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Post by i30817 on Aug 19, 2018 1:37:16 GMT -5
It feels like a important game in the history of the genre but it's also incredibly unknown by the so called 'gaming elitists' in spite of pretty glowing reviews. I genuinely think it's probably one of the most elegant gaming horror adventure from the last 20 years even if it was only released 2 years ago. Some problems with the game : sometimes has some typos/bad translations, some complaints about pacing in the later part of the game, many of the subtle story/background parts are inaccessible to people who can't read chinese (graffiti etc) or don't know about the white terror, puzzles are easy, a bit too subtle for its own good in terms of closure and multiple interpretations. On this last point for instance, many people think that the 'bad ending' is exactly equal to (super major mega spoilers) previous iterations of the cycle, and that Wei being there in the 'good ending' didn't modify anything if Ray nevertheless chooses to keep denying or accepting her lot. I think this is wrong, and this current iteration is the last and best chance for Ray to break free into reincarnation, precisely because Wei, who she thought to have killed is visiting, probably more than once the 'real world' school and leaving notes. Therefore, some information from diary pages appears to come directly from the 'alive' Wei and contradicts her belief that she killed him and Mrs Fey - i think this modifies some of the cutscenes and jump scares into having a double purpose of showing Ray starting to doubt her complete guilt, not just her denial. If she keeps up the denial... it's probably game over for real and the cycle becomes eternal or she goes full on angry ghost from the start as the mirror jump scare shows early on she is frighteningly close even with all the denial. Similarly, the 'good ending' might not be as good as expected. Yes if Wei forgives her a major karmic debt is paid, but her sin affected more people. But maybe if this happens she'll feel safe enough to accept help from the mysterious old woman that appears both in hell and the real world .I also like how this game shows how absurdly unjust the Taoist/Buddhist syncretic hell is. There is no judgment here except from the self, and oh boy does Ray judges herself harshly. Even sociopaths would be better off which is incredibly offputing - maybe they'd reincarnate as snails though, which makes sense - gods control reincarnation, angry ghosts linger.
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Post by Discoalucard on Aug 19, 2018 10:48:29 GMT -5
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Post by dsparil on Aug 19, 2018 12:45:36 GMT -5
A Switch version came out a few months ago too. Been meaning to play it actually.
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Post by i30817 on Aug 19, 2018 16:15:32 GMT -5
Yes that one.
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Post by Woody Alien on Jan 23, 2019 9:49:36 GMT -5
Probably the original thread poster is no longer around, but still I bought this game for Steam on Xmas sales and am currently playing it. It seems quite interesting and fascinating, almost looks like a Taiwanese "The Cat Lady" but obviously with a different atmosphere. It takes a few hours to finish it as far as I know, so if anyone's still interested I could say something about it when I'm through with it.
Also the devs are releasing in a month their second game, Devotion, still a horror game with a Taiwan setting but this time set in the 1980s instead of the 60s and with a first-person perspective: redcandlegames.com/presskit/sheet.php?p=devotionI'm probably going to take a look at it as well, though I don't know much of anything about Taiwan, so I'll probably miss most of the cultural subtext...
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Post by Woody Alien on Dec 13, 2019 11:03:35 GMT -5
i30817 is no longer around but he finally got his wish thanks to JDarkside who reviewed Detention. I must say that I liked the article, but it was a bit too focused on saying "the whole world is becoming Fascist again", which is sadly true but I would have preferred some more insight on the game itself. For example something more about the puzzles, which are few and far-between because the devs wanted the player to focus more on the plot and character relations than gameplay, same reason why the monsters disappear halfway through the game. Also the use of muted colors and shadows, that change only in a specific part of the game linked to Ray's memories (I guess that part that JDarkside didn't like much). Or the songs heard on the radio for the time-shifting puzzle near the end of the game, which were all actual songs outlawed by the regime. On the other hand I enjoyed the nod to Devotion's disappearance from Steam and the absurdity of a current head of state doing exactly what the authorities and people in power are doing in Detention and Devotion itself.
By the way here's the Detention film's trailer, the film itself came out in September and is seemingly very faithful to the game:
Here are also the film's Facebook page (Chinese only) and the Instagram profile of the actress who is playing the part of Fang Ray Shin in the film. You'll have to scroll for a bit for the Detention content, including a very creepy poster.
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Post by JDarkside on Dec 16, 2019 5:03:11 GMT -5
I must say that I liked the article, but it was a bit too focused on saying "the whole world is becoming Fascist again", which is sadly true but I would have preferred some more insight on the game itself. For example something more about the puzzles, which are few and far-between because the devs wanted the player to focus more on the plot and character relations than gameplay, same reason why the monsters disappear halfway through the game. Also the use of muted colors and shadows, that change only in a specific part of the game linked to Ray's memories (I guess that part that JDarkside didn't like much). Or the songs heard on the radio for the time-shifting puzzle near the end of the game, which were all actual songs outlawed by the regime. On the other hand I enjoyed the nod to Devotion's disappearance from Steam and the absurdity of a current head of state doing exactly what the authorities and people in power are doing in Detention and Devotion itself. What happened with Devotion was my deciding factor for the article focus, because I didn't have a copy of the game and didn't see another chance to bring it up in the future. I felt it was way too historically important to pass over right now. That said, I should have gone a bit more into detail on puzzles and little touches like that, but I think I managed to get things across overall.
As for that spoilery bit, I think the fact they brought up an inappropriate relationship but didn't really do anything with it due to everything being shifted towards the fascism tragedy stuff felt strange. Like, it's not outright bad, I get that people can make bad decisions, but the story never explores that angle in a way a subject like underage relationships should be explored.
It was an issue for a good few out there so I figured I should elude to it.
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Post by Woody Alien on Dec 16, 2019 11:09:52 GMT -5
What happened with Devotion was my deciding factor for the article focus, because I didn't have a copy of the game and didn't see another chance to bring it up in the future. I felt it was way too historically important to pass over right now. That said, I should have gone a bit more into detail on puzzles and little touches like that, but I think I managed to get things across overall.
As for that spoilery bit,
It was an issue for a good few out there so I figured I should elude to it.
I don't want to seem too harsh, the article is good, it's just that -as you may have noticed- I really loved that game so I wished for a little more info about gameplay, graphics (which are simple but very effective in my book) and puzzles.
To this day I'm blaming myself for not having bought Devotion as soon as it came out, since I was waiting for a sale or to optimize my old computer, so now there's no way to obtain it and give money to the devs... as one who loves emulation of old games, I'm not too averse to piracy, but in this case I really would like to give the devs my money. As for the spoiler, I think since almost the whole game is seen from Ray's perspective, the relationship is never really addressed since other characters never know about it and, even if they did, they had much more serious things to think about, and I think the forbidden relationship (together with the knowledge of having condemned people to death) is still a part of what forms Ray's guilt and makes her commit suicide. So I don't think it's being completely glossed over.
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Post by JDarkside on Dec 18, 2019 13:48:56 GMT -5
I see where you're coming from. I'm mixed on things myself, but I felt it's a significant issue for others worth alluding to. It's not so much a strength or flaw as much as it is something questionable worth careful discussion. I didn't take any offense, apologies if I came off as defensive! Some mistakes were also pointed out elsewhere so I made a few edits to the piece to correct historical mistakes and explain some terms and vocabulary to make the article easier to understand. If you spot any other errors worth bringing up, feel free to leave a post! God trying to wrap my brain around Taiwan/China history is like trying to get down terms in Germanic history before Germany was an official country. www.hardcoregaming101.net/detention/
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