If you think about it, both ways you can die in this game are directly related to something really important to the story. Spoilers ahead: The Maze Man unlocks the psychological abuse you took for Renzo Nero during the pre-production of the film and his deteriorating mental state. The Quizz Club unlocks the fact that you've accidentally / in self defense killed him. If you watch the game closely, it's all about the impact this had on her, how the time with him got you so fixated on that unreleased film and how insanely traumatic the whole experience was, and the game is all about old Lorelei coming to terms with it on her deathbed. It makes total thematic sense that these two would incur death, since those are the most sensitive topics for her.
to be fair the question is "what date in January did you arrive", not "what date did you arrive" i had the same confusion at first and died, but after rereading the question it was clearly asking for 7
I still stand by my frustration with the question but I definitely feel a lot less strongly about it as a negative as time has gone on. Maybe I was just in a mindset at the time that made it difficult for me to interpret it correctly. Regardless I'm remembering the game extremely fondly a few months on.
@@Reset-Button your feelings are valid! Really enjoyed the video! Our arcs of appreciation for this game were the complete opposite haha, I loved it in the beginning then soured at the end
Great review! Despite a few shortcomings, this game really captivated me and is something I know I'll be thinking about for the next few days. Can't think of another game like it with its cleverly designed logic puzzles and style. I did end up looking up a guide a few times when I felt lost or stuck as, like you said, it demands a lot from the player and I don't quite have the patience I used to. But in a way, it kind of felt part of the experience collaborating with other people. My only regret is that I didn't play this with someone else, as solving these challenging puzzles together may have helped avoid peaking at those guides.
I never even considered that while I was playing, having another person to bounce ideas off. I wonder how that would go given the extreme level of note-taking required for the game, I'm sure it would definitely be a super interesting experience as such.
I remember that quiz question! They specifically asked for the date of the month, something I had to double check the question for. The fact that you need to prompt the questions to reappear is probably the most annoying part of that quiz section - something that I think (?) is supposed to further ratchet your tension and investment. I almost fell into the same mistake you did before my doubt came in haha Great review, been browsing for reviews of this game since I binged it - especially appreciated your concise reflection on the literary ideas the game had.
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed the video 😁 I think it's very likely that you're right about the intentions behind the structure of those quiz questions and it was just completely lost on me, something I may need to reconsider haha
Just wanted to drop by and say I really enjoyed this video. finished the game last night and this was a really interesting perspective. Whilst I disagree with the date question anger i thought you outlined your thoughts and issues with the game really well. And also really highlighted issues I had that I just got used to (exiting the map document, going back up to the X...to close the menu) Anyways, great video - subbed
It's definitely been really interesting to hear people's perspectives on the date issue specifically. I think as time has gone on, I definitely feel less strongly about it. Memories of the game have ended up being quite fond actually. Thanks for the comment and sub as well, really appreicate it man! :D
I honestly thought the question "On which date in January did Renzo Nero expect your arrival at Hotel Letztes Jahr?" made it pretty clear it was talking only about the day of the month, but maybe that's more of an american thing to refer to the "date" as the day. I actually got super mad at the last question in the club though, which I thought was worse than that question. When it asked for the "code" we got from the minotaur statue back at the other maze, i thought it was clear because i had all the numbers and letters noted to me. So I said I was ready, only to be faced with a series of keys that didn't match the answer I had. I realized almost immediately after seeing that what they wanted, but I was unable to reference my notes anymore to actually figure out what the answer truly was, and I lost half an hour of progress because of that. I understood and knew how to get to the answer, but the game wouldn't let me. I found out later about areas to leave and save, but I managed to miss them while I fully completed the club and lost it all on the last question. The worst part was I hated going through that section already once since I wasn't a fan of navigating through there and it was really disorienting, so it wasn't even gameplay I enjoyed that I had to replay.
That definitely sounds frustrating. I understand what they were going for with the saving system, really trying to mimic something like Resident Evil, but like, man, having to repeat huge sections of the game if you forget just feels kinda backwards to me.
As someone with (as far I as I can recall) Literally No Complaints about Lorelei, its neat to hear someone explain what they had problems with. I've heard the controls complaint a few times, and I just dont get it? I don't think a back button to close out directly to the game would really add anything at all. I made more than one spontaneous connection flipping through the list of all my documents, and often revisited ones I was reminded of while looking for something else. I think it genuinely helped me think a bit longer on each screen, taking honestly just a couple seconds at most from each menu. I think it also fits thematically as well. The game takes a lot of visual inspiration, and occasionally gameplay, from much older styles of games. The retro console games and the handheld games were things that would definitely be played with just a button and a stick. Plus, it doubles as both an accessibility feature and a way to make a lot more controller devices viable to play on. If someone doesn't have the coordination to consistently hit a specific button on a keyboard or their hand gets worn out from crossing the keyboard, they don't have to worry, every button does the same thing. I guess I could say it felt mildly clunky at first, but I just let myself fall into the rhythm of doing it, and I could let my brain think a little longer and the clunkiness just kinda faded. I would also be interested to hear about the other times you mentioned the game should've used more precise language. I personally knew what Date was referring to, but I can at least understand the confusion there. I habitually save too, so I never would've lost progress if I did ever get a game over, so I just kinda never ran into that issue.
