The Ensign

I played both this and a dark room back when it first came out and I was a kid. I just recently came back to it and in my opinion it’s an extremely fun and challenging game. It’s very tempting to just walk around without purpose but every step matters because you have to constantly watch your food and water levels. The battles are fun but fair and the fighting seems RNG like at first because you can either hit or miss but typically you lose fights from lack of preparation rather than being “unlucky”. I think that if you enjoy a thoughtful storyline along with challenging gameplay this game is for you. HOWEVER one critique I have is a bug at the end of the game. When you get to the end of the game after completing it a specific way you unlock a mode, but it’s bugged and the screen does not show properly so you can’t use it. This is extremely frustrating because a lot of time and effort goes into unlocking this mode. If the developer is reading this please fix!!!

I cannot explain in words how much I love this game. It will make you feel so many emotions because of its brutal story, amazing gameplay, and the decisions you make. However, if you haven't played A Dark Room, do NOT play this game. Play a dark room first, otherwise you will not get the full experience. This game is hard at first, and you will be frustrated. Sometimes you have to die to progress into the game. The game even mocks you sometimes when you die. My favorite and most aggravating was when I was killed by a sniper. I had gotten pretty far, and by my foolishness I went too far from the center and encountered a sniper. He killed me and I had to start over. As I was passing through the introduction, the screen turned black and a single word in red appeared. headshot. I smiled and wanted to smash my phone against the wall. So to finish this up, the game is well worth the 99 cents. I would pay $10 for this game because I love it so much. The story is so rich, brutal, and sad. It makes you question who to trust and which side you really should be on. And I just love it.

When I first played A Dark Room years ago, I had stumbled across the browser version and only put maybe an hour or so into it. Those of you who have played know this barely scratches the surface of the game, but even so, when I came across the app quite a long time after, I didn't hesitate to buy it. I've replayed it an uncountable number of times. The Ensign provides just as enthralling and incredible of an experience. This game is brutal, don't get me wrong, but it's brutality adds to the story in a way I've never seen before. I found myself occasionally wanting to die so I could see how the game changed. Of course, there were also the times (much more frequent) where I found myself cursing and having to put the game down because I'd died of my own carelessness. The frustration is entirely worth it. Stay with it. Start again, as much as you won't want to. I can't tell you the number of times this game made me pause and gave me chills. The Ensign, as well as the original A Dark Room, are exquisite games with unique, rich storytelling and gameplay. I cannot recommend them enough.