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harmonea rated SPEAKEASY

harmonea rated a game 2 years ago
A downloadable game for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

After collecting all three endings for two routes today, I can say I feel positive about this release, hope for its success, and look forward to Open Late Games' next project.

Still, since itch.io makes this feedback essentially private, I'll be clearer about the "missing star." Please understand this is meant to be constructive. I feel the price is right for the product and am still recommending it to others.

UI/UX is where I feel the most room to improve lies. I understand the reality of game dev means these things are not necessarily "simple," but I feel they could be considered "basics" that a buyer can rightfully expect to see regardless. There are problems like:

  • No chapter select
  • No keybind config menu, or at least any keybind reference that I could find. I figured out that L is the log and that a quicksave key exists, but not what it is since there's no visual feedback on saving that I noticed.
  • Save menu not available on choice screens, which are probably the #1 place a player might want to save (maybe #2 behind the spicy scenes) - the quicksave keybind might work, but without a keybind reference I'll never know.
  • On replay, no altered visual on already-selected choices
  • No credit skip

I was also distressed to find instances where dialogue referenced choices I hadn't made. For example, while testing Will's route to see how much the choices I made mattered or possibly contributed to hidden stats, I chose to avoid him at every option. I didn't stay with him on Cora's first night working but still found a reference to having eaten ice cream together with him at breakfast the next morning, and in his (otherwise fun) solo scene, he seemed to reminisce about some touching I hadn't seen - maybe during the kiss CG?

Still, thank you for following through on your kickstarter - you were the first project I ever backed, and despite the above, I have no regrets. Good luck in the future.