Black Lazar

This review is more neutral than positive because Steam won't allow such one (lame). First thing you probably will need (but don't want) to know is how this game failed funding on Kickstarter, collecting only ~900$ out of asked 2700$. So, it's not "true" small indie per se, but devs seem more passionate about game itself than it's promotion or huge profits - that's good. Story and plot are both good and bad parts of game. Narrative is first-person perspective without unasked commentaries from author, granting bigger immersion. Story is going smoothly, jumping between current day of operation and flashbacks of detective. Few twists are prepared, you can say "classic" for such genre of mystery novels. It overall was likable, but there are two moments which felt weird. [spoiler]First one was "fight" with AI - I expected some sci-fi and occult themes in game, but it was still was too sudden and out of left field. Second one is ending, which suggest story is not over and will continue in some sort of sequel - but with twists and multiple endings like that it's kinda weird to imagine how story will go afterwards and I'm not sure if half-open ending is better than huge final confrontati…

I bought this on a whim and really enjoyed it. It’s a visual novel style choose your own adventure game where the choices do really matter. The art work was beautifully creepy and did take you to another world. I was completely engaged in the story and my play time reflects reading all the background documents to understand all the aspects of it. I don’t want to spoil the story, but it’s a detective, escape, conspiracy thriller and I had a great time going through it. As other reviewers have stated, it seems repeat playthroughs will mean starting over with no skips, but a lot of the reading will go much faster or skipping the tablet to speed up the playthrough will cut down on time. Given the size of the game, and beautiful art and story, I think it is well worth the price and I recommend to those who like these types of games. It’s a good one.

I’m surprised this game doesn’t have many reviews as far as I could find, but then I realised I hadn’t written anything about it just yet, hopefully, my personal opinion on this game can help inspire others to talk about it even if it is just one word. This is definitely a hidden gem as I was lucky enough to discover it on Steam when I was hunting for any visual novel game and after seeing some of those odd screenshots, I knew I needed to play it. Let's start with the character's design while we're at as it is the first thing that got my attention. Each of them is hand-drawn to look disjointed, disarrayed, and flawed, making them look human in a uniquely realistic way making them stand out. They even complement the dark gritty atmosphere of this game with their weird appeals, (not in a negative way). On to the story, all I could say after completing this game was that I wanted to play more. Seriously, 'Lore-rich' isn't just a buzzword thrown away, a lot happening in terms of the subtle supernatural elements that are pocketed here and there. There's a mystery concerning the love interest, as well as the drama between the protagonist and the antagonist that's more than defeating …

Give this one a go if you want a deep and mysterious story but don't want another generic visual novel. Choose your own adventure genre has a lot in common with the visual novels. Both have a lot of text and require you to read to get something from the game. But the biggest difference is that visual novels rarely offer meaningful decisions. This game is all about decisions and changing the story the further you go. The gameplay couldn’t be easier. All you do is read the story and make decisions. You get a couple of lines of text and at least three responses that change how the story is going to move. Although it’s possible to play the game with a keyboard, it’s quicker and less annoying with a mouse. The problem is that, when there’s only one response to choose from, the keyboard refuses to highlight it. The presentation is basic. Text lines show on the left and images or character portraits on the right. However, it works for this type of a game where black and white are the dominant colors. The story follows a secret agent who has to infiltrate a mansion of a criminal. But there’s a personal connection as well. Several years back, they both cared for the same woman who appar…

An enjoyable espionage thriller visual novel. Pretty well written, interesting art, and some cool ideas - the "Michael" scene in particular was really cool. The only downside is the non-linear structure of the narrative, which I felt really broke my immersion and engagement every time the story jumped forward or back. I understand why the story is told that way, but it didn't work for me.