The Girl of Glass: A Summer Bird's Tale Reviews

Beautiful but stops making any sense after a while, and the obligatory minigames are a pain.

I don't normally play this type of game, but I still enjoyed it a lot and the level of difficulty felt appropriate. The only negative is that the combat mechanics felt a bit repetetive, but having the story and beautiful graphics very present in the combat made sure it was still an interesting and engaging time. Overall I think the story and the aesthetics is the best part of the game. The pacing was very good, giving you time to breathe without getting boring, and I was always intrigued to see how it would continue. The story was cute and wholesome yet deep and mature, and I found it moving and thoughtful to think about even after playing the game. At some points I needed a bit of effort to get past an obstacle, but I was never stuck for long. In other words it was a bit challenging but not frustrating. Since it is point and click the solution only required a bit of thought so players who struggle with timing and controls can also enjoy this game. The player has enough freedom to feel engaged but not so much that it deters from or dilutes the story, which is what I feel the whole game is centered around. Everything in the game fits with and adds to the story beautifully, and I recommend this game to everyone who enjoys a good story.

Still in my first playthrough, so i've not finished the game just yet. However, I wanted to leave a review since this game has not gotten much attention, which is a shame. The hand-painted art style reminds me of Studio Ghibil films! Its story has a sort of magical realism to it, like those of Haruku Murakami's stories. This is also a game that reflects on serious issues like trauma, loneliness, war, and an honest look at how complex people can be inside while appearing less on the surface, etc. It's also great that it challenges typical tropes such as "boy saves girl" and while initially he is a symbol of escape for her, as the story progresses, her romanticised image of him crumbles. As it is in real life, no one is perfect and it's fantastic that the game doesn't shy away from that truth. Finally, this game has multiple genres in one. It may not be for everyone, but if you enjoy turn-based combat, point-and-click adventures, and visual novels... then this is a hidden gem you might want to check out! :-)

I just finished the game and I must admit: I really adore the strong message, the music and the artwork. Its just overwhelmingly beautiful and I never took so many screenshots in any other game before. ❤️ I also really love the point and click part of the game, I am a huge fan of that genre. The riddles are not too difficult, but its still entertaining and interesting, I didnt get bored or really stuck. :) The only thing that frustrated me a bit were the dream battles. I found the difficulty in those fights really high, so I decided to continue in easy mode, even the average mode drove me crazy, I felt like it was so random sometimes :( But in the end, I have to say: This game is great and definetly worth playing! The creators were puting really a lot of heart in the game. :)

The game is very pretty, It's pleasant to look at. And the song in the credits is nice. That's pretty much all the positive I can say about it. The gameplay is terrible. The point&click adventure part is so easy they might as well be holding your hand through it all, while the combat RPG part is equal part frustrating and boring. Both parts are dragged down by CONSTANT AND I DO MEAN CONSTANT OH MY GOD THEY NEVER SHUT UP interruptions. Even Boss fights are like one turn attack one turn get preached at one turn fight one turn get told stuff you already knew one turn fight one turn they comment on the fight etc etc. The text is slow too and you can't skip it. The protagonist is frustrating. She alternates between being an asshole and being a doormat (not in her responses, which you can choose, but in her actions, which you can't), and she does things that make you slam your head on the desk (example: a friend just told her in great confidence a secret that could get them arrested, she immediately tells a rando she met 5 minutes ago). And the story is weird in a bad way, with plenty of plot holes.

