1-900-Gary

1-900-Gary stars a scatterbrained boy who lives in presumably a small town, with his sister Lacey and their parents. Most of the game is comprised of near-pointless anecdotes the boy has for the player.

This game was rather cute. I thought it replicated the "urban legend" feel present in a lot of horror movies (and coming of age movies) quite well, and effectively so for such a short game.

The endings were amusing, and the true ending offers useful advice:


I don't believe that the game was supposed to be scary in the sense of trying to elicit shivers and screams from the player, and so I can't falter it for not being "scary". I also don't think it was meant to cause uproarious laughter. It's pretty mellow all around, with thankfully no jump-scares, or even any blood (only green goo... near the toilet. Welp.) I found it to be funny, though I can sort of see it might not be funny for "everybody". It's peculiar, purposefully lame, a little irreverent. Suits me.

The game delivers on its promise to remind you "being a kid was pretty darn weird". The narrator's nonsensical stories definitely evoke the feeling of a bygone childhood spent doing pointless things out of boredom, something I think a lot of people can identify with. Stories and memories merge as you grow older; you forget broader details that would otherwise contextualise odd particulars. I think this game succeeds in illustrating that.

I liked the mundane setting, I think it just added to everything else - nothing extraordinary or really even mildly interesting, just a sleepy, boring "nowhere" place that nevertheless has nostalgic quality for the protagonist.

The graphics are simple and unobtrusive. Music is sparse - barely present, even. There are a few spooky sound effects here and there, but mostly you'll hear the loud "confirm" noise more than anything else.

Overall, I enjoyed it. It is very short, so is not at all taxing on your day should you consider playing it.