Social Caterpillar

A pretty interesting game involving interacting with people and solving puzzles to go from being an introvert to an extrovert. The main gameplay is all about IQ-test-style-figure-out-the-pattern puzzles, so if you're into that like I am you'll have a good time. It's all wrapped up in a very relatable narrative. The post-game content is woven everywhere into the world and has given me plenty of aha moments while connecting the dots. In trying to figure out as much as I can I have run into two pet peeves of mine: [spoiler] audio puzzles and rubbing your face against every wall/trying to interact with everything, [/spoiler] but that's on me for attempting the post-game in the first place.

Take a deep breath, and sit down. On whatever you're playing on and understand that this game will not tell you anything. It is up to you to figure out how it means to navigate this world. It will not hold your hand, but It will show you everything, and all the clues are there for you. All you have to do is find them. You are an introvert, but maybe, that's not all you are.

Social Caterpillar is a fascinating game. The player plays as an introvert, in a story largely working with implication rather than direct explanation (done quite effectively). Solve puzzles, increase your social battery, and become able to progress farther from your home (and isn't that how being an introvert can feel). The main path of the game is pretty easy, starting with simple puzzles, and eventually making it to moderately complicated ones. The vast majority of the puzzles are made up of giving you three choices that you have to pick from based on what you're shown (in ways that tend to match well with the theming of what the protagonist is trying to do at the time). The two endings (there's a third, but I haven't gotten it) also feel appropriate, and the game has some dev commentary that can be unlocked that I really enjoyed reading. It's also worth noting that the game is full of layers (plenty of which I've still hardly gone anywhere on, although I expect I'll be poking around at least a little more), with puzzles inside of puzzles inside of puzzles (some real hidden room that requires logic from three hidden puzzles and a hidden room level stuff). Excellent game all around.

A really lovely weird little gem of a puzzle game with a narrative told through light touches that still hits pretty hard, for me at least. More like this please!

A very interesting concept and a lovely experience. The puzzle component is extremely satisfying. I’d compare the structure of the secrets to Animal Well because of its layered style, making the game appealing to all kinds of players, from hardcore to casual puzzle solvers. I also loved the Dev-Game Mode, I honestly got a bit emotional. As an aspiring game developer myself, I could really feel the effort and attention behind the design choices and the little easter eggs in the game. I’m really glad I bought it and I’ll definitely keep an eye on their other games! P.S. Great OSTs too!

Neat little puzzle game, full of hidden things.

Great game of solving puzzles and encountering more secrets to figure out than expected.

Another great game from Merlandese

Ho fatto solo il finale A ma penso di poter già dire qualcosa: in questo gioco interpreti un ragazzo/ragazza molto introverso, a tutti gli effetti un hikikomori, quindi mi è piaciuta molto la “monotonia” nel doversi alzare, avere delle interazioni e a poco a poco si affrontano cose nuove: non è mai un susseguirsi di eventi nuovi ma più un affrontare le difficoltà un passo alla volta con i propri tempi. Piccolo spoiler: Un’altra cosa che mi ha colpito molto è che il/la protagonista non cambia drasticamente tra l’inizio e la fine del gioco ma semplicemente cresca, non diventa un’altra persona, le difficoltà non scompaiono, semplicemente le affronta e fa piano piano passi importanti (il che viene anche rafforzato dal menù di selezione della modalità dove i vari livelli sono rappresentati dagli stati di vita di un bruco partendo dall’uovo fino alla farfalla: “oval; larval-modalità raccomandata; pupal e imaginal-estroverso” e quest’ultimo non può mai essere selezionato, proprio a significare che il personaggio non passerà mai da introverso a estroverso, non cambierà mai persona, semplicemente crescerà). Purtroppo il gioco non è perfetto, mi sembra comunque abbastanza grezzo, a mio parere sarebbe stato interessante giocare un po’ tutto il “prima” e non partire direttamente dal momento in cui il protagonista cerca di affrontare i suoi problemi, inoltre la “voce interna” del protagonista poteva essere approfondita, magari proprio con una sezione di gioco che precede l’inizio in cui non riusciamo ad ignorarla. Piccola nota: l’enigma finale del gioco non sono sicuro abbia effettivamente una soluzione, l’ho risolto senza capirlo dopo vari tentativi, potrebbe essere un’allegoria sul fatto che non tutto abbia una soluzione precisa e che quindi dobbiamo solo perseverare, se così fosse magari poteva essere reso un po’ più chiaro. Nel complesso una bella esperienza, ad alcuni può risultare noioso o monotono ma ha senso che lo sia, bel modo di affrontare un tema non semplice, consigliato.

loved it and Perfected it in one day which is kinda the opposite of the point of the game sorry will try to socialize tomorrow mom :(