Разработчик: Woodsy Studio
Описание
One of the hallmarks of the traditional visual novel is a branching story line. This is typically accomplished via choices forced on the player. In some of the most complex visual novels, there are dozens of these choices and multiple endings. I call Quantum Conscience "experimental" because it seeks to do away with these choices. Outside of the very first few minutes of the game, in which the player chooses to be a male or female protagonist and answers some questions about their background, there are no forced choices. Rather, the player character--a soldier in the far-flung future--is given the power to, at any time, read the minds of the other characters.
How often Blaire, your protagonist, uses this power is entirely up to the player. Starting from the middle of chapter one, it is almost always available, and the only way the player interacts with the story. The consequences of the knowledge Blaire gains (or doesn't) changes how Blaire acts and how other characters react to Blaire.
Поддерживаемые языки: english
Системные требования
Windows
- OS *: Windows XP
- Processor: 1Ghz
- Memory: 512 MB RAM
- Graphics: DirectX or OpenGL compatible card
- Storage: 500 MB available space
Mac
- OS: Mac OS 10.4
- Processor: 1Ghz
- Memory: 512 MB RAM
- Storage: 500 MB available space
Linux
- Processor: 1Ghz
- Memory: 512 MB RAM
- Storage: 500 MB available space
Отзывы пользователей
excellent game with an awesome story and amazing mechanics. 10/10
In progress review.
My reviews focus on accessibility and inclusion, any criticisms are made with improvement or learning in mind. :)
I've finished 2 of 4 routes, and got a non-romantic end (probably because I couldn't figure out how to romance anyone).
For some reason I unlocked a bunch of romance CGs for the character I was least interested in, some of which I didn't even see in my playthrough. Although I did get a random non-graphic s*x scene with them just out of nowhere. Very odd.
Accessibility
+Press V for self-voicing (Screen reader / text to voice function)
+Limited flashing lights (any flashing isn't very bright, is very short too).
+Colour contrast for speech text is decent,
-but it's terrible in the menus (grey text on grey background!)
-Contrast for buttons is really, really bad. There should be a highlight but it's inconsistent within the game;
aka if you want to highlight speaking to Shadow, the button goes brighter, but for every other option, it gets darker, making it unclear what you're 'pressing'. In the accessibility settings, it's just so hard to see and I think you get a dark shadow around the box you're highlighting which blends into the dark background, so... doesn't make anything clear!)
-There's no voice acting in this game, so that can be valuable.
- I couldn't find font options which RenPy games usually have.
Inclusivity
+Binary sex options, not linked to gender, and your character isn't subjected to gender stereotypes or roles as far as I can see. So it doesn't really remove the ability to headcanon your MC as non-binary if you like.
+Romances aren't determined by your sex either; bi 1 get 4 routes free!
+Characters are all varying shades of grey which does imply how light/dark skinned they are but avoids overtly ethnically casting them. It's a nice touch, but there's definitely 2 darker skinned main characters, if that counts as representation.
-No disabled characters.
~Body types are a moderately varied, everyone is thin or toned/muscular.
Not entirely sure how the romance works in this game, but the game is satisfying without really pursuing any romance routes, which is rare to find. The mind-reading element of the game is really unique and interesting to explore. I was surprised how much I relied on it! Woops!
I wish the 2 alerts (exclamation marks on the side) that indicate if your dialogue is related to missed information, partial information, or gleened information, were colour coded. They're all white and it's hard to differentiate them when it flashes temporarily. At one point the exclamation mark shows up BEHIND a character so there's no way to know what it was telling me. Seemed pointlessly distracting in situations like that, and colour coding would have made it more practical and more accessible for folks with visual issues.
As it's not that important to gameplay, it's not a huge issue, but it could be made more accessible.
Please share in the comments if I've missed any accessibility points, or made a mistake :)
Quantum Conscience is a bit of a strange one. It is a scifi story revolving around a mind reading ability given to the protagonist. Where most visual novels have a story that branches based on discrete dialogue choices, QC instead branches based on how much information you choose to pull from characters using the mind reading ability. The art style is nearly monochromatic, but the shades of grey fit the moral ambiguity of the story and the bleak settings so I like it.
Play it.
You will like the music.
You will like the art.
Quality IS NOT subjective here.
Absolutely loved the mind reading mechanic. But whether to read or not read someone's mind is the only choice you have to make outside of exactly one other choice about 80% through.
I didn't find the romantic options very satisfying but, eh. Had a good time, don't regret the small amount of cash I spent.
I loved loved loved this game. It was pretty hard to find on Steam, though, needs a better visibility!
Your MC can be either male or female and there are 4 possible romances you can do as either gender (2 male, 2 female).
You can choose two personality traits for your character that affect the story / romances.
