Recent reviews by geekmeow

[Important comment on negative reviews: You HAVE to have an interest in existentialism to appreciate the story within this game.]

If you like visual novels even a little bit and appreciate existential philosophy, this is one not to miss. The graphics are beautiful, the characters are interesting and contain depth, even when the interactions are incredibly brief. There is enough game play aspects that reward exploration of the environment and curiosity about the dialog choices to keep it from feeling too much like a walking simulator. The story is true to its genre. It veraciously embraces the Noir concept and quickly becomes a penetrating introspection into the darkness of our inner and outer worlds. There is an unsettling quality about the conclusion that leaves questions unanswered, articulating the story's esoteric take on our search for meaning and resolution.

Overall, I absolutely love this game and would recommend it a thousand times over. I will 100% be playing it again. For some, it won't have this replay value, as the story doesn't change. There are not alternate endings or branches you may have missed, but the achievements are fun and somewhat random, enough so that I personally want to find out which others are hidden in the different dialog and action choices. This, of course, is an addition for those of us who do enjoy this aspect of games; it only enhances the game for those who do, and does not take away from the game for those who do not.

I will say, this game is *not* for those who want a Hallmark, buttoned up ending. It is *not* for those who do not appreciate or enjoy philosophical examinations of society or the human condition. It may not even be for those who do not like a little bit of exploration and choice in their visual novels. It is definitely for those who feel some visual novels are a bit too straightforward.

If the concept of this game and the art style seem even a little bit interesting to you, you will not regret playing through Backbone.

This game is so much fun. It's super casual and chill while still being challenging enough to keep going back to. As someone who loves building, even if my earlier hospitals are running decently, I still manage to want to go back and rearrange everything to try to maximize efficiency and earn the ever elusive 'No Deaths' award. I absolutely LOVE this game.

I won a key in a giveaway offered by a friend and fellow streamer. After watching her play it and starting my own game I absolutely love this! The graphics are super cute and the gameplay is easygoing while still engaging the puzzle lover in me. I will be coming back to this and playing it for ages! It's worth full price 100% and if I hadn't won it I would have bought it anyway after seeing it played!

I expected this to be a silly fun little dating sim game. I was wrong. The description really under-sells the story component of this game. It is chock full of lovely story and dialog choices that define who you want the "dad" your playing to be. It's also got a TON of puns/dad jokes, and I live for it. This game is a hilarious, sometimes sad, and beautiful story about a single father and his relationship to his daughter and himself. I'm not even fully through it but I can 100% guarantee I'm going to play it again.