Videoverse

This new visual novel from the creator of One Night Stand is an engrossing, emotional study of digital relationships that will hit a raw nerve with gamers

A thoughtful and beautifully-written tale about online friendships and the communities that bring people together, Videoverse makes every interaction and dialogue choice count as you navigate its interpersonal dramas.

Everything ends. But we take something from the times and places we’ve left behind and carry it with us as we move forward in life. I know that the countless hours I spent on forums in the early 2000s weren’t time wasted but a crucial part of my development as a person. I probably wouldn’t be here right now if it hadn’t been for those experiences. Videoverse is a beautiful exploration of how the online spaces we inhabit and the connections we form in them can shape our lives as much as anything.

Videoverse is a perfect time capsule of early online communities, never shying away from difficult topics and always approaching them with a smile. Its nostalgic wrapping works wonders for Millennials who grew up with a mouse or console in hand and who have made friends online.While I wish there were a few more chats with other characters, and the Switch may not be the best place to experience it due to input frustrations, Videoverse is a tonic for the soul that the online world needs now more than ever.

A heartfelt story that demonstrates the positive impact online relationships and communities can have on people. A must-play.

Videoverse is game that managed to hit me with the force of a truck in various ways, from the more subtle things like the in-game community's reaction to a collapsing world around them to the parts that were more upfront, like Emmett and Vivi's budding relationship.

VIDEOVERSE’s best moments are in its setting rather than its characters and it’s not often I pursue a game to its finale for its setting and premise rather than the overarching narrative. I found it stretches itself a bit too thin with the number of characters and stories that need to be told, but it is a novel story that’s far more accurate to its connection to the ancient interwebs that even the best of authors can’t replicate. For lovers of Web 1.0 and teenager internet goofs. ■

Fun decision-based narrative adventure focusing on character development, friendship, and love

VIDEOVERSE doesn't just rely on nostalgia, but uses a well-structured narrative to elucidate serious issues that the popularization of the internet brought and that persist to this day. It's a game that will bring back interesting memories for older players and show a piece of history to younger ones, demonstrating that we can't always control situations that are thousands of kilometers away from us.

A narrative adventure focused on a very specific slice of time, which makes it interesting, but also somewhat limiting