Wow, I can’t believe I was sleeping on this one! As both a PKD fan and someone with memories of playing one of the VALIS games on Sega with my friend in a basement in the 90s… Often wondered about the relationship between the two VALISES, and I am really glad I never researched it, because this paranoid fantasy bridges the gap in a way that is extremely satisfying and is my new headcanon. And it's worked out at both narrative and stylistic levels. Love that interplay between crude pains of everyday emotional experiences that spiral into these hyper-intellectual solipsistic rabbit holes. And all hovering around a kind of speedrun critical commentary on integrating New Wave SF. A paranoiac approach to the neverending Mario Party moment (anyone with two braincells at all has been there) that is spot on. Total class.
This feels like the modernization of the paranoid fiction you find in writers like Philip K. Dick. The alienation feels more immediate as it deals with subject matter that I’m familiar with (retro video games, identity issues). And the way the game ends is surprisingly thought-provoking.
It’s like a game about games and identity but with a heavy dose of Philip K. Dick. If any of this sounds interesting, definitely give it a try.
the height of storytelling is to be deeply, lusciously grounded in a crazy person's perspective and to experience some strange or dramatic events with them. so i think this is just about as good as it gets. loved the music direction too
writing another comment now that ive had time to finish it. didnt clock the PKD reference until u mentioned it (obvi played more dated action platformers than read books) but that feeling of paranoia, of being locked into the worst possible timeline and the utter banality of it felt like a cosmic reference.
something entirely its own though, PKD never had needle drops that made my heart sink or made me laugh out loud (in the case of vielka's 'i was fucking with you' followed by the scene change to the bandage scene it made me lol out loud at work)
horselover fat will be gamefan magazines character of the year 2025
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Wow, I can’t believe I was sleeping on this one! As both a PKD fan and someone with memories of playing one of the VALIS games on Sega with my friend in a basement in the 90s… Often wondered about the relationship between the two VALISES, and I am really glad I never researched it, because this paranoid fantasy bridges the gap in a way that is extremely satisfying and is my new headcanon. And it's worked out at both narrative and stylistic levels. Love that interplay between crude pains of everyday emotional experiences that spiral into these hyper-intellectual solipsistic rabbit holes. And all hovering around a kind of speedrun critical commentary on integrating New Wave SF. A paranoiac approach to the neverending Mario Party moment (anyone with two braincells at all has been there) that is spot on. Total class.
This feels like the modernization of the paranoid fiction you find in writers like Philip K. Dick. The alienation feels more immediate as it deals with subject matter that I’m familiar with (retro video games, identity issues). And the way the game ends is surprisingly thought-provoking.
It’s like a game about games and identity but with a heavy dose of Philip K. Dick. If any of this sounds interesting, definitely give it a try.
the height of storytelling is to be deeply, lusciously grounded in a crazy person's perspective and to experience some strange or dramatic events with them. so i think this is just about as good as it gets. loved the music direction too
finally…the divine invasion never really did it for me
It's smart, or half-insane - either way it's good, and i'll have to reread it later <3
writing another comment now that ive had time to finish it. didnt clock the PKD reference until u mentioned it (obvi played more dated action platformers than read books) but that feeling of paranoia, of being locked into the worst possible timeline and the utter banality of it felt like a cosmic reference.
something entirely its own though, PKD never had needle drops that made my heart sink or made me laugh out loud (in the case of vielka's 'i was fucking with you' followed by the scene change to the bandage scene it made me lol out loud at work)
horselover fat will be gamefan magazines character of the year 2025
finally the turbografx classic comes home to the family computer