Her Story Review
I have always had mixed feelings about the indie game scene. One one hand, a lot of indie games feel like they follow trends and fail to interest me, while others innovate way more than AAA titles due to the ability to take risks a bit easier than large studios. Thankfully Sam Barlow’s solo-developed indie crime drama titled Her Story leans much more towards the innovation side of the indie spectrum. Released on iOS, Mac and PC platforms, Her Story delivers a mysterious crime story that plays uniquely while also baffling the mind.
Her Story starts out by giving the player very little information as to what is actually happening. All we really know is that the player takes the role of a person logging into a police computer and accessing a database of police interrogation video clips recorded in the early 90’s. Every clip is live action and contains a real actress by the name of Viva Seifert. In essence, the entire game is a series of full motion videos similar to classic CD-ROM based games like Night Trap and Phantasmagoria. The player doesn’t even know if they’re playing as a policeman, a lawyer or even a file clerk; we are just a person sitting at a computer. Once the game begins, the player will be staring at the user interface of a database search engine in which any search term or phrase can be entered.
Within the search box of the database lies one simple word — murder. The player is given their first clue as to where they should begin their search. Pressing the enter button will bring up search terms for the word “murder” and gives the player 5 video clips to start with. Upon viewing the first 5 clips, the player is introduced to a young woman who seems to be going through a police interrogation. Who this woman is and whether or not she is a suspect or a witness is unknown to the player. At this point players must put on their thinking caps and analyze each video clip for any clues to help unravel the mystery and provide clarity to the situation at hand.
In order to progress through Her Story, players must take the information given to them from the interview clips and think of new words and phrases to enter into the database search box in order to find more video clips that will provide more information. For example: in one video clip the woman may be discussing her love life and will mention a name. Entering the aforementioned name will provide more video clips that contain conversations about that particular name. At this point the player must basically act as a detective and take notes when they hear a word or name that may provide them with more clues and enter those words into the search database. Clips that provide important information to the player can also be bookmarked in a personal collection so the clips can be easily viewed if the need to revisit them arises.
Completing Her Story will require the player to watch a collection of video clips and use the information contained in order to collect as much information on the story as possible. Once the player reaches a certain point and a specific set of information has been revealed to player by this mysterious woman, a specific set of features will be unlocked that will guide the player to the end game. The time it takes to complete Her Story will depend on the player and how quickly they catch on to the story. It took me personally an hour and a half to hit the point in the game that unlocked the big revelation in the story, but in order to get every video clip and tidbit of the story it will most likely take anywhere between three to four hours tops.
Even though Her Story is a rather short game, it provides a highly memorable experience for a small asking price. The iOS version of the game retails at $5, while the PC version retails at $6. PC players will get a much more authentic experience for the extra dollar in the cost of the game since the police database PC within the game is emulated on the player’s actual home PC. Her Story is played solely on a police computer and never leaves this point of view, so playing the game on a PC immerses the player into the role of the controllable mystery character much more than on a mobile device.
Interacting with the police database in the game actually gives off old-school typing effects as if the player is typing on an old mechanical keyboard from an early 90’s computer. The user interface takes the form of an ancient, DOS-based database software with a glass dome effect as if the player is peering into an old CRT monitor. The glow of florescent lights can be seen within the monitor and at specific points in the game the eerie reflection of apparitions can be seen that will alarm the player at times. These effects can be turned off if the player chooses, but it really kills the vibe the game is trying to give off.
Playing Her Story is rather simplistic and not very exciting, but the story contained within is the real star of this game. Gamers who love point-and-click style adventure games that consist of solving mysteries will fall in love with Sam Barlow’s personal project. While the game can sometimes lose the player’s interest with video clips that provide irrelevant or repetitive information, interest will be regained if the player continues on and uncovers a video clip that provides juicy details that guides the player closer to the end of the rabbit hole. Thankfully the game does not wear out its welcome thanks to the short play time and the price of the game reflects this.
Her Story is an excellent adventure game that acts as an ode to classic FMV video games from our past. The gameplay is unique, the presentation is clever and the story as a whole is very strong. Once the game’s secrets are revealed to the player, it’ll be hard to get this game out of your mind. While not all questions will be answered while playing Her Story, the story’s effect is long lasting and provides one of the most memorable experience in gaming this year.
Rating – 8/10
The Positives:
- Compelling story
- Great acting
- Unique Gameplay
The Negatives:
- Short length
- Little variety in gameplay
- Some clips are boring or repetitive
