I came across [i]Half Past Fate: Romantic Distancing[/i] a while back when randomly browsing for something a little different which might appeal to me, with no idea that there had been a predecessor, which does not appear to be available on Steam.
After consigning it to the “huge backlog, I'll get to it whenever” pile, I finally found a chance to pick up something which would not take long to run through, and other reviewer play times told me that this was the game in my library which would fit the bill.
[h1]Overview[/h1]
Here we have the story of Stephen and Robin who meet at the start of the covid pandemic, and therefore, despite finding each other attractive and getting along very well, they are forced to try and build a relationship via electronic means at a distance.
As this game was released during the time of lockdowns, the question, surely, is does it still stand up as a relevant story and piece of entertainment now that it is no longer topical?
[h1]Gameplay[/h1]
We get to play the parts of both lead characters, who are depicted by controllable pixel-graphic sprites and also displayed as more detailed portraits during conversations which are presented in a visual novel format at the bottom of the screen.
My initial reaction to finding that I had to move the characters about with either the WASD or arrow keys was one of horror. No mouse control (or, in the case of a laptop, no trackpad) at all; which immediately felt clunky and uncomfortable, though I'd add that I'm used to playing VNs more than anything else, so this was simply unexpected rather than a real burden, and after getting over the surprise, it was pretty easy to adapt quickly.
Every so often we get a choice of what the leads will say to each other, though the only really important choice comes last, leading us directly to one of two possible outcomes to the budding romance.
[h1]Positives[/h1]
- The narrative is beautifully written, creating believable characters in a realistic scenario which the huge majority of us will be able to relate to.
- Keyboard controls, after originally throwing me, are pretty straightforward and also detailed from the menu.
- Character movement is smooth and there are also resolution and other graphic options available.
- Ideal short game for those one-free-session evenings.
- You can complete one ending, and upon returning to the start menu, select “Continue” to play [b]only the final scene again[/b] in order to see the alternative end. No need to replay the whole story.
[h1]Negatives[/h1]
- Zero mouse control, strictly keyboard only, non-adjustable.
- Automatic saves only. Due to the overall length, not a huge problem, but be aware, no manual save.
- Text speed is auto-set and is slow. Each caption can be forced to complete instantly by pressing the space bar, but this means you have to press space twice for every caption to move conversations along at an acceptable pace. This is unnecessarily burdensome.
[h1]Verdict[/h1]
To answer my earlier question, yes this is still an enjoyable ride along with a new relationship struggling to maintain during a period where the protagonists cannot share physical time together, and this is not diluted by the change in situation since the pandemic's threat subsided.
The speed of text progress was a little irritating at times when I seemed to be space bar bashing just to get anywhere, but otherwise the storytelling held up well enough to make this an overall positive experience.
My initial play through took 1.2 hours, then approximately another 10 minutes after making the other available final choice. At a price (UK) of £4.79, this is quite cheap on a per-hour basis against any other form of entertainment; but when compared directly with its peers, it could be considered to be priced a touch on the high side. I suspect most people who might enjoy this, would also feel less enamoured if purchased at full price.
Nonetheless, if you enjoy easy going, well written, visual novel-esque role-play type romance story games, you're probably going to find this a satisfying hour or so of leisure time.
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