Cibele

I played this years ago and after I finished it I didn't think much of it, but it's one of those experiences that really stuck with me. I remember being intrigued and also weirded out with how autobiographical– nay, documentarian it was with real life events and people taken from the author's actual life.

With something that is so raw, it's hard to frame a narrative around it. Maybe that's why initially I didn't like it too much. The story didn't seem to have any direction, but as time has gone on and its grown on me and the themes of romance and internet relationships has aged very well.

I'd say check it out. The author knew that there was substance to this part of their life and while the final product is sloppy, it's also endearing.

I'm not a big fan of story-based experiences since it seems hard to get them right. It can be done though, so I am always open minded to try them.

In Cibele, you play as Nina (online name Cibele) who is playing an online game called Valtameri and has been spending a lot of online time with Ichi (real name Blake). You start off viewing Nina's desktop and can see some draft blog entries and some pictures. There's not much else to do but launch Valtameri. In Valtameri, you click to move and click to attack. There's no skill involved and you can't be killed. I was under the impression that this was a simplified game so the player couldn't be stuck, whereas in Nina's world, it was much more complicated, hence why Blake tells her that she is the best female gamer he has played with. As you play, you hear Nina and Blake talk to each other over voice-chat, meanwhile her friends are sending messages which detail her life with her real friends.

The story is split into 3 sections with months passing in between. It means you only get glimpses of their relationship development.

(Since it is hard to describe these games without spoilers, I think the best approach is to stop here if you don't want spoilers. The bottom line is that the gameplay is obviously poor, but the story is surprisingly bare-bones.)

Since it is a game about falling in love online, you would expect the story to go down the route of Blake not being who he said he is. Maybe he is way younger/older or is a serial killer. Whatever scenario you imagine, it will be way more interesting than what actually happens.

Nina tells Blake she has never had a boyfriend and other guys aren't interested in her, and Blake tells her the same thing. However, when you read her messages, it seems that she has recently ended a relationship and some of her friends are interested in her. Soon, Nina expresses interest in meeting Blake in real life and Blake seems apprehensive. He seems to have social anxiety, explaining that he needs the game to talk to people, and struggles with face-to-face encounters. Therefore, Blake doesn't ever imagine having a permanent girlfriend because it isn't his style. Still, Nina keeps pressing the matter until Blake agrees to come meet her. They have sex, then Blake leaves, stating they can only be friends in the game. The game ends.

I was completely perplexed by the story. It's based on a true story, but I'm not sure what the moral of the story was. Blake wasn't a bad guy at all, and the relationship development didn't imply that Nina was used; it seemed like Nina was the one that was manipulative. This is strange since Nina is playing herself – why would she tell a story where she is the bad one?

Anyway, the game-play is bland, the story is poor, and it lasts just under an hour.

Okayish story driven game about the development of a online relationship in the setting of a fictious mmo.

Its well voice acted for the most part, which is a blessing because thats the thing you will be paying the most attention to when playing it.

The gamey elements are a side thought obviously, and im really glad i never got too much into mmo's. Its extremely repetitive and simple minded, and completling the tasks is actually required to move the story along. The game takes in total 1 hour to beat, and they really should have cut the fat on these sections because it still drags on for too long.

I think it has some value, but it definitly could have taken more time to develop so that the end would kick harder, and it feels like its missing some sort of epilogue as well. Not quite sure if there is any sort of message to take away from this game, or if the dev just needed to put out her story and making games is all she does.