Video games are flexible media. Some games aim to overcome challenges full of input and interactivity, using nearly endless approaches to completing the challenge. Others still strip away the interactivity and just pay lip service to the idea of ââbeing a video game, opting instead to focus on emotions or, above all, tell inspiring stories. We Are OFK definitely falls into the latter category, telling a formative tale of a fictional band making real music.
We Are OFK is a glimpse into the lives of a handful of people trying to make the most of things in the heart of Los Angeles. There is a pianist Itsumi. Luka, a game developer who loves singing. Carter, a wizard of technology with electronic pet debugging. And Jay, a music producer with an intimidating personality.
Born from a small and talented team, We Are OFK is a strange experiment. Episodic telling of stories is nothing new, but this title is different enough in its approach to things that expecting a Telltale-style title can be disappointing. In many ways, We Are OFK shares more similarities with the TV show than it does with games. In fact, episodes also include runtimes. It’s not an approximation, not a shy approximation, but like an episode of a TV show, it’s exact to the minute. The episode runs from his 52nd minute to his 84th minute in his season finale.
The writing feels very similar to the TV series in both structure and pacing, but most importantly it’s earned the high ratings you’d expect from a good show. quality. Most of the dialogue is brilliantly written, expertly mixing mediocrity and grimness to offer an authenticity that really sells the world. A lot of our conversations center around food, alcohol, sex and relationships, did we mention food?
The voice work definitely helps sell this one, as the performances are phenomenal overall. Death, depression and, perhaps most interestingly, work-life balance. This is a generally tricky subject that seems to affect all sectors of the industry. The scene in question is Gaming and Online Harassment Hotline, the actual organization. Crunch and Burnout aren’t the focus of the story, but the fact that they exist is very interesting.
Each character offers a distinct personality, with desires, needs, motivations and quirks, well beyond their role in the band. Their lives evolve and change from episode to episode and sometimes even scene to scene, and not all are convincingly told. This is welcome in that it helps add layers to characters sitting below the surface that are not known. The game tends to throw a lot of names at you, and it can be unclear if the game expects you to know who these people are already, or if it should just find out about them. This problem increases as the episode progresses.
Generally, the pace slackens as the series runs its course. Characters have more time to introspect, ruminating on both their personal lives and their position in the band, but at the expense of a solid pacing. The last few episodes really feel run-time and the scenes slack off in a more regular fashion. The journey to get to is satisfying on its own, and the finale that misses the mark is delicious, but it’s a shame.
Visually, the title is a treat. Between its beautifully stylized look and incredible use of color, the game does a great job selling its Los Angeles setting. It creates a visually engaging experience from start to finish. Between the smart use of pastels and the contrast that makes things pop, there are few scenes in the entire series that don’t have something truly interesting to watch.We Are OFK and This is good because the main way we interact is through looks.
The gameplay usually feels like an afterthought when it appears. The game cleverly borrows dialogue ideas from Kentucky Route Zero. Unselected dialogue helps convey a particular character’s personality. Whether it’s an inner monologue, a conversation, or a text chat, I rarely participate outside the confines of a conversation.
Given the game’s focus on music, it also feels like a missed opportunity. Choose. The interactive music videos that wrap up each episode are a bit more involved, but the gameplay you see here usually fills in the time while the music plays. They yield no real results and are rarely more than walking.
On the bright side, the in-game band song that concludes each episode is AmazingThere are no misfires among them, and each is better than the previous.
Conclusion
We Are OFK is a very well done game that pushes the boundaries of the medium. There isn’t a lot of traditional gameplay, but the characters are so well recreated and the writing is so strong that while there isn’t much to do in each episode, the act of being there and listening is very rewarding. Between the strong art and soundtrack, there’s a lot to like even if there isn’t much to play.
