After revisiting the game recently, I felt compelled to leave a review and share how it encapsulated its unique setting and the emotions it evoked during my experience.

Critters for Sale is a narrative-driven point-and-click video game that unfolds over five distinct stories, or "critters", for players to immerse themselves in. The majority of these tales draw inspiration from Middle Eastern and North African folklore. In contrast, others are set in locales such as New York or a casino. The narratives largely stand alone, and let players to dive into any story without needing to trace its backlogs / antecedents. Much like the character you embody, the focus is on how the tale unfolds.

The visuals serve as a robust foundation for the narrative. They complement, rather than overshadow, each other, both aiming to convey the same mood or message. The game utilizes extensive image synthesis, dithering, clustering, and other techniques on readily available online images or those captured by Sonoshee himself. The synthesis is so finely-tuned that any image processed with the same settings becomes instantly captivating. So rest is up to finding the right context, at the right time, for the right story, with the right thematic setting, which Sonoshee done amazingly well.

The narratives sometimes unfold at a high pace, letting players to deeply engage with the setting, while at other times, events slows their respective pace, leaving you more time to interact with the environment, talk to NPC's, and fundamentally understand the current setting better, clearer. Accompanied by the right ambiance, the game feels as though it's gently guiding you to the story's conclusion. While some might perceive this as lacking challenge, I'm convinced it's a deliberate design choice. The developer intended for players to seamlessly immerse themselves in the narratives and genuinely experience each setting.

The game contains meticulously chosen and crafted music and soundscapes. For those who fondly remember the vaporwave aesthetics of the 2010s internet era and still resonate with it, you'll recognize some familiar contributors, like "Haircuts For Men". The complete music list can be found on this Steam thread (lol steam won't let me attach links but look at the community hub of the game). The audio direction for the game is spot-on. At times, you might encounter high-BPM discotheque beats aligning with a story's escalating tempo, and at other moments, you'll be introduced to musics / artists that you'd never expect in an indie point-and-click game—yet they fit the setting perfectly.

The medium becomes the message. These emotions and experiences might not have been as effectively conveyed through any other medium, be it video, music, or visual art. It's the interactivity that transforms this game into a uniquely encapsulated experience.

I must say that occasionally encountering the same option from a different perspective (such as navigating through the desert or continuing down a corridor) enhanced my sense of immersion. This design choice felt well timed, provided me with space to digest and contemplate what had happened, and to ponder what might unfold next.

Waiting Sonoshee to deliver more unique pieces into the medium itself. Give man a follow.