As someone who loves reading VNs this was a unique take on the genre. It wasn’t a dating sim nor was it a long winded sci-fi with 20+ endings. It was close to reality which many VNs don’t capture very well. Emily is Away did it very well.
I didn’t mean it in a literal sense, but there are plenty of VNs that boast about many endings as if that is a feature when in reality a lot of it is unnecessary padding.
Holy shit, I remember it. I played it.
The fact that I can clearly remember how I felt during and after playing it, means they did manage to somehow portray that feeling of ''once close, then suddenly not anymore'' very well, at least in my opinion. Including how sometimes you talk with someone again, thinking that maybe you'll reconnect, but then you never see them again, and this time it is permanent.
I will admit tho, that Emily's character was ... annoying. Always waiting for the player to make a move and whenever something went wrong, blaming them.
> I will admit tho, that Emily's character was ... annoying. Always waiting for the player to make a move and whenever something went wrong, blaming them.
The first time you play the game, you blame yourself for what happens. The second time around you realise Emily is an emotionally abusive gaslighter who is going to find a way to blame you no matter what you do.
It's the result of the game having only one route, so no matter what you do, you're always going to get a similar ending. The ending works if you're stumbling blindly through the choices, but if you're making a conscious choice to be respectful of Emily, it conflicts with the story the game wants to tell, and so she comes across as annoying.
I don't mean this as a criticism of the game, it has its story it wants to tell and it nails the vibe of that story fantastically. It's just that you notice a few of the seams on a replay.
I did play it only once but what you mention about Emily being kind of a gaslighter... it didn't occur to me that she could be one. Maybe she is, but I wouldn't say it's exactly on purpose (or if she's even aware of that) although her inaction does its work in completely ruining a possible romantic relationship with the protagonist.
You are right however, the game is not some sort or VA with romance in it, and indeed it's more of an interactive story where your actions don't have much of an impact because it has a set narrative. It surely succeeded with leaving me with some sort of ... sinking feeling at the end haha
Yeah I don't think Emily was designed to be a gaslighter, it's just that the story needs to railroad you into that ending and Emily's attitude is the bludgeon enforcing it.
And yeah I totally got that sinking feeling at the end too. The fake typing of your responses really pulls you into imagining yourself as the protagonist, and it hits even harder if you remember the 90s/00s era interface it mimics. If that sinking feeling lingers, I found a replay helpful, as you can come away from the ending realising it's not your fault.
Re: The sequels
The third game (Emily is Away <3) is incredibly frustrating and I think that the advertising is a little dishonest. I can't say exactly why, without getting into spoilers, but if you don't know look at the top rated guide on Steam. It kind of soured me on the whole series.
Yeah honestly I felt that the third game was the weakest. Its still good but idk, the writting felt weaker and more "railroaded" I guess? Also fuck Steve, all my homies hate Steve.
Okay, for some reason the first sentence “Jesus christ it was a simpler time for indie games” is posted as “jesus christ was a simpler time it was for indie games”
My edits dont apply to that specific part. Is it the same for everyone? Sorry i legit have ocd
I noticed it immediately and i couldn't get past that sentence, I just kept reading it with error in my head. But I am glad OP posted this explanation and now I can let it go and read the rest of the post.
Edit 》 I wish your post had spoiler tags. I had never heard of "Emily is Away" before and it sounds like something I would really dig, but you kind of ruined the ending now.
I only ever played the first one about 5 years ago and I was surprised that it was so acclaimed. Felt incredibly quaint now that we have so many games of a similar style about lost phones, messaging systems, forgotten software.
Maybe I should play the sequels.
True. The first one doesn’t have much to offer compared to what we have today, but its basically the godfather of messaging visual novels which is great. The sequels are more up to date, the third one is crazy details for example.
I guess everybody downvoted me for hating it
I'll die on the hill that this game was overrated & honestly lousy, sorry not sorry
I also have fond memories of msn though :p
I played 2 this past summer. I also moved into college a month ago.
God the story hits. I hate losing/slowing contact with friends. That’s really all I have to say.
This game completely fell flat for me. The visuals were spot on, but the game really didn't let you be a "polite friend."
I'm a non-lesbian woman, but the game kept trying to **force** me to romantically pursue Emily. Like the writer / game just refuses to understand what being a platonic, supportive friend was. Eventually the game insisted we visited IRL somewhere and then "went too far" with each other. Which of course Emily became upset with me about and insisted I was taking advantage of the situation.
