AlpineShepherd 最近的评测

This is a great game, flaws and all. Really, I think that it going too far in some aspects to the point of being cringy somehow enhances the experience. It is like with many things in life - some of the most memorable things must be somewhat imperfect.

I really wanted to say that the real issue with this game is how short it is - just eight episodes, about an hour each (It actually rounded perfectly to eight hours for me). Yet, after finishing it I can't point this out as an actual flaw of this game. As many had pointed out already, the game is short but really packed with content - there is never a boring moment, not a single time I found myself wanting to speed up or skip ahead, and that is a real achievement in quality for any show. The rather short runtime also could have been a problem if the game ended abruptly, however, I think that they really nailed the ending. Not only does it tie everything neatly, but it also manages to leave some space open for a continuation, which is a surprisingly rare thing for an ending to do. It is usually good if it does at least one of those things correctly.
Some may also point out that the game is really made to be played several times, as is the case with many choice-driven games. It is not true for me, though, because this usually destroys any suspension of belief in me for those games - and this is an element I would consider to be one of the most important in media I enjoy. Trying all the choices just for the sake of trying them, pressing all the buttons just to see what will happen - it feels too gamey and immersion breaking. I like to do just one, final walkthrough of any choice-driven game and take the results as a sort of head-canon. Still, this game is pretty good for people like me too. Usually, my biggest gripe with such games, due to the aforementioned playstyle, is how sometimes they manage to sneak some huge outcomes onto random choices, making the resolution really unsatisfying and unclear. Everyone had seen this in their experience, I'm sure: "in the episode 3 of 221, you didn't point out to this guy that he has a smudge on his shirt, and now you get a bad ending" type of a thing. This is absolutely not a thing in this game. Of course, this pushes it a bit into another extreme - of you always being able to just "be a goody two shoes, pick the option labeled "right" against the option labeled "wrong" and all things will be fine". Still, this is a game in workplace comedy genre, not life and suffering of sir Brante (without any criticism of the latter). Not every game should be actively working against you, offering a hard pushback just for the sake of pushback. Yes, you sure can, with absolute certainty, see for a fact what option is right and what option is wrong, yes, it is always hip to be square and it doesn't really pay to be mean, but in the end it is your decision, and the game ultimately makes it count.
The game has a really "millenial" sort of humor and writing, so I am sure that it may be not entirely for everybody. I went in with the expectation that this part of the game would be insufferable, though, and found myself out to be completely wrong. It certainly is there, to be sure - some dialogue lines or even plot directions feel cringy, but it is not insufferable at all. If you can see through a bit of lame emo stuff like how the main character always talks about his traumas and whatnot, you would find that the game as a whole is not repulsive at all in this way. Then again, maybe I'm just really nostalgic for a classic workplace comedy. And, as a guilty pleasure, I always found the millenial humor to be somewhat... cosy? There weren't many particular jokes that made me laugh or even smile, but, in their totality, they served to really brighten the mood.
The romance part was decent, even if it feels somewhat railroaded. Maybe it is because I didn't see how the game would play out with different options chosen, I don't know, but for me the romance part played like the most "handheld" section of the plot. It feels almost as if the player was given two buttons - this girl or that, and you can just choose and roll with it. Still, choosing Visi made up for some of those shortcomings, at least in my opinion.
The gameplay part, as funny as it is to mention in a visual novel-movie kind of a game, is awesome. It is a great way to spice the dialogue to choice to dialogue gameplay loop, which before in many similar games was usually done by means of a humble QTE. Here, the dispatch mode is a game in itself, and a good game at that. Trust all the people who ask for there to be an endless mode for it.
You should try this game with an open mind. If you wouldn't focus on some negatives it has, I'm certain that you would, just as I did, find it to be a memorable and refreshing experience.
Really hoping for a season 2, which would be an instant pre-order.

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9/10 plot, 8/10 gameplay. Awesome game, can't wait for the plot to continue. Definently worth it's money, would buy again.

То, чем должна быть современная РПГ, великая игра.