There is No Game

Game Title: There is No Game: Wrong Dimension
Released: August 6, 2020
Game Length: 5 Hours
Grade: B+

The Beginning

First No Game: A long time ago when Adobe Flash was used by creative artists to make games, one person by the name of Pascal Cammisotto created a short 20-minute interactive experience. He even created a preview on Youtube showing it off. You can still play the Jam Edition or visit any website that still hosts HTML5 games like on CoolMathGames. It was cute, charming, and definitely some out-of-the-box thinking when it came to an engaging story. 

Failed Kickstarter: Unfortunately, there was very little publicity when it came to those who wanted to support a full-fledged game. In 2016, he barely managed to receive 10% of the funds from his Kickstarter Project. The video itself only received 6,000 views at the time. This was a far cry from the 4 million who played the Jam Edition on Steam. Despite the setback, he founded Draw Me a Pixel in 2017 and proceeded to finish the project a few years later.

Development: Although the game came out on Steam, he further made the game available on Android and iOS in December 2020. Surprisingly, he also added the game on Nintendo Switch on April 2021. The two characters you interact with in one of the chapters were made into a spin-off and will release this year as Crushed In Time.  

The Story

Content: The game has 8 chapters that you can choose to start at or continue your current progress at any time. Despite what happens in the game, you will be safe from any consequences that might appear to be real during your playthrough. The last chapter actually gives you two options that can be quickly restarted after the credits roll. Things slowly become more real as you progress through the chapters, learning more about the narrator's motives and even hearing about the failed fundraiser mentioned above. Though, most of your experience openly pokes fun of the problems that come from playing certain game types.

Characters: The first chapter is highly inspired by the original game with a narrator who tries to get you to go away. As time goes by, you will be introduced to other major characters such as glitch that takes you on an adventure through other types of digital media like a television set or phone. Any characters you see or may not see are not directly controlled by you but can be interacted with to a limited extent. This includes a couple of characters in a classic point-and-click adventure game and a silent character similar to Link in the Zelda games. 

Interactions: You will never need to use a keyboard or controller since everything is directly tied to what you click on the screen. The narrator will very distinctly provide you hints in his dialogue to what you need to be doing, but there is a help system with a number of hints that is a great help in figuring out even the simplest steps. Since the game saves, you can potentially quit at any time without any repercussions. There are a number of tools that you can use by breaking apart the interface to help solve the puzzles in front of you. 

Summary

Review: There is a bit of Stanley Parable charm when you first encounter the opposition from the narrator. This gradually morphs into an interesting story when things quickly get out of hand. You meet a number of characters in a bunch of wacky scenarios that make a mockery of point-and-click adventure games, idle games, and free-to-play games. With such an extensive help system, there is never a time you need to glance over at a walkthrough or wiki guide when you are stuck. The voice acting is pretty decent and there is even a fun rhythm section when people start singing. If you are looking for something unusual and weird, this might be a game you may want to try out.