Publisher: Dragonfly Studios
Genre: Visual Novel
Summary: Thanks to a resemblance to their recently deceased leader April, you have a chance to join a legendary team of adventurers.
Gameplay: Gameplay consists of a few choices.
Style: The artistic style is an exaggerated, colorful anime design, with some super-deformed instances in inserts. The music is good.
Story: "April Was a Fool" is really, depending on which option you choose near the beginning, five different stories, each exploring a different member of the team, but all showing these heroes' dysfunction. These various dysfunctions can be surprisingly dark.
Conclusion: While I enjoyed the complexity of the characters, which came across well despite the shortness of the game, I found the serious topics discussed clashed with the artistic style. I realize the contrast is probably intentional, but it just didn't work for me, especially given my general dislike of the style regardless. It was worth playing "April Was a Fool" but I couldn't help wishing for different visuals.
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Sunday, March 3, 2019
"The Blackwell Convergence" Review
Publisher: Wadjet Eye Games
Genre: Adventure
Summary: Rosangela and her ghostly guide Joey investigate deaths that seem to be connected to a mysterious ghost.
Gameplay: As with the previous Blackwell game, puzzles often involve switching to Joey to make use of incorporeal ghostly skills. There is still much investigating and asking questions, plus email hacking via finding passwords. It can be a bit annoying trying to pick or type the exact right question.
Style: The style is much the same standard adventure-game graphics and blues-music. Some scanning backgrounds during the beginning and ending sequences and rain effects during parts add a little extra.
Story: I greatly enjoyed the story back in "Blackwell Unbound" so it was a pleasant surprise to see elements of it revisited here. The hints of the mysteries of the Blackwell setting are the game's greatest strength, but they are only touched on in this game. The other elements of the story provide some interesting New York City history, but suffer for randomness in connection and pacing.
Conclusion: "The Blackwell Convergence" works well as a continuation in the Blackwell series. Investment in the characters and setting helps cover the occasional irritating puzzle.
Genre: Adventure
Summary: Rosangela and her ghostly guide Joey investigate deaths that seem to be connected to a mysterious ghost.
Gameplay: As with the previous Blackwell game, puzzles often involve switching to Joey to make use of incorporeal ghostly skills. There is still much investigating and asking questions, plus email hacking via finding passwords. It can be a bit annoying trying to pick or type the exact right question.
Style: The style is much the same standard adventure-game graphics and blues-music. Some scanning backgrounds during the beginning and ending sequences and rain effects during parts add a little extra.
Story: I greatly enjoyed the story back in "Blackwell Unbound" so it was a pleasant surprise to see elements of it revisited here. The hints of the mysteries of the Blackwell setting are the game's greatest strength, but they are only touched on in this game. The other elements of the story provide some interesting New York City history, but suffer for randomness in connection and pacing.
Conclusion: "The Blackwell Convergence" works well as a continuation in the Blackwell series. Investment in the characters and setting helps cover the occasional irritating puzzle.
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