Socrates Jones: Pro Philosopher

I was a philosophy minor in college, and it was fun to be quizzed on the fundamentals again. This is game is cute, funny, and thought-provoking. And it's free! And it's short! Play it. You might even learn something ;)

[b]TLDR[/b] A clever (and free) but very short philosophy debate game with interesting yet shallow argument mechanics and a thin story. [13/20⭐, 3h🏅, 2/5💡] [b]Context[/b] Socrates Jones: Pro Philosopher is a philosophy-centered debate game in which you argue with great thinkers in search of the meaning of morality. This is a (free) Steam re-release of a 2013 Flash game. I appreciate the effort to build a game around philosophical debate, and I generally enjoy the mechanics, but there’s not enough content to make it truly satisfying (I’ll have to check out Ace Attorney at some point). [b]Writing[/b] You play as a father — the non-subtle, eponymous “Socrates” — who after a car accident involving his daughter, finds himself in a kind of limbo. To return both of them to the land of the living, he must debate famous philosophers about the nature of morality. But don’t let the (apparently) heavy premise scare you, the tone is lighthearted; death is treated casually, and no one seems particularly troubled by the situation. Unfortunately, the overarching plot is rather weak, and the conversations with the daughter often veer into cringeworthy territory. Since rhetoric and logical structure are central to the mechanics, the game adopts a more serious tone during the debates. These sections are generally clear, well-written, and do a decent job of presenting simplified versions of philosophical positions without completely misrepresenting them. [b]Aesthetics[/b] The visuals are simple, hand-drawn, and in line with early-2010s Flash aesthetics. The soundtrack is pretty decent, energetic with light “battle” themes accompanying debates, though these could become repetitive in longer sessions. There is no voice acting. [b]Gameplay[/b] The core mechanics revolves around winning debates by identifying weaknesses in your opponent’s claims and presenting counter-arguments. It is an interesting approach (apparently inspired by Ace Attorney-style confrontations, though I haven’t played those), but the available options are so limited that the challenge is never substantial. As a result, complex philosophical issues are reduced into a small set of predefined arguments and rebuttals, although I understand this is needed to make the game accessible. You can lose debates by accumulating too many mistakes, but failure simply restarts the encounter without consequences. The game auto-saves, and you can also manually save. [b]Value[/b] This is a short game, it took me less than 3h to beat the 6 levels/debates. There is a single progress slot, but you can revisit previous chapters. Achievements are solely tied to game progression. This is a free game, so well worth checking out. [quote][i]For more puzzle-game reviews and curated lists check out the [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/43326007-The-Clueless-Adventurer-Puzzle-Trove/]Puzzle Trove[/url].[/i][/quote]

This game is actually how I got into Ace Attorney, instead of the other way around. I really enjoyed the gameplay and found out that it was based on AA, leading to me discovering one of my favorite game franchises. So I have to thank this game for it. Separate from my personal experience, if you like the AA type gameplay, I think you'll enjoy this one too. (And if you enjoy this game, certainly check out Ace Attorney if you haven't yet.) It's a short game and it's free too, so there's nothing to lose anyway. I also found the philosophy aspect of this game very interesting. It definitely taught me things that I wouldn't have known otherwise, even if simplified. And the gameplay and jokes (the game is funny too when it wants to be) in this game make it fun to learn about philosophy even if it isn't something you'd otherwise seek out. Play it for the fun, learn some new stuff as a nice added bonus.

delightful lil indie game

I liked this one, the art is lovely, the dialogues and writing in general more so. However, it is somehow annoying to spot the flaw but can only choose from the available choices, which may not deliever the

infinity is not the same as all-encompassing - i agree as a math major, not as an accountant! It is also a maxim to hate on Kant for the sake of hating on Kant.

Socrates Jones

Sokrates Jones'un tanıdığı herkes felsefeyi seviyor gibi görünüyor; Sokrates'in kendisi dışında herkes. New York'tan basit bir muhasebeci olan Sokrates, felsefi sorularla ya da tartışma sanatıyla hiçbir zaman ilgilenmedi. Ancak kendisini ünlü filozoflardan oluşan bir sıraya karşı hayatı hakkında tartışırken bulan Sokrates Jones'un, ahlakın doğasını bulma arayışında ufkunu genişletmekten başka seçeneği yoktur.