Tales From Off-Peak City Vol. 1

This game is pure surreal art. Every street, every conversation, and every object feels like it’s pulled from a dream logic that shouldn’t make sense. I even made a video where I compared its strange, world to a chaotic shroom trip I once had. The warped perspectives, odd humor, and moments of sudden intensity felt exactly like that kind of headspace. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBBdy8UTRLU&t=112s

art

I sort of enjoyed it ? Taking the time to explore the world, listen to the music and read as much as I could offered a memorable experience. However, there's a few things that bother me after reaching the end. I was told that getting the saxophone would be the first assignment, not the only objective before the game's end. I was hoping for more, specifically with HRH. HRH is talked about throughout the entire game, it has this ominous presence. I was convinced that the climax of this journey would be delivering a pizza to The Factory and somehow getting out alive but the game just ends after acquiring the saxophone. Another thing that seems cool at first but ends up being annoying is eavesdropping. Listening in on a conversation before approaching people to start your own dialogue sequence, in order to get more information or contextualization, is a great idea but a majority of the content within an eavesdrop is basically just reworded when you are talking to that person. That means you're essentially just reading the same thing twice. Lame. I was really hoping for more. There's items in the pawn shop that are very expensive so you think okay I'll get to those later on but that never happens. It gives the illusion that there will be more to do later when there isn't. I'm excited to play the other games Cosmo D has made and I wish for their success. But I feel so conflicted because it feels wrong to thumbs down this game, yet I'm not really happy with what was offered for the price. I would never recommend this to anyone I know IRL who plays video games, but it's wrong to thumbs down because there's plenty of people on Steam who would appreciate what this game does. The way it invokes feels through its art is amazing. I'm giving this a thumbs up... but the hand is red.

Possibly the best pizza-making simulator with sardines and flamingo meat ever created. 🍕🍕🍕 Caetano, thank you for allowing me to express my artistry on the canvases in the form of pizza dough that you provided me with. 🎷🎷🎷

good