SEMU Reviews

space is scary

Semu more like see poo! wuhay! xDDDDDD ZIng!!!11!!

Fun and well made game with an interesting twist

Semu, is an existential genre bending trip of a game. The game itself uses a simple gameplay mechanic to enrich its forth-wall breaking narrative into existence. Despite its short runtime, the game is able to tell and deep and meaningful commentary on the themes of AI and sentience within technology.

Very few games manage to have a narrative without leaning heavily on dialogue and cut scenes that take control away from the player and break up the flow of gameplay. As such I believe that they fail to a certain extent to leverage the interactivity of video games. SEMU does not have this problem. Even within its short runtime of a few minutes it managed to engage me more in its story than countless games decorated with awards for their "cinematic experience". I cant wait to see what this studio does next <3

Nice little game. Only gripe is that the music during the eyeball sequence was VERY LOUD.

A look on what is 'essential' when it comes to surviving an unknown world. A short but sweet experience with lovely music, interesting premise and narrative with a solid ending to boot. Looking forward to seeing more from this studio :)

The story this game tells is one of utter dispair, only fully realised by trying again and again, realising there is nothing you can do to change the outcome. You will lose in the face of impossible odds

SEMU is a concise and highly effective adaptation of Bad Space's 'The Suit' webcomic, telling a powerful story with minimal prompting and a show-don't-tell narrative philosophy. The simple and fun additions of a jetpack and grapple hook to a 16-bit astronaut put the player in a familiar gameplay setting, but by toying with the format of the game itself, SEMU succeeds in building an increasingly unsettling atmosphere. A looming sense of dread is an impressive thing to instil within a player, especially within the arcade-style scope of SEMU's gameplay and visual design. Familiar becomes unfamiliar; and the undercut of expectation gives way to fuller immersion. The bold execution of these ideas is exciting to see, and I look forward to seeing Inkforge's larger-scale future work that can further explore different types of storytelling in games.

Soundtrack was a banger so super bummed it wasn't essential. For such a short game, SEMU says alot, asking the question of what is essential and catching me off guard everytime it took something away in the name of survival. Very excited to see what's next from this team.