OneShot Playthrough

[Houseman]

I'm not done with the game yet, but I've gone through the "first" playthrough.

From the beginning, I knew what sort of game it was. I've played Undertale and I'm aware of Pony Island, DDLC, and others. I'm "genre aware". I did go into it blind, and I didn't know what specifically it was going to throw at me, but I was pretty well prepared for it.

I also spoiled myself a bit by rooting around with the game files when I was stuck at the first puzzle. I saw the desktop background where it tells you to click the clover symbol. At that moment, I knew it was going to be a "multi-playthrough" kind of game as well.

As I went through the game, met people, and saw all the loose ends, I was like "yeah, I'll be back, we'll wrap up your story on the next playthrough".

One thing that frustrated me was that I would always find the computer that gives you the hint before finding the puzzle that I would need the hint for. I'd get solutions before finding puzzles, and sometimes I'd solve puzzles out of order. Other things aren't quite as clear as I would like, such as the "base of the tower". I wasn't sure that the room I was in was actually "the base", because it wasn't labeled, not even on the fast-travel list.

Another thing I'm not a fan of is the bonding moments with the characters. I don't really need Niko to explicitly tell me that he misses his mom, or that he likes pancakes. I could understand that by seeing his dreams during the MANDATORY NAP TIMES. Showing, not telling, would be better.

I'm at the part where I see the blue, yellow-eyed prophetbot. I'll continue on Thursday.

 

[Arnox]

Interesting. Keep in mind though, Niko is just a kid. She's going to want to talk about her life and experiences. That's what lots of kids do.

BTW, you need to talk louder or lower the game volume more or something. It's hard to hear you. lol

 

[Houseman]

BTW, you need to talk louder or lower the game volume more or something. It's hard to hear you. lol

Yeah, I did about 30 minutes into it once PointlessKnowledge pointed that out to me in the chat.

 

[Arnox]

Confirmed. Houseman has a heart of ice.

 

[Houseman]

I think my exposure to all those other "boundary-breaking" games ruined the game for me. I knew pretty much what to expect regarding the tricks that the game is capable of playing, and all the story beats were predictable.


There weren't really any choices to make. You just kind of follow along with the plot as it rail-roads you along. You can't actually change anything or affect the outcome. At least in Undertale, you could take (or not take) certain actions that would force you in or out of a certain route, and you need to be on your guard to avoid screwing up your playthrough.


There wasn't really any challenge in this game. The only thing that could be described as such were the puzzles, a surprising amount of which I guessed my way though. After that it was just plot, plot, plot, rush to the ending. I like my games with a little more interactivity than that.


Also, the music in Undertale was way better and more memorable. I can hum several songs from Undertale off the top of my head, but if you had a gun to my head, I don't think I can even reproduce a measure of music from OneShot.


And apparently, there was a flash version of this game, where closing the window would kill Niko, so you had to beat the game "in one shot". Also, before 3/27/2017, there was no NG+, where you actually get the good ending? Interesting.

 

[Arnox]

I think my exposure to all those other "boundary-breaking" games ruined the game for me. I knew pretty much what to expect regarding the tricks that the game is capable of playing, and all the story beats were predictable.


There weren't really any choices to make. You just kind of follow along with the plot as it rail-roads you along. You can't actually change anything or affect the outcome. At least in Undertale, you could take (or not take) certain actions that would force you in or out of a certain route, and you need to be on your guard to avoid screwing up your playthrough.


There wasn't really any challenge in this game. The only thing that could be described as such were the puzzles, a surprising amount of which I guessed my way though. After that it was just plot, plot, plot, rush to the ending. I like my games with a little more interactivity than that.


Also, the music in Undertale was way better and more memorable. I can hum several songs from Undertale off the top of my head, but if you had a gun to my head, I don't think I can even reproduce a measure of music from OneShot.


And apparently, there was a flash version of this game, where closing the window would kill Niko, so you had to beat the game "in one shot". Also, before 3/27/2017, there was no NG+, where you actually get the good ending? Interesting.

The meta elements and the puzzles are actually OneShot's weakest elements even though they're not half bad.

Who cares that the story goes one way only? Why is that an inherent negative? It just is. Are you gonna deduct points from Ocarina of Time because there were no shoehorned in moral choices too? Hell, I'd even go so far as to say Undertale is MORE predictable than OneShot. Bad choice leads to bad evil things and you're a bad person. Good choice leads to good happy things and you're a good person.

Spoiler

Even if you finish the Solstice ending, it's still not really what I would call a true happy ending. Niko is permanently gone. You'll never see her again. The past world is long gone and the world of OneShot will forever remain as it was. And rightly, the developers are not gonna make a sequel, so that is truly it. That is the end, and just as the game says, all this will only be in our memories now. Tell me now how that's a stereotypical happy ending.

And it's fine that Undertale has those endings and those choices. Again, I'm not dissing the game. Undertale is about its world. It's a much more playful humorous feel. Kind of a "what if" game. OneShot on the other hand is about its characters. It's about loss and sacrifice and memories.

 

[Houseman]

Who cares that the story goes one way only? Why is that an inherent negative? It just is. Are you gonna deduct points from Ocarina of Time because there were no shoehorned in moral choices too?

I don't think it's an inherent negative, but in this case it's a negative because there's little else to make up for it. If there's no choices to make, you should at least have some sort of interactivity, whether that takes the form of puzzles to solve, or monsters to battle. Without out any of those things, you just walk from one NPC to the next until the game ends, which is what the second playthrough was. It's a negative because there was nothing to do but walk and talk for the 2nd half of the game.

