Repentant is a spin-off sequel from Little Kite, the emotional Point & Click adventure released last year. We reviewed the game, and had the pleasure to interview the developer himself, Anatolii Koval.
Little Kite is one of the most emotional games released in the latest years, so we were obviously curious to know more about this new title.
After the events that let Mary and her son Andrew, to move on with their lives, Oliver was lost between himself, wandering the streets, bars, and everywhere he could just push his alcohol addiction even further. But enough is enough, and he now wants to straighten up his life, and although his attempts to get his previous family back are nonexistent, he persists. Mary rejects his phone calls, but Oliver has a hard time moving on, with so many regrets floating around his conscience, blaming him for the past deeds.
This adjutant story, tells us a very specific chapter in Oliver’s life, in fact, might be one of the most important ones, revealing the other side of the coin. Up till now, we had a vision where Oliver, was a violent, drunk and abusing character, this time however, we get to see behind his actions and even some humanity from him. This short but intensive adventure will bring out all sorts of feelings from Oliver, even the ones he never knew he had!
Three years have passed, and Oliver hasn’t forgotten about Mary, and one night, as he walks to a phone booth, to once again hear her voice, his addiction plays tricks on him, even if he was trying to stop drinking. At the store, he witnesses a robbery, as a young woman points the gun at the store owner, demanding money. Oliver manages to stop her, but ends up bringing a whole new issue… One that puts both Oliver, and the girl, Christina, into a living hell, fighting for survival!
This two hour adventure is presented with the same quality as Little Kite, including the design. Hand drawn environments with the trait previously seen, accommodated with the same atmosphere; cold, harsh and distant, a perfect setting for the taking, considering the characters. Although there are only three different areas, each has a detailed design, with the Handmark of the artist himself, depicting objects accurately, but still giving away a comic book style, balancing perfectly the adult themes involved.
Character design evolves within an emotional progression, going deep, deep as far as development goes, each with a tremendous well written narrative behind. Hand drawn such as everything else, this dramatic thrilling Point & Click presents another adult themed game, with violence, predatory behavior, moral afflictions of life and death, and overall blood-related content. It’s cleverly used, as well displayed. The same can be said about the dialogues, being used almost perfectly to describe the story and the whole plot.
Cutscenes are also present, with a fantastic and outstanding artwork, always hand drawings, of course, but with quite the difference in appearance from the entire game. Like with Little Kite cutscenes, these are also designed as they were painted in canvas, in a very affecting and sentimental way, with creativity always first as the main objective. Solitude, pain and sorrow are some of the influences for the cutscenes, kicking in specific times to boost the story or overall re-adjustment of the whole panorama! One cutscene is specific is so well done, only a Triple A game could pull it out, and still probably never accurately hit the right spot… Applying feelings when creating art, either you have them, or you don’t, and clearly Anatolii Koval is a genius when using them!
Just like any traditional Point & Click game, players can walk across multiple areas, observe objects, collect and use them accordingly, to further unlock or create new paths. Mechanically the game resembles the previous title, after all, it uses the same engine and works exactly like one expected to. Shouldn’t be any reason to change, after all, the creator is getting better at it with each release.
Puzzles difficulty range from easy to medium, although tricky, they aren’t as obtuse and dense as in Little Kite, they do, however, prove to be an on-going challenge if one is distracted! Being a considerable shorter game, makes it automatic to have less puzzles, but originality and fun are still there.
Psychological events are already a common reality in games by Anate Studio, and this also includes Oliver's realm of dreams and failed hopes that still persist to haunt his dreams.
Repentant is subjectively an improvement over the previous games released by Anate Studio, particularly when comes to sound. This new title is fully voiced over, as both cutscenes as in-game dialogues. A set of three persons brought the game alive with English voices. Steve Adamson as Oliver, Emil Hagg and Rochelle Chiang as the rest of the cast.
In-game sounds are filled with a fantastic atmospheric soundtrack, creating the perfect vibration between player presence and events, combining the thrilling effects brilliantly.
Repentant doesn’t demand players to have experienced the previous chapter, (even if everyone should at this point), a short story is available for those who already forgot or didn’t manage to grab Little Kite. Instead, Repentant rolls out continuously events that anyone can easily pick up and play, understanding what’s at stake on the plot, without sacrificing their money for the purchase of any previously released game.
Visually appealing and with everything one could want in an adventure game, it's the length that leaves one wondering, when and even if, we’ll ever see another chapter. I personally think this is a closer to the series, and it’s time for Anatolii Koval to move on to greater things. Either way, Repentant touches anyone who dares to try, and it’s a fantastic ending to the story with a spontaneous and touching finale.