Back to the Dawn

[h3]Hidden Gem That Seems Deeper Than It Actually Is[/h3] At first, I bought this game and played it for just 2 hours to see if it was worth it. And I was amazed! It truly looked like a perfect game, with endless content, total freedom, deep mechanics, and characters you actually want to know better. I immediately thought that this was not just "another indie game." It was WAY better than that. Then, after another 23 hours, my emotions became a bit colder, although the game is still great. So, where should I start? The first thing I thought about was the depth of the mechanics when it comes to pooping. You need to be in control of your digestive system, or else you can poo in your pants while surrounded by your fellow inmates. Nah, just kidding. My actual first thought was... [h3]WOW, LOOK, THIS IS PRISON ZOOTOPIA!!![/h3] The way the characters are presented, how they look, what features they have, and of course THE SNEAKY FOX AS THE MAIN CHARACTER all reminded me of the diversity of Zootopia. And it is so much fun, trust me! You have a pangolin who is paranoid because others think his tail has positive health benefits. You have a giraffe who is always bothered by people asking if he plays basketball. You have a dangerous-looking tiger who has mysteries he would never reveal to anyone. You have a sloth who always sleeps, three pig brothers, a kangaroo who is a boxer, and many, and I mean MANY, more characters! How many characters are there in total? I don't even know, but definitely more than 50! Everyone has a schedule, a backstory, quests, and items, and there is just a HUGE amount of things to explore as you try to become friends with everyone. And even with this many side characters... You have two main characters! Totally different stories, totally different quests and tasks, and with the number of ways you can accomplish those tasks, it feels like a perfect sandbox! But no, it is more of a... [h3]Time Management Simulator[/h3] You know what? You have a pile of stuff to do, and you have only 21 days to complete it all. You need to prioritize a lot of things. Every hour counts, every interaction matters, and you need to be careful, because time flies and you are still in prison. Combine the things I mentioned with a bit, actually a lot, of randomness, add a bunch of dice that decide your luck from time to time, and you definitely won't be complaining about replayability. My first attempt was not successful at all. I didn't get killed, so maybe that's already great, but I missed the deadline. I thought I had all the time in my paws, but fate decided that I was not prepared. The first playthrough is basically a blind animal trying to navigate a complex system of punishments, stats, and tasks, so it will definitely be far from optimal. But wait, what did I write in the header? Seems deeper than it actually is? I... Well, yes. [h3]Why It Is Not Perfect[/h3] 1. [b]There are a lot of moments where you have NOTHING to do.[/b] Yes, with all this rush and the constant need to spend your time productively, you often find yourself in situations where you think, "Right now, I have nothing to do." You can have a quest at the post office, but it is closed. You can have a task to read a book, but it is not available right now. You can have a task to befriend a character, but you have already tried your best for today. You can have a quest to kick some guy, but he is currently surrounded by others. And you just... wait? This time-management aspect, which is at the core of the game, feels slightly unbalanced, and you sometimes have to go through repetitive, dull actions just to skip time. It is not critical, but it ruins the vibe a bit. 2. [b]The reward for friendship is not satisfying.[/b] The whole loop of becoming friends is too repetitive. There are a lot of characters, but the gameplay is mostly the same. You talk, you give them something, you wait for one more day, then repeat. What do you get at the end? Maybe a cool cutscene? Maybe a great dialogue with your new friend? NO. You get a ton of text, and that's it. It is just presented as 5-10 pages of text with the character's backstory. And this is the exact moment when my excitement about 50 unique characters turns into boredom. It is just hundreds of pages to read. There is nothing else. Okay, there are some perks that unlock and change the way you play, but story-wise, something is missing. There is no real payoff that gives you pleasure. 3. [b]The repetitiveness in the world of countless possibilities.[/b] The game is meant to be played more than once. The ways you can play are different, and you have all the freedom (haha, pun intended, you are in jail no freedom for you), to explore things. But at the same time, after going through the 21-day loop once, you suddenly realize how repetitive it is. And for some reason, it fails to deliver the same cozy feeling of repeating the same things for hundreds of hours in Stardew Valley. It just becomes less interesting because a lot of things are tied to your story. There is freedom, but as soon as you discover the optimal way to do things, it starts to feel like a chore. [h3]But It Is Still a Great Game![/h3] My dissatisfaction with some of these things should not ruin the main point I tried to share here: this is a hidden gem with fewer than 1,500 reviews, at least in English, and that is unfair. This game didn't get the attention it deserves. Please buy it and play it. Have your own honeymoon stage of 20+ hours and try to do it your way. You won't regret a single minute of your time.

I haven't owned this game for long, but already at 100+ hours in I can safely say it's one of the best I've ever played. My sleep cycle is ruined, the last of my braincells consumed by this masterpiece that has invaded my dreams. There are 47 prisoners not counting your character, all of them are distinct, with not only the expected writing work done of each having their own backstory, not only with gift preferences, sometimes gang loyalties, stats and the various mechanical systems one would expect, each day there are many unique conversations between these prisoners that in addition to being mechanically rewarding for the player to listen in on, also can reveal active subplots and insights into these characters. All of this occurring within the backdrop of 21 days to solve and expose a conspiracy and escape. Your choice of which of the 2 currently available characters you wish to play as does not erase them from the narrative, as Thomas you can interact with Bob and are given a sense of his progression through the narrative if you so choose and vice versa. I could write for days singing the praises of the writing alone. Mechanically this game is diabolical. It's systems and loops have brought out the worst and best in me. Never before I have I so frantically squeezed out every ounce of productivity I can within a digital day. Never before have I felt more rewarded for learning such systems and secrets. My dopamine circuitry is forever fried. A piece of me will always remain trapped in this prison. I am in the Fallen Angels nightclub shaking my ass, high off drugs I procured via trading shanks and fake cigarettes among noble and depraved men. I do not wish to go back to the dawn, I wish to keep dancing. A triumph if there ever was one. 10 systemically oppressed furry felons out of 10

Лучшая игра про побег из тюрьмы в истории планеты. Креативно, с юмором и интересными геймплейными фишками. Спасибо Tracker и PowerPuff за подгон)