Return NULL - Episode 1

I'm finding this to be a fun story the artwork is beautiful kinda like bladerunnerish feel with the folors I love the style easy to read only goes to the next sequence if you click to continue. If you like a really good story this is it. I'm glad there is no voice acting causer then i can make my own voices for the characters when reading it. Most of the negative feed back seem tobe from lazy gamers that dont like to read or enjoy looking at the artwork. if your a leisure person like me that enjoys reading and acting as the characters youll love this if you like bladerunner or neocab you'll love this

Nothing you know is real.

Story:

You play as Jack Drebin. In the future, the downtown area of the city is turned into a prison and as Jack you're a member of the local security force. However one faithful day, your pregnant wife is killed in an explosion by a terrorist group. While losing control of your life and losing your job you're contacted by the same terrorist group that killed your wife and it they reveal that nothing is as it seems.

The story set up of Return NULL is pretty interesting and the story for the most part is pretty engaging and what's here on display is fine even though it does have some shoddy writing from time to time. However there is one big glaring issue with the entire experience and that is the fact that the game has been abandoned. The game is supposed to be a trilogy and Chapter 2 is the last piece of content that released for the game and it ends on a massive cliffhanger which is never going to be resolved.

Graphics:

Return NULL is best described as a motion comic and I use the word motion very lightly as it's more like watching still pictures and they change up the environments once in a while. The overall art style is decent, although very rough around the edges as the world feels like it's unfinished and there's not much to the world apart from Neon Lights.

The character portraits are also decent, but feel a bit generic considering this game is going for a bit of a cyberpunk feel and yet everyone feels like generic main character with no real distinction. I think the biggest problem is that there's not much here in terms of a visual design.

Audio:

There's also not much in terms of audio design here either. The game is mostly mute as there's no voice acting, no sound effects nothing. There is music and that's about all the sound you get while playing which isn't particularly all to good either. I'm pretty certain all the music is stock and while they definitely could have picked much worse music to go along with the game, what's here isn't that great either.

Gameplay:

Return NULL is basically a point and click adventure game, where you click around your environments, pick up items and solve puzzles. There's really nothing special about Return NULL, it's a really basic and by the numbers adventure game and the gameplay is definitely not the saving grace.

The puzzle design is usually what makes or breaks most adventure games and it's sad to say that it's not the saving grace of Return Null. Puzzles are usually either really simple or rather annoying purely because the actual pointing and clicking which is something that is hard to mess up (yet somehow happens frequently) is incredibly annoying.

I don't think there's any puzzles here that are head scratching as it's simple enough on the surface, but there are moments where it's not clear where you need to get the item from. In one of the puzzles in Chapter 2 I couldn't find a particular item and had to scan with my mouse on locations I have missed, which is was probably the hardest moment in the game.

Verdict:

Return NULL is a game where the story carries everything and even that was left unfinished. I really can't recommend this game as what's here on display is a rather mediocre adventure game with an semi-engaging story that is never going to be finished. If you're really curious grab it on sale only.

Final Rating:
5/10

Pros:
+ Story is pretty engaging
+ Gameplay works fine

Cons:
- Audio design is non-existent, apart from stock sounding music
- Story ends on a massive cliffhanger and the developers abandoned it
- Art style looks rather cheap
- Puzzle design is rather weak

If you liked this review please consider joining https://steamcommunity.com/groups/completingthebacklog and https://steamcommunity.com/groups/ImperialReviews

A mediocre game that has been abonded and left without an ending. Dont waste your time.

1. The story overall is interesting enough, but left unfinished.
2. Gameplay itself is solid enough for what it is, but click to shoot is clunky.
3. Art is pretty good, but only in episode 1. I feel like Episode 2 (DLC) is a downgrade.

Due to the unfinished state of the story I really can't recommend.

For me Return NULL is not a point-and-click adventure, it is more a small interactive story. I really like the dystopical look and the comic book art style. Episode 1 & 2 are quite short and the story remains relatively flat, but I still found it exciting and would have liked to see more of it. Unfortunately it doesn't look like there will ever be a third, final episode...

