Gerda: A Flame in Winter

Top shelf

Wow. Just wow. Art is stunning. Graphics do not need to be ultra realistic to be beautiful. The visuals look like a watercolor painting. And the story?? It's agonizing, everything makes you second guess yourself.

[i]Gerda[/i] does something very interesting for a choice-based game : there is no "best path" where you can save everyone. No matter what you do or who you trust, there are people you will let down and promises you will break. No matter what your intentions are, there are people who will refuse to help and friendships you will let go of. What is gripping on a meta level and really puts you into Gerda's shoes is that not only are you not sure what the consequences of your actions will be, you don't even know whether there [i]will[/i] be consequences. As a player, some options you have may tug at your heartstrings, but be completely unnecessary. An action may look optional, but not doing it leads to a character dying. So like Gerda, you are feeling the pressure of making the "right" choices and agreeing with the "right" people, without knowing [i]what[/i] is "right". Gameplay-wise, the random aspect of the dice rolls isn't that interesting, but Gerda's "mental energies" are a great addition. You always have to decide whether to keep them (as they can help with dice rolls) or use them to get "better" dialogue options. In addition, the game is short (so easy to replay to experienc…

Interesting game mechanics. Multiple ways to play the game, too, who you side with, who you help. I enjoyed the simple visuals, it's quite soothing. The game is short, but since it's interesting to see how other options work, you can replay it for hours.

Great purchase for history buffs, just wish the choices and stay checks in the main campaign were as forgiving as those in the DLC

Great game overall. It depicts how the choices of individuals under fascist rule are shaped by their surroundings but are individual choices nontheless. The story really sucks you in and your choices shape the story quite a bit, so im looking forward to another playthrough. The story and your possibilities are shaped by the actions you've taken before, but unlike life and death of sir brante you dont have to minmax to not completely get screwed later on in the game. And like Disco Elysium there are options where there is a diceroll that you can hit or miss. But unlike Disco its not determined by what silly hat you wear but how well aligned you are with certain persons and factions in the game. Only critique: Towards the end of Gerdas Story, i couldnt choose an option i had the points for, which was sad.