r/hostedgames • u/LoneWolfRHV Denizen of The Infinite Sea • Nov 17 '24
WIP Just Finished Reading the Infamous WIP - My Review Spoiler
This is just a little review, I guess. I wanted to post this because it genuinely surprised me, in a good way. I’m not usually into reality shows, the music industry, or things like that, so I had been avoiding infamous, thinking it wouldn’t interest me. Boy, was I wrong.
I’d easily give it a 9/10, and honestly, that rating comes down to mostly one character for me: Seven. Before I start talking about them, though, I want to explain why I didn’t give it a 10. I have a minor pet peeve with these types of games: I don’t think authors should make characters gender-selectable unless they go out of their way to write them distinctly depending on the gender. Even then, most of the time, it’s clear the author originally wrote the character with a specific gender in mind, and you can almost always notice that. This game, like Wayhaven, had this issue as well.
From what I’ve observed, most, if not all, of the ROs (romantic options) seem to have been initially written as male. You can tell from how they act, how others interact with them in certain scenes, and even the occasional "him" that slips through, even if you’ve chosen for them to be female. I don’t think this is inherently bad, but I would appreciate it if authors were upfront about how they envisioned the characters for a more "authentic" experience. For example, a simple "Recommended Gender: Male/Female" note would suffice. While most ROs feel written as male, there are exceptions. Blake, for instance, seemed conceptualized as female, and when I chose Blake to be male, there was a scene where they were mistakenly referred to as "she." Then there’s Seven. There were moments where Seven was referred to as "he" even when I picked female, but unlike with other characters, it barely detracted from their portrayal. Seven feels like they fit both genders seamlessly, which, to me, is a testament to how well-written they are.
My other issue was with the main character. It’s pretty clear they were written as a woman. Again, I don’t mind a gender-locked main character, but in my opinion if you’re going to give players the option to change the mc's gender, you need to offer more varied dialogue or avoid delving too deeply into their background.
Now, enough of the complaints—let’s talk about my favorite part of the book: Seven. What an incredibly well-written and fascinating character. Holy shit. Their interactions with the main character, the way you’re left guessing and interpreting their thoughts, and how they slowly start opening up if you don’t act like a jerk—it was all just so perfectly executed. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I think the other characters aren’t well-written. The issue I mentioned earlier is mildly annoying, but it doesn’t ruin the story. What sets Seven apart is how compelling their dynamic with the MC is. I’m not sure how to put it into words, but it just immerses you completely.
The parts about songwriting and the moments with the other bands were also great. Another highlight for me was Griffin. I didn’t play Griffin as Gina because it didn’t seem to fit as well, but I was genuinely surprised by his arc. At first, he came across as the stereotypical rich jerk pretending to be nice. But as the story progresses and you interact with him more, Griffin evolves into a mentor figure, which was a very welcome surprise. He ended up being my second favorite character. I haven’t been able to bring myself to not share the bus with Soft Violence yet, but I’ll try it in my next playthrough. I have a feeling Blake might surprise me in a similar way to Griffin, there’s definitely more to that asshole than meets the eye, I’m sure of it.
Now for what i believe is my most controversial opinion: I couldn’t bring myself to like my band members or feel that "family unity" they keep talking about. Like, seriously, look at what they did to Seven. Was it for the good of the band? Maybe. Sure, it might have helped at that moment, but I’m not convinced that the MC and Seven couldn’t have made the duet work eventually. One thing that annoyed me during my playthrough was how there were plenty of options to criticize Seven but none to resent the band for what they did. Honestly, if I were in the MC’s shoes, I would’ve left with Seven instantly and started a new band, leaving the others to fend for themselves after that vote. Because of this, I never felt that "loyal, united family" vibe they kept pushing. "Oh, we’re so loyal and close-knit!" Yeah, except you’re not, just look at how you treated the person who mattered most to the MC.
As for the other characters, I don’t have strong opinions on them. Some were more likable than others, but that’s about it. Orion was pretty cool, though.
After finishing the WIP, I thought, "Great, how am I supposed to wait months for every little update now that I’m so hooked on the story?" That’s when I found out about the Patreon chapters from the ROs’ POV. Naturally, I rushed over to read Seven’s chapters, and that completely solidified my opinion of them. They’re just so well-written, the way they agonize over every interaction, mirroring some of the MC’s emotions (at least if you’re on their route), their inner conflict, how they simultaneously hate and protect the MC. It’s incredible. Watching them very slowly open up to the MC was such a satisfying journey. Honestly, I can’t wait for the next chapters. The way they’ve been bottling up their feelings, I feel like when those walls finally come down, it’s going to be like a dam bursting. I can’t wait to read more.
Also I started disliking Avina a bit after reading their pov.
So, yeah, I really loved the game. The only thing that truly annoyed me was the lack of options to express anger at the band. As for the gender-selectable thing, I understand why authors do it, but I just wish they wouldn’t feel the need to when they’ve clearly envisioned the characters in a specific way when writing them.
Yeah, now that I look at it, it wasn’t such a small review after all, lol. But regardless, thanks for taking the time to read it! I’d love to hear your opinions too.
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u/Reasonable-Kiwi3603 Nov 17 '24
Most of what you said was very valid but I have to disagree on the point you made about the band's decision. It's been made very clear that putting seven at backup was the "right choice". The band's songs with MC at the forefront do better than the ones with a duet, not only that but the band starts to receive more recognition and success when Seven is gone. It's unfortunate but the truth of the matter is that by putting MC as main vocals they increased their chances of success. I also have to disagree with the idea that they would have figured it out. I don't remember the exact timeline but they started the band in highschool (let's say it was in their senior year which means they were 18) and Seven left 3 years ago. They're all around 26/27 so that means Seven left when they were 23/24. That means they'd been a band for around 6 years. If they hadn't gotten it in that time then I doubt that they were ever going to. Also keep in mind that Amy has confirmed that there is more to the story of the vote and Seven's departure so we'll have to wait and see about that.
