Her Story Reviews
You can't ever really know other people, after all. But the empathy and intimacy that Her Story evokes is a reminder that the strides we can make—incomplete and uncertain as they are—can be reward enough.
Sam Barlow's Her Story puts the player in the center of an engrossing crime story like Serial or The Jinx, letting you unravel the video game mystery as you go.
Like the terrific TV miniseries The Staircase that appears to have inspired it, Her Story is less about determining guilt than growing to understand a set of characters. That's more interesting than a guilty or not guilty verdict anyway: a verdict closes the book, while understanding leaves it open for further contemplation. And as a narrative and as a game, Her Story is worthy of much contemplation indeed.
A stunning realisation of what narrative can be
The genius of Her Story is right in its title: every detail and feature of its existence, from the presentation, to the script, to the symbolism of the built-in Reversi mini-game, is included in service to its female lead's story. The end result is probably the most holistic narrative-driven game since The Stanley Parable. If the FMV genre is destined for a renaissance, this game would be a fantastic example for developers to follow.
Being an unconventional indie game, 'Her Story' is like to illicit a strong response. The heavy use of FMV is also like to turn many away, and the interface isn't the friendliest. Fortunately, those that do play the game will find a special experience that easily justifies the price. This is definitely a "have you ever played it" kind of enduring title.
To summarise, the structure of Her Story can very easily lead to a disappointing experience, and by its nature a second playthrough does not solve that. Scoring this game was not easy - based solely on my playthrough, I would have to give it either two or three stars, as it was unsatisfying and I walked away feeling "Was that it....?". On the other hand, had I not stumbled onto the key information so early on, I could easily see myself loving this game and giving it an easy four stars. For that reason, I still recommend checking out Her Story, despite my grievances, but be warded that the experience may be somewhat inconsistent.
One of the best FMV games ever made, Her Story delivers a tale that all adventure game fans should experience!