Interactivity: The Interactive Experience
- January 31, 2016
- Aetheric
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Get on itch.io Store"Interactivity: The Interactive Experience" is a meta-narrative game that explores the limitations of interaction in video games. As a player, you will navigate through a gallery filled with exhibits designed to be interacted with, except for one forbidden button. The game offers new details, textures, puzzles, endings, and original music in this thought-provoking experience. Your goal is to find a way to push the forbidden button, challenging the conventions of traditional gameplay. This unique and engaging game is sure to make you question the boundaries of interaction in virtual worlds.
PC
Windows
Xbox
Reviews
- The game offers a unique meta-narrative experience reminiscent of The Stanley Parable, providing an interesting exploration of player agency.
- The atmosphere, graphics, and music contribute to an engaging experience, making it enjoyable for those who appreciate quirky, narrative-driven games.
- Despite its short length, the game encourages replayability with minor variations and secrets to discover, making it a fun, albeit brief, experience.
- The gameplay can become repetitive and tedious, with puzzles that lack variety and a final payoff that feels underwhelming.
- Some players have reported issues with progression due to obscure triggers and bugs, making parts of the game frustrating and unplayable.
- The overall experience may feel lacking in depth and content, leading to a sense of disappointment, especially given its price.
- gameplay6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily centered around a simplistic mechanic of pushing a button, which quickly becomes repetitive and leads to a softlock, leaving players frustrated. While it offers a narrative-driven experience akin to a walking simulator, it lacks the depth and engagement found in similar titles like The Stanley Parable, resulting in a short and unsatisfying gameplay experience that may not hold players' attention for long. Overall, the game seems to prioritize story over interactive gameplay, which may not appeal to all players.
“It seems that you're not entirely alone... [note: I've already played the game for more than 4 hours on another platform, so don't expect to see everything in 27 minutes of gameplay.]”
“Your only objective is to push the button. The first two times are easy, then the game softlocks. I guess the developer is too clever and 'mysterious' to put any kind of clue since you cannot add a new mechanic and expect the player to know about it.”
“Interactivity: the interactive experience is a short narrative walking simulator that is quite similar to The Stanley Parable, just not nearly as attention-grabbing or variable in its gameplay.”
“It might take between 1-4 hours to complete depending on how much you want to do, but it seems like the story and discussion on the lore of the game might persist longer than the gameplay itself.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game are generally described as decent and effective, with an indie feel that lacks standout features. While some reviews highlight great design and visuals, others note that the graphics do not significantly enhance the overall experience, emphasizing the importance of a compelling story instead.
“The game design and graphics are great, but there just isn't enough here.”
“Great graphics, lovely music, and excellent voice acting.”
“The graphics are decent, effective, and adequate.”
“The graphics are decent (nothing jaw-dropping mind you, merely effective and adequate), the voice acting is amateurish (but again, it gets the job done), and the finale of the game doesn't quite live up to the promise of the preceding levels.”
“Graphics were nothing special and definitely give that indie feel.”
“In this style of game, graphics are not that important, which makes the need for a gripping and humorous story even more important, and this is what the title lacked.”
- story5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The game's story attempts a comedic and meta approach, focusing on player interactions within the game world, but ultimately falls short due to uncreative puzzles and a lack of engaging narrative. While the gameplay is brief, lasting between 1-4 hours, the story's shortcomings leave it feeling less impactful and memorable. Overall, the title struggles to deliver a gripping and humorous experience that is crucial for its style.
“Without revealing any spoilers, the story takes a comedic approach and focuses on conveying how game protagonists (players) interact with their world.”
“In this style of game, graphics are not that important, which makes the need for a gripping and humorous story even more important, and this is what the title lacked.”
“Really bad attempt at a 'meta' game with uncreative puzzles, weird story, and out of place easter eggs.”
“It might take between 1-4 hours to complete depending on how much you want to do, but it seems like the story and discussion on the lore of the game might persist longer than the gameplay itself.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for enhancing the mysterious atmosphere, with a decent soundtrack that captivates players and piques their curiosity. Reviewers highlight the quality of the music as a standout feature, complementing it with the game's impressive graphics and voice acting.
“The interactive experience has a decent soundtrack that adds to the mysterious setting, and in the beginning, this helped to pique my curiosity.”
“The music was really good.”
“Great graphics, lovely music, and excellent voice acting.”
“The soundtrack quickly becomes repetitive and fails to evolve with the gameplay, making it feel monotonous.”
“While the music initially sets a good tone, it soon becomes forgettable and lacks variety.”
“The audio quality is subpar, with some tracks sounding distorted and poorly mixed.”
- atmosphere3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its strong level design and a foreboding, unsettling quality that enhances the overall experience, reminiscent of the unique tones found in titles like "The Stanley Parable" and "Portal." Players appreciate how this immersive environment contributes to their enjoyment, making the time spent in the game feel worthwhile.
“The level design and atmosphere were strong enough that I didn't mind the time I spent.”
“It has a nice, foreboding atmosphere to it.”
“An excellently unsettling experience—imagine The Stanley Parable with an atmosphere kind of like Portal's.”
“An excellently unsettling experience - imagine The Stanley Parable with an atmosphere kind of like Portal's.”
“The level design and atmosphere were strong enough that I don't mind the time I spent.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as fun and funny, with an unexpectedly unnerving twist, enhancing the interactive experience. However, some users feel that the title ultimately falls short in delivering a gripping and humorous story, which is crucial given the less emphasis on graphics.
“★★★★★ Fun, funny, and surprisingly unnerving; the interactivity allows you to explore as much or as little as you'd like.”
“In this style of game, graphics are not that important, which makes the need for a gripping and humorous story even more crucial.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers minimal replayability, primarily limited to achievement hunting, as it can be completed in under five minutes. Players note that there are more content-rich alternatives available at a similar price point, providing significantly greater replay value.
“The game offers a wealth of choices and paths, making each playthrough feel fresh and engaging.”
“With multiple endings and varied character interactions, I find myself coming back to explore every possibility.”
“The dynamic gameplay mechanics ensure that no two sessions are ever the same, keeping the experience exciting.”
“You need to go into this game knowing that you can beat the whole thing in less than 5 minutes, and there is very little replayability outside of achievement hunting, which includes beating the game 5 times.”
“There are many games that you could pick up for half this price that would have 100 times the amount of replayability and content in them.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious due to its repetitive nature, which is only minimally alleviated by the changing scenes.
“The repetitive nature of the game unfortunately wasn't overcome by its slightly changing scenes, and it becomes tedious quickly.”
“Grinding feels like a chore rather than an engaging part of the gameplay.”
“The endless grind detracts from the overall enjoyment, making it feel more like a job than a game.”