Episode 1 is free to play, so everyone can easily take a look at the game. I recommend Episode 2 for everyone who can live with the fact that the story has no conclusion, but because of the short playing time I would rather buy it in a sale if possible.

Not bad, story was interesting and the art was pretty good. Short though, finished it in like 20 minutes.

However this is part one of a trilogy that has been abandoned, there is an episode 2 but it ends on a cliffhanger and there will never be an ending. As of writing the project had been abandoned for 4 years.

This is a short (30-45 min per episode) point-and-click adventure game using comic book art style.

The story is interesting and well thought-out. It's set in a dystopian surveillance society and the main protagonist is a policeman.

The graphics are very low budget. No animation, just static comic book pictures. The music on the other hand is quite good.

At the time of this review only 2 out of 3 episodes have been released.

I need to get a couple of cons out of the way very first:

There are a couple of segments that require you to do a couple of ridiculous things to move the plot forward - things very simple, but made no sense in context, that I got stuck on for 15 minutes at a time. And you'll know exactly what i'm talking about when you get there.

The music just loops over and over again with like 3 or 4 different 20-30 second loops. So it's going to get tiring.

Now with that out of the way, what I can tell you is that this was a very fun, neat, little futuristic sci-fi game. There are two episodes with the 3rd one TBA (Although at this point in time I don't know if it'll ever be made) and each episode will take anywhere from 30min to 1hr max. It's a point and click adventure game, and it tells the story through beautifully drawn anime-esk comic strips. There is no voice acting so you'll have to read everything, but that's ok. It works well.

The story has a couple of "choice branching" options but nothing major or game changing. But it will change dialogue paths slightly.

The story itself revovles around the planet, which is in chaos and is uninhabitable because of a past nuclear war - therefore everybody lives inside of a sealed dome to protect themselves from the outside air/radiation. You have the government who runs the "city" known as the LSF and then the resistance known as the Dissonant Octave.

You join up with the resistance to bring freedom to the world, and end up uncovering a whole lot of conspiracies along the way.

And that ending though, WHAT A TWIST.

All in all It might be worth it at full price if you're really into point and click adventures, but i'd probably wait for a sale at which point it's definitely worth it!

Game isn't as bad as most of the reviews state. It's just a very short text point & click game. If you know that ahead of time going into it you won't be as disappointed. Story has it's perks but isn't too in depth.

Worth the purchase if you can get it under $1 for steam cards and a quick/cheap story.

A somewhat short game, with only a handful of puzzles, it sets up for an interesting plot. Unfortunately, it's characters come across as stilted, and the second episode does little to build up interest.

Game plays like a book.
Artwork is amazing
Excellent world.
Music great

Tutorial could be a LOT better. I am just getting started and things are a little confusing.

Game is quite short, and puzzles are pretty obvious.
Good for someone who is new this kind of game.

Universe and context is cool though.

I know that this point and click game has 3 parts but judging from short length of the first part I know I won't be spending money on the DLC fellow ups of this game. In this game there is a grand total of 13 interactive still screens without any animation whatsoever, 30 clickable/interactive objects, I counted a little more then 100 drawings that are not really terrible but could easily be a lot better. Add to this the fact that the dialogue selection makes no impact on the game itself (you can click anywhere during the dialogue sequences it makes absolutely no difference) and you got yourself a game suffering from lack of content.

The story is also a mess... I seriously question the maturity of the people who made this game. If the developers are kids then it is a great first step into game development.

This is a hard one. The game is nice but short.

First, it looks good. A comic book kind of style with still images that you interact with to progress with the story. Every screen will clearly show the tone and feel of an area.

The story is interesting and I was into it. The problem is that the game comes in two parts (more parts are to come, I assume). You can buy the game for $2 and get the first chapter. It then costs $3 for the next part, which really was a downer for me. It is very cheap which is why my verdict is recommened. $5 isn't a big problem but I wish the game was all together.

