Recent reviews by Ray

It was alright. 7.2/10

Music was good.

I enjoyed the art style (mostly), character sprites could look wildly different, but still feel like part of a cohesive style. However some of the light effects could be way too much (club laser upgrade especially).

Gameplay was fun, but VERY easy.

Honestly, my main complaint is that the game is just too short. I was expecting things to eventually get super complicated with all the Red Flags you're supposed to watch out for, but most of them only appear once or twice, if at all.

Another thing that must be mentioned is the minor level of JANK that's pervasive throughout the entire game. There was nothing game-breaking in my playthrough. However, I experienced constant weird UI glitches, visual bugs, etc. Heck, I think I even managed to accidentally glitched myself two free skill points near the beginning. Not that it mattered, you max out well before the end. In fact, you max out so early that I thought there was gonna be a second act to the game or something where a new set of skills would unlock. But no, the game is just that short.

Overall, while I enjoyed my time with Techno Banter, it's hard to recommend it at full price for the length of it. It feels like the third or fourth version of a Game Jam demo that kept being expanded upon with new content, but not to the scope of a full game (especially at the current price). I'm glad I waited for the first patch to release before playing, or I could see myself dropping it in frustration if I had to replay some sections multiple times. So I recommend waiting for a sale (probably at least 25% off), and maybe some additional polish to make things a bit less janky.

TL;DR: Enjoyable, but janky, game. Too short for the full asking price. Recommend waiting for sale + additional patches.

6.6/10

It was okay overall, but honestly...I didn't like the any of the cast (Writing or character design-wise), thought the loop aspect was too repetitive (too many forced loop restarts for minor things) and restrictive (felt like my given options in a loop at any one time were heavily limited till I met certain circumstances and how linear some acts were), and wasn't a fan of of the story (especially the final couple of acts).

Also the world building in this game is certainly...something, and there are a few unresolved loose threads that will apparently never be answered as the developer has expressed no interest in exploring this world any further in dlc or any other form and has moved on to other projects. Which stinks, because the few aspects of this plot I was interested in don't get any proper resolution at all.

That all sounds harsh, but honestly the game's okay, it's just not anything super special. Thus, I'm putting it as Recommended, even though I'd rather give it a neutral if possible. While I do not regret the time spent playing it, I would recommend skipping this one or getting it on heavy sale unless you're absolutely jonesing for some RPG Maker time-loop gameplay.

Fun game with a good amount of content, especially if you try to 5 star everything, like me.
I'm 25 hours in and not even close to being done.
I recommend trying the demo out and if you enjoy it, know that the game is well worth buying at full price ($5.99 USD at time of review).

Nice short game. Worth downloading.

Looking forward to seeing what the developer does next.

I really liked this game. It plays somewhat similar to Papers Please, where the majority of your time is spent doing your assigned job which then gets more and more complex over time. Unlike Papers Please, when you're not doing your job you actually get a chance to talk to different characters and gather information.

This is because the main character in this actually has a goal right from the start. While the Inspector from Papers Please starts off as a passive character, just wanting to make enough money to support his family, the main character of Booth is actively trying to find a way to achieve his goal. The game, in turn, gives you multiples paths to follow while you are off the clock, each with story lines that can play out in different ways. This leads to a more story focused experience that encourages multiple playthroughs, which I personally preferred.

So, If you enjoyed Papers Please and want something similar, I would HIGHLY recommend this game.

It's definitely worth the $10!