The Girl of Glass is totally opposite to what I was expecting and constantly changes tone, pace, and gameplay styles. Whilst I believe at its core, it is a well-scripted story about self-confidence and friendship, some parts of the narrative are a total wreck that throws everything from fascism to corrupt businessmen to even religion at players. As a result, the story loses part of its emotional impact and becomes a convoluted mess and a chore to keep up with. [u]Pros[/u] + Gorgeous colourful visuals. + Fun point & click sections. + Moving soundtrack. + Mix of genres (Visual Novel, Point & Click, Turn-Based Combat, Adventure, Story-rich). + Combat difficulty options. [u]Cons[/u] - Many tedious combat scenes that are mixed with dialogue throughout. Causing frustration when having to repeat. - Lots of the combat areas seem pointless, aimlessly clicking to proceed to the next dialogue popup. - Purely bizarre, mismatched story that continuously changes from showcasing extreme radical ideas to being family-friendly. [h1]Story... or Stories?[/h1] Where do I start... I don't think I've come across such a convoluted story with just so many elements. It appears the developers had countless ideas for a fairytale but instead of making multiple games, they jam it all into one. It is rather unfortunate as the games core message and story is quite moving. Beginning at a rundown circus with a handful of characters who all seem to have their own personal struggles, amongst them is the protagonist, Kristal. She feels lost and unsure of her future. Before long, she is met by a boy, known namelessly as "The Boy" who quickly turns her life around. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2439599212 With this as the starting feature and introduction to the characters, I thought this was the typical romance story where boy meets sad girl, boy makes girl happy and they move away and live happily ever after. Fortunately, the story is much more in depth than that and focuses heavily on Kristal's self-perception and struggles from her past. Kristal is first depicted as an insecure and fragile girl and is quite literally made of glass. She undergoes a large character arc and transforms throughout the chapters, allowing players to follow her personal story and growth, alongside the other Circus characters. Each character comes to realise their mistakes and their past is slowly revealed. Overall, I enjoyed the deep character narrative and felt that each story was well told. However, Kristal also slips into a dream-like phase which is where everything goes haywire. [h1]Evil Businessmen, Fascism, The Eagle, and paedophile priests...? [/h1] If that title wasn't enough to grab your attention, I'm not sure what will. Yes, all of the above are seen in the game and yes, it's alongside the nice, family friendly love and friendship story. The Girl of Glass is far from a child's tale, do not be fooled by the colourful exterior and cheerful looking personalities. For the first few hours, the game is set in the cheery circus, completing menial tasks, and chatting to the other characters, but after the first night where Kristal dreams, the confusion begins. I am all for a variation between seriousness and light-hearted dialogue, but the developers really take it to the extremes. One second it is helping a little girl retrieve her lost toy and the next moment it is conversing about selling kids to a priest to cure his boredom. Ranging from an innocent teenage love story to The Eagle (a totalitarian construct) and a suspicious looking blonde, corrupt businessman, one can only think that this is supposed to be symbolic for a particular country. The entire dream section of the game appears to be metaphoric but loses its meaning due to its sheer absurdity. Perhaps if there were not as many characters or "bosses" introduced, it may have been clearer. I would be more interested in seeing a whole separate game with the "dream" reality so the characters and alternate universe can be fully developed. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2437326469 [h1]Gameplay[/h1] Not only is the story a rollercoaster of side plots, but the gameplay itself is forever changing as well. Personally, I quite like this take and it keeps it interesting. Players are certain to like some sections more than others and I enjoy the variability. Mixed with point and click scenes, visual novel, adventure, and turn-based combat, it can seem like quite an odd mix. For majority of the game I had no problem with the mix and matching, but towards the middle until the conclusion, the combat just became tiresome. It seems I was one of the few individuals that was excited to see turn-based combat in a predominantly story-focused game. Whilst the mechanics slightly change as the game advances, introducing new abilities and characters, it remains mostly stale. Combat scenes are heavily mixed with large chunks of dialogue which is especially frustrating if you have to repeat the battle. Furthermore, lots of the combat areas seemed thrown into the game for no apparent reason. For instance, characters may do 1dmg and after every turn there is a few dialogue scenes and this repeats for 2-5 turns. before something changes and now all the sudden players can inflict actual damage. I found this quite ridiculous and undermines the whole purpose of including turn-based combat, removing any sort of strategy, and just clicking through waiting for the next visual novel section. [h1]Graphics & Sound[/h1] Right from the start-up, the art appeared like illustrations out of a children's storybook. Everything is colourful with soft shading and lighting. There is nothing to fault here, the game is simply beautiful, even the characters are similar to old Disney movies through their expressions and appearance. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2439598906 Similarly, the soundtrack is gorgeous and there are a handful of areas where a movie-like sequence will play with a poignant song in the background. It is also available as DLC to purchase. [h1]Technical[/h1] [quote][b]This game was played with the following PC specs:[/b] Intel i5-9400 2.9 GHz 16GB RAM GeForce RTX 2060 6GB 1920x1080 resolution HDD Windows 10[/quote] [h1]Conclusion[/h1] Girl of Glass is an extremely odd narrative, filled with excessive metaphors and tedious turn-based combat. At its core, the story is emotional and filled with self-discovery, but it is sadly letdown by its confusing side plots. The bizarre mismatch of serious and light-hearted themes embedded into its whimsical story is befuddling to say the least. Whilst I enjoyed Kristal's story, the whole package is not something I would recommend to others. [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/34936724][quote]Follow my curator page, [b]Cookie Reviews[/b], if you enjoyed this review and want to see more like it