And the game is short. You will be stumped in the puzzle given but don't be fooled by my 2 Hours on record. I only finished the story of Chapter one in 45 Minutes. The rest of the time I idled for cards (I assumed I wouldn't need to).

Overall, a good buy at $2 and if it does go on sale, jump at it. I can't confirm if Episode 2 is the same since I don't own it and I don't feel like I should get it. Doesn't seem right.

The game is pretty simplistic, but it's good for what it is (:

Upd.: Enjoyed the second episode even more than the first one)

Thanks,dear developer

8/10 - Interactive Dystopian Comicbook. - Must Buy

This game took a little to get used to but it quickly becomes a favorite! The feel of the game is amazing, fun objectives to complete to advance the story.

The only downside is that the episode is shorter in nature, and it's been almost 6 months since the release. Episode is coming soon though.

This game is worth much more than $2. A must buy!

Accidently Reviewed

Quick review:
This is a low budget but nicely envisaged BEGINNING to a story set in a dystopian future. The art is of a comic book style and reasonably well drawn. There is no animation and no voice acting (I don't find this a big problem) but the plot so far makes me hope that this could turn into an engaging and enjoyable story. The puzzles are traditional point and click style inventory puzzles that are sensible but too easy. You'll get through the chapter in around an hour. I don't feel chapter 1 was worth paying for on its own purely because it is so incredibly short.

More detail:
Return NULL has a few things that are very promising. The writers have created a dystopian future world that is, initially at least, interesting and a main character with some depth and a back story that makes you want to know more. From playing the first episode I really, really hope that this develops into a full blown well written science fiction story.

However the first chapter feels more like a taster than a proper first chapter to a game. It's not even as much as some games offer as a free demo. I think comments about the low budget sound and visuals are a little unfair given the cost of the game but if the developers want us to believe that this is a story worth hearing, they should have given us a a bit more detail. This could have been in the form of more characters to interact with, a few more locations to explore, or a few more puzzles.

I really hope that when the developers get the funds they will make a more substantial chapter 2 but I'm not holding my breath.

Got this for 3 dollars. This is a point-and-click adventure game with comic book graphics. The theme (as usual) is murder mystery and conspiracy crime-fighting. The setting is a post-apocalyptic dystopian dome city.

For some reason the style reminds me of the Korean manga City of Dead Sorcerer.

Anyway, nothing schocking here, but it's worth the $3 if you like the genre.

Review on finished game (this episode). This game needs serious polishing, there are no voiceovers and I had to mute all sound due to the annoying background music. The description sounds great but ingame there isn't enough story setup. It is a short game, with about 20mins of me trying to figure out the last action sequence, which in fact ended up being simple.

The cartoon comic strip type gameplay, clicking on it to forward story I like, if the story was better fleshed out and written, more to do and a lot longer I would recommend it but even at $2.99 I didn't think it was worth it, and the first chapter of reversion is free point and click adventure and far better than this game. Premise is there and I do like the story, with a bit of tweaking and a LOT more gameplay and length maybe the next chapters will be worth it.

edit - Gameplay was just over an hour, cards have been added since hence the length.

Calling this a point and click adventure is stretching it a little bit. It is more like a choose your own adventure book. Theres very little interaction, your character is just drawn as part of the background. The writing is fan-fiction quality, maybe its better in german. The "gameplay" consists of clicking on 3-5 items in each room, which are drawn as part of the background, and choosing whether to look at them (which gives a 1 line description of the object), pick them up (or move to another room), or use an item. Theres no options menu, which is annoying because the game is insanely loud and only runs in fullscreen borderless, and there are no resolution options either.

The only well thought out feature is the "cutscenes", the way theyre presented in comic book style is kind of neat. Too bad theres no game around those.

I wish i could return this, because I dont support the idea of interactive stories being sold as games. It would have taken bare minimum effort to turn this into an actual point and click adventure with the drag-and-drop game making tools available today.