Fragments of Him

I found this game kind of stilted and slow, with a lot of looking for things in silence. The environments were great, the narration definitely was fantastic, and as a queer person I thought the story was pretty good. (Hey other reviewers, it's not a "bury your gays" story if only one dies, come on.) I love walking sims and I love interactive fiction, but here it felt off-putting when the narration felt like a storybook, but each page turn took 10-60+ seconds of hunting for things to click on. I would've preferred to freely navigate while the narration was more automatic. I also thought the character models - while effective at conveying grief - lacked personality and made it hard for me to emotionally buy into what I was seeing. I was far more invested in what I was hearing than anything else.

I can easily recommend this game if you're someone who went "oh wow" and had to take some time to think after playing Dear Esther; otherwise, I'm afraid it can be very slow and a bit awkward to get through at times. I'd categorize this more as interactive fiction than a game, so don't expect much besides walking and clicking. (Walking speed is pretty slow. I sprinted throughout the entirety of the game.) All things, especially the fact that this is over 10 years old, considered, I think Fragments of Him depicts how confusing it can be to lose a loved one rather well. If you've lost a loved one, have 10 bucks, about 2 hours, and an open mind, I'd give this game a shot.

Most personal game ever made. Loved it.

Very touching story of love, friendship, and a grandparent’s love. The game weaves together the perspectives of multiple characters, and at times the significance of their stories is not apparent. In those moments, I wish the game had a way to skip the dialogue and allow me to continue the story. So few stories about gay love in games and this shows a little more to that. Love the story but I wish they could have presented it in a more interactive way. There are moments where you follow the foot step of the characters and it felt interactive, however there were moments felt just reading along and I was bored.

Incredibly moving journey into the complex perspectives of love, grief, and rebuilding after loss. Definitely opens the door into a new method of coping and therapy through modern media. Emotional, thought provoking, and beautifully created.

This is a mature, thoughtful rumination on the life of a person and how, in that life, other lives intersected. This is a slow and poignant story. taking its time. Might be a bit slow for some, sure, and the mechanics are just a means to cycle through the story, but it's a heartfelt one and that can only be good. I'm brought to mind of an episode of the television show "Cucumber" of a good few years ago. In it, just before the untimely passing of someone, an entire episode is spent on their life leading up to this unfortunate incident. This plays much like that; a life in stolen moments, in fragments, by those around them. If I am to be critical, I'd say the character models, well, the faces, don't really work. Of course these are the hardest to get right, but at times I really could have done with some eyes. It is a good attempt at "styling it out" though, so I do appreciate that. All in all, an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours, even with the heartbreak.