Emily is Away is probably a game you’ve already heard about. It made the indie game journalist scene when it came out in 2015 and was deemed a mini-masterpiece. It was developed by Kyle Seeley, and according to his website this was actually his eight game. That’s a good reminder that indie developers don’t make their famous masterpieces overnight, these things take time.
Fantastic Presentation
Emily is Away is kind of hard to explain as a game, because you could make the argument it isn’t a game. Think of it as a kinetic visual novel, i.e., it’s almost entirely text based, you have dialog options, but you can’t really influence the plot. The main focus is on the story, which is pretend through a mid-2000’s instant messenger conversation with a woman named Emily.
The overall presentation is fantastic. The dialog between these two are well written, and the windows presentation is well-executed and followed through perfectly, especially for the mid 2000’s level of nostalgia. You get to pick your screen name and even your icon from a plethora various movie and band avatars popular at the time.
For our full opinion on Emily is Away, and why it’s not all that good, check out the video above. Or head over to Cliqist’s YouTube channel for more videos just like this one.
