Don’t Give Up: A Cynical Tale – First Impressions

I really wanted to start this article off with a witty quote about anticipation. A quote that says waiting for something often makes it that much better once you’ve finally attained it. But after scrolling through a long list of anticipatory quotes I came to a harsh realization that 90% of them are about waiting to get porked. So, how about instead of treading into some indecent territory we instead talk about some Indie Games. 

Back in February, I wrote an article about 3 Awesome Indie Games On Kickstarter. One of these games was Don’t Give Up: A Cynical Tale. Some seven months later I’ve finally played the game and… damn… it’s good. I’ve admittedly only played a few hours, but what I’ve experienced is easily worth the $9.99 price tag and here’s why.  

First of all, the art is fantastic. Normally with a game like this, I would gush about the pixel art. Even though Don’t Give Up has some great pixel art, it is the dialogue portraits that have really caught my eye. Each one is beautifully hand-drawn and helps to convey the emotion of the characters. When our lovable protagonist Tris gets embarrassed after asking a dumb question or begins to feel anxious, his portrait reflects these emotions. This, in turn, makes these characters seem like real people who have feelings and aspirations all their own.

It’s because of these portraits in conjunction with some great dialogue that I’m not ashamed to admit that the characters within Don’t Give Up are some of my favorites in recent years with the real standouts so far being Tris and Billie. Tris is incredibly funny and always seems to have a quip of pun hidden up his sleeve. Billie is incredibly charming even though I don’t know much about her yet. It could be that, with my limited playtime, these are the two I’ve spent the most time with. However, I’ve really become invested in them as people and that’s what makes seeing their dark sides so difficult to bear. 

When Tris has a little too much to drink he begins to spiral into a state of self-loathing and really brandishes the scars of his past. This occurs while Billie, on the other hand, has yet to show any signs of a similar state. I can’t help but have the feeling that she’s lonely and just needs a friend. The addition of a darker side of these characters really makes them interesting and stokes my curiosity. 

There are some aspects within Don’t Give Up that I’m not very fond of, that mainly being the combat. The combat consists of Smak Talk to add debuffs or accidental buffs to your enemies and the battle phase. While the Smak Talk is often really funny and evergreen, the combat itself is an entirely different story. Combat goes a bit little like this… After you exit Smak Talk you dodge enemy attacks from a distance while trying to widdle down their guard with ranged attacks. Once their guard is down, you wale on them until they regain it… then you rinse and repeat.  

I’ve only fought a few times but, after the first or second battle, it became stale and made me wish this was an RPG that would allow me to talk my way out of everything. At least that way I’d get to enjoy some fantastic and incredibly punny jokes. 

My earliest opinions on Don’t Give Up: A Cynical Tale are that the game is really fun and quirky and sports an amazing art style and cast of characters. However, it really lacks any staying power when it comes to combat. So if you’re a fan of an intriguing story, great characters, and a binge-worthy soundtrack, but couldn’t care less about combat, then Don’t Give Up is the perfect game for you.