I've been thoroughly intoxicated by this over the weekend, spending 8+ hours noodling around. The stand out aspect of this for me is the visuals.
I was put off by the lo-fi hair when I saw a video clip a couple of weeks ago and again when I started playing the game. But soon I was sucked in by the painterly style and particularly taken with the rich quantity of photography throughout the world. I find the photographs quite compelling to look at. Partly that's just the photographer in me. I think the free form, dauby, de-rendering of the photographs, a semi-abstraction, has a powerful graphical attractiveness. It's another form of the kind of normalising aesthetic that's often seen in Instragram pix, a reduced palette, a softening coupled with a hyper-graphic reduction to key elements.
The overall effect is like a collection of album covers.
The music is a big part of the feel of the game, even if there isn't much variety. The musical interludes and the way Max's thoughts sometimes pop-up just from being there are reminiscent of My So-Called Life, capturing some of the languorous, reflective feel that series excelled in.
The lighting is quite subtle and skin shaders are nothing like as cartoonish as I was expecting, responding to the quality of light in the environment rather than being just flatly coloured by it.
Despite frequently wooden animations and bad lip-synch which never stop being jarring, facial expressions are really keen. At one point Kate gives Max a killer stare, which really cuts home. At the time I played, only 14% of all players stuck with the consequences of Kate's vitriol.
The registration plates are amusing.
I think people who play this in less than 3 hours are probably missing out on quite a bit of the game (e.g. the registration plates). There's some multi-character interaction in the conversation trees (i.e. some of the trees depend on what you've learnt by talking with other characters). And your engagement will be enhanced by reading all of the journal (back-story and as it unfolds). Taking all the pictures, chatting to everyone, reading all the little notes and posters...
Rewind itself is mostly about presenting you with an active choice in the consequences, even if those consequences only live in your imagination, since there's no cost (except your time) in exploring the choices. Warning: the game save system is ruthless, since there's only 3 slots and while you're in game play there's no way to know what's in each of the 3 slots. Pay attention if you want to go back and forth amongst the scenes. Saves are only done automatically and they're sparse.
The action sequences are genuinely exciting.
It's very much an interactive programme. There's no skill-based challenge as such. Instead it's very much about being there, letting your imagination roam, and weighing Max's choices and their consequences. Which I like, a lot.