This game came across as a Point & Click Adventure mixed with Turn-Based RPG. As a fan of Sierra's classic Quest for Glory series, I was hoping this game would deliver a similar experience. This game feels almost like playing three distinct games... part Point & Click Adventure, part Turn-Based RPG, and part Visual Novel. Unfortunately, this game seems to mix the worst aspects of those genres. The Point & Click Adventure aspects revolve almost exclusively on fetch quests and inventory puzzles. There's nothing that's particularly difficult to figure out or challenging in the P&C aspects of the game it's just a matter of finding the object needed and bringing it to the person/place it needs to go. While it might not make for the most engaging and interesting P&C adventure, It would be passable if not for the issues with the other elements. Unlike games such as Quest for Glory, Quest for Infamy, or Heroine's Quest this game does not masterfully blend its RPG elements into the game. Skill building and leveling is generally a major component in RPGs yet, there's none in this game. You don't level up, you don't build skills, you don't really even have any stats. You have a health bar shared with all the party and then each party member has an energy level that when depleted leaves them basically stunned for 1 round. You cannot learn or buy or improve any skills, they are unlocked at certain times, but they don't always remain available. You can't pick your party members. You can't get stronger armor or weapons or tools or enchantments or anything. Those are essential elements of an RPG but they are completely absent from Girl of Glass. While that might make the battles simpler for some it makes them really boring. What's worse is you cannot avoid battles at all and you can't do something else and come back to them when you feel ready. There is no progressing between the other parts unless you complete the battles. Even though they have tried to simplify the battles, they are by no means easy. Some of them are quite difficult especially if you want to get the achievement for having done them with 3 star ratings. You will fail and repeat many times on some battles. Then there's the visual novel aspect... I'm not really a fan of visual novels, but I can tolerate them. All of the cut-scenes are done in a more visual novel type style with little to no animation. The dialogues in this game instead of taking place as a typical dialogue tree are also done in a visual novel style. I wouldn't find it so bad if it didn't feel like it disrupts the game so much. It pulls up black bars on the top and bottom of the screen every time someone has a conversation or you make a comment. It feels jarring and pulls you out of game play. This game is also very much a choice-matters game. You pick different paths for your interactions with the main characters and you pick whether you respond with a nice neutral or mean response to things. The problem is that the choices don't really matter that much as they don't really change much in the game. Mostly they change the ending, which in itself isn't that drastically different. The dialogues that happen are kind of boring and often don't do much to carry the story forward, they usually feel like unnecessary filler. The story that unfolds during the P&C portions is okay, but these dialogues also pop up in the middle of battles which is really annoying more than anything and those dialogues add almost zero to the story or battles. The dialogues are also difficult to skip through which is especially annoying if you try playing through for the alternate endings and achievements. The story in general seems really convoluted. There's so much that never really gets resolved. How much of it is actually taking place in a dream? Why is the girl made of glass? Was she actually made of glass or is it supposed to be a metaphor of how fragile and frail she feels? Was she in a coma or something the whole time imagining it? There are so many things that really didn't get answered. They throw awkward bits of philosophy, religion, and politics at you, but none of it is really very deep or makes much sense. The multiple endings don't help clear it up much. The game includes 32 achievements which I must admit, are a pain to get if you want 100%. To get all the achievements you must complete the game at least 3 times. For each of the main characters you interact with there will be 3 choices for you and each of those choices leads to path A, B, or C for that character each with an achievement on completing their part of the story arc. Then there's achievements for learning each character's name (the red-haired girl is the hardest to unlock), and three different endings that depend on your choices through the game. This game wasn't all that great the first time around so, playing through a 2nd and 3rd time for alternate endings and different paths feels like a real chore. Other than the nicely done art in this game, I just really didn't find much appealing about it. I think it would have been better off as a point & click only with some other way to show her internal struggles instead of turn-based battles. If you're looking for a Point & Click Adventure game... this isn't it, keep looking for something else. If you're looking for a thrilling new Turn-Based RPG, this won't be it. If you're looking for a Visual Novel, you'll probably be disappointed. This clearly wasn't my cup of tea, yet, there's a lot of positive reviews out there so I suppose it could be yours, but I just can't recommend it.

