Get In The Car, Loser!
- August 10, 2018
- Love Conquers All Games
In "Get In The Car, Loser!", players embark on a road trip adventure to confront the resurgent Machine Devil and his cultists, while also enjoying diner visits and each other's company. The game follows three students and a renegade angel fighting against the divine order's passivity towards the evil looming over the world. The mission is to seal the Machine Devil away once again, but with humor, camaraderie, and a touch of youthful rebellion.
Reviews
- The game features a deeply touching story about friendship and queer representation, filled with humor and sincerity.
- The art, music, and character design are vibrant and engaging, creating an immersive experience.
- The combat system, while initially challenging, becomes rewarding and fun as players adapt to its mechanics.
- The combat can feel repetitive and lacks clear explanations, making it difficult for some players to fully engage.
- The user interface is cluttered and unintuitive, leading to confusion during gameplay.
- Some players found the pacing to slow down significantly in the later acts, impacting overall enjoyment.
- story62 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story is widely praised for its depth and emotional resonance, focusing on a touching narrative about three friends on a road trip that evolves into a serious exploration of themes like queer identity, trauma, and resistance against fascism. While some players found the storytelling to be hit or miss, many appreciated the humor, diverse characters, and the overall cathartic experience it provides. The narrative is described as both engaging and reflective of real-world issues, making it a significant aspect of the game that resonates with players, particularly within the LGBTQ+ community.
“The story comes first, and a beautiful story was told here.”
“An incredible experience: fun combat, great music, and a fantastic story about being defiantly queer and imperfect in the face of evil.”
“The story is expertly tight (being no longer than it needs to be) and is full of amazing, funny, and memorable characters.”
“The story is a weaker point.”
“The storytelling is also something I think some folks will bounce off of, and for a wide range of highly specific different reasons.”
“Characters and story are pretty good, but not good enough to carry the mediocre gameplay and messy menus.”
- gameplay46 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a blend of simple mechanics and resource management, drawing inspiration from Final Fantasy XIII while offering a unique timer-based combat system. While some players find the battle mechanics initially clunky and the pacing uneven, many appreciate the fun and inventive gameplay loop, especially with the option to adjust difficulty. Overall, the experience is enjoyable, with a colorful cast and engaging design, though it may not resonate with all fans of Christine Love's previous works.
“The game is about 10+ hours long, so it’s a breezy experience that doesn’t wear out the welcome of its gameplay elements.”
“Compounding this, the game gives you a lot of ways to tweak the risk/reward on fights, and part of gameplay is turning that risk up and down based on how your item supplies are holding out.”
“This game is cute as hell, with really interesting design and really fun gameplay.”
“Characters and story are pretty good, but not good enough to carry the mediocre gameplay and messy menus.”
“There are a few moments where new mechanics are introduced and not fully explained in a way that can feel overwhelming.”
“I disliked the arts (looks fine on screenshots but not on my 27" display), the writing, and the gameplay.”
- music44 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim, with many reviewers praising its energetic and engaging soundtrack that draws inspiration from titles like *Persona*. Players particularly enjoyed the vocal main battle tracks and the impactful boss music, describing it as dramatic and memorable. Despite being an indie game with a limited number of tracks, every song is considered a standout, enhancing the overall experience and emotional depth of the game.
“Let's talk music: I absolutely was not expecting a vocal main battle track to have legs like this, and the boss music slammed.”
“An incredible experience: fun combat, great music, and a fantastic story about being defiantly queer and imperfect in the face of evil.”
“The music is amazing!”
“Repetitive soundtracks?”
“Although this is an indie game and doesn't have a lot of music, every song is a banger.”
“I love how the battle music has lyrics so it feels like I'm playing a Persona game.”
- humor34 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and ability to balance fun with sincerity, often eliciting genuine laughter from players. Reviewers highlight the well-written banter among characters, the smart and relatable dialogue, and the incorporation of millennial and Gen Z humor, making it both entertaining and timely. Overall, the writing is described as hilarious, raw, and cathartic, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.
“It's fantastically funny and I had way too much fun voicing everything out with my girlfriend.”
“Most of the time, the banter between party members is well written, funny, and endearing.”
“Christine Love's grasp of dialogue is as great as ever, and the story is funny and raw and cathartic in a way that knocked the breath out of me.”
- graphics20 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their gorgeous and stylish aesthetic, featuring a cool and futuristic color palette that enhances the overall experience. While some reviewers noted a preference for the character art, the attention to visual detail and the unique "dungeonpunk road trip" style have been highlighted as standout elements. Overall, the visuals are considered a major draw, complementing the game's engaging narrative and dynamic characters.
“Just from the start I was a huge fan of this game's art style and feel.”
“It has that 'anime but less stylized' style that I see a lot when western devs ape anime aesthetics, but your mileage will vary on that.”
“The graphics are really the main attraction though, as they are genuinely gorgeous.”
“I followed this game a little bit while it was in development, and the keen attention that was placed on the visuals has absolutely paid off.”
- emotional8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its deep and touching narrative centered around three friends on a road trip, featuring excellent character development and a captivating aesthetic. Reviewers highlight the emotional depth and high-stakes storytelling, balanced with a charming, almost wholesome quality that resonates personally with players. Despite some minor issues, the overall emotional experience is highly regarded, making it a worthwhile recommendation.
“I would recommend this game to anybody who wants to see a deep, touching story about three friends who go on a road trip together.”
“This isn't to mention the excellent characters, their dynamic and development, the amazing dreamy aesthetic, a fast-paced, high-stakes, emotionally charged narrative, and so much worldbuilding.”
“Then there is the fact that the game has a sweet side to it that makes it almost wholesome (it's not an overly wholesome game) and that charm made me gush about how much my partner and I were kind of like some of the characters in this.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a double-edged sword; while it can be necessary for leveling up and preparing for tough bosses, it often leads to repetitive combat and can feel tedious, especially if players are under-leveled. Some users acknowledge that their own grinding habits may contribute to the experience, suggesting that a more strategic approach could alleviate some of the grind.
“If you have a pretty grindy playstyle with RPGs like I do, it might not be your cup of tea.”
“The only downside is that combat can be fairly repetitive, but I ended up grinding a lot more fights than I had to, so that's partially on me; I think I could do a more economical job next time.”
“See, I was like 4 levels below the boss I was trying to fight, so they literally instant killed all of my party members constantly, and I didn't have enough money to buy gas so I could keep grinding to level up.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players have reported significant stability issues during the jerk patrol request fight, particularly when activating the fate sword while no enemies are present, leading to game glitches that prevent character actions and result in unavoidable losses.
“During the jerk patrol request fight, activating the fate sword while all enemies are off the battlefield but before new ones have spawned in (I used AoEs and rotated my attacks quickly) glitches the fight and players stop being able to act, forcing a loss.”
- character development2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The character development is highly praised, with users noting that both the character designs and the writing effectively engage players, fostering a strong emotional connection to the characters from the outset.
“The character designs grabbed me from the first image I saw, and it didn't take long for the writing to make me fall in love with them.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is considered low; however, the base game is free, and the downloadable content (DLC) can be enjoyed as post-game content, which mitigates concerns about replay value.
“Replay value isn't very high, but the base game is free and the DLC will all be playable as post-game content, so that's fine.”