izigame.me

Past altars and stages,
past temples and taverns,
past classy graveyards,
past street market’s jabber,
past peace, and past woe,
past Mecca and Rome,
burned by the sun’s blue glow,
the earth the pilgrims roam.
They’re heavily injured and hunchbacked,
they’re hungry and almost naked,
their eyes are full of sunset,
their hearts are full of daybreak.
The deserts are singing behind them,
sheet-lighting breaks out abruptly,
up above the stars are igniting,
and birds are screaming gruffly:
that the world will remain the same,
yes, indeed, the same,
dazzling with snowy game,
with fondness its unlikely name,
the world will remain underhanded,
the world will remain forever,
perhaps it can be comprehended,
it has no limits, however.
Which means it will make no sense
to believe in yourself or Lord.
…And the things that remain are, hence,
the illusion and the road.
All sunsets remain in-service,
all daybreaks are still in splendor.
The soldier will muck earth’s surface.
The poet will be its defender.

A short review for a short game. (You likely will finish the game before getting all your card drops)

The game takes the form of a walking simulator, except there is a bit of running dialogue between you the protagonist, and another being, also you, that functions very much like an antagonist. The dialogue is probably the best part of the game, but the visuals are impressive as well - it looks better than Skyrim graphics, to give you an idea.
Despite the plodding pace and no option to run, there are a few collectables in the form of photos, or drawings. As you walk through the highly linear story, you see a few different environments, but the dialogue is where it truly shines - more of a philosophical debate on the nature of humanity than anything. I didn't like the voice actor for the antagonist though. He came across as a bit too whimsical and comically deep.
I won't get into the details of the dialogue, I leave that for you to discover and ponder - and perhaps even despair over - in your own time.

I, of all people, for what should be obvious reasons, wanted to like this game and to recommend it, but I didn't and I don't. Beautiful graphics and fantastical environments are marred by sophomoric metaphysics and stilted, poorly-scripted dialogue that is painful to listen to and largely incomprehensible.
The story is set in a universe created by one half of an entity who looks like a pagan leather fetishist in a BDSM hellscape, which is where all the promise of this game both begins and ends. This entity's hardcore death metal appearance is belied by his voice, that of a pretentious English gentleman who's been punched square in the nose, and has so much gauze packed up his nostrils he's transitioned from haughty nasality to slack-jawed mouth breather. His human other-half, on the other hand, stumbles through his lines with the monotonous indifference of a man who would rather be anywhere else than where he is right now, yet they were both voiced by the same person.
The shoddy voice acting could be forgiven had the story been solid, but the story is told through dialogue and the dialogue is, as mentioned, incomprehensible. Here's one choice exchange:
Master: I like this place. The world you live in, is too . . . vaaaain. There's too much bustle. Too many thoughts, and worries.
Protagonist: And what's the point of all this.
Master: That's not how I see it. It's just that in all this swirling, you need to find strength, to swim, in the right direction?
Protagonist: You might be right. You should know better. After all, I only bring you the building blocks to extend reality.
What the serious ****? Clearly they were going for something deep and meaningful, but for the life of me I couldn't tell you what that something was. The entire experience feels like the half-remembered fever dream of a softboi at the bottom of a k-hole, and I'm his date forced to listen to him mansplain how I, too, should be moved by his beautiful mind.
Honestly not worth it, even on sale.