From Ivan

You might think that picking a greeting card or a stamp are not exactly vital decisions, but even the smallest things can end up having an unexpected effect later on. In some cases, making these decisions is so important that you can make a living out of it, though it may not be the job of your dreams.

From Ivan is a fun little game that exaggerates the significance of these choices in order to tell a story based on life in the Soviet era. As a Human Resources Manager, you will have to pick the right greeting cards to send to other employees, as well as your family and friends.

As a new employee at the Agricultural Softworks Department (ASD) of the Official Ministry of Computer Technology, your welcome is not exactly a cheerful one. Your first task is to select a farewell card for your predecessor, who was let go due to a small dip in productivity.

Over the course of the game, you will need to send cards to other coworkers, family members and even a neighbor that may just be interested in you. There are always some humorous cards to choose from, but they may not always be the best choice.

Every decision you make, from the very beginning, has an effect on future events and the outcome. While, subjectively, we can say that there is a “best” ending, there is enough variation to get you to play the game multiple times even if everything turns out well on your first run-through.

Be advised, however, that things can get quite depressing if you make a bunch of bad decisions, so make sure to think things through before picking a card.

There isn’t much to say about the simple 2D graphics, and the soundtrack is appropriate, if a bit repetitive. The game’s main focus is on the story, which is well-written and told through your decisions.

From Ivan won’t take you very long to complete, perhaps half an hour, but you will probably want to play it more than once to see more of the alternative endings. It is a pretty simple but impressive game that you should definitely consider picking up.