Wait! Life is Beautiful!
- August 6, 2020
- GameNet
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Get on itch.io Store"Wait! Life is Beautiful" is an interactive psychological thriller that follows the story of Will, an ordinary office clerk who, feeling exhausted by life's monotony and questioning its meaning, seeks to give his life new purpose by saving people contemplating suicide on a bridge. As the player, you'll be drawn into Will's emotional state and experience his struggles with black humor elements, while trying to help him find a reason to keep living. The game's name also serves as a reminder for Will to appreciate life's beauty.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game effectively balances humor and dark themes, providing a unique narrative experience.
- It tackles serious topics like suicide and mental health, encouraging players to reflect on these issues.
- The character stories are compelling, and the choices made throughout the game can lead to different outcomes, enhancing replay value.
- The gameplay can become repetitive and tedious, with some players feeling that choices ultimately don't matter.
- Technical issues, such as glitches and unskippable dialogue, detract from the overall experience.
- Some humor elements, like the rickroll, undermine the serious themes of the game, leading to a lack of emotional investment.
- story44 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its dark themes and humor, while others criticize it for lacking depth and coherence. Many feel that the narrative fails to engage, with repetitive elements and a lack of meaningful choices, leading to a disappointing experience for a story-driven title. Despite some interesting ideas and a strong visual style, the execution leaves much to be desired, suggesting that more effort in storytelling could have significantly improved the game.
“The game has a good balance of humor and the darkness of the story.”
“Really good point and click story where your choices truly make a difference with a good story, a sense of humor, and a focus on the main point.”
“Impressive story with great visual style.”
“For being a story-driven game, it has very little plot and the entire beginning sequence literally does not matter.”
“I thought for a while about buying this game and... when I bought it I honestly thought it was gonna be like those choice games where your choices matter, but what I got was super disappointing. When I finished it and replayed it to get the achievements, I realized that if you do nothing the entire game it doesn't matter. Everyone will say that 'you're saving people' when you are literally doing nothing. There was even a rickroll in the middle of the game that made me stop playing and go to sleep. Some of the dialogue options just lead to the same outcome, and there are bugs that force you to close the game and reopen it to continue. Honestly, this game feels like it should've had more thought put into it, especially since they were trying to convey a really important message, but it came out just... terrible. The art style is good, though; that part of the game is decent, and I feel like if they had put as much thought into the storytelling as they did into the artwork, this could've been a great game.”
“Story of the game has no point; the final jump or don't jump is just out of nowhere and not dramatic.”
- gameplay22 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been criticized for its repetitiveness and lack of variety, with players noting that it often feels tedious and unoriginal. While the game carries a meaningful message, the simplistic mechanics and lengthy text detract from the overall experience, leading to a perception of it being more of an art piece than an engaging game. Many reviewers suggest that additional mechanics or visual elements could significantly enhance the gameplay experience.
“It's a simple game with little mechanics, but it has a meaningful statement, although blurred by some things.”
“Potential players can view the basic gameplay loop in the prologue or in the game's trailer - if they still bought the game, it means they were still interested anyway and are prepared to think deeply about such a dark topic.”
“Gameplay-wise, this game is the same few things over and over and over.”
“Probably the biggest downsides to the overall experience is the lengthy and tedious text plus the gameplay gets extremely repetitive.”
“An extra few mechanics, visuals, or simply just plot--honestly, anything--could do wonders for this game.”
- music20 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some find it forgettable and not worth listening to outside of gameplay, others praise its beautifully melancholic quality that enhances the atmosphere. A standout bridge song is noted positively, and the overall composition is described as tranquil, effectively complementing the game's themes. However, the inconsistency in opinions suggests that the music may not resonate with all players.
“The art is fantastic, the music is fantastic, the game is fantastic, the ending is fantastic, the conversations you have with the people are fantastic; literally everything about this game is fantastic.”
“The music is beautifully melancholic, the writing is amazing, and each individual I met feels like an actual person, not a typical NPC with dialogue.”
