All You Can Eat review

Recommended

by Graham Kaletsky

The adventure video game is a separate genre, based on well-established principles and systems that have been proven by improving over the years, by techniques and ideas of gameplay made by developers in their projects. It is rare to see adventure games spontaneously find a new way to express a story, while retaining the point & click or Mystlike aspect that is expected of such games. Presented here as a species of interactive comics, "all you can eat" is from these games that open new doors, perhaps leading to future videogame categories, as "Dear Esther" was at the time for the walking simulators. Because this is a real little adventure game. But his presentation has everything to surprise at the outset, because it does not refer in anything to what has been done until then. Simple but efficient, this system of illustration fixed by comic boxes is finally remarkable! I tried this little game out of curiosity, but I do not regret it. The absence of French is certainly a negative point for francophone adventurers, but the level in English is still quite accessible (and, who knows, French amateur patches could be seen in the daytime), and the actions to be made simple and intuitive. Certainly an excellent surprise that captivates very quickly. The scenario remains simple and "grotesque", as an alibi for giving the body to an original aesthetic idea. Here, a big eater who spent his time at the buffet at the will of a restaurant discovers with Amazon that the latter will close, because redeemed by a powerful promoter. It is essential that the player understands that the adventure will not last, that it has no music, no voice (but various sound effects), and that buying such a game is a way to support the exceptional ideas that make the developers and games of tomorrow. Short, very short, all you can eat therefore offers an adventure without great rebounding, but extremely well realized. The camera, moving slightly around the main box displayed to bring a little dynamism, can give a slight feeling of nausea: in the options it remains possible to stabilize it. Thanks to the designer for this attention. We will also appreciate the cool steam trophies that give a new challenge to this game (including how to finish the adventure in less than 3 minutes ^^). Last thing, the adventure that lives in comic boxes with point & click interactions/inventory can at the end be edited entirely in printable PDF, in order to review all its progress, hesitations, unsuccessful attempts and its own choices (since it There are several branches and a slight freedom in the order of the actions and places visited). Exported with its own player name, and respecting the slightest interactivity, this personalized comic is a bonus that alone justifies the price of the game. In my opinion, therefore, a sympathetic acquisition combining an original mini-game, a personalized souvenir in PDF, and a gesture to support the designer.