What I'm most excited about after setting up my PC: this.
I'm always really into single creator based games, even if they are not good they are usually interesting. Think Will the Wonderful World, unpolished but so refreshing. I was hoping for this to come to Switch but sounded like the creator was too physically unwell to commit to that.
I don't even like dating games but I'll make exceptions.
Folks it's good so far yo. As in, I have not enjoyed games like this for a while kind of good. Of course it's early and it may change, but can I just strongly recommend it. I can't say much because spoilers, which I will go indepth in CW for. Let's just say the best of Japanese humour and Australian humour being mixed together, I didn't know it's possible.
It's released in 2020, the premise is a spaceship needed its crew to play a death game, specifically because the ship AI threw a flip out and decided the most efficient way to resource manage is to get rid of a few staff.
In 2025 it's ... making me uneasy about how prophetic it is.
Hey. Hey hey hey. Quantum Suicide is the game I've been waiting for for more than a decade. I know it's directly inspired by 999, but also there are lots of Danganronpa, Raging Loop, Gnosia, Shibuya 428, and AI the Somnium feel to it. In fact I'd say it's a much much better game than the second AI the Somnium: Nirvana. I'm so amazed that it's not a bigger cult hit: the writer knew what itches need scratching and she's hella good at it (so far). That, and seems like VN in Australia just kind don't interact with rest of the indie dev people at all? Between this and Corpse Factory (not even that good of a game, but), you'd think events like Freeplay would be all over it. Also, it's good. So far.
I was worried it's too romance centric, but it's really mostly a parallel universe battle royale game that, at 25% mark, I'd be surprised if it becomes unbearable. It certainly didn't left me feeling super gross in a really bad way like Slay the Princess did.
The setting almost got a bit forced-birth, but it's done in such a way that it doesn't feel violating. The contract of being on this spaceship is they must reproduce, in the same way that I'd imagine if you signed up as a firefighter you expect part of your work is exposure to smoke. So I'm cool with that.
Yeaaaah it got too romance centric.
I feel ridiculous complaining about this, it's like complaining that a cheesecake has dairy in it and I'm lactose intolerance.
But also, it's not the fault of Quantum Suicide or cheesecakes. It's the fault of the overall climate where other than romance and dairy, the only choice left over is starvation.
Ok the funniest moment so far is actually Vladmir's execution. He was sentenced to self poison with ethanol, and him a Russian commented on he found how Australians drink terrifying.
Which wouldn't be so funny if I haven't had Russians literally telling me this identical thing.
Um. It's naming Musk Industries as a one of the space program funders who may also be the villain?
Released in 2019?
I... Don't know if this is intentionally pointing toward the one we are all thinking now.
Yeah so the final puzzle is quite terrible. In a "guess what I'm thinking" way, it just ended up as a guide dammit because how poorly thought out it was and it's infuriating. Solidly dragged down the game by a lot.
It tells you vaguely that you need a passcode.
You get parts of the Latin version of the passcodes via playing all other routes, and hope somehow you can create a phrase (RIP if you are not a native English speaker or of different cultural background).
Then it wants you to translate that phrase into a highly specific English phrase, with specific space bars and even more specific multiples that IDK, probably makes sense to native English speakers. A phrase that there isn't an agreed translation even among English speakers.
And the game don't guide you about any of the above at all. No "this is step one out of two step puzzle". Not even how many steps. Just congrats you've fucked up again.
Basically this is a tutorial on how to not write puzzles.
My ultimate video game power fantasy is I live in a fantasy utopia where other people give a shit about my consent.
I am glad that some of the characters in Quantum Suicide are monosexual and they will explicitly reject protagonist if they are not the gender the characters are into. Quite rightfully too.
I just wish as the player character, I also have that option instead of being wife-zoned or husband-zoned without having any say in the matter. Like I'm an NPC to fictional characters.
Completed Quantum Suicide.
Overall I liked it a lot. Yes it's a Zero Escape inspired game, and if you are trying it from Zero Escape you can expect your mind will be less blown. It felt a little closer in mood to Gnosia than Zero Escape to me (A spaceship full of people finding themselves under the control of a malicious creature, now they all have to play a death game, and jump between parallel universes), and while I personally preferred the narrative of Gnosia more, it's entirely a pasta vs udon situation where I suspect a different person would prefer Quantum Suicide by far mood wise. I can't excuse the final puzzle of Quantum Suicide, it was also the only moment left me thinking this is terrible: which is pretty impressive consider it's all made by one person.
Quantum Suicide:
- The characters are all humans who lived together for their entire life.
- Most of the casts are genuinely quite wholesome. Some of them royally screwed over the Protagonist early on, given the context that the Protagonist is the only new comer and they wanted to protect their lifetime friend from dying, tbh fair.
- Protagonist had to do everything to solve the problem.
Gnosia:
- The characters on the ship are not all homosapiens, and even within the same species there are lots of distinctive cultural differences that they had to work out.
- A lot of characters are kinda obstructive asshats by our standards. Some are actually evil by any standards. Most are not interested in being subjected to the ethical imperialism by a bunch of I'm the Centre of the Universe 2020s gamers. Fair.
- The entire ship was trying to solve the problem while playing a death game. In fact the chronology was the protagonist did their part, got knocked out for half of the game, and woke up with the shipmate telling them thanks for the foundation, we did the rest.
So you can see why I prefer the flavour of Gnosia. I can see why you probably wouldn't.
The only character I genuinely hated in Quantum Suicide is Beatrix the endlessly sexually harassing doctor, because my god she's gross. Kimiko... IDK, I think it's implied that she's involuntarily not well for a very long time.
But also it's a bit otome, which means as players your consent don't matter, because it's otome, so. Don't love it, don't expect better from otome. At least it is really big on that other characters have the right to reject Protagonist and wasn't villainised for it, and that's already better than most otome.
Manic Emo Dream Ghoul