“The music is mostly forgettable, although the bridge song is nice.”
“The writing is weak (little-to-no plot) and the graphics/music is also pretty meh.”
“Developers did an outstanding job building a melancholy atmosphere with tranquil music and a dark cityscape background, while staying in the theme of life.”
- humor18 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game strikes a balance between humor and its darker themes, with players appreciating the clever integration of funny moments amidst the sadness. While some found the humor to enhance the experience, others felt it detracted from emotional investment, suggesting that the comedic elements sometimes undermined the gravity of the narrative. Overall, the humor is seen as a notable aspect, contributing to the game's unique tone.
“The game has a good balance of humor and the darkness of the story.”
“Really good point and click story where your choices truly make a difference with a good story, a sense of humor, and a focus on the main point.”
“The comedy of the game is better than its drama (some victims are just joke characters, whom I found funny).”
- graphics14 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the beautiful backgrounds and pixel art style, while others criticize the overall aesthetic as lacking and unpolished. Many users feel that the visuals could have been enhanced with additional mechanics or a stronger narrative focus. Overall, the game's retro style is noted, but it seems to detract from the experience rather than elevate it.
“I really like the pixel art style!”
“A game that doesn't focus on things like graphics, and goes for a more retro style, allowing you to focus on the story and goals at hand.”
“The main background is actually beautiful, but the rest of the game isn't pretty aesthetically.”
“The writing is weak (little-to-no plot) and the graphics/music is also pretty meh.”
“A game that doesn't focus on graphics and goes for a more retro style, allowing you to focus on the story and goals at hand.”
- emotional12 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game elicits a wide range of responses, with some players finding it deeply touching and impactful, while others criticize its reliance on clichés and unrealistic portrayals of serious themes. The game's mechanics, such as the screen shaking and turning red, heighten the sense of stress and the weight of choices, but the use of humor can detract from emotional investment for some players. Overall, it is recommended to approach the game with caution, especially regarding mental health.
“This is a very touching game.”
“I would recommend making sure your mental health is good while you play it; I cried so much.”
“Who would have thought that a game this serious and emotional ends up rickrolling me.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, particularly due to the inability to skip or speed up lengthy dialogue during multiple playthroughs. This repetitiveness detracts from the overall experience, especially for completionists aiming to achieve all accomplishments. Many reviewers suggest that the game should offer options to streamline these processes to alleviate the grind.
“Getting through every achievement is also so painstaking. Having to go through the beginning sequence multiple times without any way to skip or speed up dialogue is awful. I understand its statement originally, but for multiple playthroughs and the completionists—which the game encourages, considering the achievements—it ruins the statement by being so painstakingly tedious. I feel as though there should have been some way to speed through things.”
“Probably the biggest downsides to the overall experience are the lengthy and tedious text, plus the gameplay gets extremely repetitive.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game exhibits notable stability issues, with users reporting various glitches, including character transformations during specific actions like climbing on or off bridges. While the narrative and character choices are well-received, the technical shortcomings detract from the overall experience.
“I overall liked the characters' stories, choices, and possible outcomes, but in the technical part, there were some glitches and shortcomings.”
“There are also a few glitches; people will just change into someone entirely different sometimes when they climb on or off the bridge.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is polarizing; while some users praise the developers for creating a melancholic ambiance with tranquil music and a dark cityscape, others criticize it as repetitive, unfulfilling, and sluggish, ultimately feeling it lacks depth.
“The developers did an outstanding job building a melancholy atmosphere with tranquil music and a dark cityscape background, while staying in the theme of life.”
“Repetitive, unfulfilling, sluggish, lacking atmosphere.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game highly replayable due to its engaging story and multiple endings, encouraging them to revisit the game to explore all possible outcomes.
“The story is quite good; I'm currently working on getting all the endings, which adds a lot of replay value.”
“The story is quite good; I'm currently working on getting all the endings, which adds a lot of replay value.”
