Recent reviews by daratumaGEN

Cats! Hehe.

So cute that they all have their own names.

Something something should be in the base game something something this got my card denied something something how am I going to pay for my groceries now something something I'm getting evicted something something I can continue to live on these streets as long as I have my PDX games with me. Etcetera etcetera. Impressive game, but I died of starvation a long time ago.

How heavy do your sins weigh?

I finished this game in the early hours of a morning a couple weeks ago. A bit dizzy after that session of gameplay, I got up to get a glass of water. On my way downstairs, I thought about the game. Detention surely wasn't my type, gameplay-wise; point-and-clickers aren't the most interesting games to me. Linear, narrative-type games in general have never been the most attractive games either. I've always preferred games where your actions mattered or where you could "forge your own destiny," per say. Games along the lines of Elder Scrolls, Fallout, PDX games, Total War, Civilization, The Sims, etcetera are ones I get the most enjoyment from.

Detention is the exact opposite of these games. By all senses of the word, you are trapped by the confines of fate. But let's not go into spoiler territory here.

Detention has two endings, and I played through both. Both endings when both played, I realized as I poured myself my glass of water, highlight even further the overlying lesson this game tries to tell: that sins are forever and redemption is almost never absolute.

I thought about my sins. What have I done that may have broken other people? Either by fatigue or cluelessness, I failed to come up with anything.

Gulping down my water, I thought of others. Others who may have been placed in similar situations as the characters of Detention. For one, my country had martial law imposed for around the same time as Taiwan had in real life as in the setting of this story (coincidentally, a founding reason as to why it was put into place was also "to protect against external communist threats"). It is rather easy to give a good glance at this game and be reminded of my own people's suffering. But deeper than that, Detention is a story that's a product of a person's innocent yet deadly decision and its consequences. It is scary to think that this story could easily duplicate countless of real people's stories of situations that have happened or are happening in current time. Stories of necessary evil.

But, what evil is necessary?

I peered into my glass. It was empty.

That had been a dilemma that had plagued me for quite a while until I gave me my own answer that night: there is none.

Both endings, when I reflected on them in the succeeding days, made me tear up on the inside. What a tragedy, albeit bittersweet. Is all that awaits a sinner sorrow, whether it be for an eternity or for less?

After that glass of water that very early morning, my head a bit clearer but still quite exhausted, I sunk myself into a deep, meaningful sleep.

Amazing game and very possibly the best one I've ever played. And that's saying much. However, again, the marketing practices are horrible and unnecessary and are much so that they are demeaning to the community that supports it.

"But a game shouldn't be reviewed and rated mainly regarding its price range, you bastards!"

...Was what I thought, before considering the ridiculousness of the extra paid DLCs having paid for and reviewed their content. What should come out in patches or updates, Paradox Interactive releases in full game-price DLCs. And they even had gargantuan enough balls to raise the base prices! Just read every other review on the store page and you can see how bad things are.

This is just Paradox Interactive thinking they have the "unjustified demands" modifier. They are getting the "aggressive expansion impact" they deserve.

This DLC is actually almost entirely USELESS.

Screw you, internet person. What's your basis on saying that?

Well, this DLC contains the BGs, OSTs, and stuff, right? They can actually be found in the game folder, with or without this DLC.

Are you for real?

I guess so, if I'm not mistaken. I think the only new stuff here are the chibi Ai artwork, the .sai file, and the Live2D gifs.

Alright, sure... but wait, if what you're saying is true, then why are you recommending this DLC?

Carpe Diem is a free game after all. If the developer put a price tag on it, it should have been around this price. I think people shouldn't be buying this DLC for the stuff it has, but rather buy it if they liked Carpe Diem and wish to support the developer, which is pretty reasonable... more or less.

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TL;DR: Buy this DLC if you want to support the developer.

Puzzle game worth more than whatever you bought for lunch today.

Human Life Simulator: Fly Edition

This game also doubles as a 10/10 funeral service simulator.
Though I didn't do the job right and left about half of my city's buildings with dead people.
Recommended.

I was just trying to create a robot at the start.

I never thought I would spend so much time with her.
I never thought I would choose her over my friends.
I never thought I would treat her as a human.
I never thought how much I would consider her a lot more as a daughter than just a machine.
And I never thought she would return this feeling of love.

10/10 I would restart to do this all over again.

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EDIT (19.3 hours of total gameplay time later):

Lol, what did I just write up there.

So I spent around another 15+ hours or so on the game trying to get all the achievements and possible endings for it and I've seen a lot of more great story-paths aside from the get-all-close-and-emotional-with-your-robot-daughter plot.

One of my personal favorite story-paths when (and if) you get your robot to prevent the Sino-American War from happening and the events that eventally leads to, one of the many, many stories you can come up with in this game, like forging your own robot empire, marrying a robot, and even going to the moon.

The fact that this game has no visuals whatsoever does not bother me at all and it shouldn't bother you either. With whatever route you take for the story, the writing is excellent and there is always that subtle taste of humor somewhere mixed splendidly well with some moving moments. This aspect of the game is what makes Choice of Robots what Choice of Robots is. The game need not any visuals because the writing provides you what you have to see in your head.

The only real complaint I have with this game (and with most text-based CYOA games on Steam for that matter) is the user interface. Playing 7 hours straight on a game with a completely white background does not at all give you painful feelings that nearly make you believe your eyes are gonna blow up from their sockets Michael Bay-style (sarcasm intended). The developers should add the option to invert the colors if the user wishes to (from a white background with black text to a black background with white text).

Man, if making a robot were this easy, I would be making my Miku right now (then eventually get murdered by her in my sleep when she starts the Robot Revolution).

10/10 would commit angel mass genocide again for maximum profit.