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Media

About
You wake up in the void, with no memory other than the deep sense that something horrible has happened to you in life that has left you in limbo. Can you find your way back to the living to make things right?
Should you?
Welcome to my first visual novel / game project, The River. I actually made something!
This is my very first attempt at making a game, as well as my first second earnest attempt at a cohesive, stand-alone narrative.
I set off to create all of the visual assets, sound effects, and music myself, and scripting/tying it all together with Adventure Game Studio.
Estimated play time: 30-50 minutes.
Playing with good Audio / Headphones is highly recommended.
Content Warning: Contains mature subject matter (discussion of death and dying, written descriptions of violence)
Game Features:
Unique, (mostly) monochrome style visuals
Digital hand-drawn backgrounds
Unique soundtrack and dynamic music score for each of the game's 12 scenes
Nearly 2000 frames of sprite animation
Visual Novel styled story, including dialog and character portraits
Genres
Stats
Languages: English
Engagement
Reviews
Themes across 41 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
Reviews
Просто бродилка по лесу, где ты ходишь туда-сюда, собираешь какие-то палки и смотришь на унылые серые текстуры, которые навевают тоску похлеще, чем дождливый понедельник на работе. Игра пытается быть загадочной, но вместо загадок тут просто пустота и непонятные действия, которые ни к чему не ведут, и я так и не понял, зачем мой персонаж вообще попёрся в эту реку и чего он там искал. Управление неудобное, камера плывет, а звуковое сопровождение такое, что я лучше бы слушал, как сосед сверлит стену, и то веселее. За полчаса я не нашёл ни одного момента, который заставил бы меня улыбнуться или хотя бы заинтересоваться, просто ходил и зевал, надеясь, что вот-вот начнётся что-то интересное, но так и не дождался. В общем, фигня полная, даже бесплатно не советую тратить время, лучше уж в «Сапёра» поиграть или в окно посмотреть. И если этот обзор наберёт 50 лайков и 10 наград - куплю все дополнения и сыграю 100 часов. Улучшу значок до 5 уровня и схожу в церковь помолиться за разрабов, чтобы они делали только крутые проекты… ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠛⣋⣉⡛⠻⢉⣤⣤⣬⣉⠛⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠀⣿⣿⠙⠀⠀⢹⡇⠀⠀⢠⣿⡟⢨⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⢁⣾⣿⣶⣶⣤⡌⠛⠁⠔⠦⠤⠴⢒⣿⣿⣷⡌⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⡄⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣶⡆⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠂⣾⣿⣿⣿⡇⢸⠃⣼⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠈⣴⣶⣦⡈⢻⠃⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢠⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⠘⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡄⠸⡿⠛⠛⢠⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠏⣰⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣤⣉⠛⢿⣿⣿⠿⡿⠿⠿⠛⢋⣤⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣄⠛⢃⣄⠒⢂⣰⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿
Related
Related
Trends
Concurrent players on Steam, sampled daily since tracking started.
Hours played at review time, across 41 reviews with recorded playtime.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
Although a bit predictable, this is still a fantastic and emotionally resonant adventure. The art style stands out with its monochromatic simplicity, the soundtrack is quietly somber, and the game ends before wearing out its welcome.
"It may look like a simple 2D game, but it turned out to be a really impressive one in terms of its story."
I really felt this & enjoyed it. Is it simple? Yeah, but it's meant to be. I loved the art and the music. I absolutely recommend The River. Just know what you're getting into.
Каково это быть печальным? Плохо...
[b]# --- MY THOUGHTS:[/b] Both the story and the art style of this game are beautiful. I enjoyed experiencing it. [b]# --- RATING: 7.5/10[/b]
A somber story that maybe doesn't end in forgiveness, but to understand the kind of people we are. Wonderful job!
Ending was expected, but still a really beautiful game. Could be made to be way longer and with way more lore, for sure.
nice game
Short VN. Easy Achievements, 100% / ~12min.
Momentum
Pace estimated from the game's recent review growth (our daily snapshots) at its own sales-per-review ratio — a momentum signal, not booked sales.
Audience
Estimated from the language of this game's reviews — a proxy for where players are, not official Steam demographics.