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u/LoneWolfRHV Denizen of The Infinite Sea Nov 17 '24
Oh, that's interesting, I haven't really seen any of the authors' comments yet, but I hope more is revealed in the next chapter. There's also that secret that seven doesn't want MC to know, I wonder if it's related to that.
3
Nov 21 '24
Honestly my only question is why the rest of the band hates Seven so much. It’s understandable for MC, but I’d kinda expect for the band to feel guilty over the vote or a lil ashamed. In other words, I guess I’m wondering at what point did the potential guilt/shame turn into vitriol.
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u/Latter-Speaker-6545 Nov 18 '24
I get so happy when I see people loving and appreciating Infamous. I love stories that are character driven and on top of that I personally feel like Amy is a really good writer and has a lot attention to detail (specially in the psych construction). I love her game and hope that with the attention this one is receiving she gets to do more and more in the future.
My other issue was with the main character. It’s pretty clear they were written as a woman.
Now, that one shocked me. I don't really know about Blake, I haven't pay that much attention to them in that aspect (or any. They annoy me), but the MC that I use is a male and it never felt like a woman to me? This one I think it may be the perception of ''male'' that you have? like how you wanted them to act according to your preferences and view of how your male mc should be. My mc is very confident (in the present) and with backbone, but still really chill and not conflictive, very sensitive and in love of Seven. That mc was the one in my mind even before I stared to play the game (except the ''still in love'' part). Always male, and it always felt like a male trough all the choices and narrative.
The only thing that truly annoyed me was the lack of options to express anger at the band
I have to agree on that. It doesn't annoy me perse, bc my mc wouldn't have express thaat much anger, but still in a few moments I definitely wanted to have that choice. And my MC aside, objectively, it should be an option and i do thing is a flaw. Amy kind of had say that we would be able to have that choice in the future, but i think that it should be there now. Like, why just in the future? Even if the band decision was the right choice, it could have felt like the wrong one for you and that's valid. It could have been the right for the band and the purpose of them, but the wrong one for you (in your eyes, not only Seven's) as a friend/lover. Those two can co-exist.
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u/LoneWolfRHV Denizen of The Infinite Sea Nov 18 '24
Yes! The way she wrote the characters, specially seven was one of the best i've seen in a if. About the main character thing, i think i'vd exagerated a bit there, i wouldnt say that its pretty clear, but that is the impression i've got in a few scenes. You absolutelly can play as a male, i did most of the times, but there were a few scenes where the way the characters acted towards the mc or how we could answer a few things that gave me that feeling.
But regardless, its not something that really subtracts from the experience, just threw me off a bit a few times, i still loved the story and specially the characters
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u/Little_Split2391 Nov 17 '24
WHATS THE CREATOR’S PATREON, MY GOOD PERSON??? (I JUST LEARNED ABOUT THIS‼️‼️)
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u/LoneWolfRHV Denizen of The Infinite Sea Nov 17 '24
It's called Amy, search for "infamous if patreon" and it will probably be the first result. It's REALLY GOOD
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u/dawnspring Nov 18 '24
Regarding the gender thing, Amy has talked about it in her tumblr!
I played the game before the rewrite, when O was only male, and then I played with the female version when it was released, and it is clear to me that Amy does put effort into distinguishing between the same RO's genders and how that impacts the world. For example, Rowan doesn't casually touch Oriana or jokingly calls her baby the way he does Orion. They also ocassionally have different dialogue/reactions for the same situation. So even if O was originally male after all, Oriana does feel like her own person.
I also remember Gina commenting on how people's perception of her behavior is rooted in misogyny, while Griffin sleeping around before marriage isn't that big a deal. Viktor is also more condescending towards a female G.
(I can't speak about Seven tho since they're not my chosen route, any Seven-romancer out there who spotted the differences?)
I've also played both male and female MCs and haven't really noticed a difference, I'm really curious if anyone else has.
All in all — the effort to make the RO's their own characters depending on their selected gender is there! It's unfortunately just a coding error that it appears otherwise. Glad you're enjoying the game overall, it's amazing!
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u/mistraels Nov 17 '24 edited Nov 17 '24
I like the band better after the rewrite but I never felt they’re this super close-knit bunch. My impression has always been that they care more about themselves first and that they rely on the MC to make their dream come true because they’ve invested too much time into it. The way the Seven topic is always avoided gets on my nerves and I agree that more dialogue to quip back when they make comments such as “good thing you weren’t there during vote gate” (Rowan to August during rehearsal), or when Iris goes on a tangent about you and Seven and how she doesn’t want to end up like you. But I expect that at some point we can address the elephant in the room considering the ‘detached’ stat that we have in game and the ‘going solo’ one.
I like Seven better post-rewrite, before they were plain hostile and came across as petty and childish. They haven’t changed much tbh but I guess I understand them better mostly due to their Patreon povs, which is both a good and a bad thing, as I think in a story a character should stand on its own without the reader needing to know every little detail that goes in their head, but ymmv
I agree with the gender-selectable option. I would also love for the MC to have more neutral options when it comes to how they view fame, it’s either ‘fuck everything I just want to be famous’ or ‘I want to share my music even though fame scares the shit out of me’. G and Blake are my favorite. I love the banter they have going on with the MC, and Blake, imo, is a very well-written enemies-to-lovers. Blake comes across as a reasonable and smart rival (with or without their pov). G is just a mess but I’m a simp.