I'm sorry, but I don't think I will finish this. I finished the demo and really looked forward to getting it, but playing the full game has been slow and boring-- story and gameplay wise. The story interested me a little, but in a "Huh, I wonder what will happen next," way, not a "I really want to know what happens next!" way. And I think that's because that most of the characters managed to feel bland despite their different personalities and backstories, and the villains (one of which is essentially Donald Trump) were over the top in how "bad" they were. In fact (from what I played so far) a lot of game felt like a big complaint against Trump, religion, and possibly America if that's what The Eagle is supposed to represent. I might have tried to soldier through if it wasn't for the fighting parts-- but despite setting them to easy mode, I still ended up dreading the battles. (Although, if you really like tactical style fights, then it might be right up your alley.) Also, to my disappointment, only the narrator is voice acted. But on a positive note, the art and backgrounds are pretty!

[i] I am changing my negative review to a positive one because the developers have been listening to the community in general, even though the game could still use more polish in certain areas. Beyond random technical issues and slow combat, I am curious to see what people think of the narrative, I don't think the story is great, but it is weird and different, so much so that I often found myself stunned trying to digest the experience. [/i] Let me put it this way, if you only played the game for about 4 hours, you probably would leave a positive review, but if you played past the circus, you might think the game needs a complete structural overhaul. I think the game is longer than advertised, took me well over 9 hours, granted the slow combat is a huge part of the content (and I had several softlocks). The game has 7 chapters that alternate between point&click adventure and JRPG sections which I do not like. The JRPG mechanics are not very good, at best the combat is boring, but more importantly, I think it hurts the pacing of the narrative. Thematically, the combat in this game doesn't even make sense, every time there is a fight the narrative has to make some kind of excuse to fight a random animal. I figured the main character has combat in her head, but it adds too much imaginary conflict to what otherwise is a decent story (sometimes). In 25 years of gaming, I have never experienced a story where the narrative goes from good to bad and from bad to good about 6 times in the same game - I am genuinely amazed how drastically it can change in tone and storytelling. It's very strange, sometimes the game feels very kid-friendly, and then it goes very dark and political at random, even distasteful if you ask me (I am not referring to excessive cursing which is also not in the trailer). I was very frustrated with how the story was paced mainly because the game already demonstrated that it could do so correctly, especially early on when you make friends with the circus employees. Supposedly the game has alternative outcomes, but I can't imagine forcing myself to play the type of combat again, however, I did notice that dialogue can affect your relationships. Thank god the voice actor was pretty good, she made it a lot more serviceable. In the end, I was entertained by the story, if only just watching it spiral out of control. Even after 6+hours of gameplay it still holds your hand in the JRPG battles, I don't think there was a single fight where it didn't interrupt me to point out something obvious. Guys the tutorial in your game should not last 6 hours, I know how JRPG games work, you need to have an option to turn off all hints. Furthermore, there is always more dialogue during the battles, so even if you want to just speedrun them, you can't do it. The only time the combat gets interesting is during the boss fights, they could take more than 5 attempts. As far as the depth, it has some special abilities between different characters and resistances to certain elemental attacks, it's not too complicated. I find it strange that game often introduced character skills that became obsolete 30 minutes later, it's kinda like they added JRPG gameplay just for aesthetics. Even if the system had some potential, it's just not handled very well. [h1] Pros: [/h1] + it's a beautiful game, not just animation, a lot of artwork in general + pretty decent amount of content, even if you factor in the slow combat + I think the story has issues, but I was entertained by it + decent voice acting + achievements, branching dialogue with limited* impact [h1] Feedback: [/h1] [u] Combat Pace [/u] - the game still needs a way to reset battles in the middle of the fight without reloading. When you load you have to watch cutscenes which can add a lot of time to boss fights on a higher difficulty. I would like to see some of the tutorial cut from the game, it never stops even toward the end (or make it optional). The combat UI requires you to hold the mouse to select skills, it would be a lot easier if you just clicked on the UI and it stayed open with all of the choices. [u] Narrative & Misleading Trailer [/u] - I don't expect changes to the narrative, but for any future projects I think it's important to maintain a certain narrative tone when it comes to world-building. Everything about the game trailer is very lighthearted which is rather misleading. I bought the game because it reminded me of lighthearted and occasionally deeply emotional ghibli movies, I didn't expect constant cursing, political themes, self-harming, and exploring dirty desires. You can do that story if you want, but don't pretend it's something else in the trailer. [u] Softlocks [/u] - you can occasionally run into a black screen or a softlock around combat sections, but usually you can just reload the game, in most cases 2-3 minutes of lost progress. (I had about 6, at least one of them was fixed) [b] Overall thoughts: 7/10 [/b] I wish it was just a regular adventure game because those parts are very enjoyable. The combat didn't add anything good to the game in my opinion, if anything the main story kept getting delayed because we needed to make space for imaginary battles. This game is truly an experience, not all of it is positive, but it was kinda unique. Probably not going to please a diehard adventure or JRPG fan (and I am both of those). The best part of this game is also the worst part - it has a questionable story that I needed to see all the way.

