10mg: Stroke Reviews

Eight minutes to 100%. I'm glad my parents take care of their health.

Very short interactive fiction. I wish it would be more emotional. Because of the short lenght, i can not say much about it. If you like that kind of games, give it a go, it is well worth the 80 cent. Walkthough (do not watch, if you plan to play the game): https://youtu.be/wj_fniZO-_M

An interesting short story and definitely more polished than the GMTK Jam version, although some will find it changes the emotional effect of the narrative a bit.

This game has snappy simple controls. The music makes you feel anxious. The game itself is distressing and is not a pleasurable experience. It is immensely distressing. I suppose that is the goal of it though. Don't let your kid play it without you. As part of the bundle it is worth it.

In all honesty, this didn't quite get there for me. I spent much of the previous year in a family health emergency and this didn't resonate at all. I felt the characters to be mostly shallow. However, I really appreciate this game being made and the random conversation was nice. The fact that this game requires so little investment really helps here as that small conversation and a couple of other nice moments are enough to make the overall experience positive. It definitely justifies what it asks from you.

I purchased the full 10 Minute Game Collection and am going to play them in the order they appear in my library. That means this is #9 of 10. Know in advance what you are getting. As the collection title suggests, a ten minute game is not a triple A title. It is a short game-jam-esque proof of concept / working prototype / execution of an idea. At least that's what I'm going to infer from first impressions. Stroke is a sincere little game about a serious life threatening medical condition and that's probably all I should say about it... Consider this a playable life experience, and one that I can only imagine is in some way biographical and personal to the developer. The story begins in a hospital where a man has brought his wife, suspecting she is having a stroke. We are then party to the events that follow, and are in control of 'Eric' as he grapples with the helplessness of his situation. He has been accompanied by their young son and his father-in-law who are along for moral support and to be close to Evelyn, the woman so vitally important in all their lives. We are privy to his inner thoughts and must help him make the right conversation choices to comfort his family. Later in the story Evelyn's sister is also called to the hospital, and so we see this one person as parent, sibling, child and partner. A single life is multi-faceted, and what may seem like an individual experience can have far reaching effects on those around us. We all have the potential to impact upon the lives of others, even if our interactions are only fleeting. Everything is depicted by some fairly basic pixel art. The hospital waiting room, reception and a few corridors take up only four or five game screens. Characters are largely featureless, and set dressing is fairly spartan and repetitive. Any further details would be superfluous, all that is important is that the context of our narrative is represented. Similarly, there is very little in the way of sound. Text appears on screen with an appropriate typewriter style sound effect. There are a few bleeps and bloops to communicate player input. A single rather sombre tune plays throughout and is quite effective at setting the mood. I did actually quite like the music, even if it did make me feel rather glum. It's a short game, and it isn't likely to keep you awake at night with life changing ideas. However, I must commend the earnestness of the developer in trying to convey what a situation like this must feel like for all those involved. I would raise a slight issue over Eric's reasons for bringing Evelyn to the hospital in the first place. Basically she asks him twice about what he would like for his lunch. Usually being a bit forgetful just comes with the territory of being a busy mother/wife/daughter/sister and all the running after everyone that entails. For the sake of the conceit of the game I will overlook it. Also would I have called a game "Stroke"? Probably not. "Mortality Simulator"? Maybe. Or "Let's Take Ten Minutes to Think About How Tenuous Our Link to This Plane of Existence Really Is". Oh yeah, I like that one, it's snappy. Another unique and worthwhile experience from a unique and worthwhile collection of games.