OneShot is a surreal puzzle adventure game developed by Little Cat Feet and published by . Based on the free version of 2014, it was released on Steam on December 8, 2016. The game is based around the concept of meta-narrative , which is described by developers as "The world knows about your existence." This affects the plot of the game, where the protagonist Nico and the Player are depicted as separate characters who regularly interact with each other.
| Onehot | |
|---|---|
 Game cover | |
| Developer | Little cat feet |
| Publisher | Degica |
| Date of issue | June 30, 2014 (original) December 8, 2016 (remake) |
| Genre | Adventure, Puzzle |
| Creators | |
| Composer | Casey Gu (Nightmargin) |
| Technical details | |
| Platforms | Microsoft Windows |
| Game engine | RPG Maker |
| Game modes | For single player |
| Carrier | |
Content
Gameplay
The game is a quest. The player, controlling Nico, must find various objects, combine them and use them on the environment to advance the plot. The game is made in a 2D pixel style with a top view
Story
The game begins with the awakening of the protagonist, Nico, in a dark and unfamiliar world. He uses a computer in the room that accesses the player directly through a dialog outside the game window using his computer name. Then Nico finds the sun of this world, which has taken the form of a light bulb. Leaving the building, the protagonist sees a huge tower, whose top is hiding far in the sky. Continuing his journey, Niko finds a Robot-Prophet who explains that the appearance of the protagonist was predicted and that he is the Messiah, whose mission is to return the sun to this world, and this can be done just in the tower that Niko saw. The Prophet also tells Nico that he is not alone. In his journey, God will help him, whose role the player plays. Nico and the Player communicate with each other through a dialog box. The player will lead Nico through three main locations: Wasteland (in the original Barrens), Valley (Glen) and Refuge (Refuge). In each location, the hero meets various characters with whom you must interact to advance to the next location. Having reached the Tower, the player has a choice: to return the sun and save the world, but Niko will never get home, or to break the light bulb, finding the world to suffer and slow death, but Niko goes home to his family.
Solstice
On March 20, 2017, an update came out, called Solstice (Solstice). The update significantly expands the plot of the game and adds a new, true ending that reveals all the secrets and history of the game world, and also allows you to save both Nico and the World. This ending explains that, in fact, the world in which all the characters live, except for Nico and the Player, is just a simulation of the world created by The Author, managed by the World Machine and launched on the Player’s computer.
Characters
| Name | Original Name | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| one | Niko | Niko | A child resembling a cat in appearance (in particular, has “cat” eyes with vertical pupils). Constantly interacts with the Player, commenting on certain situations or actions, committed by the player. She loves pancakes that his mother cooked. |
| 2 | Robot Prophet | Prophetbot | The first character Niko meets. It looks like a humanoid in a white cassock and with a cubic head with a single eye in the center. His only task is to answer the questions of the Messiah, and therefore he cannot talk to anyone but Nico. |
| 3 | Silver | Silver | A robot looking like a red-haired woman in a purple robe. It has a full-fledged personality, and is not programmed, and therefore can speak with the protagonist on any topic. He likes to play chess, and Nico can keep her company. |
| four | Calamus | Calamus | A teenager wearing red feather clothing and a headdress resembling a bird's head in appearance. The elder brother of Alula. |
| five | Alula | Alula | The younger sister of Kalamus. Outwardly, he practically does not differ from him, except that her clothes are blue and her character is much more cheerful than that of her older brother. |
| 6 | Lamplighter | Lamplighter | Looks like a young man in purple clothes and with purple hair. Carries a bottle of red phosphorus, which fills the lamps in the Vault. |
| 7 | World Machine | The world machine | A simulation of the game world created by the Author. Appears in the image of a regular computer in the world (at the end of the expansion Solstice appears in the form of a holographic copy of Nico). He believes that the world should not be saved, but rather should be destroyed, because it is just a simulation. It is he who creates the squares of the Essence, which gradually destroy the world. |
| eight | Proto | Proto | Externally, it looks like a Robot-Prophet, but with a changed color scheme. It was part of the Old World, along with the Author, Cedric and Roux. It was built by the author before the death of the Old World and transferred to the simulation. Appears only in Solstice. |
| 9 | Cedric | Cedric | The Son of the Author, transferred after the destruction of the Old World to a simulation. It looks like a dark-skinned man with white hair and a black hat with glasses and a feather. Possesses an airplane and plays an important role in the True ending and, along with Proto and Roux, plays an important role in history. |
| ten | RU | Rue | The red fox, which along with Cedric, Author and Proto was part of the Old World. It plays an important role in the plot of the True ending, however, it appeared before the addition of Solstice, though only for a moment, as one of Nico's visions. |
| eleven | Author | The author | One of the inhabitants of the Old World. Created a simulation and studied it. He disappeared to the events of the game and there is no description of his appearance. Cedric's father, creator of Proto and friend of Ru. He wrote a diary in which he described his discoveries and thoughts. |
Reviews
The game received mostly positive reviews. On the Metacritic website, the game has 84 points [1] . Critics praised the excellent plot and skillful use of meta narrative. Rock, Paper, Shotgun called the game “Completely charming, delightfully written and extremely smart” [2] , and Hardcore Gamer called the game “An Unforgettable Adventure” [3] .
Notes
- ↑ OneShot . Metacritic. Date of treatment October 29, 2017.
- ↑ Wot I Think: OneShot . Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Date of treatment October 29, 2017.
- ↑ Review: OneShot . Hardcore Gamer. Date of treatment October 29, 2017.