We kick off my best of 2015 list with a few surprise entries. #10 is from a genre that I’ve talked about my displeasure of in the past, but a different take on the mechanics and presentation was enough to get me interested.
#10 Her Story:
Her Story by Sam Barlow combined the visual novel genre with FMV interactions to create a game that is more than the sum of its parts. It’s fascinating to me with how much of a difference it makes to have someone in the flesh as opposed to a 2D figure; you’re able to get a lot more about the emotion and context of what’s going on by watching how someone responds to their questions.
The aesthetic and design of the game being from a 90’s computer interface ties it all together while presenting a mystery. Speaking of the mystery, I found it interesting about how different people had different takes on the story based on the order they found the various videos; with many people missing ones as well.
While it may not have the legs of the other games on this list, Her Story is another prime example of the power of storytelling and ingenuity we can see from developers, and I can’t wait to see the next game from Sam. If you want to know more about Her Story, here is the cast I had with Sam where we talked about the design and his background.
Up next for #9, a developer’s first take in a new genre that managed to do something quite different.
