Update Three Hundred and Fifteen: 24 June 2019
the Invisible Hours
5.1 hours playtime, 36 of 36 achievements
7/10
☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆
My last update was fourteen whole days ago, which is like two years in tsuper-time. Around the time of my last update, I happened to win a Playing Appreciated giveaway. Knowing I wasn’t anywhere near done with Nier: Automata and also that I had a week-long vacation coming up, I resolved to give myself until I came back before I put Automata on the backburner to tackle that won giveaway. So: I’m back, still in Route A, and took today to play through the Invisible Hours.
Man, what is up with Tequila Works and time-travelling interwoven murder-mysteries set in big mansions? Invisible Hours is more realistic and anchored than the Sexy Brutale, and less complicated, too—fewer moving parts means more deft movement through Nikola Tesla’s island mansion as you strive to discover the culprit in his death.
The characters are all varying degrees of interesting, though the game makes peculiar choices in how to present them. The strongest is Flora, a housekeeper returning to the island to seek what Tesla refused to give her and the game’s real main character. Bonus points for the game making Thomas Edison (he’s here, too!) just as much of a fuckin asshole as he was in real life.
The game says multiple times that it’s not ‘a game’ (also ‘not a movie’) which is a little silly but okay if semantics means that much to ya, okay, it can be an ‘interwoven interactive experience’. It’s not incredibly long, but it is decently dense. The animation is just shy of being really good, putting it in an unfortunate place, but it’s good enough to get its point across. Most impressive feat: cloth sims! The dresses on the women (and Gustaf Gustav’s mid-length coat) move incredibly well, a fact I appreciated.
The ending’s kind of weak, and has a classic Tequila Works tweeeest that isn’t as neat as I think they wanted it to be, but all in all I enjoyed my time with this! Don’t go out of your way to get it, but, you know, there IS a Steam sale right around the corner… where you should absolutely pick up Yakuza 0 if you haven’t already.
In other news: we went to Virginia! Then we went down the shore! I got tan, kind of! and, most importantly, I got a job!!! I interviewed for it right before I left for vacation, and I was contacted last Thursday letting me know I got the job! I start in a couple of weeks. The job pays a little less than my previous one, and it’s a little farther away, but it also is doing data management shit and seems to be staffed with people who, you know, won’t scream all the time and use slurs constantly, so I’m gonna consider that a BIG WIN.
Next up: However long it’ll take me, I’m determined to complete—
See you soon!
Congrats on the new job! ^^
I approved the game for PA :)
Thank you! I have high hopes for it. I want it to work out sooo baddd!
thank you for approving it, too - i think it’s the longest I went for PA to not play. I was getting kind of nervous, even though I know I had a whole two weeks left. Time limits fuck with me, man!
Congrats on the job! This game looks interesting, but no luck winning it so far. I may just have to see if the price is good during the sale.
Thank you!
It is interesting, and a nice game to play in an afternoon or two. Like I said, don’t RUSH to get it, but hopefully you’ll win it, or pick it up for a bit!
I interviewed Raul from Tequila Works a few years ago and he was a really nice dude, but I feel their games are never quite as good as having the TW name behind them seems to suggest. They are typically decent to good, but not great. So far anyway.
Congrats on the job!
Oh yeah? No shit? That’s really neat! What outfit did you interview him with?
I kind of get that, too, though I only know of the three TW games (this and Sexy Brutale and Rime). They’re surprisingly similar, like I mentioned, and I think if they broke away from everything hinging on that last-minute tweeeest it’d be all the better for it.
Aaa, thank you!
Jah. It was when I was an editor for TICGN. I rolled out to do some interviews and such here and there.
Ohh, it’s another game by them. :o I enjoyed The Sexy Brutale so will definitely put this on my wishlist if it’s like it. :3
It is VERY like it, though, like I said, more straightforward and down to earth. Less funny, too. Like, more approachable to non-gamers, too. Runs very well and the controls are fine for not playing in VR.
Congrats on the new job!
Aw, M, thank you! You’ll all be kept posted about it, for sure…. whenever I fuckin finish Nier Automata. I better finish before I start the job!
Ooooh I recently finished Sexy Brutale and really enjoyed it, this game is going on my WL :) And congrats on the new job!
There’s a lot of similarities, and I myself enjoyed actually PLAYING this game better than Sexy Brutale (bc you could pause time indefinitely). Sexy Brutale is more interesting, though. You’ll have fun regardless, I think!
And thank you! <3
Congrats on the new job! :) A healthy work environment is a big factor so if the workplace seems better in that aspect then it’s indeed a big win.
Oh man, don’t I know it. I don’t have grand career ambitions, so I’m really going to work to just not die. I don’t mind what type of work, I just want to work in an environment where I’m nice to others and they’re nice to me. Here’s hoping!!
Can you play this without VR?
Last time I checked, the store page for the game said that the devs are working on a non-VR version :)
You can indeed! That’s how I played. The controls work just fine.
Thank you. Into my wishlist.