Rivals

Much better than Conspiracy, you can really see the improvements made between games. Unique, compelling story with good voice acting as well. The new game plus mode was a fantastic addition that was really fun to play through. Great job Owlskip! :)

I did enjoy this game, though it took me a few minutes to figure it out. It was extremely short!

lovely little game. a little dense and confusing in places, but if you enjoy games that don't hold your hand and leave room for subtlety and nuance, then this will work. quite short, but was a thoroughly enjoyable little evening for me. mature, detailed, nostalgic and emotional. try family first, which is also great, but i think I enjoyed a little more just in terms of obra-dinn-ness (which this also has, just in a different way - less list-y, more story-y). akin to the roottrees are dead, but more contained and emotion-led. feels like getting stuck into a memory box.

Perfect if you're in the mood for a short burst of not too challenging logic puzzles.

It's a must buy if you enjoy good detective puzzlers (Obra Dinn, Her Story) and/or good music! The game has two main things going for it: a sudoku-esque system where you deduce clues in various ways ranging from reading diary entries to listening to records and an intriguing, almost bitersweet story about the rivalry between different music currents in the late 90's / early 2000's. It's short, but well worth the price, especially since it has a more challenging new game plus mode with more puzzles, and you get cool music recommendations!

Love love love this. I felt like a journalist, trying to figure out the whole story. The bands and the world was so well-built that I would totally be a fan of these bands and hang their posters in my room as a teenager.

Played both this and https://owl-skip.itch.io/family in about 2 hours total. These 2 games are much easier to guess and brute-force than Obra Dinn simply because there are less permutations. I finished Rivals a lot faster than I maybe should of by juggling hints around and in the end I finished without reading the last few notes. I enjoyed how listening to the songs could give hints and that some answers could be found through googling facts and dates (especially in the NG+ bonus mode). Good stuff all around, if a little short (as expected from these types of puzzle games).