itch.io

Played this today and had a great time with it! Great balance of character building and game action, really quick and efficient to set up and play. I'm especially thankful for how sparse the rules are, so I could spend more time playing the game instead of learning how to play!

The dice were really on my side: I dodged elimination easily, got rid of enemies and then made new ones, had some lovely friendships (RIP to 56-year-old Roman, who was also an artist's muse, with tattoos), played out a lot of the "just pretending to be a celebrity" storyline, and in the end I won the game against a very entertaining flat earther Meena. (Right after losing a debate to her, but you know how fickle TV audiences can be.)

Really slick and entertaining, with a palatable balance of entertainment and treachery. I'm already itching to play again! Thanks!

Haha, somehow I managed to avoid [REDACTED] all the way until the ceremony. My Quincy needs to live a little! Er...

My one tip to new players: don’t be afraid to make your Quincy a bit of a jerk. What’s the worst that can happen, he’ll die?

This is a really good story-game. More importantly, it feels unique.

While playing, I came to think of this story as having two hearts. One heart is the characters. They’re quirky, distinctive, sharply-written and charmingly-designed. Looking at them is already fun thanks to the expressive, shape-conscious and richly-colored art style, but the plot wastes no time inviting a closer scrutiny. Quincy and Lucas’s “weird kid” friendship is not only precious, it’s an oasis in a society that feels stuffy and hostile to who Quincy is. The things Lucas reveals about his path to using his contrarianism for good… mwah. Beautiful.

I can’t wait for more chances to peel back their layers and catch them crying and screaming and covered in blood. I also wanna see them holding hands and smiling and getting everything they want. I just plain want more of them!

The other heart is the worldbuilding. The prose is, imo, kind of an unsung hero here— it’s a great balance of flower and function, serving up a relentless stream of deft word choices and entertaining animal-based metaphors. You’re definitely gonna open up a dictionary 1 or 5 times over the course of playing, but trust me: it’s all in service of evocation. This world has been Mapped. The hell. Out. Politically, magically, environmentally— Vestur has lore, and it’s relevant. (My husband also noted that it manages what few fantasy stories do: justifying the coexistence of magic and firearms.) And if you’re worried the court drama will be too dry, don’t fret— there are lots of cool weird animals involved! They’re even intertwined with the colonialist themes in a sick, self-justified way that highlights the compartmentalization necessary to holding power. The animals are political! That's all I've ever wanted since I was a girl...

The game acknowledges that you’re new here, but it doesn’t exactly hold your hand. Some lore is alluded to well before it’s explained, but the nutritious lore “dumps” are saved for narratively-interesting situations, which built anticipation imo. Though I tried not to rely on it, the Codex is a very handy feature. Lots of mechanics are introduced in this one that I assume are "tutorials" here. I hate one-off puzzles so the boxes made me wanna [REDACTED], but if it happens again I'll be ready. The debate scene was awesome and I would play this game for that alone! The UI in general is gorgeous and thoughtful and I always love when things glow on hover. The only two parts I’m not sold on are 1) the “decision” options being viewable only one at a time, and 2) the visual hierarchy of the “quest overview/choose city” page, which is my mortal enemy. The latter may look better if the lists become more populated in further installments, though.

The best part is that after playing, you don’t have to wait long for more of this story. There’s heaps more art and comics on the devblog!

Overall, amazing work. I'm floored, impressed, and also feel like I should have expected this from the level of passion put into this project. Worth a shot for anyone who's not afraid of reading, or surprise death.