Realism vs Details
Vi is a character that pops up in the second half of the game and communicates via saying “Vi” in numerous ways and through arm motions. What makes her work though is the simplicity of it all. The writer does a wonderful job letting those arm movements and the descriptions of Vi’s body language explain things in a simple manner. The game communicated to me what I needed to know and I understood it. In Tayo and Bimona’s cases, however, because we often see their unfiltered internal thoughts it’s hard to sympathize with them. There is a difference between writing in a realistic manner and being overly detailed. Which is really the biggest issue when it comes to the writing of The Last Birdling.
The Last Birdling contains a lot of detail and it’s obvious InvertMouse put a lot of time and effort into trying to bring the world and characters to life. A good example of this is the glossary that’s in the game. This fills in a lot of details about the world, the Birdlings, and just about anything else you need to know. While it can spoil a few things if you just outright read it, the game will provide a “glossary” button in the dialog box when an important term comes up. This kind of thought and foresight is normally a good thing. Except, it also made me really question the final big reveal of the story. Since the information in the glossary is written from the perspective of people in that world, the final big mystery, shouldn’t have been a mystery. Someone should have known the answer. This problem with being overly detailed also affects the characters as I mentioned.
Tragedy without Empathy Leads to Hollow Heroes
There are a lot of graphic descriptions in The Last Birdling and while I will praise InvertMouse for going through the effort, the problem is that it’s not utilized properly. Detailing a battle scene and even some of the wounds that can occur during battle I get. But we did not need descriptions of Bimona or Tayo swallowing their own snot from a runny nose or crying. While yes, it is realistic, it serves no narrative purpose and just comes off as oddly gross in what’s supposed to be a serious story. The same goes for characters thoughts. I can understand a character getting mad at a situation, but hammering into our heads how much they hate a situation through angry dialogue doesn’t make for a compelling character. It makes us frustrated that our hero is being a jerk.
The thing is, while we do want realistic characters, we also want those characters to be likable. It’s difficult for a player to empathize with a character they dislike. We want to see our heroes grow and succeed where we ourselves would probably fail. But if we don’t care about those heroes, it’s hard to connect with them in the first place. Which means we don’t share their pain and it doesn’t matter to us if they succeed or fail. Which is sad, because when The Last Birdling makes that connection, it’s a powerful one.
There were many times I had to just sit there and take in what just happened. Bimona and Tayo’s story is a tragedy in the truest sense of the word. You will be sad, you will feel for the situations they find themselves in, and you will hope against all odds that there’s some happiness for these two at the end of it all. Life can be cruel, and some things just never seem meant to be. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try or compromise your beliefs and values. The Last Birdling is a good story, but it’s hard to enjoy when I’m getting mixed messages. Really, it’s a tragic tale not properly communicated, which is its biggest flaw.
A Truly Tragic Tale with Questionable Characters
In the end, I don’t think The Last Birdling is a bad game. However, it is imperfect. What the game really needed was better quality assurance on both the technical side and the writing. On the technical side, it really was just making sure things are consistent. The writing side however I think needs more eyes on it. I get the feeling that this was self-written and self-edited. I’d encourage InvertMouse to open that process up to the entire team. Have one writer, but take input from the whole team and have them read the script before finalizing it. I think more eyes on future projects will help catch a lot of these issues. That said, I still need to give a recommendation, don’t I?
If you’re a fan of tragic stories or tragic Yuri, I think you’ll be ok with this. The emotion is there and you’ll feel for the situation. Your mileage may vary on the characterization, however. On the technical side, the game is beautiful and there was a lot of effort put into the artwork and soundtrack. In regard to price, I think $8.99 isn’t much to ask considering you’ll get about six to eight hours out of the game. If you’re on the fence, just wait for a sale. All-in-all, The Last Birding is a good effort by an indie VN developer. I can only hope that in the future, we’ll see greater things from InvertMouse.
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Review Copy Provided by the publisher
