A virtual tale of love that goes beyond the binary.
This is the first review I’ve ever written so let’s see how this goes. The game is Digital: A Love Story, a freeware indie game by Christine Love.
Digital: A Love Story is exactly what it says in the title, a love story. It is a love story that seems so simplistic yet is much more complicated than the binary that is digital. It features a simplistic art style reminiscent of a computer of the 1980′s. Even the game play follows as such, requiring you to connect to BBSes through phone lines, complete with dialing through the modem. It’s not to complex to play. It isn’t very long either. I completed Digital in about an hour and a half.
The main selling point of this game, however, is the story. I can’t go too deep into it without spoiling it, but the gist of it is that your father has just purchased you and Amie Workbench in 1988. The story takes place through the various BBSes that you will explore and the messages between you and other users. You interact with them, read their replies and make connections.
One of the most interesting aspects of the game is that you never see what your messages are. You can see the other user’s replies, and then it’s up to you to infer what was in your message. I found this to be a very interesting way of story telling and I love it. It gives a sense of immersion that cannot really be found in most modern video games. This game is proof that great story telling doesn’t need good graphics or good game play, it just needs a great writer with a great idea. This simplicity is what makes Digital so unique.
Another thing that was done wonderfully was the selection of music. When you start this game, you are greeted with The Stars Come Out by Brother Android. I don’t know how to explain it but hearing this song when starting for the first time gave me a sense of peace and made me love this game all the more. I guess it’s something you’ll have to experience for yourself. The other songs change about as you enter each BBS, one especially creepy, but that requires a certain flag to have been completed to hear.
I would recommend that anyone who has not yet played Digital: A Love Story to do so right now for it is a wonderful game, with an emotional story that takes place in a time that some of us can’t relate to because we were born beyond this era of computers. But because of Love’s work, we get a little peek into that era and see what is truly a love story.
Seriously, play it right now. It’s free. Digital: A Love Story