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- Freebird Games
- Freebird Games
- Freebird Games
- Freebird Games
Impostor Factory
Released On: Sep 30, 2021
80
7.9
Where to Buy
Where to Buy
All Platforms
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 14 Critic Reviews
80
79% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
14% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Generally Favorable
Based on 14 Critic Reviews
80
79% Positive
11 Reviews
11 Reviews
14% Mixed
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Yet another masterpiece by Kan Gao, probably the most solid and balanced overall. The story of Quincy and Lynri passes through regrets, remorse, fears and IF. Gao's writing is always impeccable and is capable of never falling into the banal, even when it touches themes already abused in the medium and in narration in general. So far my very personal best game of the year.
It’s really unfair assign a mark to this game. It’s unfair not because it’s a bad game, but because it’s complex and almost disrespectful to crush this work into a sterile number. A videogame that is also a “non-videogame”, and it knowingly turns this flaw into strength, telling us a love story that turns into a reflection upon reality and the nature of choosing, surrounding it with a beautiful painting done with pixels.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 54 User Ratings
7.9
72% Positive
39 Ratings
39 Ratings
20% Mixed
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
7% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 54 User Ratings
7.9
72% Positive
39 Ratings
39 Ratings
20% Mixed
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
7% Negative
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
so touching (well at least this time I did not cry, haha). But I can affirm that the narrative in how you are gradually discovering the story is the best of the series, from the moment you start the game you will not want to stop until you finish it. I definitely recommend it and I hope that Freebird continues to develop games in this series, which are very worthwhi
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PC
Шедевр.
Кто-то говорит, что эта часть сдаёт по сравнению с предыдущими.
Не соглашусь.
Кто-то говорит, что концовка будет не совсем понятна новичкам, не игравшим в предыдущие части.
Соглашусь.
Но это можно решить таким образом: не проходите более поздние части игр до прохождения более ранних.
Крайне рекомендую к покупке.
Masterpiece.
Some people say, this part is losing positions comparing with previous ones.
I don't agree.
Some people say, the ending won't be understood by newcomers, who haven't played previous games.
I agree.
This can be solved this way: don't play newer parts of games before playing previous ones.
Highly recommended.
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PC
Impostor Factory is another incredibly written and deeply emotional story from Freebird Games. The game is in some ways a victim of diminishing returns, but still delivers laughs and tears aplenty.
Freebird games have always been funny in a gentle way that doesn’t clash with the games’ tender yet challenging emotional core. In Impostor Factory, the team has taken a big swing by including full-on horror, as well as a complex meta-story involving the nature of science and time itself. And the humor is both slapstick and risky, letting players release tension as they explore the gore and mind-bending moral conundrums posed by the game’s story. The boxing cat and the sentient rice cooker are a welcome bonus.
Impostor Factory doesn't punch emotionally like To The Moon and Finding Paradise, but Kan Gao's and Freebird Games' skills are still intact.
Impostor Factory teases and deceives, involves and strangles. It doesn't have the destabilizing power of To The Moon, nor the brain balance of Finding Paradise, but that's okay.
On its own, Impostor Factory is a decent adventure with occasionally interesting story elements and mostly enjoyable dialogue. But as part of the otherwise great series, it's a disappointing misstep.
Freebird Games again brings us a fantastic story, it is incredible how they can make such emotional stories with such a limited technical section, they always make you see yourself immersed in their beautiful plots.
This time the game is not so touching (well at least this time I did not cry, haha). But I can affirm that the narrative in how you are gradually discovering the story is the best of the series, from the moment you start the game you will not want to stop until you finish it. I definitely recommend it and I hope that Freebird continues to develop games in this series, which are very worthwhile.
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PC
If you want to play this you FIRST MUST TO FINISH THE FIRST 2 GAMES! (To the moon , finding paradise)
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PC
Boring story, trailer was more interesting than a games itself
If not To The Moon or Finding Paradise game would be 3/10
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PC
Barely worth the time to play it. Hardly worth the wait. The murder loop mystery makes no sense and isn't properly explained even at the end. The personal story starts out strong and then fizzles out. Maybe that's why To the Moon had the reverse timeline set up. Conclusion would be to just stop at the first game.
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PC
General Consensus: (SPOILERS) Impostor Factory starts out strong, with a characteristic gut-punch of emotion shifting the story into a beautiful, heartbreaking drama halfway through. However, instead of sticking the landing with already established characters, Kan Gao and his fellow creators opt for a soulless twist that renders the prior events of the story drastically weakened.
(HEAVY SPOILERS AHEAD)
It's tough to criticize such an obvious labor of love from Freebird Games. I've been closely following their work since 2011, and consider Finding Paradise to be one of the best video games stories I've experienced. And while the music, endearing comedy, and grounded dialogue are all present in true Freebird fashion, I can't say I left the experience anywhere close to satisfied–especially considering the solipsistic implications created from the story's drastic shift in the third act.
On a positive note, the game is made all the better by doing away with the puzzle/gameplay elements of its previous installments, choosing instead to dedicate all its runtime to storytelling. And what a story it was for the first two hours, where I considered the characters to be the most mature and compelling individuals Kan and co. have come up with. It wasn't shaping up to be as touching or inspiring as its predecessors, but the subject matter explored in Imposter Factory was definitely Freebird Games' most mature (and bleak) to date.
Lynry and Quincy go through the wringer, and the absolutely gorgeous "A Reality Without Me" simply could not be played enough to underscore the tone of their challenged relationship. I was absolutely sold from the first hour of the story, finding myself crying multiple times as hit after hit came Linry and Quincy's way.
It's a shame none of it is real.
The story of the people we follow is nothing but the 9th simulated version of the lives of two people that existed in the REAL real world, and the interactions between the memory versions of Linry and Quincy (whose player avatar doesn't even know Linry), are nothing but shades of people playing out a fantasy orchestrated by Neill Watts (the real Linry's son) and his morally blank A.I. Faye, who now resembles an ominous HAL9000 rather than the sentimental subconscious of Colin from Finding Paradise.
The game ends a whole hour before it should, opting to leave us on a bitter cliffhanger. Neill callously comments on the final image (Linry tucking baby Neill into bed) as a "supposed" perfect timeline, ripping us away from the potential of any real catharsis. The character operating the story (Neill) is the very one who is not even emotionally fazed by it. Where Johnny and Colin both learned important life lessons through their experiences in Sigmund Corp's tech (as well as communicating powerful themes to the audience), this story seems to go for, "we all could be in a simulation, but you should enjoy whatever you get while you can get it, but remember, all of it might not be real."
I'm truly disappointed by this story, not because of the strength of its predecessors, but by the wasted potential of the powerful storytelling exhibited in its first two thirds.
Hopefully the simulation path doesn't continue on with the following story, and we can return to a world where feelings and pain are very real, and submerging ourselves in a simulation is not the answer to all our problems.
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PC
Summary A bonkers time-loop tragicomedy murder mystery thriller featuring multiple casualties and a suspicious cat, from the creator of To the Moon & Finding Paradise.
Platforms:
- PC
Initial Release Date: Sep 30, 2021
Developer:
- Freebird Games
Publisher: Freebird Games
Genres:
