Pink Noise has been on my radar for months. Not because it was a game I was eagerly anticipating, but because I was provided with a review code that unlocked on the release date. It was on my schedule to do, though I could do nothing with it as it got delayed. Has it been worth waiting for?
For once, that’s tricky to answer. Pink Noise is undoubtedly a passion project. Look online, and you’ll see a digital trail of Somber Games’ years-long journey to get this out into the world, and even then, it’s an episodic adventure that is in the Early Access stage. This is the first episode.
A visual novel, it’s a bit similar to Perseverance, though this story dives into 90s American suburbia, following the lives of some teens who stumble upon a dodgy VHS tape. In the promotional material, it refers to Stranger Things, but let us remember that the Netflix show is based on classic 80s nostalgia and not the benchmark. While the show was good, it’s fan fiction with a budget. The same applies to this indie title somewhat, as the artwork is exceptional.
This could quite possibly be the best-looking visual novel I’ve ever played. Illustrations are stellar, and unlike the Ren’Py model, they’re animated, too. Pink Noise really is next level in presentation. Regrettably, that isn’t quite the same for the story as this was the initial hurdle for me. I couldn’t get into it, couldn’t care about the characters and was bored. In a world where we question everything, whether it’s AI or not, I couldn’t help but wonder what was real here. From my understanding, everything is painstakingly created by humans.
Perhaps it’s the narration. It’s well-written but feels out of place for a visual novel. Granted, it’s in the genre title, but these are still aimed at a gaming audience, and the level of engagement is erratic. The first four acts could have been removed, and there’d be no impact. The teens’ background stories were formulaic and uninteresting, though we reached an arcade and got to play a brief game of Pac-Man. Well… a variant. The levels of interaction dropped again, and I was barely hanging on to the thread when the main story was about to kick in.
Within a shed, the teens watch a forbidden tape, and then one of them is drawn into a self-contained nightmare. The exposition kicks in, though this time it is more relevant to the character in question, Eva. Her story takes place in her home and relates to her artist mother and a sort of Twilight Zone scenario. This added some tension and presented some options, too. Interacting with objects that served as a linear device was not so much a standout, but on two occasions, I’d inadvertently advanced the story, and in a multiple-option situation, where the game didn’t register my command and instead took screenshots. Sure, I got some achievements out of it, but I’m in for the gameplay, not trivial bits I’ll never share with anyone. Ironically, I just shared that with you.
Another thing about Pink Noise is the UI aspect. The number of times I had to wrestle to take a screenshot or save the game without it skipping dialogue or overwriting another file was challenging on the Steam Deck. This applies to the trackpad, touchscreen and sticks. Sure, it’s not ready for Steam Deck, maybe, and it is Early Access, but still annoying. And, while the VHS is a fun filter, it overlays the text as well as the image, so when you’re reading, and the filter is on, the text is distorted. Yes, you can turn it off, but I like the aesthetic. It just seemed unusual to have it overlap with text.
Despite those technical issues, Eva’s arc piqued my interest, but then abruptly, it ended. Ok, so let’s go full circle and remember that this is Early Access and the first episode. It’s not done yet, and I note that the devs are actively updating, which is great. Has this done enough to get me excited for the next bit? Excited, no, but I love the artwork, and if episode two picks up from the end of this one and jumps straight into the next teen’s story, I’d be down. I just hope this becomes a little more flexible for Steam Deck users and Pink Noise manages to keep the momentum going with the story. We’ll soon find out.
