One Way Trip Review

Visual novels are typically known for gripping stories, deep characters, and the occasional naughty bit. One Way Trip, on the other hand, provides an avant garde experience that doesn’t quite know what it’s doing.

One Way Trip Review

Those brave enough to tackle this game are treated to a garish display from the first loading screen. Colors clash, instrumentals are harsh, and the songs all have the same guy yelling random words at you. Most of the game is a series of talking heads, with three-frame cutouts making up the variety of the cast. Everybody looks obnoxious and hipsterish, like they just got finished with a rave at San Francisco’s Dolores Park. The main characters, Barry and Gordon, are the most normal of the bunch; other characters include Jabbawockeez-style resistance members, tiger crabs, somebody named “Boobs Cowboy,” and robots that just can’t even… It’s all random for the sake of random, and there is absolutely no sensible character development to speak of.

There is a plot to the game, though it moves at a snail’s pace and has a ton of dialog. After the main characters drink the city’s tap water, they soon learn that they only have six hours to live. A side effect of this water is that it causes hallucinations, which doesn’t bode well for anybody. What follows is a series of hallucinations and a plot that doesn’t make sense. The game will often focus on putting apples up your butt or a sentient skateboard at the drop of a hat, making it tough to follow – and annoying. When the story does move forward, it moves at a glacial pace, with people repeating lines or simply talking about how baked they are.

There are some dialog options to choose from, but none of them really lead anywhere. Most mean the same thing, and choosing from “yeah” or “dope” does not give the player a voice. It’s not like you can go back and see what other choices you could have made; the game auto-saves in a different screen literally every minute, breaking whatever twisted immersion it has going for it.

Perhaps the biggest offender of the game would be the somewhat optional game within the game. Dubbed “Demon Chic,” it tells the tale of a different group of people studying game design in college. However, this too moves unbelievably slow. Taking place during the 2012 school year, the character can choose to text their friends (which doesn’t lead anywhere), play video games, nap, or hang out in the common room. Dialog options repeat, the script gets even more nonsensical, and nothing really happens. Players will no doubt be mashing “X” to get past these segments, and will likely hate the fact that they are in the game in the first place. The worst part is that the game is “episodic,” meaning players may experience it multiple times if they’re not careful.

One Way Trip is an offensive title on all accounts. Though it may try something new, players will no doubt be turned off by this game within the first five minutes of playing it.