Gourd Clae Reviews

I wasn't expecting to review a game like "This is Where I Want to Die" on my return to RMN, but I'm glad I found this little gem. Now, this game is WAY too short for an organized review, so I'll just share my thoughts and warn you that I will spoil the very small story.(By the way, I highly recommend playing the game before reading my review!) I also realize this game was made in a month's time. Though, despite the limited production time, this game did really strike a chord with me.

"This is Where I Want to Die" communicates the story of man killed because of who he loved. Now, to be honest, I saw the main plot point the moment the protagonist proposed. While it's not impossible for a woman to propose, the protagonist is written like a man and acts like one. This was a gay couple. The player isn't shown enough of the couple's life to really feel bad for them, but is shown enough to feel bad about the situation. People being killed because of their sexuality is what I felt bad for, and I think that's what the developer was aiming for. Another note is that, considering the plot point, a VN style of game was the very best way to go about keeping the protagonist's gender a hush-hush while simultaneously building up at least a minimal amount of love for him. And since the story is told from a dying man's memory, I absolutely love the silhouette characters and obscure backdrops.

Now, I already vaguely mentioned a few things I felt the game kinda goofed. The power of the main plot point may have been told better, if there were subtle hints rather than a disconjointing "my husband" from the protagonist at the end. The picture was more than capable of shocking the player. And I felt the dying words of the protagonist could have been in the middle of the screen when they were present rather than shoved to the bottom of the screen after the first few sentences. Also the sound effects were a little hard on the ears at the end since I didn't know they'd be so loud I didn't adjust it. And the other problem was with it being too short, which is forgivable given the amount of time the game was in development.

Anyway, I just wanted to show how much I loved the message the game was sending with a little review. The use of games like this has always been something I've enjoyed since we're more likely to learn from something we love than from people telling us, and it can offer fresh views to people in an environment stagnant with (in my opinion) deplorable ideas. All in all, this game deserves:
4/4