I posted briefly about One Step Back before. Well, for those who still want to play it, you can find it here.
I was just reading reviews about the game, and there was a trend. Quitters called the game lousy because of its difficulty (it wasn't for me lol) and its bad wall jump mechanism, points which I agree with. Many people wanted to quit at one particular level which was pretty tough, but the review mentioned a twist, and in the comments section, after awhile increasing numbers of people began to say that, yes it was hard, but they didn't give up at that level, they got through it, saw the twist, and never regretted it.
Quite rare for a game don't you think? Especially these online flash games. Heck, a poetic flash game is rare in itself. Loved it. Replayed it just now.
Go play the game if you want to. If you don't intend to, you can view the spoiler but I would rather you play it, since it really gives the full effect, it doesn't take long anyway.
Spoiler:
Part I
When people say you can't escape your past
I beg to differ
I see the goal before me
and turning back now
will not solve anything
running away from myself
keeps leading me in circles
avoiding mistakes
I remember all too well
time
is the enemy
I know now that fame and fortune
are part of who I am
these fractions of my past
have already passed me by
why is it that regrets
are the only thing on my mind
and dreams
I never have anymore
bad memories
cloud my judgment
success or failure
is all important
self-reflection avoidable
though inevitably, turning back at this point was not avoidable
Part II
self-reflection
is all important
success or failure
cloud my judgement
bad memories
I never have anymore
and dreams
are the only thing on my mind
why is it that regrets
have already passed me by
these fractions of my past
are part of who I am
I know now that fame and fortune
is the enemy
time
I remember all too well
avoiding mistakes
keeps leading me in circles
running away from myself
will not solve anything
and turning back now
I see the goal before me
I beg to differ
When people say you can't escape your past
You can
I just won't
It may seem like a cheesy reverse thing, but its unexpected, it fits amazingly well with the gameplay, and perhaps you might even have noticed that the background music reverses itself too. Its really a beautiful game. I didn't think it was particularly exciting or fun. But it was beautiful.
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And then theres another one. The Company of Myself. Which is incredible in its own ways. Its really hard though so its forgivable if you don't play it yourself, but I recommend at least trying for awhile so you know what the game is like because if not you aren't going to understand the video.
Heres the introduction before the game begins.
If you have a minute I would like to tell you about myself.
The first thing you need to understand is that I am alone. I've been alone for a pretty long time now. I'm used to it. I'm content.
Before I became more or less a hermit, I found that I had two passions in life. One was performing. Even today, when I find that I can't relate to others, I can still stand in front of them and make them laugh or surprise them. The irony is strong enough to taste.
It doesn't taste good.
In case you're wondering, my second passion was a girl named Kathryn. But I'll get to that later.
I generally face the same day-to-day problems as every other person, except that when every other person gets stuck, they have their friends and associates to back them up. I don't.
I know that you don't want to hear me describe my admittedly less than fascinating lifestyle, so instead I'll describe my day with a much more interesting allegory.
I used to find joy in the company of others. Now, I only have the company of myself.
Spoiler:
Here is the conclusion. I recommend finding any one video which has it and watching it instead, gives the full effect since it comes with the eerie music and all.
"I have been tasked with psychoanalyzing Jake after his mental breakdown. In general he recalls his life very accurately. The things he says line up perfectly with his records.
The first problem is that he doesn't seem to remember any of my visits. I've met with him once a week for the past eight years now and he tells me the same story again as if we never met before.
He describes himself as a loner, and this makes a whole lot of sense, as he has been kept in solitary confinement for the duration of his stay at the hospital.
He always talks briefly talks about his life and eventual gets into his stories of how he lost a loved one, Kathryn.
He understands that she has died, and he certainly feels at least somewhat responsible, but he doesn't recall that he murdered her. She was found buried in their backyard in a green package- Evidently, it was the only box large enough for the use as a coffin that Jake could find. Also of note were the two flowers that he planted next to the makeshift grave.
He considers her death to be the reason that he can't talk to people anymore. I suppose that in a way, he is correct.
This will be my final report on Jake. I don't find any reason to believe that he will recover from his current state of severe mental illness, and he is far too dangerous to himself and others to allow his release."
The End
The shrink leaves, and suddenly I don't even have a person to tell my story to anymore…
Very rarely do games connect to one's emotion. Nowadays, its all about shooting zombies and all, pretty meaningless. And thats why these two are amazing. It has a really unique gameplay, and it talks about life.
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