Cibele (2015)

Capsule thoughts here, link to full review at the end of the text.

Nina Freeman is making some of the most fascinating games that are intensely personal and work in a vignette format that keeps emotions high. Cibele is almost perfect in the way it captures misidentification of who the other person is or, more importantly, what they want in a relationship where you barely see the other. The internet is a haven for projection, imagining the best or worst of whoever we come across, and Cibele is a game for those who feel alienated after thinking the best of someone.

As far as gameplay goes, there's a "point of no return" each time you return to Nina's game world. In-between you're free to explore the nooks and crannies of her desktop. That's where most of the turmoil is, discovering for yourself how Nina struggles to find a solid identity when a new wardrobe and outlook are a handful of clicks away. I love how she captures the aimlessness of MMORPGs, especially once you're part of an established community, and the way battle becomes a process of automation and repetition in-between conversation.

Love and pain aren't any less "real" in-person than they are online, it's more a question of how fluid the transition between one persona to the next is when meeting someone in-person versus an avatar. Cibele is one of my favorite gaming experiences, and arguably the most painful use of, "I'm sorry," the medium has seen.

http://www.cantstopthemovies.com/2017/12/cibele-2015/

Short FMV story about first love. If that's not your kind of thing you may feel like puking while going through the game as did I. Fortunately it is quite short, and ending was unexpectedly decent.

Still Credit is due, interesting concept for storytelling, though not very enjoyable gameplay if you're not engaged in story. However I can see how that could work with a bit of polish.

Overall - if you're coming of age, you like stalking teenage girls or cheesy love stories it's a game for you. If you're desperate to clean it of your backlog or interested in story telling ideas it's ok, just do it in one run, takes around hour and it's still at level you can endure. Everyone else, don't bother.