Analogue: A Hate Story

My last Visual Novel experience was mixed, to say the least. But Analogue's sci-fi hook - investigating a derelict colony ship - and free demo (plus a recent sale), got me interested. And I'm glad they did.

Analogue is even less interactive than 999, as it doesn't have any puzzles -- well maybe one, in the form of a simple hacking minigame midway through. But the game is mostly about reading: discovering the story through log entries, and limited conversation with a pair of AI personalities. The central plot thread is steeped in intrigue, and the AI characters' convincing presentations of emotion really hit home.

In its most basic form - that is, playing through the game once to unravel its mystery (don't worry, the most-informative ending is also the most "natural" path to follow) - Analogue is a great representation of the skirt analogy: at 1-2 hours, the game's long enough to cover its subject, and short enough to keep it interesting. There are alternate story paths that can provide some more tertiary details, and unlock additional endings; and though I found myself motivated to unlock them all, I don't know that I would necessarily recommend this.

Unfortunately most of the details you'll uncover by trying to unlock more than the first ending, are strictly related to the ship's neo-feudal court antics, which I found to be extremely dull. There are some interesting discussions, buried in the deeper bowels of the plot, about cultural norms and gender roles. But personally I felt like I'd gotten all I needed of this in my first playthrough.

Analogue may not have much "game" to it, but it's not as banal as a non-game. There is an interesting story here, and the way you discover it is genuinely cool.

Better than: Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors, L.A. Noire
Not as good as: BioShock, BioShock Infinite
Really, try the demo: you've got nothing to lose but an hour of your day.

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