Her Story Reviews
Her Story's deep, dark story makes excellent use of old-school full-motion video.
If you're a fan of the crime genre, whether it's in videogame, television, film or book form, this is definitely a game for you. It's easy to pick up but difficult to put down and will leave you wanting to discuss and analyse it even when you're not playing.
One of the best FMV games ever made, Her Story delivers a tale that all adventure game fans should experience!
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.
Every twist and turn you discover feels like an achievement; like you've just made a major breakthrough in a case that has remained inexplicably unsolved
Her Story is a distinctive indie game with revolutionary gameplay. While it does have a bit of a learning curve at the start, it's incredibly rewarding in how the unpredictable story reveals.
It takes games like Her Story to allow us to step back, realize what innovation and uniqueness actually look like and actually define what special is. This isn't the type of game that will push your reflexes to the brink, but let's be fair, not every game has to do that.
The hand of [Her Story's] developer never intrudes far enough to spoil the basic thrill of solving a narrative puzzle completely on one's own.
Ultimately, above all else, the game comes across as feeling wholly authentic – and that is a word you can attribute to only a small handful of games released in this day and age.
A stunning realisation of what narrative can be
What Sam Barlow has delivered here is an amazingly fresh experience and while from the outside it may seem there's little here to appeal to the hardcore gamer, if you give it a moment, you'll realise just how enthralling being a detective can be.
Her Story is a captivating experiment in stripped down storytelling and the best use of FMV that I've ever had the good fortune to encounter. It's a story that we get to build, and thus, despite the way that it sometimes keeps players at a distance, Her Story becomes Our Story. By obsessing over clips and trying to put them in order, trying to make sense of them all, we become embroiled in the story and can make it fit our own theories. It's unique, singular and will take a long time to stop bouncing around inside my head.
Thoroughly engaging from start to finish, Her Story is a tour de force of interactive storytelling and a murder mystery for the ages.
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.
Don't let the FMV trappings of Her Story fool you; it uses this format as a tool, not a crutch. Sam Barlow's murder mystery uses pre-recorded video to its advantage, giving the experience a gritty, voyeuristic feel that only adds to its sense of intrigue. Simply put, you've never played a detective game like this before.
An atmospheric, captivating crime thriller with an interactive story that unravels differently for every player.
An astounding performance by Viva Seifert, immaculate writing by Sam Barlow and a completely innovative concept cement Her Story as one of the most solid and mesmerising releases this year.
A masterpiece and a game that you must play, because it is that damned important.
In summary, Her Story is likely worth playing if only because it is so profoundly different. When you throw in solid writing, passable acting, and the need for players to reach their own conclusions about what happened, it comes together exceptionally well.
This year has blessed us with many massive, must-play releases. Her Story regally joins the list and is one that we're sure will be discussed for years to come.