Your perspective about the controls actually acting as a mechanism to make you spend more time and pay closer attention to details in each document is something I hadn't considered, and doubling as an accessiblity feature as well, I can definitely see where you're coming from and I agree for the most part. Thanks for sharing! And apart from the date question, my memory is a little faded now on the specific language point, but one puzzle I remember struggling with specifically was the piano. I'm unsure if it's just from my prior experience playing the piano when I was younger clouding my perspective a little bit, but I found it super challenging to figure out just what the puzzle was asking of me, and I just felt defeated when I finally figured it out rather than relieved. Maybe not a "use of imprecise language" problem, but definitely a frustrating point nonetheless.
the date part was absolutely your mistake. It asks the day of january why would you think that it wanted the whole date?????????????????????????? And you could've read the question again to clarify
I went back to check and the question was phrased "on which date in January." While yes, this absolutely can be attributed to a misunderstanding on my part, I would still argue it could be clearer. Thanks for the feedback though! I really do appreciate it.
@@Reset-Button and about the gun and the choice to no put an autosave, you should watch "through the laser eyes" a mini doc about the game development of the game. they surface this question
@@PeterODatilo Just gave it a watch, I do like the idea that it's supposed to be a change of pace to shock you into paying more attention to things. I think that works particularly well for the puzzles where you have to memorise every object in the room. Thanks for the recommendation.
Dude, the date question is literally asking you for the date of the month, to which 7 is the only answer. You keep saying how it's imprecise, but it's exactly the opposite - the game is very precise, including that question and the instructions telling you that you might die so you better save. It doesn't seem fair to blame the game for something you didn't pay attention to 🤔
I don't know if I agree, "what date in January" clearly has room to be misinterpreted if you're asking for numbers IMO, evident by the fact that I was led down an alternative line of thinking by the question. The point being, yes the game is *so* precise, the fact that there are a couple moments here and there that have *some* wiggle room is a bit jarring, which was just my experience. I also talked about the fact that they mention you should save often in the video, but questioned the decision from a design standpoint as it seems to run counter to the genre in which the game fits in. Anyway, thanks for letting me know what you think 🙏
If you think about it, both ways you can die in this game are directly related to something really important to the story. Spoilers ahead:
The Maze Man unlocks the psychological abuse you took for Renzo Nero during the pre-production of the film and his deteriorating mental state. The Quizz Club unlocks the fact that you've accidentally / in self defense killed him. If you watch the game closely, it's all about the impact this had on her, how the time with him got you so fixated on that unreleased film and how insanely traumatic the whole experience was, and the game is all about old Lorelei coming to terms with it on her deathbed. It makes total thematic sense that these two would incur death, since those are the most sensitive topics for her.
This is a great way of looking at it, something I didn't even consider when playing. Thanks for this!
Throughout my entire playthrough I didn't die once in the quizz club. I did die once to the maze man, the very first time.
to be fair the question is "what date in January did you arrive", not "what date did you arrive" i had the same confusion at first and died, but after rereading the question it was clearly asking for 7
I still stand by my frustration with the question but I definitely feel a lot less strongly about it as a negative as time has gone on. Maybe I was just in a mindset at the time that made it difficult for me to interpret it correctly. Regardless I'm remembering the game extremely fondly a few months on.
@@Reset-Button your feelings are valid! Really enjoyed the video! Our arcs of appreciation for this game were the complete opposite haha, I loved it in the beginning then soured at the end
Great review! Despite a few shortcomings, this game really captivated me and is something I know I'll be thinking about for the next few days. Can't think of another game like it with its cleverly designed logic puzzles and style. I did end up looking up a guide a few times when I felt lost or stuck as, like you said, it demands a lot from the player and I don't quite have the patience I used to. But in a way, it kind of felt part of the experience collaborating with other people. My only regret is that I didn't play this with someone else, as solving these challenging puzzles together may have helped avoid peaking at those guides.
I never even considered that while I was playing, having another person to bounce ideas off. I wonder how that would go given the extreme level of note-taking required for the game, I'm sure it would definitely be a super interesting experience as such.
I remember that quiz question! They specifically asked for the date of the month, something I had to double check the question for. The fact that you need to prompt the questions to reappear is probably the most annoying part of that quiz section - something that I think (?) is supposed to further ratchet your tension and investment. I almost fell into the same mistake you did before my doubt came in haha
Great review, been browsing for reviews of this game since I binged it - especially appreciated your concise reflection on the literary ideas the game had.
Thanks mate, glad you enjoyed the video 😁
I think it's very likely that you're right about the intentions behind the structure of those quiz questions and it was just completely lost on me, something I may need to reconsider haha
Just wanted to drop by and say I really enjoyed this video. finished the game last night and this was a really interesting perspective. Whilst I disagree with the date question anger i thought you outlined your thoughts and issues with the game really well. And also really highlighted issues I had that I just got used to (exiting the map document, going back up to the X...to close the menu) Anyways, great video - subbed
It's definitely been really interesting to hear people's perspectives on the date issue specifically. I think as time has gone on, I definitely feel less strongly about it. Memories of the game have ended up being quite fond actually.
