Bury Me, My Love
- January 10, 2019
- Dear Villagers
- 3h median play time
A Powerful Story Of War-Torn Lovers
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Get on Apple Store"Bury Me, My Love" is an interactive smartphone game that follows the story of a Syrian refugee, Nour, and her husband, Majd, as they attempt to flee their war-torn country and reach Europe. Players take on the role of Majd, communicating with Nour through a messaging app and making decisions that will impact the outcome of her journey. The game aims to raise awareness about the struggles faced by refugees and the difficult choices they must make.
iPad
iPhone
Nintendo Switch
PC
Phone
Windows
Android
Mobile Platform
Tablet
Reviews
- The game features a unique storytelling format through text messages, providing an engaging and immersive experience.
- There are multiple endings based on player choices, allowing for replayability and varied outcomes.
- The narrative addresses important themes related to the refugee experience, making it both educational and thought-provoking.
- The pacing is slow, with no option to speed up text delivery, which can lead to frustration during multiple playthroughs.
- Some players found the portrayal of the refugee experience to be unrealistic and overly simplistic, lacking the depth and gravity of real-life situations.
- The game lacks visual variety and interactivity, often feeling more like a visual novel than a traditional game, which may not appeal to all players.
- story41 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The story of "Bury Me, My Love" is a poignant and immersive interactive narrative that unfolds through text messages between a husband and wife, highlighting the harrowing journey of a Syrian refugee. Players experience a branching storyline with multiple outcomes based on their choices, which adds depth to the emotional weight of the narrative. While some critiques mention pacing issues and a lack of realism in certain aspects, the overall sentiment reflects a compelling and heartbreaking exploration of love and survival amidst conflict.
“The storytelling is such a unique premise and the gameplay (format/UI via text messages) is such a distinct gameplay style.”
“The story in this game is breathtaking and heartbreaking at times.”
“It tells the story between a husband and wife (Majd and Nour) as Nour becomes a Syrian refugee trying to make it to Germany for asylum amidst the Syrian civil war.”
“The pace of the story is too slow.”
“When you know you've got to sit through a few hours of the same story just to pick up additional stories, it becomes tedious and very annoying that there's no way to skip through content you've already experienced.”
“The game would have been a big hit if the gaming team did their homework and research into the flight of the refugees -- perhaps visiting and talking directly to those who are alive today to tell their story.”
- emotional9 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted as a beautiful and touching experience, particularly in its portrayal of the struggles faced by a Syrian refugee. While some players found it to lack the intended emotional impact, many described it as breathtaking and heartbreaking, with strong emotional attachments formed throughout the narrative. Overall, it is recognized as an engaging and educational interactive experience, despite some pacing issues.
“✔️ Beautiful and touching experience about the horror of becoming a war refugee.”
“Excellent and touching visual novel about Nour, a Syrian refugee who tries to leave her home country (which is torn apart by civil war) and find a better life in Europe.”
“The story in this game is breathtaking and heartbreaking at times.”
- gameplay7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The gameplay features a unique text message format that enhances the storytelling experience, offering distinct pathways that last 1-3 hours each. However, the pacing is criticized as slow, leading to concerns that the game's multiple endings may undermine the narrative's urgency and impact. Overall, it received a gameplay rating of 7/10.
“The storytelling is such a unique premise and the gameplay (format/UI via text messages) is such a distinct gameplay style.”
“Each pathway is maybe 1-3 hours of gameplay depending on how quickly you direct your in-game girlfriend with the choices presented to you.”
“However, the gameplay is really slow.”
“That makes it about $1.70/hr of gameplay if you only play through once.”
“There's an argument to be made about how its invitation to restart the journey to get yet another of the 19 endings of the game trivializes the validity and the urgency of the story it's trying to tell —as if the game doesn't trust its fundamental power enough to distance itself from the mechanical limitations of the medium—.”
- graphics5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The graphics received mixed reviews, with some praising the art style while others criticized it for being bland and lacking resolution options or meaningful tweaks. Overall, the visual presentation is considered subpar, reminiscent of outdated games, leading to a perception that it falls short of modern standards.
“The art style is nice, if very beige feeling.”
“Graphics & sound: 9/10”
“There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
“While the artwork itself might be considered passable, the visual presentation here is negligible; it might as well be a slideshow or a YouTube video.”
“Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Asteroids had more advanced animation and visuals than this mobile app does.”
- music5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The music in the game generally complements the story's mood, with some users appreciating the nice tracks present. However, many feel that the background music is lacking, particularly during key emotional moments, and that the overall sound design could be improved to enhance the experience.
“The music also suits the story mood.”
“+ nice music.”
“- could be more music during emotive moments.”
“There's almost no sound in this game other than text pings and occasional suspense music.”
“Could be more music during emotive moments.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while some appreciate the replayability and enjoy the challenge of achieving 100%, others find the repetitive nature of revisiting content tedious and frustrating, especially due to the lack of options to skip previously experienced story segments.
“When you know you've got to sit through a few hours of the same story just to pick up additional stories, it becomes tedious and very annoying that there's no way to skip through content you've already experienced.”
“Getting 100% achievements was a bit tedious, to be honest, but casually I absolutely recommend the game.”
“The replayability is amazing; usually perfecting a game is tedious, but I truly enjoyed getting every achievement.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by lighthearted and sweet interactions between characters, such as Majd and Nour sharing encouraging and funny photos, which adds a charming and relatable touch to the overall experience.
“I also thought it was sweet that Majd and Nour text each other encouraging and funny photos of each other.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users highlight the game's exceptional replayability, noting that the pursuit of achievements adds an enjoyable layer to the experience, making the process of perfecting the game feel rewarding rather than tedious.
“The replayability is amazing; usually perfecting a game is tedious, but I truly enjoyed getting every achievement.”
“Each playthrough offers new challenges and experiences, making it hard to put the game down.”
“The variety of choices and outcomes keeps me coming back for more, ensuring that no two runs feel the same.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization of "Bury Me, My Love" has been criticized as a cash grab by mobile developers, with users expressing disdain for its release on Steam as a PC game. Many find it particularly offensive that the game seeks to profit from the serious and tragic context of the Syrian refugee crisis.
“Bury Me, My Love is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as if it were a real PC game (it's not)... it's a cash grab from greedy mobile developers. This mobile app is particularly distasteful as the developers seek to profit financially from the suffering and bloodshed in the Syrian refugee crisis.”