The story is great, the characters are very interesting, the futuristic fantasy setting is unique and the mind reading mechanic is pure genius. Loved everything about it.
As a side note, you can get all achievements as only your chosen gender, you don't need to play as both unless you want to unlock the ingame CGs for both (which don't count for Steam achis).
I'm on the border of recommended and not recommended for this one.... The story is okay, and the main mechanic of this game is quite unique. The main mechanic (mind reading) do actually allow you to do good or do bad according to your own choices (maybe sometimes unintentionally).
That being said, the graphics is really not okay for me. This visual novel only have several background images, which are mostly pretty bad or unclear. The character figures are kind of okay. The pacing of the story is pretty fast, but maybe a little bit too straightforward...
This game is different from most visual novels I've played before. The choices you make depend on whether you choose to read someone's mind instead of selecting options that lead to different paths. You're encouraged to use the mind reading tool but punished for it when over-using it. Which is a shame because reading other's thoughts was the most enjoyable part of this game.
I'll also compliment the artstyle and music. Especially the vivid yet vague backgrounds were unique and intriguing to look at. And I have to give credit to whomever designed Blaire for not making the female version feminine. Both options look the same aside from their anatomy. The music was exciting and fit the game perfectly.
The linear nature in which the story is told is a bit frustrating as you have no control over it and it plays out almost the same every time. But there are enough differences to make a second playthrough interesting. The price is fair for the content you get so I recommend this game.
Woodsy Studio's stuff is, for the record, always excellent.
Short summary: A solid SF VN with an interesting mechanic.
At first I didn't see how 'reading minds' was different than regular dialogue choices or anything, but the difference, though subtle, is powerful. Instead of a clunky full-stop in a regular VN with a pop-up of some choice or other, say 'Go Left'/'Go Right', you can AT ANY MOMENT choose to read the people around you. You might pick up garbage, or you might stumble across a serious secret the person had a good reason to keep from you. Or you might just pick up something that could save your life. The knowledge gleaned will change the way the protag reacts, and it will change the way people react to him/her and so on in a very organic (usually) way. It allows the protag powerful conversational tools IF he chooses to violate the privacy of his friends and colleagues in a way the game stresses many times is actually very intrusive and potentially dangerous for the MC, his friends and the cause he believes in. Loose lips might sink ships, but that's nothing compared to what an inappropriate mind scan at the wrong place and time can do.
The SF part is good, though it could stand some fleshing out (played 3 times and still can't quite figure out how ISN power structure works and if FOE is a black ops cell, a rebel faction loosely funded and never acknowledged by authority, some third party power or what.)
But the part that really shines is that mind reading mechanic (though bloody hell is it clunky to use from a gameplay aspect).... Just from this mechanic and the story alone, I had quite a few moments of revelations, both from the story point of view, and personal too. For instance, what I have discovered about myself is that if I were given the power to invade the most private thoughts of my peers and loved ones, I would ABUSE THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS out of it. I am not proud. But it's horribly tempting to cut through people's bullshit and just LOOK at what they're thinking... oh man, nobody ever tinker with my genes, please, I would turn into a mind-reading psychopath in the blink of an eye...
---THIS REVIEW DOES NOT CONTAIN ANY SPOILERS AT ALL---
Quantum Conscience is an interesting visual novel with a twist. It gives the reader the chance to read minds of different characters throughout the game and develop different relationships depending on how you use your gift.
The story in itself was pretty decent. Long story short: A guy gets kidnapped, he learned that his society was corrupted, he joined a rebellion, he developed the gift of mindreading, he uses the gift for either good or evil. It isn't the best story but it isn't bad either.
Story: 6/10
The background is another story though. There are very few backgrounds throughout the game which is bad in itself according to me, but all of them legit looks like someone scribbled a little on a paper and then just didn't care anymore. You can't even make out what the background are supposed to be, even with the text describing the background.
Background: 1/10
The characters all have been made pretty decent according to me. They all have some kind of personality that reacts realistically depending on the situation. The character artwork was definitely better than the background but it's not good.
Characters: 7/10
Unlike most Visual Novels, your choices doesn't appear as text boxes, but when you read the minds of other characters and when you do not. These choices might also result in significant changes in the story.
If this is your first time reading a Visual Novel, I would suggest you to not start with reading this one as it might give you a bad first impression of them. Instead, start with one of the masterpieces like the Danganronpa or Zero Escape series (assuming you don't feel like anime artwork is a problem). I would only recommend this novel to someone who have read many different VN before and wanted to read something a bit different.
Game overall: 5/10
Okay, I'd like to start with saying that I absolutely LOVE Woodsy Studios. That being said, this game is really not worth the full price. If this is your first Woodsy Studios game, PLEASE DON'T JUDGE THEM BASED OFF OF THIS. This was their first game, and that fact is made evident throughout the gameplay.
