Without Within

Good visual novel.

This is a very short story about a struggling artist who's lost hope about her work. I think this game likes to believe it tells the reader to simply persist and be kind to people and things will go your way. And, in some sense, that's exactly what it says. But it's also a very linear and ridgid experience. Rant about your work not selling; You get uploaded to the internet as crazy. Don't help a lost boy; He's dead the next day. Don't play a game; You eventually lost all motivation to make art and die a failure. The game is ridgid about the way to tells it's story and juts flat out tells you that you made the wrong choice and need to start over again. Scope and time is of course the reason for this choice in story design. I would say that giving the reader the illusion of choice in this way simply shows the reader that your choice is meaningless. "You have to choose the option I say is correct. If not, I won't let you read further." If the game simply let the story flow the way the author intended from the start, there would be a bigger empahsis on the message the game ultimately wants to tell you. "Always looking for the next big thing doesn't always help you. Stay grounded and help those around you and in the end, the universe will help you back."

«Without Within» — психологический хоррор от Playdead, погружающий в атмосферу тревоги и абстрактного ужаса. Мрачные ландшафты, молчаливый герой и музыка, наполненная диссонансом, создают ощущение одиночества и бессмысленности. Головоломки требуют внимательности и логики, но их сложность иногда мешает погружению. Игра заставляет задуматься о человеческой природе, страхе и границах реальности. Несмотря на короткий сюжет, эмоциональный отклик остается глубоким. Не для всех — требует терпения, но оставляет след в памяти.

Neutral, because it's free and it's short. But the story and writing aren't very compelling, and having to juggle saves to find the one path that leads to the only good end was too much of a hurdle for me for what it was. But still, it's free. Give it a shot if you want.

uhhh, good stuff lmao

哈哈，还是挺有趣的