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And I can't stop thinking about it. I've to say this is the first game in a loooong time that's had that effect on me; these days I finish a game and move on, because most games are like fast food. Okay, but not very satisfying overall, or healthy for that matter. The Void is... quite something else entirely.
A lot of people warn that the game isn't fun and, true, there are aspects of it that could've stood some extra polish (filling the hearts with color one by one becomes pretty tedious, especially when you've accumulated over ten hearts) and the first few cycles are fiendishly difficult. I found that later on, though, as I became more comfortable with the system and could plan out my color use, combat against the Brothers is oddly fun. I still haven't pieced the story together, but even what I could understand is strangely complete. It's obtuse but has the marks of being intentionally so; it's not some half-assed thing thrown together at random and then covered up with a pretension of intelligence (ala most modern games/movies). It's actually intelligent, and easily the equal of some of the most literary books I've read. If pressed, I can't even pinpoint why: oh, the writing's excellent (whoever worked on the translation should be so proud of themselves), the art direction is divine, the audio is great and the atmosphere is wonderfully haunting--but there's something about the game that elevates it beyond even all this put together. It's one of the rare pieces of art that have the power to resonate: evocative, powerful, compelling. Yes, I'd have liked the ending movies to be more conclusive and the Sisters more reactive, but what is already there is enough.
It's a gorgeous, gorgeous game. I adore it utterly and thank Ice-Pick Lodge for sharing your vision and giving us the privilege of experiencing this.
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