We Are Chicago Reviews

I am with what most reviews say. The intention of the game is great. I really appreciate a game with black protagonists and showing the dirty parts of society. This needs to be talked about and i'm glad it is. I also appreciate that you get to toggle depicition of violence on/off. Like many reviewers say: the graphics look like 3D games i played 15 years ago, and the camera controls are impractical. I'm not too fond of first person camera and would have appreciated if Aaron had a voice. And it is quite the walking simulation, paired with doing a lot of grinding like going to bed or counting out change at your work place. The gameplay itself is not too exciting. It is kind of immersive to have to make choices, though, and worrying along with the protagonist whether a choice will get me or loved ones in trouble... Would i recommend the game? I read a review that said it's less a game than it is an experience. I would recommend the experience!

I am conflicted in my review of this game. I am a gamer, and I am from Da' Southside of Chicago. As a gamer, this is not the greatest game in the world, and I never expected it to be. As someone who grew up in and around environment presented in the game, I love what the game developers are trying to accomplish. I enjoy a good story, and "We Are Chicago" tells a good story. Unfortunately, I do not see much commercial success for this game or other games like this. Gamers like games that let them live out thier loot/ murder fantasies, and "We Are Chicago" is the antithesis to what typical gamers want from a game. I like this game. You make poor decisions, and things do not work out so well for you. However, if you make the right choices, eventually you can end up like me... 2000 miles away from Chicago... living out your dreams.

Interesting game and concept. Relatively short, but enjoyed the narrative-driven aspect of the game -- you are able to choose how you will respond to certain reponses. Its not entirely clear how the decisions affect the game as a whole, but I wouldn't be able to tell the difference either way. I think this is an interesting way of bringing issues to light -- the time spent with the characters builds empathy with the player. Overall, the game seems honest in its intentions and is supported by a well intended group of people. Hope to see more games like this, across a range of topics!

Wanted to add my positive feelings about this, even though I haven't finished it yet. First of all, I'd suggest you avoid watching Let's Plays and such if you're like me and skip around the video to try to get some idea of what the feeling is like. Parts that looked really long and laborious to me were actually pretty easy once I let myself sink in to the dialogue. We Are Chicago is a game which seems to be trying to be like Life Is Strange, but without the supernatural elements and instead with a focus on urban slice-of-life in a high-risk area. It's low production values yes, but as long as your computer doesn't have issues with Unity games (mine used to), you should have consistently maxed-out FPS on a modern gaming rig and that helps with immersion. You're thrown into the life of a high school student, trying to make it to college and take care of his family at the same time, balancing loyalty to his friends with self-preservation and wisdom. While the game can be heavy-handed and extremely preachy at times about the crises that at-risk youths face, as a life simulator it does greatly and felt a lot like Indigo Prophecy to me, with pauses to immerse into your house, do menial tasks like setting the dinner table, and generally breathe life into the game's world by connecting to it. If you focus on those parts, I think you'll be fine. Chicago is a colorful palette of many of the world's best and worst things, and I feel that this story represents the feeling of being there well. As someone who is a foreigner to American culture but who has visited Chicago many times, I relished the opportunity to be able to understand what it would be like to actually grow up there instead of where I did. It's obvious from the start of the game that some people will be dying while others live, but the story isn't so heavy-handed as to make me absolutely sure what's going to happen. I wouldn't call it a page-turner, but I am curious what's going to happen to who, and I do think it's worth the moderate price if you understand that it's a grassroots community effort and needs more tolerance for flaws than you might be used to. Basically, give it a try if you're annoyed at the lack of Black protagonists in games, Black themes, or just generally have wanted to try a slice-of-life game that doesn't devolve into science fiction or fantasy 5 minutes in. :)

I don't really know how I feel about this game as far as a positive or negative review. Most of the negative reviews I have read are for controls and polishing of the game. I did really enjoy the story and thought it was interesting. This game had a lot of potential to be something more. It reminded me of a Telltale game, sort of. But just wasn't quite up there. I think we can all agree for those who have played it on what the developers where trying to convey. It was absolutely passionate and a great story. Unfortunately I’m going to give it a thumbs down. This is just solely on the gameplay being unpolished and buggy to price type ratio. Fantastic story great meaning just bad gameplay. I hope we can see what more these developers have to offer for I’m sure they are just scratching the surface of their potential.

It is pains me to say this but this is not a good game. I love dialogue driven games like Life is Strange and the Taltale Walking Dead (which it looks like it is taking inspiration), but I got really boared with these characters and I just cannot seem to care about the situation that it is taking place because how slow everyhing is. It is a big shame because when I first heard of this game on the Co Optional Podcast I was really excited on the subject matter (I grew up outside of Chicago where my town had gang problems), but it was executed so poorly. One other thing that I like to bring up is the music. MY GOD THE MUSIC! Why pick the MOST annoying generic string music! It got so annoyed that when the song was ending I was so relieved to hear silence until that song loop again. >_< In my opinion, it was a miss opportunity not adding like "chill instrumental hiphop & jazzHop." You guys heart where in the right place and we need more devs doing this sort of games. Next time, give more time to polish. Hope to see more game from you!

Not what it seems, small shit story line, same route no matter what, same things happen. This game should bey around $1-1.99

Man, i'm sorry. I feel bad not recommending this game because I think it's clear that the subject matter in this game is something very important to the creators. It feels passionate, and I like what the narrative is trying to do, especially in an area that's been glorified in video games with the likes of GTA, Saints Row, etc. But I just don't think I can get past the technical side of this. It's just a pain. The game suffers from severe lack of polish. It's pretty unpleasant to look at. The voice acting feels detatched and soulless. In the time I played, the dialogue felt like it was on a broken record. Conversations felt forced and not natural. And I don't know if anyone else experienced this, but my game had TERRIBLE FPS. My PC runs most games very well even on max settings, but it does tend to overheat at times, so maybe this is only on my end, but it was SUCH a slog to get through with the FPS. I want to give it more of a chance, I want to get further into it to give you a better and deeper review, but I just don't think I can.

Its a good game that brings awareness to gang violence especially in Chicago. I can see how passionate the devs were with this game but I'm a little disappointed that that i paid 13.49 (on sale) for a game that only had about 2.5 hours of gameplay time. It has no replay value. Theres not much going on about the game. The story of the characters is a little lacking. Just expected a little bit more. I doubt there will be anything else added to the game but i could be wrong. Maybe worth 8-10 dollars I know its not much a difference but I just find it to be a little overpriced. Unfortunately I wouldnt recommend this to my friends to play.

I respect the subject this game conveys and the social issues the game developer is trying to present. However, I simply can't get over the technical issues and the gameplay itself. I can usually go with low fps & simple graphics, but this game constantly glitches while the characters are having interactions with one another. In addition, the interactions are too plain, containing mostly conversations and implications, with little real action and witnessing. Furthermore, some scenes just don't make sense at all. For example, you're eating pasta-you set up the table-you put forks and knifes and spoons and cups for everyone on the table-nobody uses any of the utencils listed except the fork. When there's a whole plate of pasta, your friend takes one bite of it using the fork once and then tells you he gtg and then leaves. The conversations and early character interactions are simply too extraneous. You go to school for three whole days without anything happening. Despite all, the game's intention is absolutely respectable and the idea conveyed in the game is worth being developed. I suggest the game developer fix the technical issues and put more details into the graphics and character interations, as well as increase the game pace a little bit. As a person living close to Chicago, I really hope that this game can be improved and if that happens I am willing to completely change my review on this game.