[Steam] BOKURA review

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Today, I would like to talk about Tokoronyori's coop game, <BOKURA>, which is a social game that require a friend to play.

✏ BOKURA, One Puzzle, Two Worlds

<BOKURA> is a one of those rare social games that require a friend to play, making it the perfect title for extroverted players who enjoy shared experiences. The story follows two boys, who, after discussing their troubled family lives, abruptly decide to leave home with a rather odd mission: breaking a statue atop a hill(🤔). Much like <Portal>, a well-known coop puzzle game, players need to cooperate and solve a series of puzzles to climb the hill.

Although they are in the same place, the scene is different from each other

Players experience the game through two different worlds - one robotic, one animal-themed. However, it's not just the art style that sets these worlds apart. Each player encounters obstacles visible only in their own world, creating moments of confusion, such as: "Are we even playing the same game?". This element transforms the game into what feels like a collaborative project - requiring constant communication and clear explanations to make it to the submit.

✏ Just Die Already! - A game of Cooperation...with Sacrifices

While the game's illustrations and visuals may initially give off a cozy, heartwarming vibe, don't be fooled - it demands precision and control.

Characters can't spirit, nor do they move swiftly. Their jumps are heavy and limited in range, and even minor missteps - falling from a height, getting stuck in walls, or being bitten by a dog - can result in death. Frustratingly, if just one player dies, both are sent back to the start of that puzzle section.

The real challenges arises when one player becomes immobilized without any way to progress or die. Though you could restart the puzzle from the menu, the quicker (and oddly more satisfying) solution is for the other player to voluntarily meet their end. This leads to the game's most common phrase: "Just die already!"

✏ Surprisingly Gory for Such a Cute Game

Despite the cute graphics, the game can feel unexpectedly dark. In the robotic world, death is limited to shattered machines - grim but not particularly graphic. However, the animal world tells a different story, leaning into unsettling, almost gory elements when characters meet their untimely ends.

Need to separate the neck and torso to solve the puzzle💀

Throughout the game, players will occasionally encounter corpses, and while the characters may appear as animals, the depiction of bones and organs scattered across the scenes makes it unsettling. One of the two protagonists even possesses the peculiar ability to detach their head from their body. To solve certain puzzles, they must separate their body parts and navigate the environment by carrying only their head - a mechanic that feels both eerie and strangely comical. What makes it even more unsettling is that the animals in the game world continue to smile eerily, heightening the sense of unease.

The narrative also strikes a somber tone, delving into themes such as family conflict, divorce, and sexual assault. Adults in the story carelessly burden children with difficult truths and force them to make decisions beyond their understanding. What begins as a seemingly light-hearted adventure about friendship soon unfolds into a much more serious exploration of life's harsher realities.

✏ No Friend, No True Ending

The game's biggest drawback? You cannot play it alone - you must have a partner.

There's no game start button if you are alone

When a player clicks the house icon, the game generates a code that allows two people to connect and play together. However, there's no matchmaking system, and solo play isn't an option. The cooperative nature may make sense given the game's design, but for those without a partner, this poses a significant barrier to entry.

To make things even more demanding, you need to complete the game 3 times to unlock the true ending. The first walkthrough lets you crosses your preferred character, but on the second run, the roles are reversed. Only during the third run can you freely choose your character again. This design offers different narrative perspectives, allowing players to experience both characters' points of view.

However, asking the same person to complete 3 collaborative runs might be a bit too much of an ask, even for the most dedicated gamers.

📋 Overall review

At around 6,000 KRW (roughly $5 USD), <BOKURA> delivers surprisingly well - crafted puzzles and a decent amount of content. While the requirement to have a partner may be a hurdle, and the lack of bulit-in communication tools forces players to rely on external platforms like Discord, it's still hard to deny the game's value for the price. If you enjoy Japanese-inspired narratives or cooperative puzzle games, this title is worth checking out.

* Steam URL : https://store.steampowered.com/app/1801110/_/?l=koreana

* Kor version : https://gamers-tryto-it.tistory.com/97