Actual Sunlight
Main game
3.01 average rating based on 92 ratings
- Developers
- WZO Games, Will O'Neill
- Publishers
- WZO Games, WZOGI, Will O'Neill
- Platforms
- Android, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation Vita, iOS
- Genres
- Adventure, Indie
- Steam
- View on Steam
Release Dates
User Stats
How Long Is Actual Sunlight?
What is Evan Winter really like?
This review is for the PC (Microsoft Windows) version
Actual Sunlight certainly isn't for everyone. It's also not a traditional game either, no high scores, no items to collect, no bosses to battle. Instead, it's an interactive narrative that sheds light on how depression can take root in someone's mind.
Creator Will O'Neill, has constructed a world where depression is in full control of the protagonist's (Evan Winter) thoughts and actions, eventually leading him to suicide.
It's a tough read and, I often found myself agreeing with much of Winter's cynical outlook on life; Yes life can be so monotonous; Yes corporate life can be so hollow; Yes we are just a slave to capitalism.
However, it's the moments where the narrative teases glimmers of hope which struck the loudest chord for me. Those moments where Winters could have taken a step towards something better, but instead ignored it in favour of fantasy, self-loathing or another dopamine hit. It was those moments that were a shattering reminder of what this game is about: Depression. And how it shrouds in darkness the possible exits from its prison.
RoyalApe's review of Actual Sunlight
The writing was fantastic. While the game isn't very long, we get to know the characters deeply.
What really holds the game back is that it is more of an interactive novel than an actual game. That said, it's still something I would recommend.
*Post Edit thoughts - dropping this to 2 stars as I sit here reflecting on the story that was told. I want to know more about the relationships with his co-workers. As the game is overflowing with backstory on every intractable imaginable, it just feels like the ending is missing some details.
Actual Sunlight - Like
Capsule thoughts here, at the end is a link to my full review.
Tough to separate my personal connection with Actual Sunlight's depiction of depression and mental illness from the affect of playing the game. That the connection exists to begin with speaks to the intense accuracy that Will O'Neill brings to depicting the persistent agony of depression which goes double for his insight into corporate life.
The repetition of getting up, mindless clicking on objects hoping for insight, and private musings about the pain others are going through is keenly felt. This is a good meeting of mechanics - of which there are few - and O'Neill's writing. I loathed his follow-up, Little Red Lies, but his self-effacing take on the dehumanizing influence of corporate culture and the minimally pacifying emptiness of consumption leads to a painfully open ended conclusion.
http://www.cantstopthemovies.com/2018/03/actual-sunlight-2013/
Not For Me
I quit this one. I'm sure there are many who loved it, though for me it was 'The Clinical Depression Simulator'. I'd hesitate to really call this a game in the traditional sense, I felt it was more of interactive novel. By interactive, I mean move, then press X. Read. Repeat. I hope it was cathartic for the developer, I just wasn't in to it.
Actual Sunlight (PS Vita)
Pros:
+ Thought-provoking short story
+ Ridiculously easy trophies
+ Didn't have to pay for it
Cons:
- Takes roughly an hour to finish
- The entire story is only a single path; choices are forced
- Awful sound effect used for text as it's scrolling
- It was October 2016's free PS+ Vita game
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Final Thoughts:
I thought the story was interesting but was disappointed in the complete lack of narrative choices. I know that it's not TRYING to be a game/visual novel and instead present itself as "art" or whatever but I would've regret the purchase, had I actually bought it. I would've enjoyed if it had it had multiple endings or consequences to choices you make. Also, I thought the somewhat childish use of profanity (which I'm normally all about) felt out of place. Actual Sunlight isn't for everybody but I can see how someone would or could relate to its lesson in self-loathing and the message it's trying to convey. Personally, I just thought the asshole was way too whiny.
How do you "like" a game about depression...?
You are paying for a pretty depressing look into what it's like to be depressed. I would only wish for more alternate endings... although the spiralling out of control thing is evident and wholly possible, would probably be more interactive to make available more viable and positive actions & reactions. From a "been there, done that" perspective... this game made me want to go out and do stuff (yes, encountering doors you have already nailed shut does that to you). Yet different people will have different coping mechanisms.
In comparison with the "Depression Game" - I think I found the latter more engaging. But only probably because the inner voice was less caustic.
Recommend? I am prettty much on the fence. But will put it as a tentative yes... but only if the subject matter interested you in a wholly objective way... I was just interested to see how this game would fare against The Depression Game.
FredLobster's review of Actual Sunlight
Less a game than a short story told through the medium of JRPG tropes, Actual Sunlight is what would happen if Chuck Palahniuk were tasked with writing Dilbert, an inner-monologue-laden march through the day-to-day existence of an obese corporate cog struggling to validate a life with rapidly depleting potential for change or improvement. Although there's plenty of bitter, self-deprecatory humor throughout it, the rich vein of sincerity running beneath it all is definitely its defining trait.
In the end this is a story about the traps we lay for ourselves throughout our life, written to make people recognize what they're doing before it's too late. It's just the right length, and makes very good use of the limited medium to manage the bitter, flabby mood. Definitely not a game for everyone, but a solid project that I'd like to see reach a final release.
Never thought I'd get chills from a trophy, namely "From Me to You"
Completed on PS Vita in about 1 hour and a half.
Best enjoyed (?) if you are a 30-something with some experience in depressive thoughts/behavior.
I liked it because it tackles a subject matter not often seen in videogames. Reminds me a lot of Cart Life.
I do not think that there are words to describe how horrible this game is. It is not a video game. It is not a visual novel. It is not "art". It is complete rubbish. From the moment you see the "network connectivity may be lost during game play" message when loading, anyone who actually played this game will know this is where the pain starts. From the annoying drilling sound of the ridiculous amount of text you have to read when it scrolls across the screen, to the menus that force your decisions for you, by the time you finish this "game" you will appreciate literal actual sunlight. Trophies are handed to you and present no challenge, which makes this game even more of a joke.
Completing this game is an act of self-torture, and I hate myself for playing it. This is absolutely the worst game I have ever played.