The Red Strings Club Reviews

One of the most thought provoking games (probably at par to Disco Elysium) in this century. Originally, it comes off as a game about AI taking over the world and poor bartending mechanics - but it is truly a game that helps you grasp the impact of your decisions. It helps you recognize your morally grey areas, and it helps you recognize how truly at an impasse logic is when it comes head to head with overbearing emotions. This was my perspective, and perhaps your perspective will be different. One thing is for certain, I've owned this game for 2+ years before playing it - and I wish I'd played it sooner.

This game hit me so unexpectedly. I started it to experience fresh perspective on making drinks mechanics and stayed for that and almost everything else. I could say a lot about "The Red Strings CLub" but there's one thing I find the most important - this game has a soul. I love how humanistic it turned out to be. No time pressure was given and yet you feel the weight of your choices and the sweat while making them - even if the stakes are not always huge. The branching and the quizez allow to slow down and wonder about our individual perspective and answers. It's a story about what makes us human - the beauty of emotions, the character we bring to the world. The game does not shy away from the ambiguty and lets the player explore their own opinions on mentioned dylemmas - even if given answers are sometimes contradictory. From a design perspective - in the beggining I was fascinated that the story is mainly for us to experience, not so to take part in (for example the fact that main protagonist is so determined doesn't leave a lot of space for roleplay). Despite this I think it all comes together in the end and this choice highlights the narrative message behind it. When you think you know cyberpunk themes through and through this game proves there are yet original ways to explore it. Play it - for the minigames and the characters and the writing and all the others goodies you can find during those 4 hours.

Great game. I love this kind of games that make you think about the morality of technological progress and all the nuances implied.

Cool game, very chill/philosophical vibes from it. The only people who woudn`t like this one are alt right incel snowflakes that felt offended or "judged" by stuff like the game dialog having stuff like women are opressed or big corporations are evil and such. Or worse, people crying ''i don`t care about politics but the game is pushing woke agenda over me, waaaahhh''. Anyone with half a brain would understand the game messages about humanity, freewill and overall human ethics and technology.

It's a simple game but the story is quite engaging and it presents some interesting themes, asking you a lot of difficult questions. Gameplay wise the mini games are okay, mostly really enjoyed the puzzle-like ending part. The only kind of short coming that I think it has, it is the duration, I think that it could be more longer and still enjoyable, but due to the same thing it has some replayability value. I recommend it if you enjoy this narrative driven type of games, with cool music and pixel art.

I don't even know what to say. Just play this game. Extremely recommend. The main idea and plot twists are wow. The very beginning of the game can be a bit boring and absolutely not intriguing, but believe me you will not regret if you continue playing.

Very nice cyberpunk adventure / graphic novel. The pixel art is gorgeous, story is interesting and unpredictable, music and sound design are great. Didn't know what to expect, but I enjoyed this game a lot.

que jogo maravilhoso, eu não tenho nem palavras pra descrever o quanto que esse jogo é perfeito, a história é maravilhosa, os personagens, a trilha sonora então pqp

I would describe The Red Strings Club as an indie cyberpunk visual novel. The game fits the categories even better than one would expect: It very much has the strengths and limits one would expect from an indie game. It is an especially unconventional and artistic game. The developers have protected the game's personality from any degree of streamlining. The relatively low budget is made apparent by the pixelated graphics and the small scope, but as these aspects fit into the game organically, no tangible compromise is imposed by the game's limits. The game's biggest strength is, in my opinion, its writing. The characters and their dialogue have depth and so does the story overall. The Red Strings Club engages quite directly with cyberpunk's core themes - Transhumanism and the ethics of capitalist practices - and it does so in quite a philosophical manner. Even as someone who has thought about these exact things enough (and thereby developed some strong enough opinions) to engage in both activism and profession related to them, this game, despite not changing my mind, has made me reconsider. Some of the game's choices, despite being basically just stated opinions, I am still torn about. This is - in my opinion - what art is all about: engaging with themes and topics and - however cryptically - communicating meaning, as vague as that might sound.

What a weird little game! I wouldn't describe this as fun, but it is certainly interesting—from a ludonarative perspective if nothing else. There is a lot here that is unique and worth some thought. The game consists of three main parts, all of which are disjointed in terms of gameplay and follow different characters. The gameplay in all of the parts (pottery, bartending) is not good—the controls are super finicky and have a frustrating sort of inertia so it takes forever to do something simple like line up a circle over another circle. I dumped SO MUCH booze on the counter. The little minigames only distract from the actual intrigue, which is the characterization and the system of interactions and relationships. I don't think I've seen a game so thoroughly built around emotional intelligence before—interacting with characters and empathetically guessing and influencing their complex emotions, worldviews, loyalties, and motivations is the whole deal here. It is more about deep relationships/interactions than what I've seen from dating sims, a genre which is nominally all about doing relationships and interactions well. For that alone, the game holds interest. I think I will like this more on the second playthrough now that I understand the worldbuilding and know to anticipate the POV switches. All the different systems, characters, and the complexity of the world was a lot for me to keep straight on the first go. There is a lot of stuff being crammed into a short playtime. The music and pixel art animations are great at conveying atmosphere and vibe. There is a sense of darkness and mystery that permeates everything—especially the bartender protagonist. Our distance from him makes him more compelling. Interesting philosophical questions explored, but left up to you to answer, such as: Does depression have a necessary social function? Does hatred? If you could manipulate society's emotions and behaviors, would you draw the line at certain types of violence but not others? Freedom or safety? And is freedom from desire freedom from suffering—enlightenment? Or is constant striving and mild dissatisfaction essential to our humanity? That very final dialogue tree is what lingers the most. You spend the whole game figuring out a certain piece of information that could change the world, but does it matter more than your love for your partner?