Hell, I'd even go so far as to say Undertale is MORE predictable than OneShot. Bad choice leads to bad evil things and you're a bad person. Good choice leads to good happy things and you're a good person.

I liked how Undertale did it, because not many games allow you to be THAT evil, where you literally end up destroying the entire world and everyone in it, one creature at a time, until there's nothing left. You can't do that in Skyrim.

Plus there's the whole True Lab thing, where you meet all these twisted abominations that are failed attempts at resurrections. That's in the happy, sunshine, rainbow path, where you make friends with everyone.

Spoiler

Even if you finish the Solstice ending, it's still not really what I would call a true happy ending. Niko is permanently gone. You'll never see her again. The past world is long gone and the world of OneShot will forever remain as it was. And rightly, the developers are not gonna make a sequel, so that is truly it. That is the end, and just as the game says, all this will only be in our memories now. Tell me now how that's a stereotypical happy ending.

Spoiler

Niko goes home, and gets to live a happy cat-boy life. The machine is tamed, and can now work on restoring the world. Seems pretty happy to me.

I'm happy when characters ride off into the sunset, towards a brighter future, and that's what everyone did.

 

[Arnox]

I don't think it's an inherent negative, but in this case it's a negative because there's little else to make up for it. If there's no choices to make, you should at least have some sort of interactivity, whether that takes the form of puzzles to solve, or monsters to battle. Without out any of those things, you just walk from one NPC to the next until the game ends, which is what the second playthrough was. It's a negative because there was nothing to do but walk and talk for the 2nd half of the game.

I liked how Undertale did it, because not many games allow you to be THAT evil, where you literally end up destroying the entire world and everyone in it, one creature at a time, until there's nothing left. You can't do that in Skyrim.

Plus there's the whole True Lab thing, where you meet all these twisted abominations that are failed attempts at resurrections. That's in the happy, sunshine, rainbow path, where you make friends with everyone.

Spoiler

Niko goes home, and gets to live a happy cat-boy life. The machine is tamed, and can now work on restoring the world. Seems pretty happy to me.

I'm happy when characters ride off into the sunset, towards a brighter future, and that's what everyone did.

I actually thought Undertale's "combat" was the worst part of it by far. It put in forced bullet-hell sequences in what was supposed to be a turn-based adventure/RPG. And even then, I guess it would have made sense if you're doing an evil playthrough since the game is actively trying to dissuade you from that path. But it's still annoying and it doesn't make much sense that Pacifist runners have to put up with it too and it actually kept me from completely finishing the game. (I spared Flowey, watched the ending, and then left it at that because I couldn't be arsed to go through more bullet hell sequences.) It also encouraged people to play through the Pacifist ending not because they thought that was the ending they wanted but because the Genocide run was such a pain in the ass. And that's not genuine. It breaks immersion.

People don't remember Undertale for its fun combat. They remember it for its story. And it's the same for OneShot. I'm not gonna remember its meta elements fondly or its puzzles, but I am gonna remember the characters I met and the people I helped or tried to help and I'm gonna remember Niko. That's what's gonna stay with me. Not some game gimmick to pad out the runtime. So when you say that OneShot lacked interactivity, it makes me think that you played through it just to play through it. Not because you wanted a good story or to meet some new interesting characters. I mean, in your playthroughs, I even saw you kind of blowing past dialogue. I thought you just read fast at first, but now I'm wondering if you were just barely reading what was going on. XD

As I said before, OneShot is a game about loss, sacrifice, and memories, but if you didn't connect with the characters at all for whatever reason, then the ending and, really, the point of the whole game is kind of lost. And hey, maybe that's just who you are. But you said yourself, it wasn't a very fulfilling game for you. I'm actually kind of sad that you couldn't experience what I and many many others experienced. No, it's not a tragedy, but it is a potential experience gone. Again not a criticism of you at all. I just kinda hoped you would feel that incredible forlorn bittersweetness that the game conveys so damn well.

 

[Houseman]

it actually kept me from completely finishing the game. (I spared Flowey, watched the ending, and then left it at that because I couldn't be arsed to go through more bullet hell sequences.)

Oh, so that explains it. You haven't experienced the full breadth and width of the game. Undertale requires three playthroughs to see 99% of the content.

People don't remember Undertale for its fun combat.

I dunno, I thought the boss fights were the best parts of the game, especially the few in Genocide mode.

I even saw you kind of blowing past dialogue. I thought you just read fast at first, but now I'm wondering if you were just barely reading what was going on. XD

I did accidentally skip some words, but other than what I accidentally missed, I read through all of it.

As I said before, OneShot is a game about loss, sacrifice, and memories, but if you didn't connect with the characters at all for whatever reason, then the ending and, really, the point of the whole game is kind of lost. And hey, maybe that's just who you are. But you said yourself, it wasn't a very fulfilling game for you. I'm actually kind of sad that you couldn't experience what I and many many others experienced. No, it's not a tragedy, but it is a potential experience gone. Again not a criticism of you at all. I just kinda hoped you would feel that incredible forlorn bittersweetness that the game conveys so damn well.

Maybe it would have been different if I had played it alone, as you originally suggested.

 

[Arnox]

Maybe it would have been different if I had played it alone, as you originally suggested.

You may want to play it again by yourself, but if so, I would wait a little while. And I did see all the Undertale runs through YouTube though.