Her Story

The main game mechanic of typing and being able to view the first 5 video results is an engaging way of exploring a story. A name is being spoken, you search for that name, a location is mentioned, you search for it and so on until a mental picture of the story starts forming. The issues emerge when there are gaps you cannot naturally fill because some videos are just a couple of seconds containing simple sentences. The navigator tool even shows this during an interrogation with just yes/no answers. I can see how that can be unsatisfying towards the end, especially if you've figured out the major twists. So on game-play alone, this would not be a good game and, as someone amusingly stated, there is a better game in the recycle bin of the virtual computer. The story though makes it all worthwhile. Even after quickly figuring out the major plot twist, the acting and little details made exploring Her Story interesting. It is the unseen elements which are reflected in the manners of speech, the gestures, the details and especially the contradictions which make the tedious exploration rewarding. For me, figuring out the major twist made the consistencies and inconsistencies become an inside joke and a shared secret for which the game is fully worth it. The ambiguous ending fits the structure and story very well, though it might not be everyone's cup of tea. Some might find it bitter while some might find it sweet, if you know what I mean.