Video games with minimal gameplay that try to imitate television put a lot of emphasis on their writing. This has led to mixed efforts from even the most notable developers, as Telltale Games’ uneven resume full of Game of the Year candidates and skippable titles will attest. Unfortunately, the game We are OFKwhich is under the guise of a biopic for a virtual band has laughably bad writing, annoying characters, and little to say that not much more eloquently has been said elsewhere.
The main problem is that none of the characters are likable or have aspects interesting enough to be worth exploring. They are self-obsessed, affluent people who complain about their solid job where they can sit on a beanbag and spend hours on their phone instead of working. Each is the obnoxious type of person who goes out of their way to hit the Shift key every time they text so that autocorrect doesn’t capitalize the first word of their sentence because typing in lowercase is an “aesthetic” . They’re the type to look for EDM and the Chainsmokers because they’re too insecure to just enjoy music that’s fun and upbeat. In short, they are miserable, a perfect amalgamation of the unbearable LA culture that people mistakenly think people will find recognizable.
There are a few interesting themes at play, such as people and yourself changing over time and pursuing passion projects versus a standard career. However, there is no real tact to explore them or say anything new. For example the years 1948 The red shoes is a much better examination of the personal sacrifices one makes for art, while thousands of shows, movies, books and games have inspected friendships in a more meaningful way. There is an interesting exploration of terrible people made possible by their equally terrible friends, but this was clearly not intended to Seinfeld route of no one who learns or improves himself over time and ends up paying for being terrible, but very entertaining people.
One of the few intriguing elements that are much more unique is the take on the toxic game development culture and crunch. But even this is poorly done, as characters are rarely portrayed as hard-working – they are definitely weaklings – and a writer who complains that it will take an entire weekend to write 3,000 words from a detailed version is laughable in his exaggeration. There are valid points to be made; one should leave a job if it negatively affects their mental health and the bro culture within game developers is well documented. Still, nothing meaningful is said in the game and it all seems to be put in as a plug for the real-life Games and Online Harassment Hotline, which comes up repeatedly and is even used throughout the story. Like the rest of the game, there are a lot of good intentions that don’t result in an interesting or impressive story due to its flawed execution.
Other than occasionally influencing the dialogue or choosing unbearable lines to text to your friends, there is no actual input into We are OFK. It’s a completely passive experience that goes beyond the occasional mini-game, most of which is music videos. These are meant to be big highlights, especially as this is supposed to be a band’s starting point. However, these fall short in every respect: the actual music lacks any unique artistry and isn’t catchy, the songwriting falls apart under the shortest scrutiny, and the gameplay is too simplistic with the segments feeling like an awful WarioWare microgame that would never become a real game or a boring walking simulator. There’s also no failure status, so players gain little from actually interacting with these segments, other than a few overly simple trophies or achievements. It’s far from the successful mix of music and gameplay that Sayonara Wild Hearts drew where the music enhanced the gameplay and vice versa.
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There are no subtitles during the interactive music video portions, which is a rather odd overview. Maybe it was on purpose so people wouldn’t read the awful lyrics like, “Sorry for the follow, unfollow. I’ll be at my best tomorrow.” Either way, it’s an obvious accessibility check, made all the more blatant given the game’s random letterbox aspect ratio, and there’s plenty of room for lyrics to appear.
However, not every aspect is downright terrible. The game has an attractive and stylized look and the artists deserve credit for creating such a colorful and unique looking game. There’s little to enjoy the sights, though, if you’re mostly staring at a phone screen and making pointless text conversations over boba tea and dating apps. Carter, one of the band members, is also a rare highlight as they stay out of the drama and spend their spare time creating a cool virtual cat mascot for the band reminiscent of Radiohead’s Modified Bear. That said, even the cooler aspects get swept into the abyss and can’t elevate an uneven story.
we’re okay constantly takes pictures of game development while trying to replicate a television show and making bad music; it is a work of art uncertain within its own medium that also manages to be a multi-faceted failure. With bad writing, plot threads that lead nowhere, mediocre music, and the backstory of a fictional band not worth worrying about, there’s no reason to press this record.
SCORE: 2/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 2 equates to “Terrible.” Almost beyond repair, it’s probably a waste of time for almost everyone involved.
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