The Test: Final Revelation

Wonderful, life affirming experience. My secret word was Talented. Can't wait to dive deep into this studio's entire catalog. If only more people understood the profound, transformative potential videogames can hold. To all potential buyers: If you're wondering if you should, you should. To the devs: I just wanna say thank you for making this game. Seeing as my second word was stranger, that means you should believe me . . . I think?🙃

I was torn for this review, but ended up leaning negative. Here are my pros and cons: CONS -First and foremost, the use of ai images was disheartening. It was in 2020 when the environmental and social impacts of it weren't fully apparent, however, given that the developers have released another game with even more ai artwork, I can't excuse it. -The writing could use some work. It was definitely low effort or cringe-heavy at times, especially in the rhyming portions. I would definitely have loved it as an edgy kid, but as an adult that grew up with this series it definitely takes away from any immersion. I have my suspicions that those lines were also ai generated. -Definitely a lesser gripe, but some sections (mostly the image section) had been drawn on too long and felt repetitive. PROS -I would definitely say the questions inspired a lot of introspection. In my case I thought about a lot of deeper things, like being lucky to have such a great support system, calling more attention to some of my lapses in moral judgement, or realizing I'm a more caring person than I give myself credit for. Definitely worth it for the experience of learning more about yourself. -I do like the vibe they were going for. I think the premise of the games as a whole is awesome: a morbid-toned journey of brutal honesty and self discovery with lovely dark piano instrumentals and heavy themes. Overall I lean ever so slightly negative, but ai art is a moral issue for me that I can't personally endorse, and the experience felt like it could have used some more time and creativity. I would love to see another fully human-created game from these developers in the future with some more polish to it, and I would love to donate via patreon or other related platforms!