I actually couldn't bring myself to finish this game because I lost interest.
This review is purely my opinion, but I reccommend buying it at a reduced price if you choose to buy it for yourself.
PROS:
.Nice soundtrack
.Variety of characters
.Good overall plan to differentiate it from similar games
.Choose whether MC is male or female
CONS:
.Atrocious illustrations (but you can adjust to them as you play)
.Unrelatable characters/character ambitions not explained or given motive, just emotionlessly change opinions
.Differences in dialogue dependent on when you choose to look into people's minds - as good as this feature could've been, the MC sometimes acts rude or erratic depending on what they've read in people's minds, and give away what they've learnt through mind reading; but all the other characters remain aloof, even though there's no way the MC should know half of what they do.
.Only character I actually liked was not in it much and ended up amounting to nothing (yes i'm salty)
.Poorly executed idea, with characters who change frequently and without an obvious reason to
.Boring dialogue (I ended up clicking through a lot of it, which is something I usually try to avoid because I love visual novels)
.Very detailed - I know this is not usually a con, but I sometimes find it is when stories are written too intricately. As someone with a short attention span, despite the visuals, I still got fidgety. A lot of plot points were explained in an elongated way when there was no need.
I usually replay games to earn the achievements, but this is a game that I most likely will not replay.
If you want to play Woodsy Studios' more recent games, play Serafina's Crown (which is a bit slow paced at the very beginning, but you can skip through without missing much) and Echoes of the Fey (which is amazing and ongoing so get into it now so you can brag to your friends that you played it before them)
Kitty robots, queer characters, people of color, and mind-machine interfacing -- what's not to like?
Kudos for being able to choose the gender of the protagonist; although, it would've been even better if there was a non-binary option.
I really liked the mind-reading stuff through "the Void" because, as unethical as it may be, reading minds is a superpower I wish I had. I think most people wish they had that power at some point in their lives, if not several times in their lives. It's neat the way using that power can affect outcomes so easily.
There were romance options, men and women. However, they seemed rather secondary to the story, which is fine. Sometimes romance isn't a person's cup of a tea. So, a person who isn't looking for romance in their story could probably still enjoy this game if they like sci-fi themes.
I highly recommend this VN for its unique gameplay and interesting story.
Quantum Conscience is a fun visual novel with a bit of a twist – rather than making direct choices, you choose whether to read someone's mind, and then your character acts according to the information they have (or their emotional reaction to the information). It's a nice variation, and the fact that not reading thoughts is the default means it's on the player to choose to invade others' privacy (whatever your intentions). The game is short enough for the mechanic not to outstay its welcome, and there's plenty of variations within the endings to make for fun replays.
Quantum Conscience is a really nice sci-fi visual novell with lot of philosophical and moral dilemmas. Our main hero\heroine (the choice is yours) who was the powerful individual on their home planet Teballai once, now a merely soldier of FOE (Freedom Organization of Elites), who fight to overtrown a tyranny on the their home planet. We aren't alone at this duty and have few allies (or they prefer to be seen as allies) with their own agendas, ideas and thoughts about everything. And about your ability to read minds, and about the future of Teballai too so chose carefully.
You should also know, that game doesn't have a usual "choice menu", all your decisions wrapped with your ability to read minds (or rather - with how often you use it), your previous choices and relationship with your teeam-mates. These things determine the ending you'll got.
I don't want to spoil the story for you, but it's really good. It tells about politics, about freedom, corruption, about trust and betrayal, love and freindship and most at all - about the famous dilemma: Does the end really justifies any means?
And it's the main question, which you and Blaire must answer to yourself.
Disappointing... The Serafina games I very much enjoyed. But this game was annoying, Not very pretty, not many choices to make and also downright boring at times. They can't all be homeruns I guess...
An excellently-crafted visual novel that deserves far, far more attention than it's had. Top-notch.
A really interesting visual novel with a unique spin on making choices. Rather than selecting choices from a menu, you decide when and how often to make use of an interesting mechanic in which the main character can read the minds of those around him. What he/she learns or doesn't learn dictates how he reacts to different situations. It's a nice change from the usual modus operandi of visual novels.
The story's themes are rather existential and interesting, framed in a somewhat typical science fiction setting. The art is rather hit or miss, with some of it being really beautiful and other aspects being rather poor. Personally, I was a little creeped out by the way smiles were drawn on the characters.
Overall, it's an excellent entry into the visual novel genre. Somewhat short, but with excellent replay value. I'd definitely recommend it for anyone who enjoys a good story and is intrigued by the concept of personal mental privacy.
Дополнительная информация
| Разработчик | Woodsy Studio |
| Платформы | Windows, Mac, Linux |
| Ограничение возраста | Нет |
| Дата релиза | 21.01.2025 |
| Отзывы пользователей | 76% положительных (17) |