Epanalepsis

It's been years and I still think about this game occasionally

You walk sooooooooooooooo slow. The game starts with some random fetch quests that probably wouldn't have annoyed me if the walking speed wasn't so terribly slow. Once I got out of the apartment I realized all the dialogue and plot seemed pointless and random. I refunded it. [h1]Pros:[/h1] + Unique art style + Okay music [h1]Cons:[/h1] + Slow walking speed + No auto walk when you click on items. You need to be on top of them first to interact. + Boring dialogue.

Epanalepsis is an unconventional narrative adventure developed by Cameron Kunzelman and published by Mastertronic that focuses far more on storytelling and philosophical reflection than traditional gameplay. Rather than emphasizing difficult puzzles or fast-paced mechanics, the game presents an interactive experience built around three separate stories set in different time periods. Each protagonist initially appears disconnected from the others, but as the narrative unfolds, recurring themes, mysterious encounters, and symbolic events gradually reveal deeper relationships between their lives. The result is an experience that values interpretation and contemplation, inviting players to discover meaning beneath its quiet and often enigmatic surface. The game's greatest strength is its willingness to explore complex ideas through its writing. Each chapter introduces a unique protagonist facing personal struggles that reflect the social and technological climate of their respective era. The first story explores dissatisfaction and uncertainty in the early 1990s, while the second shifts toward a more modern setting where technology and everyday routines influence personal identity. Th…

It's an odd one, in good and bad ways. Maybe get it on discount.

The developer has talent, but their decision to write a choppy, non-cohesive story is ♥♥♥♥. There was so much potential that was wasted. The game lets you walk around and click on things, but no puzzles exist. There are a few moments where you can make decisions, but I wonder if the choices matter. I will play the game again to see if the ending changes. The way that dialogue is presented is abhorrent. It's like reading a comic book or manga without understanding the proper order. There are no visual clues as to whom is speaking, and that frustrates the ♥♥♥♥ out of me. As a game player, you're not missing anything substantial if you skip this game. Hopefully, the developer will learn and improve in his next game.

This may have been bypassed back in 2015 as a simple curiosity, but in 2022, this holds weight to the world we have found ourselves in. Going from one era to the next - the hopeful beginning of a new future in the 1990s, the technological advances propelling us in the 2010s, and the dark cyberpunk future the megacorps have made of the 2030s that are effectively what we are living in now - have completely captivated and touched me in ways that only the present day we have found ourselves in possibly could. The lingo, culture, behavior, and environments in each era are remarkably accurate, and the soundtrack for each era is wonderfully crafted to reflect these time periods. What is the most interesting is that the distant future, incredibly reminiscent of 1970s existential sci-fi, depicts how those of that time would look back on the dark megacorp-ruled and technologically oppressive future we have found ourselves in. Essentially, our dark cyberpunk future is their distant past, and this game touches upon those thoughts, and theories, with incredible foresight. I have lived through each of these eras, and considering the world of 2022 is nearly identical to the 2030s represented in…