Nietzsche's Shadow

"One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star—but here the star stumbles." The game dares to bear the name of Nietzsche—a noble ambition, but one not yet fulfilled. It is not without charm, yet its power falters under the weight of its own striving. The graphics are not beautiful in the Apollonian sense, nor are they grotesque enough to be Dionysian. They lie somewhere in the limbo of mediocrity, like a half-formed thought—neither hideous enough to provoke, nor refined enough to awe. The controls are janky, unresponsive, as if the will to power of the player is continually thwarted by the shackles of poor implementation. There is no dance here, only the stumbling gait of a crippled Übermensch. Subtitles—those bridges between logos and pathos—refuse to appear at once, much like truths in a decadent age: fragmented, delayed, and often absurd. The game’s optimization is likewise lacking; it loads with the lethargy of a spirit sunk in ressentiment, failing to affirm the rhythm of life. As for the horror, it is not of the blood nor of the scream. It resides in suggestion, in the echo of a thought left unexplored. The psychological element is only h…

If you're a fan of walking simulators that are set in slightly-surreal European landscapes, feature straightforward objectives, and philosophical musings from a long-dead-philosopher? then this is the game for you. oh, you're not familiar with said genre? you're not even sure it is or should be a gaming genre? than this game is not for you. This game has a thought-provoking concept, but its execution is inconsistent. While I didn't entirely dislike my experience, I believe the game needs more tinkering to reach its full potential. Wonky movement (in a walking simulator), some breathtakingly beautiful landscapes as well as some that were hastily put together (e.g. floating trees, odd lighting and shadow artifacts, etc.. if these are meant to be part of the 'slightly-surreal landscape' its not coming off that way), fantastic voice-acting (English version), and the bones of a what could've been a much more interesting experience. As it stands, I'm hesitant to recommend it at its current price point. if you're on the fence, just know that one is getting what they're paying for - nothing more.

Decent story integrating Nietzschean thoughts and ideas. The music is vibrant and appropriate, and the voice acting good. In fact, it's these two aspects that carry the game, or should I say visual novel. Make no mistake, there are no choices here. None at all. Thus it's purely a story. How to rate or value that story? I found it interesting, but not great. What I lacked was meaningful choices and a better visual language. A series of images would have been better than the "walk forward on this path, and click a button every couple of minutes." Finally, I wished there was some Wagner here. Nietzsches love and, later, hate of Wagner would have made for an interesting way to incorporate musical and philosophical aspects into this game. Especially since the music was so good, it's absence stood out to me. Also, a game about Nietzsche without the ability to kiss a horse? Surely, the end boss should have been shaped as a horse or a horses head, no? Would I recommend this game? Not really, read some Nietzsche directly instead. That said, not the worst time or money I've spent. So if you want to support the effort (which I do) go ahead and buy it.

ending is kinda meh, though very thought provoking. I like the representation of Nietzsche, you were able to showcase his personality, his philosophy, and language in only 1 hour of gameplay, very impressive. But don't think you'll understand Nietzsche after playing this game, you must know the way of the overman and Nietzsche's life well before playing this game to even remotely comprehend what and who is Nietzsche.

A quiet retrospective on the subconscious nihilism of the minds nagging thoughts against the musings of philosophical meaning to exist, and be. Tips: the ultra setting for gfx is bugged use high or medium

Some things are best left unexamined!! Woke up, my shadow told me not to think about it too hard. Walked for 10 minutes listening to classical music in the Countryside. See something unusual, am told not to worry about it, I don't.