Deep Pixel Melancholy
A unique Visual Novel demo that works on every level for me!
I realised as I was gathering my thoughts that I wanted to describe what I have played of Deep Pixel Melancholy as dystopic. When I pondered on that for only a few seconds, I realised that actually, there is nothing dystopic about it. The game is just portraying everyday life for millions of people on the planet. We go to the job that we don’t want to go to to pay the bills that we have to pay to survive, while worrying about losing the job that we don’t even want in the first place, because we need it to survive. Of course this isn’t the case for everyone in the world. If you don’t relate on some level then I am genuinely so happy for you, but it is undeniable that this is a universal experience across countries and continents for many, and a sad but real part of the human experience.
A concern that I often have trying games with these kind of themes and atmosphere is that there is a thin line between bleak, and straight up, for lack of a better term, misery porn. Sometimes this kind of fiction, depending on the way it is written, makes me want to put it down immediately and play something else. But Deep Pixel Melancholy so far runs the line perfectly. I related to my characters thoughts, feelings and actions without ever feeling irritated or ever getting that ‘too real’ feeling that makes me run away.
The pacing and prose make the story easily digestible. I am grateful for the bite-size, snappy sentances when dealing not only with a heavy world but a heavy mind. The game is written with present tense narration, guiding you as the player on what to do next, which you do by clicking on the stylised scene that you are in. You can also explore the scenes via descriptions and observations that you hover over. Each day they build on another which is another way that the game immersed me quickly. It is a subtle but true fact that my thoughts, even on a particular object, change each day depending on all sorts of internal and external factors and I loved seeing that represented.
Deep Pixel Melancholy has a gorgeously cohesive style, it presents just enough of a mystery to get its hooks in, and it has a relatable realness that I couldn’t help but want to see more. An immediate wishlist for me!
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