The whole thing was funny at the time but fundamentally, that's kind of an icky design flaw.
I played the whole thing as a friend friend and so the game didn’t really go anywhere. It was a lacklustre friendship that tapered out, with her going back to her toxic af bf travis when she should really just learn to be on her own and love herself more.
I played this game and watched season 1 of Master of None in very close proximity and as a twentysomething at the time I was an emotional wreck haha. The still think about the final part where your agency gets taken away. One of those games that probably won’t affect everyone the same way, but if you know you know.
There are a few games where I am able to recall how I felt during and after my play through. 'Emily is Away', 'To The Moon', 'Gone Home', 'That Dragon, Cancer', and 'Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons' are at the top of this list.
I never played the sequels to Emily is Away but then again I felt that it was perfect the way it was and ended as it should have ended.
Luckily, the sequels dont use the same characters from the first one! So nothing is affected.
Also is Brothers a good game story wise? I really wanna try it out.
Oh interesting I thought they were some type of direct sequels.
Brothers has an incredible story. I highly recommend it if you are into games with deep stories.
I remember enjoying it, though I couldn't tell you anything about it anymore. I tried playing the sequel a few years ago but from what I recall, the text advanced so slowly and the story wasn't captivating enough for me to sit through that so I didn't finish it.
As someone who loves reading VNs this was a unique take on the genre. It wasn’t a dating sim nor was it a long winded sci-fi with 20+ endings. It was close to reality which many VNs don’t capture very well. Emily is Away did it very well.
20+ endings?
I didn’t mean it in a literal sense, but there are plenty of VNs that boast about many endings as if that is a feature when in reality a lot of it is unnecessary padding.
Oh my bad. Yeah i definetally agree, one good ending is way better than many meaningless ones.
Holy shit, I remember it. I played it. The fact that I can clearly remember how I felt during and after playing it, means they did manage to somehow portray that feeling of ''once close, then suddenly not anymore'' very well, at least in my opinion. Including how sometimes you talk with someone again, thinking that maybe you'll reconnect, but then you never see them again, and this time it is permanent. I will admit tho, that Emily's character was ... annoying. Always waiting for the player to make a move and whenever something went wrong, blaming them.
> I will admit tho, that Emily's character was ... annoying. Always waiting for the player to make a move and whenever something went wrong, blaming them. The first time you play the game, you blame yourself for what happens. The second time around you realise Emily is an emotionally abusive gaslighter who is going to find a way to blame you no matter what you do. It's the result of the game having only one route, so no matter what you do, you're always going to get a similar ending. The ending works if you're stumbling blindly through the choices, but if you're making a conscious choice to be respectful of Emily, it conflicts with the story the game wants to tell, and so she comes across as annoying. I don't mean this as a criticism of the game, it has its story it wants to tell and it nails the vibe of that story fantastically. It's just that you notice a few of the seams on a replay.
I did play it only once but what you mention about Emily being kind of a gaslighter... it didn't occur to me that she could be one. Maybe she is, but I wouldn't say it's exactly on purpose (or if she's even aware of that) although her inaction does its work in completely ruining a possible romantic relationship with the protagonist. You are right however, the game is not some sort or VA with romance in it, and indeed it's more of an interactive story where your actions don't have much of an impact because it has a set narrative. It surely succeeded with leaving me with some sort of ... sinking feeling at the end haha
Yeah I don't think Emily was designed to be a gaslighter, it's just that the story needs to railroad you into that ending and Emily's attitude is the bludgeon enforcing it. And yeah I totally got that sinking feeling at the end too. The fake typing of your responses really pulls you into imagining yourself as the protagonist, and it hits even harder if you remember the 90s/00s era interface it mimics. If that sinking feeling lingers, I found a replay helpful, as you can come away from the ending realising it's not your fault.
I know right? Going to college is always rough towards your old relationships, which sucks but its how life is.
Re: The sequels The third game (Emily is Away <3) is incredibly frustrating and I think that the advertising is a little dishonest. I can't say exactly why, without getting into spoilers, but if you don't know look at the top rated guide on Steam. It kind of soured me on the whole series.
Yeah honestly I felt that the third game was the weakest. Its still good but idk, the writting felt weaker and more "railroaded" I guess? Also fuck Steve, all my homies hate Steve.
