We Are Chicago
- February 9, 2017
- Culture Shock Games LLC
- 5h median play time
We Are Chicago dares to focus on the mundane and the dramatic
Get on Steam"We Are Chicago" is a narrative-driven game that immerses players in the South Side of Chicago, focusing on avoiding violence and building a future despite challenging circumstances. Players take on the role of a South Side resident, making choices that impact their character's life and future prospects. The game aims to highlight the realities of growing up in underprivileged communities and the importance of maintaining hope in the face of adversity.
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Reviews
- The game presents an emotionally engaging story that tackles important social issues, particularly regarding life in Chicago.
- The intention behind the game is commendable, showcasing black protagonists and addressing relevant societal themes.
- The narrative-driven aspect allows players to make choices that build empathy with the characters, making it a unique experience.
- The gameplay suffers from poor mechanics, including janky animations, impractical camera controls, and frequent crashes.
- Many players found the graphics outdated and the overall production quality lacking polish, which detracted from the experience.
- The game is criticized for its limited interactivity, with many decisions feeling inconsequential and leading to a lack of engagement.
- story21 mentions
- 48 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The story in "We Are Chicago" is generally praised for its emotional depth and cultural relevance, effectively capturing the challenges faced by its characters in a contemporary setting. While some reviewers noted that the gameplay mechanics detracted from the experience, many found the narrative compelling and impactful, with the potential to resonate with players on a personal level. Overall, the game is recognized for its heartfelt storytelling, despite some criticisms regarding its execution.
“This was an emotionally jarring story that had me captivated from start to finish.”
“While the graphics might not be top-notch technology, the voice acting is stellar, the story is compelling.”
“If you go through the story in the characters' shoes, as intended - and in real life if the game makes one single person avoid getting into gangs, then it's done its job in my opinion.”
“To ignore that erodes the message of the game, because the player is left railing against artificial constraints, instead of the story-driven ones of Aaron’s challenging circumstances.”
“Not what it seems, small story line, same route no matter what, same things happen.”
“The story of the characters is a little lacking.”
- gameplay9 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been criticized for its unpolished mechanics, janky animations, and technical issues, leading to a frustrating experience for many players. While the story is praised for its depth and emotional resonance, the overall gameplay feels shallow and lacks engagement, often making players feel more like observers than active participants. Additionally, the short playtime and lack of a satisfying conclusion further detract from the experience.
“While the gameplay looks like 'The Walking Dead' on the surface, with conversation options that offer different, relatable points of view, these are window dressing: you are more observer than participant.”
“I can see how passionate the devs were with this game, but I'm a little disappointed that I paid $13.49 (on sale) for a game that only had about 2.5 hours of gameplay time.”
“But the mechanics were a miss for me - terrible janky animation and FPS control, and the writing felt pretty generic. While I was enjoying it enough to finish, the game crashed for me, and although there was an auto-save function, it was not well-documented, and my game was not saved properly, so I lost all my progress.”
“While the gameplay looks like The Walking Dead on the surface, with conversation options that offer different, relatable points of view, these are window dressing: you are more observer than participant.”
“However, I simply can't get over the technical issues and the gameplay itself.”
- graphics7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The graphics have received mixed reviews, with some players noting they resemble older 3D games and suffer from glitches during character interactions. While not considered cutting-edge, a few reviewers appreciated the visuals as a commendable effort for a debut title. Overall, there are calls for improvements in both graphical detail and technical performance.
“While the graphics might not be top-notch technology, the voice acting is stellar, and the story is compelling.”
“Graphics were quite impressive for a developer's first attempt.”
“Maybe the graphics aren't as high-end as 2016/2017 games, but they still have their charm.”
“Like many reviewers say: the graphics look like 3D games I played 15 years ago, and the camera controls are impractical.”
“I can usually go with low FPS and simple graphics, but this game constantly glitches while the characters are having interactions with one another.”
“I suggest the game developer fix the technical issues and put more details into the graphics and character interactions, as well as increase the game pace a little bit.”
- music4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received negative feedback, with players finding it generic and annoying, leading to a sense of relief when it finally stops, only to be interrupted by its repetitive looping.
“One other thing that I like to bring up is the music.”
“My god, the music!”
“Why pick the most annoying generic string music?”
“I got so annoyed that when the song was ending, I was so relieved to hear silence until that song looped again.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been criticized for being unpolished and buggy, with frequent freezes and glitches during character interactions, leading to a frustrating experience for players. Many users feel that the issues significantly detract from the overall value of the game.
“This is solely about the gameplay being unpolished and buggy in relation to its price.”
“I dislike the game because it has been freezing since I got it, and I can't reach anyone for support.”
“I can usually tolerate low FPS and simple graphics, but this game constantly glitches during character interactions.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players note that the game involves significant grinding, often likening it to a walking simulation that includes repetitive tasks such as going to bed or counting change at work. This aspect may detract from the overall enjoyment for some users.
“It's essentially a walking simulation, combined with a lot of grinding, like going to bed or counting out change at your workplace.”
“The grinding feels endless and tedious, making the game more of a chore than an enjoyable experience.”
“I found myself spending hours on repetitive tasks that added little to the overall enjoyment of the game.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game delivers an emotionally impactful narrative that captivates players throughout, creating a deeply engaging experience.
“This was an emotionally jarring story that had me captivated from start to finish.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game is criticized for lacking replay value, with users indicating that once completed, there is little incentive to play it again.
“It has no replay value.”
“Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to play it again.”
“The lack of varied outcomes makes replaying feel pointless.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is noted to be lacking, with users indicating that performance improvements are needed.
“Performance could use some work.”
Critic Reviews
We Are Chicago review
We Are Chicago dares to focus on the mundane and the dramatic
70%We Are Chicago Review - Can We Be Somewhere Else?
We Are Chicago really wants to tell a story that most games don't want to touch upon, but it completely fails at delivering that story in a satisfying manner.
30%Review: We Are Chicago
Went wrong somewhere along the line. The original idea might have promise, but in practice it has failed. Threatens to be interesting sometimes, but rarely.
30%
