Emily is Away, a messenger interface-based romance visual novel, is a 1-hour reminder that not everything free is worth your time, with the player given the chance to develop a relationship with Emily through novelty visuals and a branching 'story'.
Visual novels, while relatively simple to create, are very difficult to perfect, with a story that needs to hit all the right notes with a visual/auditory experience competent enough to convey, or preferably enhance the story. Emily is Away's amusingly unique interface provides the latter, giving the player opportunity to relive their life lived through MSN messenger as a teen. This nostalgia soon wears off however, to reveal a game that provides repetition ad-nauseum in an attempt to lengthen what could be summarized with a few emojis and a 'lol'.
The story itself is divided into 5 chapters which sets your interactions with Emily years apart, giving you an insight into her life. Your choices allow you to either progress through the chapters if you've chosen the 'correct' route or redo a previous chapter if you've chosen the wrong one. If you blow off Emily by pretending you are busy, she'll do the same to you later on. In addition to the monotony of repeating a section, the structure of the game's chapters forces the same uninspired conversation over and over, ruining any chance for character development or tension and making you wish that Emily really was away.
To simulate the act of typing, the player hits a key on their keyboard and the game types out the selected text one letter at a time, giving the player a unique involvement in the interaction of the characters. This feature is quite cleverly done when you select an option that the in-game player doesn't want to send. They'll type out the message only to edit it and send something more appropriate.
The story 'focuses' on the two characters' relationship that the planets never quite align for, with each chapter putting one in a relationship with the other wishing it could be different. This would be a reasonable concept if used as a base for something more, but it's all the game has to offer, with the only enjoyment being had when you complete the 'correct' route, making you feel like a rat experiencing a sense of hollow achievement after escaping a maze for little reason or reward.
Verdict - 4/10
+ The deleting of inappropriate messages can be amusing at times
+ Customizable name and band avatars from the noughties
- Story is too short to build any depth
- Conversations are dull
- Far too many dead-end choices with only one disappointing ending
- Not sure that the player's choices the game states Emily will remember is actually remembered or mentioned later on
- The chapter-based system ruins any story-building
Emily is Away is a story of unsatisfying dead-ends that deceivingly gives you the impression that the ending might be worth your effort. Your time is best used elsewhere with great visual novels like 'Va11 Hall-A' or the free 'Butterfly Soup'.
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