Recent reviews by BlueFire

I also don't like this game

(Spoiler Free)
Tl;dr 7/10 - Find Love or Die Trying was an interesting experience that I'm glad I had. While a great visual novel, its lack of engaging gameplay and common features seen in other visual novels can leave some bored and disappointed. However, it's free price combined with its memorable story and beautiful art definitely warrants a play by those curious to give visual novels a try and veterans alike.

Gameplay - 6/10
To those who look for gameplay in visual novels as much as they cannot wait to see the story developments of the next Mario platformer, boy do I have the game for you. In all seriousness though, there is not much of a game here. Click your mouse rapidly while reading a Wikipedia article, remembering to choose a slightly different article every once and a while, and you have pretty much played this game. Judging the game from this arguably unfair angle, its quite boring. The only gameplay it can realistically offer is through choices given to the player, where choices you make may or may not have an impact on the progress of the story. This allows a certain level of engagement that is not possible in, say, movies or books. That being said, many other games have had this mechanic while still having incredible gameplay. It is important to note that these are often praised as pioneers of the genre, not the status quo. Considering this context, I believe its gameplay is passable. The choices are arguably limited in scope, but it's better than nothing. For what its trying to do, it accomplishes it well. Small issues such as a fairly limited amount of save slots, scrolling text edges being seen before being revealed, and text that exceeds their boxes occasionally show themselves. Another disappointing feature is the lack of a gallery, something that will be elaborated on in the art section. However, these very rarely distract from the experience and usually go unnoticed. The game is also free, which a lot of people take for granted. Lots of work goes into developing even the most mundane games, my hats off to the developers for bringing this experience to the public at their own cost.

Story - 8/10
A spoiled story is no fun, so I will try my best to reveal my opinion on its progression without giving anything away. If you much prefer to go in as a blind as possible, STOP READING this section. Assuming you've already played the game, what a story huh? If you're still reading without playing the game... uh... hmmm... man that was... a story? If gameplay is a visual novel's weak point, a sort of misnomer since that's never the focus, then the story is a visual novel's time to shine. Next to art, a story can make or break a visual novel. As far as this story goes, I would say it definitely made this game. The development of its characters offers the player with a rich cast to engage with the world. Some have commented on the amount of tropes or occasional lack of depth in some characters, but honestly, I failed to notice these throughout my playthrough. While I would not go as far to say the story is anything revolutionary, it is definitely a worthwhile experience that felt meaningful.

Art - 9/10
Now if we take the word visual novel, we see that its made up of two very sophisticated words visual + novel. We already saw that the story represents the novel part, so now we see that its other part is visual. Hence we find ourselves here, the other important piece of the pie: visuals. The art of the game is quite well done, it's style is unique enough to provide some variety yet familiar to those comfortable with modern "anime style". As in most visual novels, it also provides unique art for each character during important scenes of the game. While some of these occasionally look off in proportions to my professionally trained eye (trust me, my stick figures are immaculate), it does not distract from the experience. It's backgrounds are likewise quite detailed and beautiful. What's disappointing is that some of these backgrounds are often completely covered by characters. I can tell an immense amount of time went into adding detail to the backgrounds. Including an art gallery would have fixed this, allowing users to admire the artwork. As this seems to be a rather common feature in visual novels, its lack of inclusion is somewhat puzzling. It would seem rather important for the developers to let the players enjoy the art in an isolated setting. After all, art pieces are a sort of psuedo achievement that players "win" as they progress through the story. This can be said to be more a gameplay flaw than art flaw though, but my aim is to emphasize how the game's art is fully deserving of a dedicated gallery to be enjoyed.

Music/Sound - 5.5/10
Without engaging music or sound effects, the line between visual novel and books would blur even more. Well as someone who is quite tone deaf and listens to the same 5 songs while driving, I would say its pretty passable. None of the tracks are specifically memorable or overly impressive. The music is used properly in scenes where appropriate, but I wouldn't go as far to say its anything ground breaking. Same goes for the sound effects. Things sound as you would expect. Explosions sound like explosions, punches sound like punches, and guns sound like guns. It is pretty standard as far as visual novels go. Some sound effects sound a little inappropriate. Specifically there is a scene where a punch sound is used for something that definitely wouldn't sound like a punch (those who played may know which scene). So while scenes like those may occasionally ruin the immersion, its occurrences are often few and fair between. Overall the music and sound design, while nothing spectacular, does the job well.

Halo Infinite is the only game I have played where the beta was better than the actual release. As soon as the beta came out, I downloaded the multiplayer and began playing. While there were a few performance hiccups every now and then, it was certainly nothing major. The game lacked enough variety in its modes, maps, and customization, but that is to be expected in a beta. Then they released the game.

The few performance hiccups of before turned into constant and frustrating. Games would constantly crash or run poorly, matchmaking took ages, and the severe lack of any addition customization or modes left me immensely disappointed. If my friends had not informed me that the game officially released, I would have never known. Until they address the performance issues and add more to the game, I cannot honestly recommend anyone playing this game for any significant time.

(Spoiler Free)
Tl;dr 9/10 - While it seems to have missed its shot at having engaging gameplay, its charm and unforgettable story are sure to leave an impact.

Gameplay - 8/10
The gameplay of One Shot, while unique, leaves much to be desired. The game's main mechanic centers around a building system where items found throughout the world are combined to solve puzzles. These puzzles are not difficult, assuming the player explores the world thoroughly. However, these puzzles are the only form of gameplay. If puzzle games are not for you, you may find this game a slog. But if you are willing to give it just one shot, I promise their charming puzzles will leave an impact.

Story - 9/10
Games have the unique ability to tell their audience a story while allowing them to be intimately involved in its creation. One Shot is no exception. It is a star example of how gaming can be used to create stories more vivid and engaging than any other form of story telling. The game mainly plays on the empathy of its players, allowing them to relate to its characters and form bonds with the world. This play on empathy is further complemented with its impressive ability to construct a world that is interesting and engaging. If you are looking for a game with a story that leaves you with an unforgettable experience, look no further.

Art/Music - 10/10
If you are a fan of pixel style graphics and very somber music, this game is certainly for you. This game's art is very well done, complimenting the music it accompanies perfectly. It is clear how much love and attention went into the creation of each piece of art and music. Even if you are not a fan of this game's art style or choice of music, its overall quality and attention to detail is undeniable.