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Second Thoughts

72%Game Brain Score
story, emotional
graphics, gameplay
72% User Score Based on 142 reviews

Platforms

PCMac OSWindows
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About

"Second Thoughts" is a psychological experiment in the form of a game, where players must choose one of eight subjects to execute each day based on limited information. As greater details about each individual are revealed, players can decide to learn about the deceased or focus solely on the survivors. Ultimately, only one person will remain, and their full story will be unveiled. The game features eight diverse subjects with hidden stories and choices that impact the outcome.

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Second Thoughts screenshot
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72%
Audience ScoreBased on 142 reviews
story6 positive mentions
graphics3 negative mentions
  • The game presents a thought-provoking narrative that challenges players' morals and decision-making, creating engaging discussions.
  • It's an affordable experience that offers a unique concept, with interesting character backstories and unexpected twists.
  • The retro-style presentation and audio contribute to an immersive atmosphere, enhancing the psychological horror elements.
  • The pacing is frustratingly slow, with unskippable text and long waits between actions, which detracts from the overall experience.
  • Many character twists are predictable, and the writing quality suffers from grammatical errors and lack of depth.
  • The game lacks meaningful consequences for choices, making it feel more like a thought experiment than a traditional game.
  • story
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is a mixed bag, praised for its engaging character backstories and moral dilemmas that provoke thought about psychology and ethics, but criticized for grammatical errors and predictable plot twists. While some players found the narrative compelling and unique, others felt it lacked depth and coherence, with minimal plot development and uninspired writing. Overall, it offers a reflective experience, especially for its low price, but may leave some players wanting more in terms of storytelling quality.

    • “There isn't a dull moment in the story, and the backstories of all the characters feel well-written, real, and filled with unexpected surprises.”
    • “More than a game or a story, this creation offers you a reflection on psychology, morality, and human nature.”
    • “Play it if you enjoy a good story, refreshingly unique and fun premises, and like to think about very difficult ethical choices.”
    • “No real ending and no real plot to the game.”
    • “Each subject just gets what just barely passes as a paragraph's worth of fairly uninspired story.”
    • “The 'twist' in each character's story was almost always immediately predictable, but I feel that would have been acceptable if there weren't constant grammatical errors, very little punctuation, and just, generally bad writing that often either felt cheesy and childish or was so badly worded that you need to reread the sentence to decipher what exactly the game was trying to convey.”
  • graphics
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are heavily reliant on outdated retro text and ASCII art, lacking contemporary visuals or customization options. Players have noted the absence of resolution settings and the inability to enhance the low-quality graphics, although some appreciate the aesthetic simplicity. Overall, the graphics are minimalistic and may not appeal to those seeking modern visual experiences.

    • “As simple as it is, I still appreciated a few things about it, mostly aesthetically.”
    • “It's very text heavy and doesn't feature much in the way of graphics.”
    • “A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro text/ascii 'art' as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics, or any real graphics at all for that matter.”
    • “There's no options to change the resolution for the game or customize the graphics settings.”
  • gameplay
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is characterized by its simple yet engaging mechanics, offering a unique premise that captivates players despite its lack of replay value. The moral choices regarding life and death add depth, although some players may find certain mechanics, like observation, less intuitive. Overall, the game's simplicity is both its charm and limitation.

    • “I have a special fondness for games where the mechanics are utterly simple yet extremely absorbing.”
    • “In terms of premise and mechanics, it feels refreshingly unique.”
    • “I really like it; even though I didn't fully grasp the observation mechanic, I enjoyed the idea of choosing who lives and who dies, using law as well as morals to dictate those choices.”
    • “It's got literally zero replay value as a core mechanic.”
    • “Not so much in terms of mechanics as I think their simplicity kind of makes the game what it is, but perhaps something like an audio file the last survivor sends to you when the game ends.”
    • “I really like it, even though I didn't get the observation mechanic in the game, I really liked the idea of choosing who lives and who dies and using law as well as morals to dictate who lives.”
  • emotional
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game elicits mixed responses; while some players experience a range of feelings, others find it lacking in depth and overly reliant on guilt as a primary emotional driver. Overall, it seems to evoke a roller coaster of emotions for some, but many criticize its pacing and engagement.

    • “We both had an emotional roller coaster with it.”
  • replayability
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is generally considered to have zero replay value, as it offers a short experience with no core mechanics that encourage repeated playthroughs. However, players can still enjoy sharing the game with friends and family, as different individuals may bring unique perspectives to the experience.

    • “If you buy this game, do keep in mind that it is a short experience that has no replay value.”
    • “It's got literally zero replay value as a core mechanic.”
    • “Even if you might feel discouraged due to the lack of replay value, this can always be shared with friends and family (while respecting the age rating, of course), because every different person might have a different approach, and that's what makes this experience interesting.”
  • atmosphere
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is described as oppressive and effective, largely enhanced by the audio design featuring a simple background buzz and heavy key tapping sounds. However, some players feel that certain artistic choices do not contribute positively to the overall atmosphere.

    • “I love the audio; just a simple background buzz and some heavy key tapping sounds. It's very effective and oppressive, making the atmosphere feel perfect.”
    • “I'm a fast reader; I dislike this sort of thing generally, but I'd be okay with it as an artistic decision if it actually added atmosphere. I don't think it did.”
  • grinding
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect tedious due to the one-second pause during screen transitions, especially when managing multiple characters and repeatedly cycling through previously read information. This repetitive process contributes to a sense of monotony in gameplay.

    • “During each screen change, there is a one second pause as it shifts over. Doing this for eight characters, cycling past screens of information you've already read, made things feel a lot more tedious to me.”
    • “The repetitive nature of grinding in this game quickly becomes exhausting, as it feels like I'm just going through the motions without any real progress.”
    • “I found myself spending hours on grinding, but the rewards felt minimal and didn't justify the time invested.”
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