Talk to Strangers
- April 19, 2019
- Post Mortem Pixels
Get on SteamIn "Talk to Strangers," become a Sunny Morning™ salesperson, hawking an assortment of mysterious products. Each customer interaction can influence your Rage, Depression, and Sales, so tread carefully. With 36 endings available, the time of day and your spending habits will significantly impact your outcome. Choose wisely and balance your budget between motel costs and mood-stabilizing items.
Mac OS
Nintendo Switch
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- Unique and fun concept that captures the absurdity of door-to-door sales.
- Charming pixel art and interesting characters enhance the overall experience.
- Multiple endings and replayability provide depth and encourage exploration.
- Repetitive gameplay and trial-and-error mechanics can lead to frustration.
- Dialogue options often lack depth, making interactions feel shallow.
- Frequent spelling and grammar errors detract from the overall immersion.
- humor28 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its uniqueness and creativity, featuring a mix of dark, random, and absurd elements that resonate with players. Many reviewers highlight the distinctiveness of the characters and the hilarious scenarios, making it an enjoyable experience, though some note that the humor may lose its impact over time due to repetitive gameplay mechanics. Overall, it is recommended for those seeking a light-hearted and funny gaming experience.
“Every character is unique/weird, and the game has a great sense of humor.”
“This game is hilarious, I love the characters, love the graphics, and overall I love this game.”
“There are a few different avenues to trying to sell your products to these homeowners and they're all unique, different, and really funny.”
- graphics24 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are widely praised for their charming pixel art and retro aesthetic, which evoke nostalgia for classic adventure games. Reviewers appreciate the impeccable art style, diverse character designs, and the overall fun atmosphere created by the visuals and accompanying music. While some players wish for more content, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's appeal and entertainment value.
“The game's visuals are undeniably appealing, with a retro aesthetic that evokes nostalgia for classic adventure games.”
“The art style, character design, and music create a great atmosphere as well.”
“This game is hilarious, I love the characters, love the graphics, and overall I love this game.”
“The concept and artwork was enough reason to check it out, but I felt awful after my first play; it grows on you as you learn how to sell to who.”
“I like the different array of characters, the art style, and the storyline, but I do wish it was longer and included a different town!”
“The graphics are decent, but they don't really stand out or impress in any significant way.”
- music22 mentions
- 64 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The music in "Talk to Strangers" is widely praised for its catchy and relaxing qualities, particularly the main menu theme, which many players find memorable. The soundtrack enhances the game's charming atmosphere, complementing its quirky character design and art style, while contributing to the overall replayability and enjoyment of the gameplay experience. Overall, the music is considered a significant highlight that adds to the game's appeal.
“I like the music, it's something you can vibe with.”
“The music and sound effects were good, too, and I loved the art style.”
“The art style, character design, and music create a great atmosphere as well.”
“There's no music.”
“There's no music.”
“- decent music.”
- gameplay20 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay is criticized for its punishing difficulty, confusing mechanics, and repetitive nature, leading to a frustrating experience that feels more torturous than enjoyable. While some players appreciate the charm of the pixel art and the potential for replay value through multiple endings, many find the core mechanics unclear and the overall experience lacking in fun and engagement. Despite its unique premise, the game struggles to deliver a satisfying gameplay loop, often leaving players feeling overwhelmed and disheartened.
“The gameplay is simple, but success is difficult to achieve, and it doesn't always come with a good conscience.”
“It doesn't impede gameplay, and you can still understand everything.”
“Great game with a lot of replay value and nice mechanics, offering three choices that affect the situation. Each house has its own story and way of impacting the player, and the variety of endings is great. The music sets the mood perfectly for both the morning and nighttime sales. Overall, it's a fantastic piece of work, and I would love to see it expanded even further.”
“While boasting charming pixel art, hidden easter eggs, and a unique premise, it fails spectacularly at being enjoyable for most due to its punishing difficulty, confusing mechanics, overwhelming reliance on shock value and trial and error, and extremely unlikeable characters.”
