Very Pink Game

Very Pink Game is not your average game. It does not seek to provide you a challenge you must overcome, but rather to create a sense of amusement and simple joy, and it does this very well.

As Ivy, you are invited to meet with a long-lost friend. However, in order to do this you must assist your neighbors with their everyday problems, like the man bloated on ginger ale or the woman who has lost her keys. The bulk of the play is spent wandering around town, talking to different people and figuring out where to go next - and that's where this game shines, because each character is unique and funny in their own way. There's no cliche forces of good and evil: the closest thing to a villain is town jerk Jimmie Fries, and he's not such a bad guy. Several times during the game's short playthrough I found myself smiling, and the scene with the fisherman had me laughing shamelessly.



But let's talk about the visuals - they're very pink. The tone beautifully reinforces the game's delightfulness. The pixel art is adorable and Mother-esque, and while it is simple, it is simple done incredibly well - like a professional artist with a crayon. This game is an excellent example of visual unity, and while I could see monohue tone becoming blinding in a longer game, it works well here.

The proverbial ball is dropped once or twice. It's easy to end up traveling back and forth across town a few times, accidentally missing one of the people you need to talk to. The music tracks, while matching the visuals and theme well, are short and a little repetitive, and some tracks cut themselves off. However, these are very minor annoyances that do little to hurt the experience.

Between the visuals and the dialogue, Very Pink Game creates a sense of charm and quirk most games have forgotten about. If you want a slice of something different - a game not about the triumph of victory, but about the joy of simple friendships - I dare you to give Very Pink Game a try.