Virginia Review Thread: 73 OC (39 Reviews) 77 MC (27 Reviews)

[ethomaz]

• 77 based on 27 Critics for PlayStation 4 - Metacritic
• 80 based on 12 Critics for Xbox One - Metacritic
• 73 based on 34 Critics for PC - Metacritic
• 73 based on 39 Critics for PS4, XB1 and PC - OpenCritic

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[ethomaz]

AV Club - Positive

"Lynchian" is a loaded term. In the right hands, it implies a deeper meaning behind a series of surreal images and events, an understanding that peeks from behind cryptic dream sequences and improbable happenings. In the wrong ones, it implies little more than a creative team that's watched far too much Twin Peaks. Virginia lands on the better side of that divide. I won't claim to understand the symbolism behind every moment and sight, but that hasn't stopped the game from convincing me that said meanings do exist and lingering on them long after its short run time has come and gone.

Eurogamer - Positive

Or, to put it in other words, Virginia is a marvel crammed into a neat two-hour running time, and you must play it.

Telegraph - 5/5

Virginia hit me right in the chest, the kind of game I've wanted to exist for years, and the first game to actually nail it in a way that I think fully takes advantage of the potential. It is the game that titles like Dear Esther, Gone Home and Firewatch have hinted at, but in a way that evolves the interactive narrative form way beyond anything we've seen before. It's a game to savour and talk about for years to come, one that left me, just like the inhabitants of Kingdom, Virginia, speechless.

TIME - 4.5/5

And what gorgeous, reverberant moments there are in this game, empowered by its absent words and explanations. As David Lynch put it, answering a question about Lost Highway, "There's things that have to happen, information that has to be given, for the thing to go. To say with words any more, would not be good."

Polygon - 9/10

Virginia's deviance from norms makes it the sort of game that demands to be discussed among friends and, in this respect, the comparisons with Twin Peaks are apt. Although there's only one ending to this game, it's confounding enough to leave multiple possible interpretations, which is often the mark of a great story. Such is its power and originality, I suspect Virginia will have significant influences over games yet to be conceived.

Game Debate - 9/10

Virginia is a sharp thinking, plot driven single-player adventure like few out there. It borrows heavily from other games of its ilk, yet twists it into its own strange beast. Unlike plenty of others, such as Firewatch, Virginia also manages to actually live up to its premise and deliver a satisfying, thought provoking conclusion. I'd love to go deeper on this because Virginia is a game all about its story and it's delivered, but a mystery such as this best served piping hot with a cup of Legend on the side.

Playstation Universe - 9/10

Virginia takes the adventure game to new places, and while not everyone might want to join in on the trip, those that do will be rewarded with a thoroughly mesmerizing experience that stays with you long after the credits roll

ICXM - 9/10

Overall, Virginia is an unorthodox experience we haven't received in the gaming world yet and I don't know how people will find it. Despite its short length and constrained gameplay, it tells an intriguing story with multiple layers and given its low price of admission, I heartily recommend it. My only complaint would be that I wish the game allowed you to interact with your environment more and explore it to a greater degree. While there are secrets which need to be discovered through multiple playthroughs, that sense of being caged never goes away. However, that doesn't detract from the gameplay and Virginia is unlike anything else you've ever played before.

VideoGamer - 8/10

As a whole, and occasional framerate drops aside, Virginia is wonderfully cinematic, and a fantastic story to inhabit as it unfolds. It's just not for everyone. Which is true of everything that's ever been made, I suppose, and in this case at least what has been made is new and different, and incredibly stylish.

True Achievements - 4/5

Virginia is a game because of its avenues of release and its use of a controller, but it is the most cinematic, movie-like game that may have yet been created. That's meant as a compliment but it's understood that plenty don't care for such a shallow gameplay experience. However, like all of the best first-person adventure games, or "walking sims", Virginia works better than its movie inspirations because of the inherent interactivity that comes with telling a story in this medium. It goes all in on delivering a surreal, Lynchian narrative and hits that nail of unreality on the head, all the way down to leaving you wondering what exactly you just witnessed.

The Sixth Axis - 8/10

Virginia's tale of intrigue and mystery quickly comes full circle. In that time, it will take you to some pretty surprising, extraordinary places, and easily warrants a second playthrough. The closing moments may not be to everyone's taste, though the journey to get there is certainly worthwhile.

Alphr - 4/5

Virginia is absolutely worth playing, if only to see a game that kicks against the structures of games; importing languages from cinema and seeing if the hybrid can hold together. It doesn't – not all the time, anyway – but these tensions are interesting to experience all the same. There are moments that frustrate in their unrelenting linearity, but there are moments that show a game can be made from interruptions, edits and jump cuts – less in thrall to the player and closer, perhaps, to the dizzy jolt of À bout de souffle.

Words About Games - 7/10

Virginia is a deeply intriguing game. It tells an interesting story with some really gripping elements of drama, although it sometimes feels as though the individual ways the narrative is presented are at odds with each other. The lack of dialogue and quick cuts between scenes works really well in places, drawing you right into the game. In other places it feels jarring, unnatural and ejects you from the experience. While the former examples definitely outnnumber the latter, it happens enough that it's worth mentioning. For the most part though the story, characters, soundtrack, imagery and art style combine to form a fascinating game that's well worth experiencing.

Bleeding Cool - 6/10

Brilliance And Frustration

Destructoid - 3/10

Virginia is, at its best, a gaming mechanism that provides slightly more immersion than watching a movie -- and at its worst, a failed walking simulator with a convoluted ending. Because it is a scripted experience light on interaction and choice, I'm not entirely sure I can recommend it as a game. There may be an inkling of promise in its budding story, but for many I imagine it will be hard to read between the lines and even harder to consider it a worthy experience.

Tech Raptor - 2.5/10

An interesting idea that has flashes of brilliance, but is hampered by baffling and counter-intuitive design decisions.