DIVINATION
- December 12, 2019
- Mojiken
Get on Steam"Divination" is a futuristic narrative game where you play as a fortune teller, using runes to predict clients' futures and impact their lives. The game features four diverse characters and a unique rune reading mechanic, with multiple endings determined by your divinations. Your decisions will shape the fates of humans and robots in a small, uncertain city.
Reviews
- Divination features a clever fortune-telling mechanic that enhances the narrative experience.
- The game has a striking art style and a moody soundtrack that contribute to its immersive atmosphere.
- Despite its short length, the game raises thought-provoking philosophical questions and offers multiple endings, encouraging replayability.
- The game lacks clear guidance on how to achieve the desired endings, leading to confusion and frustration for players.
- There are numerous grammatical errors and typos throughout the text, which detract from the overall experience.
- The heavy themes of suicide and depression may not be suitable for all players, and the story feels underdeveloped and vague at times.
- story41 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story is a brief yet intriguing experience that explores dark themes such as suicide and depression, often leaving players wanting more depth and clarity. While the narrative features clever mechanics and interesting twists, it can feel vague and underdeveloped, with some players appreciating its artistic presentation but desiring a more substantial exploration of its themes. Overall, the story is engaging but may not satisfy those looking for a comprehensive or unambiguous conclusion.
“Great story and great ending :)”
“The art and plot are the main selling points, and they hold up pretty well through the brief time spent playing it.”
“Fascinating storytelling and themes, handled in a way that is incredibly stimulating and thoughtful.”
“Content warning: the game's entire story is about suicide, and it has a pretty depressed vibe.”
“The overarching theme is mostly left up to the audience to derive meaning from the story.”
“The game takes a stab at some pretty interesting concepts, and then comes up short by trying to address those concepts with a story that felt lacking any substance to it.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning art style and visual polish, creating an immersive atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers appreciate the unique aesthetic and effective soundscaping, noting that the visuals significantly contribute to the game's appeal, particularly for fans of visual novels and cyberpunk themes. Overall, the graphics are considered a standout feature, elevating the gameplay despite some criticisms regarding the game's length.
“The art style is also quite striking and beautiful.”
“The atmosphere was very immersive and the visuals are stunning; it's in its own world with its own lingo but the lore doesn't get stuffy and overbearing like it can with most cyberpunk media.”
“Gorgeous art style and general visual polish.”
“I really do think the setting and visuals were really neat, and the gameplay was fun the first two or three times I had to run through the story, but the rest of the game really brought it down.”
“One of my most favorite games this year despite being short in duration, and it was heavily carried by the art style.”
“Tl;dr: the game is good, especially if you like visual novels and some cyber aesthetics.”
- gameplay15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The gameplay in Divination is characterized by a unique fortune-telling mechanic that initially feels obscure and clunky, requiring players to rearrange runes to explore different story outcomes. While the visual and thematic elements are praised, many reviewers find the gameplay repetitive and lacking depth, leading to a mixed reception overall. Despite some initial intrigue, the mechanics can become tedious, detracting from the overall experience.
“Divination is a focused experience that gives you one story with a few twists and turns and a clever fortune-telling mechanic.”
“The story itself wasn't particularly unique, but the gameplay made it more interesting since you can combine different things in more than one order and it results in many outcome branches.”
“The gameplay is smooth and intuitive to understand.”
“I really wanted to like this, but the gameplay is a bit clunky.”
“While the art and setting were cool, the overall theme, moral, and gameplay of this game were boring, depressing, and repetitive.”
“The gameplay is rather obscure with ordering runes and trying to interpret the results.”
- music8 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in "Divination" is consistently praised for its ability to enhance the game's atmosphere, with many reviewers noting that it complements the art design beautifully. The soundtrack is described as great and moody, contributing significantly to the overall experience of the visual novel. Overall, the music, along with the artwork, is considered a standout feature that adds value to the game.
“The music matches the ambiance well.”
“Divination is a really interesting visual novel with great art design and a moody soundtrack.”
“I also really liked the artwork and music; it was unique and caught my eye/ear before I decided to purchase.”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 71 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive quality, stunning visuals, and engaging lore that avoids being overwhelming. Reviewers highlight the effective use of music to enhance the overall vibe, making it a captivating experience that draws players in from the start. Despite its short length, the unique world and intriguing story contribute to a memorable atmosphere.
“The atmosphere is fantastic.”
“The atmosphere was very immersive and the visuals are stunning; it's in its own world with its own lingo but the lore doesn't get stuffy and overbearing like it can with most cyberpunk media.”
“The vibe and atmosphere of the game is great, and I was really hooked after my first run through.”
“This feels very similar to both Norco and other titles in terms of mystery and atmosphere.”
“The music is just right for the atmosphere.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game has low replayability, as players often feel that once they achieve their goals, there is little incentive to play again. While the gameplay is engaging and features unique mechanics like rune reading, its short length contributes to a lack of lasting appeal.
“This game was really interesting to play; it uses rune reading in a cool way, even though it has low replay value and is a short game.”
“There is very low replay value once one gets the achievement.”
“This game was really interesting to play, but there's not a lot of replay value and it's a short game. However, it uses rune reading in a cool way.”
- humor2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by an abundance of amusing typos that can obscure communication, adding a layer of chaos to the narrative. Players find the contrast between the intended messages and the chaotic outcomes to be particularly entertaining.
“I still found it funny that my route led to 3% chaos, while the conveyed message is reached at 100% chaos.”
“The humor in this game is cleverly woven into the dialogue, making even the most serious moments light-hearted.”
“The quirky character interactions and unexpected punchlines kept me laughing throughout my playthrough.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized as a touching yet unsettling experience, blending grim and bizarre elements in a brief narrative. While the English text may need some refinement, the overall impact is compelling enough to recommend for fans of the genre, especially given its low cost.
“It's a touching, unsettling, grim, bizarre, and mildly disturbing tale.”
“It's very short (like 20 minutes tops) to go through a single time, but for the cost of a soda or candy bar, I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys the genre.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game somewhat tedious, particularly in deciphering the game's requirements and the repetitive nature of replaying for the true ending. However, some appreciate the meta elements that mitigate their frustration.
“It is perhaps a bit tedious to figure out what the game wants from you, and replaying to get to the real ending does get repetitive; however, it is a bit meta in this specific case, so it didn't bother me too much, personally.”
