Once again I have found myself working through a digital novel, poring through loads of text in the hopes that there will be a spark of something different or interesting to justify reading text, when I could be actively playing instead. Much to my surprise, I’ve again encountered a title where the format mostly works, pulling me through a narrative with an odd hook, presenting me with pretty regular decision points, and that manages to at least make me feel like I have some ability to steer the course of events in the game. Still Joking, with its very unusual conceit of essentially controlling a person’s reflection, who has been liberated in the world beyond the mirror after the murder of her host, may still be loaded with text walls to wade through, but at least it’s clear that it’s trying.

You’ll play as Iris, who is the reflection of a famous actress murdered while in front of her dressing room mirror. Suddenly unmoored from having to live in parallel to the life of her “prototype”, it turns out that she has many choices to make as she plots out the course of her newfound life. The thing is, the circumstances behind the murder remain at the forefront of her thoughts, so aside from learning the ropes of this new existence, she’ll continue to work to track down clues by continuing to meet new people, getting to know them, and then digging into whatever details she can find. There’s no question that given the game’s conceit, there’s a fair amount of latitude they have with the storytelling, establishing rules for this world I’ve never considered before. While that does make it interesting, I’d imagine how people will respond will also vary.

That said, the main obstacle to enjoyment for many people will likely be the game’s format, which may have some adventure-esque vibes to a degree but is still ultimately just a visual novel. Your degree of choice and how you proceed are inherently constrained by the choices you’ve made, and the underlying paths those collective options will take you down. You do have agency, but it can only go so far. The more game you are for that experience, you can very well choose to overlook what can feel like limitations in your choices, either picking what feels best or just deciding to try going down different paths to see what happens. If that sounds like a fun and diverting experience, I’ll give the developers credit for at least trying to make most of the format they’ve chosen, even if I’ve played more polished versions of the genre from the eShop.