Beckett

Pretentious, overwrought fluff. Kafka and Lynch are apparent references, usually overbearingly so, but references to powerful art don't make for powerful art, just as poetic posing doesn't make for poetry.

I'm very glad people are using gaming as a more general art medium, and it's worth pointing out some very good technical aspects to Beckett. Despite its minimalism, there is a nice variety of multimedia interactions: textual presentations, sound clips, video art, 3D models, drawings, and good music. I found the music to be especially evocative. Honestly, I would much rather listen to the soundtrack than play this game.

The few good components, though, add up to an eye-roll-inducing whole. It's the text that brings the whole thing down: gooey with stylistic pomp, stapling together a melodramatic narrative that would be perfectly at home in a mediocre soap-opera. It's an indulgent mess that I couldn't click fast enough to get through.

Reading through reviews, it seems that many of you found this game to be deep and meaningful. I don't begrudge your experience, but I didn't have it.

I tip my hat to anybody who takes risks with the gaming medium! But art experiments don't always succeed. I cannot recommend trudging through Beckett for anything other than research purposes.