Feb 2019
Oh boy, buckle up, gamers! In 'Away: Journey to the Unexpected', you play as a teenage boy amid a family crisis that sounds suspiciously like my summer vacation plans - minus the monsters (mostly). You embark on a journey filled with kooky characters and some seriously peculiar dialogue choices that might make you question your life choices. Let’s dive deep into the labyrinth of challenges and skills needed to survive this wild adventure, shall we?
When it comes to challenges in 'Away', think 'choose your own adventure' meets the chaos of a toddler in a toy store. You start your journey after your parents take an unexpected vacation (likely to escape your teenage angst), and, of course, this means monsters are invading your home. The game is played from a first-person view and is packed with procedurally generated levels. This trendy mechanic is cool until you realize it sometimes feels like the game forgot it was supposed to provide a new experience and instead throws at you a merry-go-round of sameness. But wait, there's more! You have these charmingly weird NPCs hanging around, and guess what? You can recruit them! But here’s where the challenge really kicks in. You’ve got to charm them with your dialogue selections. And let’s be honest, finding the right choice is harder than getting your parents to understand TikTok. Choose wrong, and it's like swiping left on your dream date—no recruitment for you! So, if you’re feeling lucky, try your hand at some dialogue trees that will make you wish you had studied harder in English class. As you navigate through the dungeons and guard your self-esteem in hack-and-slash combat reminiscent of trying to get an adult to define 'yeet', the need for reflexes becomes crucial. Combat will have you dodging attacks faster than you can ask, 'Did I just get hit by a blob with googly eyes?'. Plus, if you plan to take on the End Boss, you’ll need to recruit all eight characters. Yep, apparently, this isn’t a ‘just wing it’ kind of game. You must gather a mini-Avengers team of quirky baddies, so channel your inner social butterfly and start collecting! And relax; if you die (which you probably will, a lot), the roguelite elements enable some fast travel – because the game realizes how many walls you’ll throw your controller at in frustration. This feature is a lifesaver and means that your adventure doesn’t have to end with the sad realization that you just strolled straight into a monster horde for the third time. Welcome back, champion!
Visually, 'Away: Journey to the Unexpected' has a quirky artsy style that might resonate with your inner five-year-old trying to color outside of the lines. The colorful environment is a bit like a candy store—fun to look at but potentially gives you a headache after too much time. Every NPC has a design that screams both “cool” and “what am I looking at?”. They’re memorable, which is a plus, but sometimes feel like they jumped out of a discount cartoon network show. The graphics won’t win any awards, but they certainly won’t give you nightmares unless you indulge in binge-playing while wearing 3D glasses; that’s on you, buddy!
So, is 'Away: Journey to the Unexpected' worth your time? If you're into challenging dialogue choices that could rival your chances of understanding your algebra homework, mixed with a delightful art style and chaotic combat mechanics, then grab your controller and dive in! However, if you prefer well-structured combat and a coherent storyline (rumor has it that there is one, buried under choice-sabotaging dialogues), maybe keep this one on your wishlist until you need a game to distract yourself from responsibilities. Either way, this game challenges your problem-solving skills and patience levels—both critical skills to have in life. In the end, I’d say this game is a wild ride worth your time if you're prepared for some bumps (and facepalms) along the way!
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