$20 Game of the Week: Her Story (PC, OSX, iOS)

Created by designer Sam Barlowe (Silent Hill Origins, Silent Hill Shattered Memories), indie game Her Story is a throwback to Sega CD FMV games of the 90s. However, it has more in common with games like Gone Home and Hate Plus in the way that you are given the narrative in pieces and have to rely on your critical thinking skills to put together the details. You are given the task to revisit a 1994 murder case, and you have to piece together the details by examining a database of videos stored on an old computer. The videos are consist of a series of interviews with a woman suspected of killing her husband. You have to dig through the database by using keywords. When you find results, you will only be able to access 5 at a time even though the results might have bought back more. Therein you have to examine the videos in order to find additional keywords in order to filter through the videos. As you keep looking at the video footage, it becomes clear that there is more going on with this woman than just the murder. While there is a completion message and a credit sequence at some point, there is no real ending to this game (even if you unlock all the videos), and the plot is open to your interpretation. Like other games of its type, it obviously isn’t going to appeal to everyone. However, if you love a good story, Her Story is a good way to spend $4.99.