“The repetitive gameplay, punishing difficulty, confusing mechanics, overreliance on shock value, overwhelming failure rate, and lack of meaningful progression all conspire to create an experience that is more akin to torture than entertainment.”
“Not really anything about this game is actually fun; the mechanics are not fun, the writing is not fun, and the art is just fine. The style isn't unique enough to make it interesting.”
- story18 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 22 % negative mentions
The game's story is praised for its interesting characters, art style, and multiple endings, providing a fun experience with good replay value. However, some players feel the narrative is lacking depth and does not significantly impact gameplay, with a desire for a longer story and more diverse settings. Overall, while the story has its strengths, it also has notable weaknesses that leave some players wanting more.
“The art style is good, it has an interesting story along with multiple endings (good or bad).”
“Great game with a lot of replay value and nice mechanics, where each house has its own story and way of affecting the player (good or bad). The amount of endings is great and interesting, and the music sets the mood perfectly.”
“There's no story :/”
“The story doesn't affect the gameplay, so it doesn't matter that it isn't the best.”
“You learn more about the story and what does and doesn't work over multiple playthroughs.”
- emotional8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game elicits mixed reactions; some players find it overwhelmingly draining and off-putting, while others experience deep emotional engagement, even to the point of tears. Overall, the game's intent to evoke strong feelings may leave some players feeling confused or emotionally unstable.
“I cried the whole game.”
“While this may be intentional, it can be overwhelming, off-putting, and leave you feeling emotionally drained.”
“However, perhaps the object of the game was to help players feel as clueless as an emotionally unstable man with poor salesmanship.”
- replayability8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game offers high replayability due to its multiple endings, diverse character interactions, and a plethora of achievements to unlock. Players appreciate the charming gameplay mechanics and unique stories behind each character, making each playthrough feel fresh and engaging. Overall, it is considered a delightful experience that encourages repeated play.
“This, along with the multiple endings, makes the game very replayable.”
“Talk to Strangers, aka Door to Door Salesman Sim, is one heck of a charming game with quirky characters hiding behind each door, each with their own little challenges when you face them. The soundtrack is eerily catchy, especially the main menu music, and I can't seem to get enough of it. The gameplay is super challenging but fun, and the game is super replayable, especially as there seems to be no end of achievements to grab and endings to find!”
“Great game with a lot of replay value and nice mechanics. You have three choices to make based on the situation, and the style of art is a nice touch. Each house has its own story and way of affecting the player (good or bad), and the number of endings is great and interesting. The music sets the mood perfectly for both the morning sale and the nighttime sale in the dark. In the end, it is a great piece of work, and if they expanded it even further, I would totally buy it to get more than what I bargained for—it would be a 'sale' of a lifetime.”
- character development6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the game suffers from a lack of meaningful character development, with players feeling that choices do not lead to significant progression. However, the art style and character design are praised for contributing to an engaging atmosphere.
“The art style, character design, and music create a great atmosphere as well.”
“Lack of meaningful progression: despite the illusion of choice, the game lacks a sense of meaningful progression or character development.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is characterized by grotesque imagery and disturbing dialogue that evoke a sense of unease, blending repulsion with allure. Complemented by a strong art style, character design, and music, the overall experience is both unsettling and captivating.
“The art style, character design, and music create a great atmosphere as well.”
“The grotesque imagery, disturbing dialogue, and unsettling atmosphere create a sense of unease that can be both repulsive and strangely alluring, like watching a car crash in slow motion.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game is best optimized when played in its original Portuguese, as users report that this version offers the cleanest experience. Players can easily switch to Portuguese through the in-game options for improved performance.
“This is a Brazilian DOS-styled adventure-sim, and as such is at its cleanest and most optimized in the original Portuguese, which you can toggle into through the in-game options.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be highly repetitive and tedious, often requiring significant effort to reach a real ending, regardless of whether they pursue achievements.
“This game is very repetitive and can become quite tedious, even to just get a real ending without caring for achievements.”
