Note: This review was edited for clarity and formatting on May 29, 2024. The spoiler tag was added at this time--my apologies for the delay.
Back in 2012, I played another Love Conquers All game, Digital: A Love Story. It's a short visual novel that's the spiritual "precursor" to this game. I was so taken by the story and presentation (truthfully, it was my first visual novel that I recognized as such) that I immediately looked into anything else Christine Love had a hand in. I came across Analogue: A Hate Story and made the purchase immediately. Excitedly, I fired it up and then... I couldn't figure out how to go beyond the initial terminal screen. I messed around with the game for about an hour before finally moving it to my backlog and uninstalling it. 11 years later, I've come back to the game and something clicked this time. I was able to progress. The first time *Hyun-ae popped up on my screen was a moment of triumph nearly a decade in the making. I spent the next two days exploring, reading, and uncovering the complete story behind the Mungunghwa's crew... and their ultimate fates.
It's a visual novel, so I won't address the controls. Keyboard types, mouse clicks. Pretty basic stuff. (N/A)
Moving to the art, it's actually very impressive, especially compared to the earlier game of Digital: A Love Story. Setting-wise, this makes sense. Digital is set "five minutes to the future of 1988," and Analogue is set thousands of years into the future with AI technology. *Hyun-ae and *Mute, your two AI options, are typical anime-looking girls with dramatically different personalities. *Hyun-ae even has the option to change outfits, as one would expect of an anime girl character. The character animations are well done, but beyond that and the navigation icons, there's not much art. I think this works to the benefit of the game, to emphasize that these aren't "real" girls (well... if you know, you know) and that you are utterly alone in space. (8/10)
Music is very soft and understated. I'm generally forced to game on mute, but this time around, I didn't have to. The soundtrack is beautiful and unobtrusive, but it's so unobtrusive that it's easy to tune out. I actually forgot about it a few times until asked what I was listening to. I think this is a good thing, but it also makes the music less memorable. I had to pull up the soundtrack (I bought the bundle) to jog my memory on it. It's beautiful and understated... but also easily forgotten. The remaining sound effects aren't terrible, it's mostly just sounds you would expect from a computer, or maybe a futuristic computer. (6/10)
Story... oh boy. This is a visual novel, so story is the most important component of the game, and Analogue delivered, particularly with the five distinct endings. Analogue: A Hate Story is called a "hate story" for a reason. I had a range of emotions from pity for some of the characters, to disgust, to annoyance. Watching how choices made to both AIs could influence the ending and ultimately digging out the "secret" ending where
was an interesting and engaging process, and I kind of wanted a little more of these characters, particularly *Hyun-ae, although *Mute has her moments too. After finally finishing the game, I saw that an actual sequel, Hate Plus, was released sometime over the decade it took me to play the game, and I'm hoping to play that eventually. (9/10)
That's the gift of a good writer or game developer, isn't it? Your audience is hooked and wants more, even after the story is complete. I'm now keeping an eye on Love Conquers All and have softened my attitude toward visual novels in general. Christine Love and her company are worth a watch, and I'm okay forking over my hard-earned cash occasionally for a well-crafted experience. I checked my receipt in Steam. I would pay $12.99 for this bundle again. I could break down the cost/entertainment ratio for you, but suffice it to say a couple bucks an hour for 6-8 hours of entertainment is worth it to me. (8/10)
As a side note: achievements are a mess, but were not originally present in the game. Sometimes you'll fulfill the requirements for an achievement, but it won't pop until you start the game the next time. Keep this in mind if you're after a 100% completion of achievements.
4.0