Her Story (2015)

I was expecting to really like this game before playing it - An actual puzzle, needing to write notes, compare versions and make deductions. In reality I found it tiresome. I did not have the patience to write all those notes or compile leads, and watching all those hours of interviews kind of bored me.

I could just be that I'm disappointed with myself more than with the game.

Her Story is one of the best detective games I've ever played, second only to Obra Dinn when, at least when it comes to the mechanics.

The method for finding out information is a bit contrived, but it's very effective. My main problem with detective games is that they either allow you to 'cheat' your way to a solution or the solution/presentation of information is so obtuse that there's no way you could actually solve it for yourself before making it to the end (Ace Attorney, Danganronpa). This game doesn't have that issue. It makes you want to get out a pen and piece of paper to write things down, with the only confirmation that you're making progress being a flickered reflection and a music change.

My only complaint is that (SPOILER WARNING) the apparent 'answer' felt a bit overdone or cliché. It was disappointing. The most likely truth is that Hannah has DID, which I just don't find to be all that interesting.

A very Unique concept with an Excellent story.The only issue is that the gameplay (which is just searching for keywords and finding clips) isn't for everyone.But i highly suggest everyone to atleast give it a try especially since its now available in GAMEPASS. Its only 2 hours long (thats the time it took for me) and was very fun to unravel the story.Another issue i found (dont know if it can be said as an issue) is that its very open ended.Which means u can interpret the story in different order since theres no given order to find the story thus leading to ur own conclusions of the story,in my case i had to watch a youtube video to get the complete picture of the story.

Anyways worth giving it a try.

Minimal, repetitive, mysterious and voyeuristic, Her Story really stands on its own among adventure games. Viva Seifert delivers a stellar performance, which is very important... anything less, and the game would have quickly devolved into CD-ROM FMV-style cheese.

As a whole, I feel slightly conflicted about the experience. On one hand, the lack of traditional mechanics (or really anything approaching the complexity of a traditional puzzle) makes Her Story very accessible and allows the player to focus on the footage alone. On the other hand, I wish the game offered a greater outlet for the player to express the conclusions they'd reached by its end.

Her Story uses one of the most unique mechanics I've ever encountered, to tell a completely traditional story, in a compelling and totally original way. Its mechanical simplicity is like a poem, truly being distilled down to only the necessary. And by necessity, the story is predictable -- after all, playing the game itself involves predicting the story -- but perfectly executed.

This is Shakespeare for the Digital era.

A nice short game with a multi-layered narrative that is best completed in one sitting. I did just that last night and I have to admit that I'm a little hung over today. Now I'm going to watch all the scenes in order here:

I don't really know what I thought about Her Story, and frankly I don't have the TIME to figure out what I thought about Her Story. It was a thing, then I finished it, then it was no longer a thing. Enjoyable while it lasted with absolutely zero reason to go back and experience it again.

Is it actually a game? Is it an interactive movie? I don't know, and I don't really care anymore. On to the next one.

A fascinating mechanic. Good game at a good price. The story ends up being convoluted, and I'm torn on whether the lack of clarity serves or hinders the story. We resolve so little.

*SPOILERS*

What about those mushrooms? Is Eve the culprit for the parent's death? And the midwife's? Are we dealing with a psychopath or should we take the story at face value? Did she off her sister or allow her sister to run away? And what about the ongoing debate between the twin theory and the MPD theory? We are given enough to draw our own conclusions, but only barely.

Then we have the sheer unbelievability of much of the story. I just don't know. I enjoyed my time with the game and thinking about it after, but I can't say it's stellar writing or a stellar story. The way the mechanics moved things forward worked very well, however, so I remain happy to give the game a strong recommendation despite my conflicted feelings.

Pros:
-- (As far as I know) New, innovative method of telling a story through video game
-- The main actress does a good job of playing her part, aside from a few cheesy parts
-- Engrossing, as you dig deeper, trying to figure out what is actually going on

Cons:
-- The game leaves a little too much open in the end, leaving you unsure when you are actually "done"
-- Can be a little difficult to continue forward when you aren't sure what terms to search for
-- There is a nice desktop built into the game that could be fun to play around with, but there isn't much to do with it

Check out my full review at TheKlotzNet

Another in the growing catalog of passive “experience” games, Her Story is a short, interesting little thing. If Gone Home was labeled the once-pejorative-but-now-kosher “walking simulator,” then Her Story would be a “clicking simulator.” Your character sits in a UK police station (constabulary?) in present day looking through a database of videos. Centered around one specific incident, you must file through the videos in order to uncover the story. This is done by the use of keywords. Each video is subtitled, and these subtitles are part of the database as well. When you load the game up the word “murder” is in the search bar already for you. Click the search button and five videos where the interviewee says “murder” appear. You then watch these videos and uncover new keywords. For example, if the subject says “So I drove North, to Glasgow” you might then try searching for “drove,” “North,” or “Glasgow” thus uncovering more of the story. You can then pull anything of interest into a time line on the bottom for later viewing so you don't have to keep searching keywords to find videos you'd like to review. The videos, of which there are around 250, range from five to ninety seconds generally, and you can scrub through them though there is no pause function (a minor detail that only might come into play in two of the videos). The game “ends” when you close the program. Yes, you can trigger credits but you can then jump right back in where you left off. There is a story to be told here, and the game is completed only when you feel that you understand the story.

Her Story is worth playing for anyone who enjoys the new wave of passive experiences that have hit Steam in the past couple years. Just one thing: Do NOT under any circumstances click the “Delete Session Data” button. It will delete your save file. I thought it would clean up the time line I had created on the bottom of the screen. It does not. It deletes your game. The Steam community forum agrees that this is cruel and stupid. But Her Story, aside from that one snag, is not.