Thing-in-Itself Gameplay & Review (New Release Friday!)
8This week we will be trying on Thing-in-Itself Gameplay & Review for size for New Release Friday. This wasn’t even on the new releases section of Steam the other night, but I went back through it this morning and saw it and thought that it was a pretty interesting premise. I have always been really into the philosophy that EVERYTHING in life is all about perspective, so naturally this appealed to me. Thing-in-Itself warned that it would be quite short… and man it wasn’t kidding. Like, super short.
First off, what the fuck is NRF? New Release Friday is a series in which (hopefully) every week I will hop over to the “New Releases” section of Steam and pick-up a game to play for a few hours and give a first-thought review on. This series is an attempt to not only keep content fresh and relevant around the channel by covering current games in a concise and genuine fashion, but also to offer exposure to new games via a relaxed review format to inform potential, unsure buyers. Check out the playlist for more!
I don’t really think I will be able to stretch the description for my gameplay and review of Thing-in-Itself all that far, because it doesn’t have a whole lot of content to cover, but I will start by talking about the good things. Emotions run high in this short time span and I feel that it is good that they start by warning you there are no stakes and the game is attempting to be relaxed and a story more than a game. You immediately feel like you are actually laying in a bed with Molly and listening to her gentle voice quiver in the darkness. The voice actors really knocked this out. It isn’t even like there were just a few lines that worked and then others felt out of place: literally every single line was delivered with emotion, intent, and a sense of reality. If these actors are going to do other projects then I want to know, because I actually felt some stuff. Very ASMR shit going on here in Thing-in-Itself at the voicing level, but in a good way. Not a cringe way.
The themes are also well presented and relatable for just about anyone who might be playing. I have always felt like perspective determines everything about the world and that, accordingly, the world is different for every single person. Thing-in-Itself for example might have very rich gameplay for someone who believes that the sort of interaction it offers is the gold standard. Yet to me, I feel that it is quite lacking. Same as when someone is hurt or offended by something, the person who did the “hurtful” action might have no such intention and the reception is misspent. This is where Thing-in-Itself really did well by showing how everything around Ted changes when he is hurt by Molly. All of the things that in his life once had meaning starts to change in his eyes; his books are bonfire fuel, his fish bowl is a fish prison, his TV is a waste of time. I am sure if you could look in a mirror there would be a similarly bleak outlook.
To close this review, the only reason that Thing-in-Itself really suffers is because of the length. I genuinely think that the reason this is an issue is because it was a delightful presentation of an intriguing idea. I want more and feel that just about anyone who plays it would feel the same. As someone who has suffered with this sort of disdain and warped perception of the things around me for years, I would like to see more of Ted’s story. I want to see if he can get his shit together or if he only gets worse. Does Molly suffer as well or has she moved on to someone new and ditched him for this reason? This developer could have really taken this idea and expanded it greatly and missed a huge opportunity by not doing so. I hope the developers review this content and potentially take it to the next level, as I would really take an interest in it.
Hopefully you dug this short little bit of New Release Friday. I am still trying to branch out and try new content via this series and I am hoping it proves interesting and valuable for you all.
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