Duration: 25:04

214 views

5

Moving Stories is a browser Flash game by Terry Cavanagh (of VVVVVV fame) and Stephen Lavelle (increpare). In it, the player controls/assists a young woman moving out of her flat, selecting which items she will pack and which she will toss out. There isn't room for everything.

In total, there are (best I can tell) five endings, with minor variations, depending on what items the player selects to pack. Although the tone is ostensibly one of wistful liminality, and very effective at that, there is a strong current of humor. In subsequent playthroughs, this humor becomes more pronounced, giving us some absurd stuff. I especially like the spy ukulele and the suggestion the woman liked her boyfriend ejaculating into her coffee. Multiple playthroughs feature the seasons changing as well, suggesting we might be seeing different phases in the life of the same person, but these actually seem to be different, mutually exclusive possibilities.

Subsequent playthroughs add a pistol, a jar of urine, and a severed hand into the mix of items. The pistol unlocks the spy ending. Also, the dildo gets longer. Obviously Moving Stories is great. I love it.

I call this a "longplay," but to go through and get every possible unique item description in every ending is beyond me.

Play the game: https://terrycavanaghgames.com/moving/