frogmeetsdog
Member
frogmeetsdog I am playing Whispers of a Machine. I'm currently on the 3rd day and enjoying it a lot. I'd say (so far) this is the first must play adventure of the year. Not counting Great Ace Attorney since it's actually a 2015 game with a recent fan translation (although that's must play as well imo). The investigation abilities steal the show. Whispers does an impressive job of delivering unique uses for them and won't hold your hand, so that -- in the game's best moments -- you feel as though you're doing real detective work. Vera is a solid lead (and only getting more interesting as the story progresses). She reminds me of Amy Wellard from Shardlight, in that Vera is remarkably even keel despite being mixed up in high stress situations. Although, I assume some of that can change with the dialogue options.
There are some moments that are brought down by muddled sign-posting, I feel. Stuff that's confusing in a way that seems unintentional, rather than a deliberate red herring. Also, there are times where the limitations for what you can or cannot interact with seem arbitrary. Thankfully those moments have been few and far between (so far at least) .
The dialogue system is both cool and limiting in ways. I really like the fact that my choices shape Vera's abilities. It's great to see the choice/consequence mechanic effect gameplay in a way it typically doesn't. But at the same time I find myself choosing dialogue options I otherwise wouldn't just to keep getting the abilities I want instead of choosing what I feel is best to say. It's a tough balancing act for a cool idea. I'm curious to see how much it really changes the game on subsequent playthroughs.
I agree with what I can agree on. As I‘m not too far in I can‘t really comment on your second paragraph but so far I‘m also VERY impressed. The game is super-immersive, the story reels you in immediatly, the extra abilities (or light RPG elements if you will) are very cool and - same as with the choices - add a very interesting layer to the game.
Very impressed with WoaM so far. I already liked Kathy Rain but this one is shaping up to be an even better experience.
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