REVIEW : WE SHOULD TALK (PC)
It’s great fun to see how the visual novel remains a vibrant genre, whether it’s with candid cinematic storytelling or experimental, highly-inclusive experiences that better explore the nuances of romance. The new multi-platform game We Should Talk falls under the latter section, developed and nurtured by the NYU Game Center, and features the variety of unprecedented mechanic that may find itself crawling into more games in the future. In this sense, it’s a forward-thinking and decent game to check out, though a few design components get in the way of its repeat-play structure.
We Should Talk‘s main cast is an unnamed woman out for a spell at her beloved local watering hole. While she casually wets her whistle, her loving girlfriend is preparing dinner at home coyly texting sweet nothings to her that ultimately escalate into a more serious, probably overdue conversation. The evening progresses as a select few characters arise from the dim neon mist game aesthetic, including a sensual young barfly and a randy ex-boyfriend, all of whom can become targets of flirtation or summarily sent packing.
The main twist in We Should Talk is its inquisitive dialogue mechanic, which allows players to construct replies out of two to three parts of a given sentence. Spending time playing with all the parts of a reply is an amusing diversion, and certain acknowledgements completely transform nuance and intent, depending on the pronoun used or the conclusion; this is the kind of feature that will hook a few English majors all on its own. Rebuffing an ex by informing them they should “keep this on the low” instead of “stop” is simply going to send a different message.
We Should Talk‘s scope makes itself clear after even just a single playthrough. Each run of the game takes about 20 or 30 minutes, and presents a highly comparable structure each time, with the only differentiation being the replies chosen. Unfortunately, even at the fastest text speed setting, this implies that unlocking all nine levels requires sitting through familiar discussions ad nauseam. Any kind of useful “skip” feature would have been appreciated, but would probably reduce the total playtime needed to 100% We Should Talk as well.
Screenshots may imply that the game has an explorable 3D bar environment, but this is surely not the case. There’s very little in the way of character animation as well, and only the barest minimum in the way of character art. It’s obvious that these aspects weren’t a development priority, which is just fine, but the 3D-rendered art could have been substituted with a more characterful 2D style and this might have better suited the simulation, rather than be an occasional eyesore.
While there is no spoken audio, there is a continuous running sequence of chilled-out nightclub music, which does add to the ambience considerably. The writing itself does the most complicated lifting, and it’s generally excellent and keenly relatable, and this carries the experience. Sometimes certain VN games are preoccupied with containing various yet flat archetypes, but most characters here demonstrate some extra depth, even though the game’s inherent brevity precludes a deep dive into any one thread. The girlfriend at home’s texts vary between sincerity, humour, confusion, and hurt at the distance she can intuit, and it’s strongly heartbreaking to send her dismissive or outright vulgar texts in pursuit of alternate endings.