I just finished my first playthrough of Girl of Glass: A Summer Bird’s Tale, and I have a lot to say about this game. It is a game about imagination and self-discovery, with metaphors upon metaphors, and you kind of have to let it present itself to you on its own terms. In this game, you are Krystal, an orphaned girl who happens to be made of glass. Krystal does odd jobs for a rinkydink and ramshackle circus that is on its last legs. The circus is populated by fellow outcasts and castaways; in an inspired twist that I really enjoyed, they all have different stories and personalities based on a series of choices you make at the beginning of the game. As pressure on the circus mounts from shady businessmen and corrupt officials, one day, a mysterious and charming young boy sweeps her off her feet and tries to convince her to run away with him. However, not all is as it seems with this guy, and she begins to have apprehensions. As all of this is going on, there is a second plotline that is rooted in dreams, imagination, and metaphor. In this dream world, Krystal is a warrior with a dark side who is journeying with companions such as a combat robot and a golem that are analogous to her real-life acquaintances. Gameplay in Girl of Glass is split more or less 50/50 between two modes. When we are in the real world, the game plays like a point-and click-adventure. The puzzles are quite easy, and mostly consist of running back and forth to satisfy various fetch quests. The environments are also fairly small. Despite this, I really enjoyed the adventure portion of the game. The environments are *gorgeous* and making progress is satisfying, particularly in the later areas. The other half of Girl of Glass is the combat-oriented half – RPG style turn-based battles. Aside from a few tutorial fights in the beginning of the game, the combat takes place in the dream world. I found it to be extremely challenging! (I did play on a high difficulty) There are no upgrades, EXP, or inventories – in battles, you will usually be 100% evenly matched by your computer opponent, and your victory will rely on careful planning, observation, and move selection. The combat is surprisingly varied – new mechanics are introduced in almost each battle up until the final battle. Fights are up to four on four, and each character has a series of rock-paper-scissors style strengths and weaknesses. You have to juggle positioning of both yourself and your enemies, energy levels, field effects, and a host of special abilities. The high point of Girl of Glass is definitely the art. This game's visuals are highly professional and polished and punch far above the game's indie weight class. The art had me hooked from the title screen. I mentioned the environments, which look incredible. I also thought it was effective how the developer used visual-novel style dialogue, with great-looking character models and a liberal use of illustrative cutaways and CGs. It’s not strange to see so many reviewers comparing it to Ghibli art. I also want to shout out the soundtrack, which was also phenomenal – especially in the final chapters! A quality of life improvement I would like to see in a future update is a dialogue speed slider; as dialogue moves a little slow for my taste. Overall, I really enjoyed this game and I definitely recommend picking it up. I am afraid that it will fly under the radar and not get the attention it deserves. While I have finished the game, I only have about 50% of the achievements and feel like there is a lot more for me to see. I am already eager for my next playthrough, maybe I will not suck so hard at the combat next time around!