Gigantomania

Well, this was a game I was really excited to play. The Russian revolution(s) have always been one of those history moments that to me feels like if you could go back in time, you could really fix things, much like being able to course-correct the Titanic and then point out the structural flaws in the vessel. This game was just about watching how the incompetence and mismanagement completely ruined Russia's chances, despite the fervor and determination from the proletariat (Act II). I personally loved the "puzzles" where you harvested grain and potatoes, turned over the steel-thingy. They did a good job matching the repetitive nature of living in that sort of environment. The only problem I had was that in act I, I had no idea what I was supposed to do, and lost several times, even when I just happily harvested the whole day away. After exploring, I got it down and felt rather proud of figuring it out. Act II was the most fun to me, I enjoyed forcing him to be patient and wait, wait, wait in line. NO BREAD FOR YOU. Such a good and patient commie.

I had trouble finding a solution for act III that didn't involve ratting out my Polish coworker, but as an established selfish politician, I suppose my character had no other ways out.

Judging it on the first 3 acts, I enjoyed this game a lot. It certainly needed more descriptions, more polish, and more cluing, but it had a solid story and I really identified with the struggles.

My only trouble came with act IV, where I ran into what I thought were bugs, but was actually shorthand for chess moves.