Eliza
Main game
3.39 average rating based on 82 ratings
- Developers
- Zachtronics
- Publishers
- Alliance, Zachtronics
- Platforms
- Linux, Mac, Nintendo Switch, PC (Microsoft Windows)
- Genres
- Adventure, Indie, Visual Novel
- Themes
- Science fiction
- Steam
- View on Steam
Release Dates
User Stats
How Long Is Eliza?
Juleske's review of Eliza
Too long and not enough agency. I mean, I get that that's the point, but... it's not fun? Can you make my lack of agency more fun, please? :-)
The solitaire was fun....
The game is a bit slow and plodding for a visual novel. There's not a lot going on and the story develops super slowly. I could make it all the way through....though I did play a ton of the solitaire that was baked in.
More or less, they had a few themes that they hammered on, and in a world where I have a backlog, I just couldn't get invested enough to want to finish it.
~David
Interesting Concept, But A Very Early Iteration of It
I wonder what the later editions/versions of this added, I am basing this off the TRS-80 release.
Play: 6/10 Maybe I'm expecting too much from how early this game is for an AI concept, and I respect the game--after all I played it for a good 15-20 minutes--, but the best word to describe my experience with the "game"play: meh.
Feel: 6/10 Again, clever idea for its time, but not really that interesting. It's fun to play around, if you are every in the mood to talk to a bot. I like to do that, myself, ha. Getting silly responses and trying to test the chat bot's limits. And as you may have guessed, due to how early this game is, this doesn't have much to surprise you with. There are some fun commands you can discover, though I had to research to find any of the sillier bot responses.
Attachment: 7/10 Honestly, I may replay this just to see if I can discover some different responses. But realistically, I will never return here and this likely deserves a 6. But due to my nostalgia and love for chat bot absurdities, hats off to the idea and execution. And ooooo, …
I wonder what the later editions/versions of this added, I am basing this off the TRS-80 release.
Play: 6/10 Maybe I'm expecting too much from how early this game is for an AI concept, and I respect the game--after all I played it for a good 15-20 minutes--, but the best word to describe my experience with the "game"play: meh.
Feel: 6/10 Again, clever idea for its time, but not really that interesting. It's fun to play around, if you are every in the mood to talk to a bot. I like to do that, myself, ha. Getting silly responses and trying to test the chat bot's limits. And as you may have guessed, due to how early this game is, this doesn't have much to surprise you with. There are some fun commands you can discover, though I had to research to find any of the sillier bot responses.
Attachment: 7/10 Honestly, I may replay this just to see if I can discover some different responses. But realistically, I will never return here and this likely deserves a 6. But due to my nostalgia and love for chat bot absurdities, hats off to the idea and execution. And ooooo, just read about the TRS-80 release's ability to speak out loud with a voice synthesizer--yea I may be back here.
Complex and mature, but it ultimately failed to come together for me. The game's portrayal of a woman trying to find herself while being caught between multiple competing ideologies is extremely compelling, and I appreciated some of the more subtle insights into artificial intelligence and human-computer interactions. I was waiting for the conclusion that would tie the story together thematically, and unfortunately it never came.
Sure, there are multiple endings, but all of them have the same problem: The tonal shift from constant soul-searching to absolute certainty is so sudden that none of the endings quite stick the landing. I would have liked a more nuanced portrayal, where it was made clearer what the main character was giving up in the process of committing to one future. It feels like a bunt, honestly. One taken for the sake of giving the main character a traditionally happy ending.
But it is well-made and otherwise well-written. Each ideology is presented in a complex and holistic manner, such that no one comes across as explicitly more correct than anyone else. They all have their shortcomings and their upsides, but right when the game needed to highlight the complexity of the situation it just …
Complex and mature, but it ultimately failed to come together for me. The game's portrayal of a woman trying to find herself while being caught between multiple competing ideologies is extremely compelling, and I appreciated some of the more subtle insights into artificial intelligence and human-computer interactions. I was waiting for the conclusion that would tie the story together thematically, and unfortunately it never came.
Sure, there are multiple endings, but all of them have the same problem: The tonal shift from constant soul-searching to absolute certainty is so sudden that none of the endings quite stick the landing. I would have liked a more nuanced portrayal, where it was made clearer what the main character was giving up in the process of committing to one future. It feels like a bunt, honestly. One taken for the sake of giving the main character a traditionally happy ending.
But it is well-made and otherwise well-written. Each ideology is presented in a complex and holistic manner, such that no one comes across as explicitly more correct than anyone else. They all have their shortcomings and their upsides, but right when the game needed to highlight the complexity of the situation it just shrugged.
When I first sat down with this game and learned the basic premise (in the near future, people seek therapy from an AI supercomputer), I thought it was just going to be a well-made love letter to Netflix's Maniac. The more I played it, the more it showed its heart to me, and the more I realized how this game earned its acclaim. It's a testament to the quality of the writing that I was always excited to keep going even though there are so few choices to make. If you've ever enjoyed dialogue in a game, you'll probably enjoy this one.
I can't say I've played masses of visual novels to say so definitively, but I think this is likely one of the most mature and meaty VNs out there. Trust Zachtronics to shift from crafting some of the best puzzle games out there (and some twine games) to putting out one truly exemplary VN.
I think the depiction of mental illness is outstanding. The dialogue is so well-acted and delivered in small enough chunks that I never skipped a single line (most games could learn from this).
I adore the game's clever riffing on the lack of VN interactivity. You assume the role of Evelyn, a human presence proxy for an AI counsellor who's only permitted to read its lines to her clients. This is seen through to its logical conclusion in brilliant fashion. The lengthy state of linearity allows for eventual branching to actually carry significance. Decisions are the product of almost 4-5 hours of rumination!
I like that the game presents its ideological factions subtly and without pushing you anywhere in particular. Considering the open questions of the effectiveness of counselling and other mental health treatments, what the limits of technological disruption should be in society, and what …
I can't say I've played masses of visual novels to say so definitively, but I think this is likely one of the most mature and meaty VNs out there. Trust Zachtronics to shift from crafting some of the best puzzle games out there (and some twine games) to putting out one truly exemplary VN.
I think the depiction of mental illness is outstanding. The dialogue is so well-acted and delivered in small enough chunks that I never skipped a single line (most games could learn from this).
I adore the game's clever riffing on the lack of VN interactivity. You assume the role of Evelyn, a human presence proxy for an AI counsellor who's only permitted to read its lines to her clients. This is seen through to its logical conclusion in brilliant fashion. The lengthy state of linearity allows for eventual branching to actually carry significance. Decisions are the product of almost 4-5 hours of rumination!
I like that the game presents its ideological factions subtly and without pushing you anywhere in particular. Considering the open questions of the effectiveness of counselling and other mental health treatments, what the limits of technological disruption should be in society, and what the hell any of us should even be doing with out lives, all sides had their convincing moments. The narrative simply facilitates you coming to a conclusion of your own.
Ace.