Stirred, not shaken
This is one of the many "vibe" indie games overpopulating the earth in recent years, one that I had mild interest in but quickly forgotten at release. If you had done the same, allow me to pique your interest once again. Of a dozen of so highly-regarded indies I binged through recently, this was the standout. Of course, I was primed to enjoy this one: a quick glance at the trailer shows pixlated cyberpunk, with proper brain jacking and body modding, a moody atmosphere, and quirky point-and-click controls. And the game delivers exactly those things, leaving me fully endorsing its virtues - if any of the above things sounded tasty, seriously, just try it - while also slightly disappointed it doesn't quite reach higher peaks.
The Red Strings Club is a narrative adventure game where the player talks, bartends, and hacks towards fighting back against the big corporations and ethical issues of (post)modern society. Not action-packed, the game still manages to start really strong to establish its cyberpunk cred. From there, many many dialogue options, from cold-reading people to discussions more philosophical, threaten to branch the story in as many ways as the stimulated mind can wander. The reading and agonizing over choices are paced with various minigames. All in all, the 4 hour-ish journey is almost too smooth of a drink to down. What, it's over already? I left the Club enamored not only with the scintillating pixels and tracks, but also the deep character connections and thought experiments.
And yet... I couldn't help but wish, if only they nailed certain aspects even more. It's just missing a little bit, or sometimes saddled with a bit too much baggage. Overall, the narrative is worth it. But, some recurring minigames drag. One section has no actual stakes of failure or time constraint. A couple conversation points are controversial, in a way that can seriously tarnish a game built towards thoughtful contemplation, depending on the perspective of the audience. I would still urge people to power through and see the story through to a conclusion, because I did and felt rewarded for my efforts. The ending too though, can be a negative to some (including myself), as I was not compelled to go back and explore other options. Once the ending revealed how the red strings were connected and pulled, I nodded my head in amusement, and left.
Still a pretty fun way to spend 4 hours though. Cheers.