![]() ![]() It’s evocative storytelling at its finest, and characters really shine here. Even secondary characters who have limited time on-screen or even talked about, receive concetrated moments that have you feeling for them, even if they haven’t been especially kind to primary characters. The fact that the game utilizes callbacks effectively, is a bonus joy for those who played the previous game in the series. The text is the core of the game, but it’s effective and engaging throughout.Ĭharacters all have depth, and somehow give just the right amount of time to see what drives them and makes them tick. There’s even a log to review anything you might’ve missed or accidentally skipped something. The game’s speech has a natural cadence, but you can fast-forward its delivery (since there’s no voicework), or outright skip to the next piece of dialogue. It’s fascinating in what short amount of time you have with them, that you get attached to each one in different ways, or how you relate to them. And then you’ve got their inner monologue that gives insight more of what they’re thinking, what they didn’t say, and more who they are as characters. It’s such an expertly written game, and like any good book you’ve got dialogue that’s naturally conversational. With double the achievements of the previous game, and even though it has the same length of gameplay, there’s simply more to work with here that make it easy to go back to. There’s even unlocks like a gallery and secret scenes that will drive these decisions to revisit. And it’s rousing narrative and short length make that something you aspire to do, again and again. The replayability of Varney Lake is strong with its branching story based on choices you make along the way. Varney Lake doesn’t stick to the structure or chapter limit of the last game, it goes for as long as it is needed to tell its story, but even then there’s more to do when it’s all said and done. There’s several characters you’ll cycle through across the game’s eleven chapters and roughly two hours of playtime. Animations are finite, but the way they are framed and give the right amount of detail is exemplary, and there’s a nice touch as chapters end and the pixels fade to black that work so well. The game differs emotionally from its prior game, it also does so visually with a limited color palette dominated by greens, blues, aqua, and yellows. ![]() And seeing recurring characters resurface begs for you to dig deeper into the goings on, and how it all might connect. It’s decidedly a different tone than the last game, tackling different subject matter but has an uncomfortable undertone with its supernatural elements. Like Mothmen 1966 before it, Varney Lake is a essentially an 8-bit visual novel with decision making. The storytelling is the best part, with time jumps to keep things interesting, and cuts at the precise moment you’re yearning for more. I found that the game had a somewhat predictable outcome to the events, but I was no less thrilled. What transpires over the course of the game puts the characters on a roller coaster of emotions, and is equally exciting for you as the player being as curious as the characters. The game begins with a trio of friends, Jimmy, Doug, and Christine hanging out for a summer of 1954 looking for adventure and one-hundred dollars. LCB Game Studio houses novelist Nico Saraintaris and artist Fernando Martinez Ruppel that provide the backbone to this experience. Interactive fiction, choose your own adventure, or visual novel however you classify it, LCB Game Studios’ second game is a stroke of genius in storytelling with a striking accoutrement of visual and audio to make it unique. Along the way you’ll have puzzles to solve or mini-games to play, but the story carries forward almost at all times. ![]() While this is a game, it’s mainly a story driven narrative that unfolds before you in text, accompanied by its 8-bit visuals and chiptune soundtrack. This is a game about reflection, supernatural, and living with the choices that we make. ![]() Varney Lake is the second in series from “Pixel Pulps”, a franchise of games that began with last year’s Mothmen 1966. ![]()
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