Missed Messages, when you get previous being extremely jealous of this stunning dorm room, is a game about “romance, horror, and memes.” All three handle to be reasonable, one thing that’s not simple to tug off, however is helped alongside by developer Angela He basing the entire thing on her actual experiences. It can also be, clearly, utterly beautiful and I sort of simply wish to stare at all of it day.
“’Goth gf’s iPhone’ airdrops you a photo,” reads the game’s itch.io description. “Accept or decline?”
It’s an innocuous starting however issues shortly change into extra intense. (It’s value heeding the content material warnings for suicide and self hurt.) Made for the Ludum Dare game jam, it approaches the theme “your life is currency” sideways, exploring how we spend our time and what would possibly distract us from the larger image.
I’ll keep away from spoilers, however on my first playthrough I spent lots of time messing round with the houseplants and this stranger sending me footage of canines carrying baseball caps. It led to a really totally different ending than once I paid extra consideration to the refined hints of much less frivolous issues taking place simply out of view.
That’s to not say that solely specializing in the super-serious is what’s essential, although. The better part within the game, described in summary, is simply an prolonged dialog between two individuals, mendacity idly round because the solar units. It weaves collectively every little thing else the game touches on: good associates, psychological well being, and, clearly, extra memes.
If that is up your road, you’re in luck, as a result of He has made quite a lot of related games. There’s This Girl is a romance between two stargazers, You Left Me is a darkish story about being transported to a surreal world with a speaking cyclopic cat, and I Woke Up Next To You Again is the story of an addictive however damaging relationship. Plenty to dig into. Also, cats!
All of He’s work is accessible on her itch.io, and most of it’s pay what you need with no minimal.
