Fired this up the other day and...I was just not feeling it...I'm not sure why, because it was a bit fun to poke around in other people's computers, copy files to a floppy disc, scan them, and... I think you're also supposed to print some of them?
However, the more I played the more annoyed I got at a (arguably minor) audio issue - I'm playin on a TV that's a reasonable distance away and the positional audio in the game really lowers the volume on audio sources when you're looking away or not directly at something - so the overall experience for me was irksome and annoying because I couldn't always hear stuff well it was either too soft or too loud and this was happening really frequently and I just wasn't enjoying it.
BUT...
The first time I played I was sneaking around at night inside a building and had to find some info, etc. The second time I played - there's been an explosion, someone is being framed, and I need to sneak around the same building (I think? lol...it's been a while since play sessions) but it's daytime now! And there's a time limit because I had to gather info (I think) before my meeting.
I did encounter what I thought would be a fail state - I was spotted by a guard - I snuck away, but later on - when I was walking around in the open, the guard came up to me and chastised me for being somewhere I wasn't supposed to and then absconding. So, I was impressed by that. It seems like an elegant solution and I'm guessing you can't abuse it. The annoying part is that I don't know how/when I was spotted, and I think there was an alarm blaring but I couldn't hear it/didn't notice it? And so on...
But the game's setting is neat - alternate past UK in the 80s... from a quick look at a guide it seems like I did complete a little over 20% of the game, but - annoyingly? - there are things you think you can do, but you cannot on your first playthrough. So, all the leads I was pursuing and the info I was tracking down might not have panned out...
This is a pretty wild idle clicker game. Wild to me in that it has genuine scientific/historical information (it's the kind of game you would presumably brig up to show people how games can have real content that kids can learn! Will they actually learn is another question entirely) AND, as I've played on and off over the last few months, the game unfolds into multiple and varied OTHER clicker games that are all inside the main one. It's quite something!
So, the the "main game" basically covers the evolution of life - then branching into human development and sort of ending with colonies on Mars and the singularity. The premise of the game is that you're running simulations to learn about stuff - so when you re-start the computer adds some more things to learn better and so on - in the main game this basically means adding new creatures to discover as part of the evolutionary tree - and also upgrading the simulation (speeding things up, etc.)
But then, you can unlock an entirely new clicker game that's 100% dinosaurs! You unlock new ones, and THIS simulation/clicker game ends with an asteroid...and each cycle here unlocks new dinosaurs and so on. You tap on geodes to get cards to upgrade your dinos (faster and incresed payouts) and so on.
and THEN,
The "computer" (it's sort of a floating icosahedron) then goes on about understanding the galaxy - so there's a whole new clicker game where you discover planets and other celestial bodies... resetting here adds new celestial bodies (further away from the sun) - but you can also fill out constellations for other overall boosts..
And then!
They have time-limited mini-clicker games as well! They last a week or so. I've only seen two: one was about money and its evolution (cowry shells, cash, etc.) and the other is about bees and flowers!
So, it's been wild to play this and slowly go - oh, there's a whole other game here! and they all work differently, have different features even though they're built on the same general gameplay. There are picture modes (you can snap pics of the dinos and other creatures) and other 3D environments to spin around and watch.
And it's mostly monetized via ads - to get extra boosts, items and such (like, double your income since you last loaded the game) and some microtransactions - I haven't spent any money on the game though I feel like I should.
This one's fairly standard for a hidden object game - it also has what I now see are the "usual" little side mini-games/puzzles that are thrown in to add a little variety.
I didn't finish the main story, but cleared the first 25 levels or so...
Here's what seemed notable/interesting/different from other games in the genre I've played:
a. The game uses photographs for a lot of the story interstitials. You play as a woman on vacation at a tropical island, and she's portrayed using photographs! (rather than 2D art, or stylized pictures). There are a few other characters as well - I get the sense that the devs used stock photo pictures rather than hire models since some of the pictures seem not to go well together (different lighting, etc.)
b. Some of the challenges involve listening to a short sound and then finding the object that makes or is associated to that sound. I think this might be the first time I've seen this?
c. There are also levels where you're given a phrase or clue for one or more items - and must deduce which they are (and keep track of which ones you've already found, since the clue isn't edited or altered to reflect your progress.
d. Some areas have an overall timer regulating 4 levels or so - I don't know what happens if you run out of time though. Is there a fail state that's punishing?
e. In some levels you have to (just the one time in each level) find an item and slide it over another one. (slide a hook with worm over a fish in the water, slide a kettle over a teacup to pour tea.
Finally decided to put this on the shelf - I didn't QUITE finish it, but got close enough I feel. I'm still always impressed by how much subtle variation there is in the game such that things always feel fresh and clever without being complex or convoluted - and even when the variation isn't particularly to your liking, well - it's gone soon enough and you move on. While the game is developed by HAL laboratory - it really feels like a Nintendo game-design aesthetic through and through... I wonder what people will think about Nintendo games in, say, 100 years, assuming they're looked at and examined. Will they be seen as having a coherent and consistent gameplay aesthetic in the same way we now talk about "the impressionists"?