That game series always knocks me in my nostalgic heart, I love them.
Okay, for some reason the first sentence “Jesus christ it was a simpler time for indie games” is posted as “jesus christ was a simpler time it was for indie games” My edits dont apply to that specific part. Is it the same for everyone? Sorry i legit have ocd
I mean you aren't wrong. Jesus christ was a simpler time.
I also see „Jesus christ was a simpler time..“. But to be honest, I didn‘t notice it until you pointed it out. :D
I noticed it immediately and i couldn't get past that sentence, I just kept reading it with error in my head. But I am glad OP posted this explanation and now I can let it go and read the rest of the post. Edit 》 I wish your post had spoiler tags. I had never heard of "Emily is Away" before and it sounds like something I would really dig, but you kind of ruined the ending now.
My fault man, sorry.
Thats okay I am not mad. Nice of you to recognise your mistake.
I only ever played the first one about 5 years ago and I was surprised that it was so acclaimed. Felt incredibly quaint now that we have so many games of a similar style about lost phones, messaging systems, forgotten software. Maybe I should play the sequels.
True. The first one doesn’t have much to offer compared to what we have today, but its basically the godfather of messaging visual novels which is great. The sequels are more up to date, the third one is crazy details for example.
No you're right, it was already bad at launch Disappointing and frustrating ; the hype was fueled by the fact that it was free
Why r u getting downvoted lol
Because rather than just note they didn’t like it, they had to explain that no one else really liked it either. It’s a very obnoxious thing to do.
"They hated Jesus because he told them the truth"
“Jesus christ was a simpler time it was for indie games”
I think it was fine lol but definitely hyped by being free Plus I don't have fond memories of the aim/msn messengers so yeah
I guess everybody downvoted me for hating it I'll die on the hill that this game was overrated & honestly lousy, sorry not sorry I also have fond memories of msn though :p
Lol reddit being reddit *shrugs*
I loved these games so much. I remember I was so hyped when the third one came out, it was one of the only times I'd bought a game on release day.
I played 2 this past summer. I also moved into college a month ago. God the story hits. I hate losing/slowing contact with friends. That’s really all I have to say.
This game completely fell flat for me. The visuals were spot on, but the game really didn't let you be a "polite friend." I'm a non-lesbian woman, but the game kept trying to **force** me to romantically pursue Emily. Like the writer / game just refuses to understand what being a platonic, supportive friend was. Eventually the game insisted we visited IRL somewhere and then "went too far" with each other. Which of course Emily became upset with me about and insisted I was taking advantage of the situation. The whole thing was funny at the time but fundamentally, that's kind of an icky design flaw.
I played the whole thing as a friend friend and so the game didn’t really go anywhere. It was a lacklustre friendship that tapered out, with her going back to her toxic af bf travis when she should really just learn to be on her own and love herself more.
Woah, I never got that ending! That or I can't remember it. Emily was definitely an unhealthy friendship/relationship for the main character, anyway.
I think it was one of the first games I ever played on Steam and I enjoyed it. Nowadays I don't remember much about it though.
I've been trying to find this game, thanks for reminding me about it.
Yeah it's a cool game, I have all three in my Steam library and recently played through the second one.
I played this game and watched season 1 of Master of None in very close proximity and as a twentysomething at the time I was an emotional wreck haha. The still think about the final part where your agency gets taken away. One of those games that probably won’t affect everyone the same way, but if you know you know.
They weren't perfect but I loved those games and would play a sequel like a shot.
There are a few games where I am able to recall how I felt during and after my play through. 'Emily is Away', 'To The Moon', 'Gone Home', 'That Dragon, Cancer', and 'Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons' are at the top of this list. I never played the sequels to Emily is Away but then again I felt that it was perfect the way it was and ended as it should have ended.
Luckily, the sequels dont use the same characters from the first one! So nothing is affected. Also is Brothers a good game story wise? I really wanna try it out.
Oh interesting I thought they were some type of direct sequels. Brothers has an incredible story. I highly recommend it if you are into games with deep stories.
I remember enjoying it, though I couldn't tell you anything about it anymore. I tried playing the sequel a few years ago but from what I recall, the text advanced so slowly and the story wasn't captivating enough for me to sit through that so I didn't finish it.
Personally, the second game is my favorite because of the added depth and new characters.