Videoverse happened to come along at the right moment to deliver a rather heavy blow to my feels. Right before I played it, I was lucky enough to get access to a Bluesky invite code, because given recent developments, I was all ready to set up a new home/escape pod from the current environment that Twitter has found itself in. And immediately after that, I settled in for a new visual novel from developer Kinmoku that turns out to be about a dying online social network and the friendships that have blossomed from it, it spite of any flaws. It’s a game that came along at the right time for reminiscing, and it would of being one of the year’s best surprises in the process.
Videoverse sees you playing as a fifteen year-old German teenager named Emmett (or to go by his in-game user name, eMMe-T_T), who starts in 2003 by settling in with his favorite gaming platform, the Kinmoku Shark, after purchasing the hot new game for it, Feudal Fantasy. The Shark is also home to the titular Videoverse, a network of communities where friends can discuss games and other topics, post art or talk in private chats. It’s here where Emmett meets up with their friends, and where they meet a new Shark user and Feudal Fantasy player, Vivi. This could mark the start of something big, but as the Videoverse community learns, the Shark’s successor – the Dolphin – is coming, and with it comes the eventual end of Videoverse.
With the days of Videoverse numbered, its users react in a number of ways, including every one of the five stages of grief at one point or another. It isn’t just that Videoverse that’s dying, but the relationships that have been formed along the way, especially since this is from an era where you may’t ensure that you’ll meet all of these friends on similar platforms again. And all of this got me to thinking how I’ve been throughout similar scenarios in my life, due to one reason or another. And not even just the recent Twitter issues, there was the closure of the forums of The Fighters Generation in the mid-2000s, the exodus of users from DeviantArt after an abundance of horrible decisions in the last few years…heck, the main reason I’m even here at Hardcore Gamer, writing about this game, is because of the end of a previous website and the community built in the comments of it.
Videoverse hit hard at certain times in that area, perfectly capturing the end of an online era, showcased by the community’s reactions as time advances over the course of the game. But as devastating as it is for the longtime Shark players you encounter, it can be even more devastating for new players getting to know new players who came in at the wrong time. Emmett’s relationship with Vivi is at the center of the game, as Emmett eventually becomes more interested in the mysterious, initially faceless new friend, who starts off as a bit of a shrinking violet. It’s a story of a teenage relationship in one of the early parts of the online age, captured beautifully, especially as you have to figure out how to communicate with them, and assist them with any possible issues.
Videoverse is a game all about empathy, as you and Emmett become even more connected to the Videoverse community by browsing around, especially through the new Feudal Fantasy group that they join. By liking individual posts and posing their own thoughts when possible, Emmett begins to learn more about everyone within their certain circles, what they may be going through, and the best ways to react. Of course, part of the problem involves the trolls and various harassment to be found in the posts, and the game does not shy away from the various types of insensitive comments, intentional or not, that occur online. Thankfully, Emmett has the option to report them, or at least act as a voice of reason, even encouraging everyone in spite of the more mean-spirited individuals.
In addition to empathy, Videoverse is also a game about optimism and kindness in general. And relating to more recent events again, it’s easy to find people who say that sites like Twitter should have stopped existing long ago, but you can also find folks who have found legitimate friends over it and other social network sites, those who have fond memories, those who have created whole groups of individuals to talk with from around the world. Perhaps it’s not the sites that are the problem, but rather the lowlifes in various forms who try to make themselves the center of attention. And maybe the best way to counter them is through simply reporting them, moving on, and instead focusing more on encouragement and niceness. Compliment someone’s artwork. Assist people with tips on how to get through video games. Assure those going through issues at home that you’ll be there for them. Maybe you might dismiss such a universe as a pipe dream at this point, but isn’t it a dream worth having? Just a simple dream of being getting along peacefully and making new friends?
To drive the point home, Videoverse even has various “Words of Wisdom” that you may collect from various posts (alongside tips for Feudal Fantasy), but while they can be used at times during bits of branching dialogue that can affect future events, they do only tend to mainly kick in during the final stretch of the game, which also admittedly drags. It’s a set of nice, simple lessons Emmett can learn just by browsing the Videoverse, which consists of a lot of expertly-written dialogue not only perfectly capturing mid-2000s online culture of the time, but also captures the awkward feeling of trying to figure out the exact tone of a post or what response to choose from when you have to work with written dialogue, creating a bit of a challenge when you have to try and read someone.
Of course, the Videoverse is still part of a video game console, and with it comes a lot of clever nods to video game history through a world that, while set in the early 2000s, feels like a blend of gaming culture from several different eras. The Shark itself is designed as a bulky portable console that comes across as a mix of a Nintendo DS and a Sega Nomad, the customizable avatars and stylus-crafted drawings are clearly a nod to the Miiverse, games mentioned include nods to early FPS games, monster-catching titles, and cameos from other indie games, classic monochrome 1-bit graphics (with optional palettes to choose from) and gorgeous synth sounds contrast with early webcams, and there are even deep cuts such as a nod to early 1990s Neo-Geo ads.
There’s a massive love for gaming on display here, and without giving away too much of the story, the power of video games and what they’re capable of is a pivotal part of the plot as well, one that felt genuinely touching by the time the credits rolled. Between this and its take on online communities, Videoverse has an amazing world with a lot of impressive stories and a unique retro mash-up aesthetic, and it left me blown away, nearly speechless as it got me thinking about such tech.
Closing Comments:
Videoverse is game that managed to hit me with the force of a truck in various ways, from the more subtle things like the in-game community’s reaction to a collapsing world around them to the parts that were more upfront, like Emmett and Vivi’s budding relationship. But even if you don’t have any emotional connections to similar online groups, what’s here is still an engrossing visual novel, one with a great story and a clever retro gaming world to explore. Videoverse is a definite highlight for the genre and one not to be missed out on.
Videoverse
