Let's make one thing clear before somebody gets the idea of looking at my friends list - yes, I do have the author of the game in there. I am not actually affiliated with him in any reasonable way, aside from exchanging a few words now and again. Nonetheless, my opinion might be biased, that's why I'll try to explain it in detail. Oh, and I have finished the game when it wasn't on Steam yet.



So, first of all, a word of warning: The Moon Sliver is a game strongly focused on telling you a story, with very light puzzle elements. It stands somewhere between Gone Home in focus on freedom of movement and exploration and Dear Esther in telling a mysterious story which is quite open to interpretation. If this is something you are not into - not a game for you. If, however, previously named titles got your attention - read on. Or just buy the bloody thing, it's as expensive as two bottles of beer and my recommendation thingy glows somewhere around these words anyway.



Right, you're still reading. First of all, I stand by the comparisons I have made above, so I'll use them as a baseline. At first, you're likely to notice two things - quite apparently lower production values and fantastic music. To elaborate: In terms of graphical design and fidelity, the game is not nearly as flashy as games like Dear Esther or Gone Home might be.



Graphics are quite spartan, yet very functional. I feel that the simplicity of the graphical presentation is often enough used to set a feeling of loneliness and desperation, which it does quite well. At any rate, if pretty is what you're looking for, I'm sad to say that's not part of the package, and repetitive assets don't help much.



Music, on the other hand, is quite wonderful. It sets the tone very nicely and is used to underline the desired mood of individual locations.



When it comes to most important bit of the game, the storyline, I find that the less you know when you start it, the better. Suffice to say it's captivating and definitely kept me playing all the way until the end of the game, which is not a particularily long journey, nonetheless long enough for me to lose interest in most games. Writing is very good, and aside from the way it handles reading notes (no, there's no voice acting, just a lot of quality writing), I was very happy with it.



The story is told both trough enviromental cues you can see in various locations and notes and books as already mentioned. You will also run across a few simple puzzles and the entire game is based around exploration of a small, yet very open island - you will not see the linearity of Dear Esther here, you can go just about anywhere, at any time you want, altho some locations require information obtained at other ones.



Right, I have opened the subject earlier, but I feel I should elaborate on it a little more - the game is short. Even by Gone Home standards short. You'll beat it in under hour and a half, and you don't really have much of a choice in the matter as it doesn't support save states. The game is designed to be beaten in one sitting tho, and it's hardly too long, so that should not be an issue.



All in all, The Moon Sliver was an experience worth remembering, and that's more than I can say for most games that I have played recently. For the asking price, you're hardly even taking a risk, so if I got you even slightly interested, just go for it.

Let's make one thing clear before somebody gets the idea of looking at my friends list - yes, I do have the author of the game in there. I am not actually affiliated with him in any reasonable way, aside from exchanging a few words now and again. Nonetheless, my opinion might be biased, that's why I'll try to explain it in detail. Oh, and I have finished the game when it wasn't on Steam yet. So, first of all, a word of warning: The Moon Sliver is a game strongly focused on telling you a story, with very light puzzle elements. It stands somewhere between Gone Home in focus on freedom of movement and exploration and Dear Esther in telling a mysterious story which is quite open to interpretation. If this is something you are not into - not a game for you. If, however, previously named titles got your attention - read on. Or just buy the bloody thing, it's as expensive as two bottles of beer and my recommendation thingy glows somewhere around these words anyway. Right, you're still reading. First of all, I stand by the comparisons I have made above, so I'll use them as a baseline. At first, you're likely to notice two things - quite apparently lower production values and fantastic music. To elaborate: In terms of graphical design and fidelity, the game is not nearly as flashy as games like Dear Esther or Gone Home might be. Graphics are quite spartan, yet very functional. I feel that the simplicity of the graphical presentation is often enough used to set a feeling of loneliness and desperation, which it does quite well. At any rate, if pretty is what you're looking for, I'm sad to say that's not part of the package, and repetitive assets don't help much. Music, on the other hand, is quite wonderful. It sets the tone very nicely and is used to underline the desired mood of individual locations. When it comes to most important bit of the game, the storyline, I find that the less you know when you start it, the better. Suffice to say it's captivating and definitely kept me playing all the way until the end of the game, which is not a particularily long journey, nonetheless long enough for me to lose interest in most games. Writing is very good, and aside from the way it handles reading notes (no, there's no voice acting, just a lot of quality writing), I was very happy with it. The story is told both trough enviromental cues you can see in various locations and notes and books as already mentioned. You will also run across a few simple puzzles and the entire game is based around exploration of a small, yet very open island - you will not see the linearity of Dear Esther here, you can go just about anywhere, at any time you want, altho some locations require information obtained at other ones. Right, I have opened the subject earlier, but I feel I should elaborate on it a little more - the game is short. Even by Gone Home standards short. You'll beat it in under hour and a half, and you don't really have much of a choice in the matter as it doesn't support save states. The game is designed to be beaten in one sitting tho, and it's hardly too long, so that should not be an issue. All in all, The Moon Sliver was an experience worth remembering, and that's more than I can say for most games that I have played recently. For the asking price, you're hardly even taking a risk, so if I got you even slightly interested, just go for it. Check this box if you received this product for free (?) Do you recommend this game? Yes No Cancel Save Changes