Recent reviews by varialles

"Don’t Forget" is an indie game that tells a heartfelt story about memory and identity, with a particular focus on the challenges of dementia. It’s a short, narrative-driven experience that leaves a quiet but meaningful impact.

Visuals
The minimalist visuals suit the game’s reflective tone, with subtle details that enhance the story’s emotional weight. While the art style is simple, it effectively conveys the sense of isolation and the gradual fading of memories.

Gameplay
The gameplay revolves around exploring rooms, searching for objects, and piecing together fragments of a life impacted by dementia. These mechanics tie closely to the story, immersing you in the protagonist’s struggle to navigate a world that feels increasingly unfamiliar.

Story
The story is where Don’t Forget shines. It sensitively portrays the effects of dementia, offering a glimpse into the confusion and emotional weight it brings. The narrative resonates deeply, especially with the help of an evocative soundtrack that complements the game’s themes beautifully.


"Don’t Forget" is a thoughtful game that approaches dementia with care and sincerity. Its simple gameplay and visuals may not be for everyone, but the emotional story makes it worth experiencing, especially for those who appreciate introspective games.

I am Belgian and we have a very large comics and graphic novels tradition in our country, I have read and collected a lot. The beautiful, hand-drawn art style reminded me of comics and that's why I bought the game.

The second biggest plus was the narrator's voice. Warm, sympathetic, with venom in her intonation at just the right moments.

The story gives you just too little information to place all the events. I don't always think this is necessary, it tickles your imagination, but I did go to the Steam discussions to see what others thought. Had the giants been dead for a while and Mo was in some sort of trance due to the hallucinogenic properties of the spores? Did her family stay on the islands until she came back to herself, despite previous attempts to convince her? I found it very confusing ... The moment when the title of the game was mentioned was a highlight for me. Suddenly my eyes became as moist as the island environments.

As for the gameplay: abysmal. A number of negative reviews already indicated this: the flow is constantly interrupted by cutscenes that are much too slow. The world often requires climbing in heights – which is a plus - but you cannot easily climb the obstacles. Sometimes you have to make a series of short, little jumps up or down, other times you have to make a big jump to be able to cling on an edge with white blobs of paint. Why can't I always do the big(ger) jump? Sigh... That also interrupted the game flow. And the endless walking back almost sent me into a frenzy. Why didn't the devs choose fast travel when a certain point was reached?

Yet another shortcoming was the lack of a manual save. At one point I found a memory, after which the save symbol appeared. When the symbol had disappeared, I closed the game. A day later I wanted to continue, but my game was not saved at that point! Very disappointing.

The negatives weighed too heavily in the end - it was a chore to move on - which is why I don't recommend this game.

"Little Man Has a Day" is a charming and relaxing game with whimsical graphics and a soothing soundtrack. Its simplicity makes it a perfect choice for a laid-back gaming session. The tasks throughout the game are engaging yet uncomplicated, creating a tranquil atmosphere for players to enjoy, making it ideal for casual gamers. However, one downside is its limited replay value; once players experience the day, there might be a lack of incentive to revisit the game. Despite this, the overall experience is nice. Nominated for the Steam Awards 2023.

This game claims to be about depression. That is totally true, since the bad gameplay gave me one. Stay clear of this game. I did not enjoy it and you won't either. It is impossible to get a number of achievements without a guide, because gameplay is so horrendous. I need beer and a good amount of positive reactions from you, my friends, to recover. Help me, please ...

Excellent music. If you like old paintings, this game is the Shjiiitttt. Some querky humour right up my alley. Alas, too short.

What a steaming pile of shait this is! For the fourth time chapter 2 froze up on me! I'm stuck between a glass door and I cannot move any further OR the AI bot delivers his lines and stops talking OR the text about the pencil remains in the middle of the screen and it won't disappear OR ...

More cons are graphics from 1999, not being able to save midgame - you have to play through the whole chapter!! - and very clunky, yet floaty movement. There are some attempts to make you laugh a bit, but they are not very well executed. Hacking mini game with movement and colours was nice, though, challenging, but not overly challenging.

I like SF themed games, but I can't recommend this in its current state, I'm afraid.

EDIT: Ok, I managed to get through the 2nd chapter during my FIFTH playthrough and I grasp the goal of this "educational" game: to get people to know and give basic training of CPR. I knew almost nothing about it - besides stuff you see in tv-series in hospitals - and am now more aware of the steps I should undertake to start and do CPR. The goal is noble, but the execution is flawed.

There is a practice / exam session and later on - SPOILER ALERT - you can use your theoretical knowledge about CPR and rescue an npc! That was quite nice, actually.

Stacking crates is a pain in the bum; when you put them down, it's always with a little shock so they bump around and don't do what you want them to do.

I "dig" this very short, minimalistic point@click game with beautiful music.

Point and click adventure game. If you like your humour rude, dark and you don't mind the over(s)extensive use of certain body parts and bodily fluids, then this is an insta buy!
The protagonist is a fat, swearing alcoholicop / anti-hero. If you like the English language, then this game is a treat! The English really shines, the words and sentences are so cleverly written. The voice acting is also really good. Really lauged a lot :)
I wrote this review to get the "Steam Awards Nomination Comittee"-badge. There are far better and well-wrought reviews than mine.
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This is the second time I write a review. But It's not gonna be a real one. I will mostly be raging on about one thing ... that this piece of ccrapp game crashes on me for the THIRD effing time during the first chapter without being able to save manually! Nooohooohooo, not some minutes in, but after a jailbreak, going to the beach - so waaay into the first chapter - and always when I was doing a different action. First time I was like "Ok, every game can crash, 2nd time "Ok, this is rather sad, but it does occcur." 3rd time "Raaaaaghr!"
So I'll have to start this mess all over again!! I am extremely disappointed and my son of seven is too, because he got this game from "Sinterklaas".
What makes it even more annoying, is the fact that you can't skip the cutscenes and sometimes these are quite long. The first time they are funny and crisp. The second time they are a nuisance, but the third time ..., man, they drove me mmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaddddd!
Again, I'll have to check the forums and the internet for a possible solution. Sometimes pc-gaming is really ♥♥♥♥♥♥.
For the moment, I do not recommend this game. There lies greatness beyond the crashes, though. I recognized a lot of gamemechanics from "Lego Lord of the rings, a game that I 100%ed with my son; so I might still change my mind and give it a thumbs up, after having solved the crash-problem.