#AUGHHHHH THEY KILL MEEEEEEE

[spectrophobias]

continued from x with @hopestanding !

so she had been right. annie usually was, at least when it came to judging people, and something about finnick just struck her as so sad. she couldn't quite put her finger on it yet, she didn't know him well enough for that, but there was something heavy in his heart. it was a little jarring to consider, because she had always been told that victors were the best of the best, the happiest and luckiest of them all. she guessed it must have taken a toll on you, living a life after all of the other tributes were gone.

it didn't matter now. whatever struggles a victor might face, annie would never know. all of the career training in the world couldn't have made a winner out of her, and she was sure most of her past tutors had well enough figured it out. she had never been one of the top students, that was for sure. she wondered how long it would take her new mentor to realize he had been stuck with a dud. the tributes from four usually had at least somewhat of a fighting chance, but even as one of the older kids this year, she didn't think she stood much of a chance. she was small and sneaky, which worked to some people's advantage, but it was rarely a strategy that won it all. she didn't think she had the smarts to pull something like that off fully or the brute strength to fight her way through.

she would rather keep talking about finnick. she didn't want to face the idea that even after a lifetime of her parents pushing her to train, it didn't matter. nothing mattered now, except that annie was going to die and that they were both so very sad. it would have been easier to keep picking at his wounds than her own, whatever they may have been.

but then the mask was back up, and she knew that he wasn't going to let her in. she knew better than to pester him about it, not wanting to start off on the wrong foot with the one person who was supposed to be keeping her alive. l

"i'm a good judge of character. i'll know who to trust." with the way her eyes met his, it was clear that annie thought this also extended to him. finnick didn't seem so awful up close, he was just another teenager instead of the preening peacock he was during celebrations. annie wondered if that was a part of winning, painting on a face for the public and then never really taking it off. annie had never been good at things like that, had never pretended to be anything but exactly what she was. she was just going to have to follow in finnick's lead, as hopeless as things felt. she didn't want to be one of his sorrows. taking a deep breath, she stayed hovering in the center of the room, feeling a little too restless to sit. "i can weave. i can hide, move quietly. i can survive even on my own, whatever environment they put us in. those are my strengths. i think-- well, i guess i think my weaknesses are everything else. once i get cornered, that's it. i can't take on the types of guys who win these things... they're going to rip me apart. it's not your fault, it's just how it is."

[thatyanderecritic]

NoStranger

Title: NoStranger

Media: App Game. Made by Matthew O’Connell and Scott Mulligan

Yandere(s): Adam

Yandere Scale: 1/5

Criticism written by: Kai

Editor: Julie

Review:

Hey there, everyone. It’s been a while since we last had a proper review on this blog. With everything that’s been going on, things have been a little crazy, but in-between moments, I have been playing some mobile games. I enjoy a good ol’ text-based adventure game, but one day, the app store recommended this particular app… NoStranger. I wasn’t expecting much, but surprisingly, the game grew on me, but most of all, I came to love the surprise yandere: Adam. Let’s get into the review…

NoStranger is a game reminiscent of games such as Her Story and Simulacra. It’s a blend of found footage style gameplay and ARG where you solve puzzles by going to various websites and social media accounts while talking with a “stranger” and connected the story. Admittedly, NoStranger is an outdated game. It was made about three years ago, and it shows based on the writing, obsolete app functions, and the ancient blog posts you use to solve puzzles. But, for what it was, it’s still good as a staple for being ahead of its time.

The story is rather straightforward. You, the player, one day downloaded a chatting app and get connected to a stranger who goes by the name Adam. The two of you spend a lot of time chatting and solving Adam’s puzzles. He enlisted your help in finding specific individuals to research for his “book.” In the end, you find out that he’s been killing these people because he believed they got in the way between him and his ex-girlfriend, Pepper. In the end, Pepper finds out and commits suicide. Following suit, Adam gives you one final good-bye and kills himself.

Well… that’s what I gathered while playing. The “actual” story is somewhat interpretive, but this story seems to be the common consensus for the players. I see it, and that this was what the authors were most likely implying, but to me, it seemed like a forced narrative when I look to the build-up and final conclusion. Overall, Adam was a normal and down to earth character while certain parts of the story went… weird. Like it took me away from my suspension of disbelief to make me scratch my head and wonder what the authors were thinking when writing certain parts. It felt somewhat out of the blue, thus why I say the writing is dated. In the end, the whole stalking and killing narrative seems kind of rushed and out of the blue. Okay, okay, not “totally” out of the blue. There were little hints here and there that it wasn’t a book study and that he still clings on to his ex. But again, it feels very reasonable and a different narrative, such as helping Adam… like genuine help, not an “accessory to crime” help.

I’ll be frank, Adam charmed the socks off me. Right from the start, Adam began talking about morality and the meaning of life. I ate that shit up, my dudes. It reminds me of the types of talk Julie, and I would often have, which made me fond of him rather quickly. He was a relatable character to me with the things that plagued him. If he was a real person, I might have genuinely fallen in love with him, haha. But it just makes me sad when I see other reviews chalk him up as some “Creepy murderous stalking psychopath.” He was more than that, he was a friend, and he hoped that the player thought him as such too. But unfortunately, I notice a lot of people were too hung up that this is supposed to be a “horror” game. Acting smug going: “OMG Adam is so obviously a creeper. Like who ask people for directions to a hospital or talk about morality. He’s such a bad guy.” I press X for doubt on that smh.

Aughhhhh, I really wish he was real without the authors pushing a narrative. I can imagine all the fun late-night talks about life and death or solving his puzzles.  At the end of the game, I had the silly thought crossing, “Adam, no. You’re the only person besides Julie who fascinates my mind like this. Come back!” Haha.

This certainly was a game that would hit harder to players who have high EQ or suffers from “protagonist syndrome” who believe their moral code should be followed by everyone. But this game had no real effect for a person like me, someone with loose moral code. That is to say… if you plan to play this game after all my gushing, then be wary of a couple of things. The biggest is that it will challenge your idea of morals… well, it’s kind of like “Baby’s first moral conflict,” but if you never experience it before, you may have a hard time getting along with Adam. Next is the puzzles. Most of the puzzles are easy, but some are challenging and timed. If you don’t like puzzles, then you won’t enjoy the puzzles here, haha. Thankfully there is a walkthrough. Admittedly, after the first couple of puzzles, I just began to use the walkthrough because I had more fun picking at Adam’s than the actual game parts. Finally, the wait time. You actually have to wait for periods of time until Adam comes back from whatever he’s doing. I advise using your hints during the massive time waits. I wasted all my hints before the end, and I had to wait for 24 hours. Yikes!

Overall, I give Adam a pity point and use it as an excuse to shine some light on the game, haha. It’s pretty hard to score Adam since we hardly know anything about him, and his interactions are pretty reasonable. The ending was both straightforward and vague, but I have no fucking clue why he even liked this Pepper chick (HE SHOULD HAVE LOVED MEEEEEEE >:U lol jk). As I said, the concluding narrative seems like BS to me, but I guess it’s the thought that counts. It seems like this was the author’s first game.

Do I recommend playing this game? Yes. Play it for the yandere? Not really. Play it to becomes friends with Adam? Yes.

Overall Score: 5/10

(PS. There are points in the game where Adam asks you for information about yourself. Don’t sweat too much. The makers don’t hold any data and Adam doesn’t do anything with it. It’s just for immersion and a cute little ending bonus which I’ll show a screenshot below)