pursuit comes the insecurity, crippling anxiety, and doubt in her own abilities. Speaking as a creative person this feeling seems ever present; you never think your own work is as good as other people do. When they tell you it is good, you sometimes falsely assume they're just being nice to your face. Hating your work makes you want to get better at it, though getting better at it can feel exhausting and unrewarding for the sustained effort it requires. When it comes together and you see it getting noticed, though, it starts to feel worth it again. Being an uncertain teenager without a lot of social experience makes Mara lash out in disproportionate ways. It took some personal reflection to remember that one of the benefits of getting older and wiser is dialing back those kinds of outbursts and becoming more sympathetic to the plight of those around you. Or, well, it should anyway if you're trying to become a decent person. Meredith Gran's art shines through and is the best part of this game. She has a style that works exceptionally well for the genre, capturing the seriousness of emotional moments while effortlessly depicting the absurd and surreal. The mood shifts unexpectedly many times in this game, and the art gives those moments a far greater impact than simpler animations or more static pixel characters would have done. A few frames of fluid motion or exaggerated expressions set it apart and make it feel unique and special. Since I played this game and the sequel back to back, it now feels in retrospect like part of a greater work that I hope continues into a trilogy at least, seeing the progression of someone's life as they grow and learn and become a fully fledged artist. Already just as two parts, it is incredible how much it has made me think about art, creativity, relationships, and the human condition. Thank you for making this!

Amazing. I picked up the bundle based on what I heard about the sequel and I've been blown away by the writing throughout. I'm so excited to check PT: Station to Station next, do yourself a favor and play this if you like good writing, characters, stories, etc. Lately I've mainly been reading more books and comics, playing less games, and this compares well to all the best I've read lately.

It's rare that the theme of adolescence is shown through a mature lense without falling into some kind of irreverence or flippancy. Perfect Tides manages to achieve that. The game's story and characters come across as deeply genuine and complex without compromising on humour and levity. It is a coming-of-age story which treats the perspective of the main character with an almost unprescedented amount of respect, all throughout remaining very careful not to anchor itself in hindsight and condescension. The writing is so beautifully direct in its emotion and in how it conveys the internality of the main character that it is impossible not to fully immerse yourself in and empathise with her. Every concern that may feel benign to an adult is here treated with the insurmountable scale of a 16-year-old's life in mind, and you can feel every overwhelming detail of it. Every hope and fear, every blush, every ill-fated belief, every smile and tremor manage to seem grand and important when it would have been so easy to belittle that emotional reality, even unconsciously. This story, as all good ones, makes familiar things become alien again, small things become huge, and huge things become sublime. Perfect Tides is a game written with an incredible level of care and sensitivity. I could recommend it to almost anyone. I am a bit frustrated by the fact that it's so easy to accidentally skip dialogue, and no way to go back to it without reloading a save. :/

Perfect Tides is a charming and nostalgic point and click experience as it follows the female lead, Mara Whitefish, live through a year of her life in the early 2000's era of the world where internet culture started to develop with the teenagers of the time. The story was written gracefully, with moments that made me laugh, cringe, and contemplate/reflect my own childhood growing up and my reactions to certain events that happened in my life. The setting was also a big highlight, as Mara's descriptions gave the island of Perfect Tides a deep history that transformed this fictional town into something real and lived in, with her experiences with her family and school life being some of the most relatable stuff that I have read in a while. The gameplay is your standard old-school point and click, collecting items, exploring, talking, and completing little puzzles to advance the story. My only complaint that I have about the title is the fact that it can feel a little aimless in what exactly you need to do next in certain parts of the game, as well as how accurate with the cursor you must be to click on items. I can understand that the inspiration for this choice of gameplay comes from the old LucasArts titles of the time, but I think a small hint/reminder system for the more obtuse actions would have helped make the experience more smooth. (Also a tip for those still playing through the game or have yet to start, increase the speed setting in the menu to walk significantly faster throughout the game!) In all, I enjoyed my time with Perfect Tides and I would definitely recommend to those who enjoy stories about the complicated nature of life and growing up, as well as those who are fans of the point and click genre. I'm off to play the sequel Station to Station, which I hope to be another great title from the dev's!

Perfect Tides is a pretty charming little game. The art style is cute, the writing is engaging, and the story kept me interested from beginning to end. My biggest complaint is the gameplay. Sometimes I had to click on objects multiple times before the character would interact with them correctly, which got frustrating. Some of the puzzles were also a bit obscure. For example, I had no idea you were supposed to oven the peas to get the seeds out. That one had me completely stumped. The story was probably the strongest part of the game. As a guy, I can't fully relate to Mara's coming-of-age experience, but I still found it interesting to see things from a teenage girl's perspective. It made me wonder how closely it reflects real experiences for girls growing up during that time. The characters felt believable because they're all flawed. Mara is shy, quirky, and naive, but she can also be selfish when she's overwhelmed. One example is when Lily tells her she might be moving away and Mara lashes out instead of considering how difficult the situation might be for Lily. At the same time, Lily isn't perfect either, often seeming to distance herself from Mara at school to protect her own social standing. Looking back, a lot of the characters make selfish decisions in different ways, which makes them feel human. Some characters were more likable than others. Timothy comes across as lazy, Jason is a womanizer, and Amanda can be frustratingly flaky. One thing that annoyed me was that the game doesn't really let you outright reject Jason after catching him messing around with another girl. My favorite part of the game was reconciling with Lily and the dance montage. Watching Mara struggle, keep trying, and gradually improve was genuinely sweet and ended up being one of the most memorable scenes in the game. I wasn't a fan of the drug use throughout the story. It felt unnecessary to me, and at times came across as if it was normalizing or encouraging it. Maybe that's just my personal perspective, but I never had experiences like that growing up. Overall, Perfect Tides tells a surprisingly complex and thoughtful slice-of-life story. It won't be for everyone, especially if you're looking for action or fast-paced gameplay, but I'd definitely recommend it to people who enjoy character-driven stories and coming-of-age narratives, atleast once.

A poignant coming-of-age tale set at the turn of the century with a great cast of characters and lots of heart. A few of the puzzles are a little fiddly (i'm looking at you, photo developing lab) and it can be a little tricky to know where to go next but those nit-picks are more than made up for by the expressive art and angst of Mara.

It took me a little while to sink into its story, but Perfect Tides is a gam worth experiencing, if only for its narrative. The audio is barebones, the gameplay at times archaic and tough to get through, but I'll be damned if the rest isn't so heartfelt that it justifies everything else. It's written with such ablomb and mastery of nuances. It made me feel for Mara the whole way through, and angsty, somewhat annoying teenager than never felt irritating. She ffels so alive and complete that I couldn't help rooting for her, even if teenage years are hell. Strongly recommend, and can't wait to play the next one !