It’s not very often you come across a point-and-click game set in a historical… Heck, in this day and age, no one plays games of this genre unless they’re visual novels/dating sims! Right?
I’ve seen Commissar’s Contrapasso float around during my roaming of the r/GirlGamers subreddit and thought to check it out. When one sees a fellow lass create a game singlehandedly, one should support her. So I decided to have a go…
This short and sweet game tells the story of a Red Army commissar during WW2, who for his entire career is sat in an office (as political appointees do!) and dishes out punishments to those who stray from the Motherland’s values, the first of which that you see is a punishment given to a gypsy named Victor – punished for ‘being a coward’ and is sent to the frontlines. Little does he know that karma’s just around the corner and is about to be thrown smack in the middle of a warzone…
Blondbraid’s hand-drawn visuals were charming though animations weren’t as smooth as I’d like, characters would flicker as they move (though that could just be my own experience). I did enjoy seeing the commissar shake in his cocky little boots! No game is perfect, and this one-woman show is no different, though it has plenty to look forward to.
For a point-and-click game, I think it’s pretty deep – there are “sneaky” parts where you can mess up if you step on broken glass. Thankfully, a mistake made doesn’t lead to perma-death. Instead, you’ll be sent back to the moment just before the mistake was made. My favourite bit of the game: mistakes were often “rewarded” with a shot to the commissar’s head, though I say “reward” coz you get a tongue-in-cheek end-screens with my favourite kind of humour: sarcasm. Also, serve the commissar god damn right, let him get shot in the head as many times as necessary while I try to get this screenshot!
Like I said, the game is pretty short, about an hour even if get stuck figuring out how to progress the game. It has its own personality, and I loved Blondbraid’s humour sprinkled throughout the game. I enjoyed my little timeout spent on this game, and honestly am curious to see what she has planned for her future titles.
I was requested by Blondbraid to check out her game and give my thoughts. If you’re interested in trying out Commissar’s Contrapasso, you can download the game on itch.io Gamejolt or Adventure game studios!
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Plug/Play by Blaise 