Rivals

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.

A short and calm deduction game with an incredibly good and efficient UI. I was really impressed and how dense and economical it was with its clues!

Obra dinn, with less horrific deaths and better music

"I understand that reference" porn for Minnesotans who like music.

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.

A short but clever puzzle game with some neat music. In the game you are trying to fill in the blanks in a book about the history of a rivalry between two former friends and band mates. There are 30 'chapters' to puzzle through, organized chronologically, and the game will confirm any 5 correct answers. The answers are deduced through visual and auditory clues such as interviews, posters, a post card, and others. Once the main puzzle is completed, there's an "extra credit" section that involves some real world internet sleuthing (such as looking up the player who scored a game winning point in a particular sporting event mentioned during one of the audio clues). Overall, while the story unveiled within the various clues is nothing extraordinary, it works well with the gameplay and piecing everything together feels satisfying. If you're a fan of Obra Dinn, Golden Idol, or similar style games, this is a nice, short treat. If you're thinking of getting into the investigation genre and want a taste of what it's like, this game is a perfect introduction.