Hypnospace Outlaw

TLDR: This game unexpectedly became one of my favourites of all time. You should try it. I'm one of those who doesn't usually write reviews. But this game is a game I still think about despite completing it a week ago. I still think about the characters and how real they felt. I felt immersed in the world because of how real the people were presented. Teenagers who change what they like within weeks, older people struggling to figure out how to set up their pages (and/or believing any conspiracy theories thrown their way). The main storyline is great and it unravels in a really interesting way, but it's the little stories of the people that will continue to stick with me most. It is how well this game captures people in their online presence, because even though you only know limited information about each person, you still think you learn a lot about them. You still make judgements on who they are based on your own experiences and beliefs. Just like the real internet. And yet, it doesn't feel quite so depressing as the real internet can feel (at least these days). [spoiler] Even with how the story turns out, honestly. [/spoiler] It feels like a collection of flawed people (as we all are) who are all trying to find their place in the world, who cling onto the communities they find a home in. Which is what the internet was about, and what it still [B]kind of[/B] is about. We just have lost that humanness, I think. And so, it is wild that video game characters in a fictional alternate reality somehow feel [b]more human[/b] than a lot of people in reality today.

this game is absolutely amazing. ive streamed it to my close friends for an entire week and it was genuinely one of the most amazing experiences i have ever had in a while. its immensely charming, portrays old internet and its users very well, and highly recommend anyone playing to take their time to scroll through user pages, get attached to these people. i really really adored the first part of the game, i personally didnt really struggle with most puzzles, minus the ones involving the freelands. ♥♥♥♥ the freelands i always got really lost in them. but i had an amazing time until the end. the one true complaint i have for this game, is that the story builds itself up so much, only to fall flat by the end of the game. it left me empty. i understand that dylan is written to be flawed, and the writing team did an amazing job at portraying that with his actions and the way how he wrote all of the euologies, minus maybe roddy's, but that may also be dylan being biased because roddy is the only victim from the mindcrash that dylan knew personally, but i wish we would have gotten something after that. the game lets you play outlaw, dylans passion project, or at least, a version of it, for one last time, where you "ascend" the victims of the mindcrash, get badly written euologies, and then stop dylan. and..thats it. no conclusion, no emails from samantha or tim or anybody from the hap restoration project.. thats where the game ends. i do plan on getting the achievement where you fully restore it, so maybe there is something i havent seen, but its really a shame for me. it left me feel empty after such a joyful experience i had with my friends. would still recommend the game of course because if i wasnt i wouldnt make this a positive review, but it is something that particularly bummed me out. still an amazing game however, the music is absolutely beautiful and i found myself get attached to the characters and even mourning them after they fell victims to the mindcrash. just keep in mind the story may be a little disappointing near the end. its also a shame how whenever i see someone stream this game they never get to the second part of the game..

A great game. The attention to detail to create such an immersive internet and fake desktop and characters you come to know is really remarkable. Some deductions were harder than others, and that made them all the more satisfying to crack. Did it without peeking at any wiki, and apparently I also missed some of the in-game guides that could have been useful earlier on LOL. You just need to pay attention, and I wrote a few things in a notebook as I went. I love games that feel like a project to tackle that you can just lose yourself in, and this fit the bill. The ending (which isn't until you get the credits), sadly, drops the ball and I left me sitting wondering what just happened and if I missed a whole chapter. Reading the forums, no, that is how it is. A shame to cap off a great experience that way, but the game will still always hold a special place in my heart, it was quite a journey. And, looking at the stats, I have tons of pages I never even found. May go back through it some day to see if I can find what I missed. I am sad to see a sequel was canceled. I would have been all over it for sure. Thank you for the great game, devs!