Talk To Me

Depression is something many modern people have to deal with, although it’s not necessarily a new disorder. However, it’s only recently that psychologists have begun to diagnose it, and it also has a lot to do with our 21st-century environment. Naturally, the subject is approached in many different mediums, including of course all sorts of video games.

Talk To Me is a visual novel in which you play the role of a man trying to get his life back together after losing his mother, but with not much success. The game allows you to make choices for the main character and see where those choices take him, but as the developer puts it, there are no actual good or bad endings. Instead, you just finish the story in a different manner, so the ultimate conclusion is up to you.

The main character’s name is Ordell Harrison, and he moves to a different town in order to start over after his mother dies. Unfortunately, things do not go very well for him in this new town either, given the fact that he is alone and he is not having too much luck with finding a new job. Perhaps making a few new friends could help, but that is left entirely up to you and your decisions.

Meeting that special someone can have tremendous effects on a person’s mood, and you can try to help Ordell find a suitable partner. There are no restrictions on whether that partner is a man or a woman, so you are pretty much free to take your pick from the available choices. Naturally, this also affects the plot as a whole, because the story ends in a different way depending on the chosen partner.

As far as the graphics are concerned, the artwork style is certainly unique, but it might be everyone’s cup of tea. If you are expecting the typical anime style, then this is not for you, because the drawings are much more Western-looking. However, the artwork is definitely detailed and engaging, so it’s all about preference at the end of the day.

It’s obvious that Talk To Me might trigger your own depression if you suffer from it, so you may want to avoid it if that’s the case. Other than that, there’s enough content here to keep you busy for a while.