Neoproxima

Neoproxima is a visual novel/text adventure game about being stuck in a time loop on an alien planet. I have some criticisms which I'll mention below but overall I enjoyed my time with this game and would recommend it. The graphics and music are great and the world and story are intruguing. Individual loops are generally quite short so you can play the game in bite sized chunks if you so choose. I have one big(ish) issue with this game and one small one. The big one is that it likes to waste your time. A reocurring experience for me was going to a location, finding out I didn't have the correct equipment, leaving, resetting the loop, returning with the appropriate equipment. You could argue that it's thematically appropriate and somewhat realistic but it didn't add any meaningful gamepley or choices to the game, it was just extra busy work. The small issue is that the game has its fair share of spelling and grammar errors. From what I an tell the devs are French and the game was written in French so I'm assuming these issues are exclusive to the English script. A little bit annoying but didn't really affect my enjoyment.

Game is set in the original timeline, in which mankind has made great technological progress thanks to 6 UFO crafts that crashed on Earth in the 1960s. Countries where they crashed, became part of a new space race and the “Cold War” - towards an alien planet called Neoproxima and the ruins found on its surface. ✅[list] [*] Time-loop mechanics with some consequences transcending from loop to loop. [*] Great UI design. [*] Aesthetics set in a 1970's vision of the future. [*] Good sound design (various additional sounds and background noises) and soundtrack. [*] Art style is comic (for NPCs and locations) mixed with low poly (for travelling on map). [*] Unique world setting. Some of differences are immense and indicate that alt-world is a rather grim reality. [*] Game touches the topics of [b]very[/b] advanced physics in relation to the nature of time. [*] World lore wasn’t forgotten and is available in-game. [/list] 😐 Visuals displayed on the loading screen are tiring to the eyes. ❌[list] [*] Car driving model. It’s hard to figure out (they mixed top view with perspective view and they didn’t quite get it right). [*] Short. [*] Some achievements are bugged. [/list]

A good little game with a lot of heart. Recommended for fans of Citizen Sleeper.

Great game, liked art-style, story and overall atmosphere

I like to take the time to find, play, and review recent indie releases that have been overlooked every few games I play. I was in the mood for a point and click, so I set some filters and found Neoproxima. At 100% rating and just under 30 reviews, it fit the bill. Well, except that the point and click tag isn't really right... it's more of a visual novel with some minor gameplay elements tacked on. I haven't played either game, but I've seen several describe Neoproxima as Outer Wild's time loop with gameplay heavily influenced by Citizen Sleeper. Seems right from what I know. The overarching plot was very cool. The setting is an alternate 70s Cold War where alien technology was recovered in the 50s, leading to very early interplanetary travel. You play as explorers trying to solve the mysteries of the planet Neoproxima, which, of course, had an ancient and no longer present alien civilization. I don't want to say much more for risk of spoilers, but you get stuck in a timeloop and things get strange and interesting. These sorts of stories can fall flat without strong resolution, and Neoproxima luckily delivered a very satisfying ending. The characters were all well fleshed out and likeable as well. The style is great. The UI is composed of very neat retro-futuristic gadgets, giving you that much more immersion. The sound track is super chill and spacy, with mixes that that land somewhere between downtempo, low-fi electronic and dream pop. It's an absolute treat that I've been regularly listening to outside of the game -- easily one of my favorites of the year. The character art is well done and conveys a lot of personality. There were a couple of issues, though. The game was made by a French team and the translator didn't seem to be a native English speaker. The quality of the original writing always shines through, but there are some awkward word choices and typos that stood out. There was also an event that you were expected to come across early that I missed until later in the game. I couldn't progress on one of the paths I was exploring until I completed that event, even though I had found all of the information I missed elsewhere. I assumed I'd ran into a game breaking bug until I found a long play and saw what I missed early on. The text from that event assumed I hadn't seen some things I'd already seen, as well. It was frustrating, but that was luckily the only notable continuity type issue I ran into, and I had missed some obvious cues early on. Still, those issues were relatively minor, and the setting, art design, and narrative were all excellent. Neoproxima is a solid hidden gem and easily worth the 5-6ish hours if you're into time loop science fiction.

Great little science fiction story. Interesting and original art style. This game does lots of things I haven't seen anywhere else, and it does them well. The story is originally French and the translation isn't perfect, but it's a good story with novel worldbuilding, and it meshes with the gameplay really well. The length is just right, IMO: not too short, not too long. Well worth the price. The game has a free demo. Try that, and if it grabs you at all, get the full version. Have fun controlling nanotechnology with your 10-pound computer from 1975, and try not to get eaten by the wildlife.

It's not about gameplay and making meaningful choices, it's about telling a good story. Story, characters and very unusual setting make this time loop story a very good time investment. Suprisingly, even the meh ending matters not that much - this story mimicks a game well enough to hide it under things that look like a game mechanics. Very good job, every visual novel should try to feel like Neoproxima.

This is a great game! It’s narrative focused (think Dispatch) but the narrative and characters are great. Not too long, but long enough to feel satisfying. Still some bugs and typos, but nothing game breaking.