Thanks for the comment and sub as well, really appreicate it man! :D
@@Reset-Button just finished the game, and the question seems to have been changed to "what day in january did you arrive at"
I honestly thought the question "On which date in January did Renzo Nero expect your arrival at Hotel Letztes Jahr?" made it pretty clear it was talking only about the day of the month, but maybe that's more of an american thing to refer to the "date" as the day. I actually got super mad at the last question in the club though, which I thought was worse than that question.
When it asked for the "code" we got from the minotaur statue back at the other maze, i thought it was clear because i had all the numbers and letters noted to me. So I said I was ready, only to be faced with a series of keys that didn't match the answer I had. I realized almost immediately after seeing that what they wanted, but I was unable to reference my notes anymore to actually figure out what the answer truly was, and I lost half an hour of progress because of that. I understood and knew how to get to the answer, but the game wouldn't let me.
I found out later about areas to leave and save, but I managed to miss them while I fully completed the club and lost it all on the last question. The worst part was I hated going through that section already once since I wasn't a fan of navigating through there and it was really disorienting, so it wasn't even gameplay I enjoyed that I had to replay.
That definitely sounds frustrating. I understand what they were going for with the saving system, really trying to mimic something like Resident Evil, but like, man, having to repeat huge sections of the game if you forget just feels kinda backwards to me.
As someone with (as far I as I can recall) Literally No Complaints about Lorelei, its neat to hear someone explain what they had problems with. I've heard the controls complaint a few times, and I just dont get it? I don't think a back button to close out directly to the game would really add anything at all. I made more than one spontaneous connection flipping through the list of all my documents, and often revisited ones I was reminded of while looking for something else. I think it genuinely helped me think a bit longer on each screen, taking honestly just a couple seconds at most from each menu. I think it also fits thematically as well. The game takes a lot of visual inspiration, and occasionally gameplay, from much older styles of games. The retro console games and the handheld games were things that would definitely be played with just a button and a stick. Plus, it doubles as both an accessibility feature and a way to make a lot more controller devices viable to play on. If someone doesn't have the coordination to consistently hit a specific button on a keyboard or their hand gets worn out from crossing the keyboard, they don't have to worry, every button does the same thing. I guess I could say it felt mildly clunky at first, but I just let myself fall into the rhythm of doing it, and I could let my brain think a little longer and the clunkiness just kinda faded.
I would also be interested to hear about the other times you mentioned the game should've used more precise language. I personally knew what Date was referring to, but I can at least understand the confusion there. I habitually save too, so I never would've lost progress if I did ever get a game over, so I just kinda never ran into that issue.
Your perspective about the controls actually acting as a mechanism to make you spend more time and pay closer attention to details in each document is something I hadn't considered, and doubling as an accessiblity feature as well, I can definitely see where you're coming from and I agree for the most part. Thanks for sharing!
And apart from the date question, my memory is a little faded now on the specific language point, but one puzzle I remember struggling with specifically was the piano. I'm unsure if it's just from my prior experience playing the piano when I was younger clouding my perspective a little bit, but I found it super challenging to figure out just what the puzzle was asking of me, and I just felt defeated when I finally figured it out rather than relieved. Maybe not a "use of imprecise language" problem, but definitely a frustrating point nonetheless.
Man, your reviews are all just very well put together and the quality is up there. I can definitely see your channel blowing up if you keep at it.
Thank you mate, really appreciate the support 😁
the date part was absolutely your mistake. It asks the day of january why would you think that it wanted the whole date?????????????????????????? And you could've read the question again to clarify
I went back to check and the question was phrased "on which date in January." While yes, this absolutely can be attributed to a misunderstanding on my part, I would still argue it could be clearer.
Thanks for the feedback though! I really do appreciate it.
@@Reset-Button and about the gun and the choice to no put an autosave, you should watch "through the laser eyes" a mini doc about the game development of the game. they surface this question
@@PeterODatilo Just gave it a watch, I do like the idea that it's supposed to be a change of pace to shock you into paying more attention to things. I think that works particularly well for the puzzles where you have to memorise every object in the room.
Thanks for the recommendation.
So good!! Love your reviews 😊
Mr Reset Button don't miss for real.
Such an honour Mr Potatoe :O
Dude, the date question is literally asking you for the date of the month, to which 7 is the only answer. You keep saying how it's imprecise, but it's exactly the opposite - the game is very precise, including that question and the instructions telling you that you might die so you better save. It doesn't seem fair to blame the game for something you didn't pay attention to 🤔
I don't know if I agree, "what date in January" clearly has room to be misinterpreted if you're asking for numbers IMO, evident by the fact that I was led down an alternative line of thinking by the question. The point being, yes the game is *so* precise, the fact that there are a couple moments here and there that have *some* wiggle room is a bit jarring, which was just my experience.
I also talked about the fact that they mention you should save often in the video, but questioned the decision from a design standpoint as it seems to run counter to the genre in which the game fits in.
Anyway, thanks for letting me know what you think 🙏
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