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honipaii · 28 days

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REVIEW TIME!

Okay, I've been waiting to write a review for this one!

Let's introduce Henri from "The Ssum" (Bravo, Bravo!)

I just fell in love with Henri since the first time I saw that post.

Elise broke my heart (I don't hate her) but I understand that mama's boy, I hope they are all happy.

Everyone got them own flaws but Henri had been empathic with me until now. And his voice! His laugh! So heart-warming! Omg, he's so silly and cute and serious and and...!! I love him. I want to know him more!

Update! Spoilers ahead!

I'm heartbroken, Henri isn't a bad guy he's just dependent of his family. Until this day (8th day of his route) I've been able to know him more and more, I really like it. Sometimes he says things that break my chicken heart like this message:

And I'm like 'Gosh, dude! Don't even say that! U r a good man, shut it!'. I don't hate nor dislike him. There're just bad people (Elise, stop. You can still change) that don't understand Henri. It breaks my heart! Do it again, Cheritz!

Update! (Yes, again) And Spoilers! (Again)

Look at him! OhGoshILoveHim! (He broke my heart like 3 times but that's for the sake of the plot)

I love how he's written and his problems too. And with the problems he has, it makes sense for him to act like this. He just needs patience and he needs love too...! (Our, the MC's, love. Not Elise's twisted love)

Update! (Yes, again 222) And Spoilers! (Again 222)

I'M. SO. SUPER. IN. LOVE

I LOVE a man who can talk about casual plans like himmm. I LOVE a man who is happy about the idea of being in the same house as me. (I love the idea of me being loved by Henri).

Let. Him. Cook.

Duudeee, the way I'd literally eat anything this man gives me DUDE.

LET HIM COOK 222 (for me)

Update! (Yes, again 333) And Spoilers! (Again 333)

We are cringe, but we are free. I literally told him to wear cat ears as a joke and HE ACTUALLY DID IT? Gosh- Henri, you're killing me.

Anyways, I can't actually believe that everything with Elise haven't been resolved yet! It's ok (?) to make a fuss because of someone "played" with your child. But because that someone haven't responded ik two days? That someone is a doctor. Doctors have a hard time you know?? I was legit confused.

Your honor! This man is the silliest!

Update 444! Spoilers 444!

Your honor! What!?

I- what? Here I can see that Henri is getting his karma, ik ik he have a red flag or two (or three...) but isn't this a little bit... I don't know... EXTREME? Lord? He literally fainted, I was shocked (Not much, he wanted me to feel sorry (I am but he's nit the only victim here) for him)

Now in 14th day of his route, it's about to end and I'm TREMBLING IN FEAR cuz there still are problems to be solved;;...

Last Update (12-04)

The last day finally came and I'm SOBBING. I ALREADY REACHED THE LIMIT OF IMAGES AND I WANTED TO AHHH

Henri I love him, mom. When he said 'I'll say the rest when I get back to the island. So wait for me' I was DYING, I knew that was the last day, it hurts.

So far I've really liked Henri.

So so much. I mean- the way he's always considerate towards me yet the way he's just like a little kid wanting attention and avoiding culpability because of his parents and childhood makes me want to-!!! It drives me insane how much I grow fond of him of his calm voice when he talks about little things and when he's stressed, seeking comfort in the MC.

I REALLY liked Henri. I'm now testing other ssumone while waiting to another update.

#TheSsum #TheSsum_Henri_Review #the ssum

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digital-corruption · 2 years

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My comments on The Ssum (by the studio that made Mystic Messenger):

I want to say I like The Ssum, but it's pretty weird. I don't understand the purpose of all the side stuff. I guess it's original in that there's no mini games per se, but you have a pseudo social media platform within the game. Does it have any actually purpose other than being a distraction while you wait for Teo?

Oh man, if you decide to give the game a try, you have to be super careful how you set up your daily schedule. There's 5 chats a day: wake up, breakfast, lunch, dinner and going to bed. The thing is the chat opens about 30 minutes or so before the time you set and so it closes about 30 minutes before the next time. In a way this is a massive improvement over Mystic Messenger. No chats while you're sleeping so no waking up at weird hours. However, you have to be mindful of how you set up your time. If you set the wake up and breakfast times too close together, you risk missing the wake up chat. Also if you have a tendency to sleep in on weekends, you're at risk of missing out. Strangely I found the going to sleep chat closes at midnight. I don't know if this is the case if you set the time after midnight. I just know that setting it for 11 pm screwed me over, especially because I fell asleep early that night. Maybe this will be fixed?

I've seen a lot of people complaining that Teo is too bland. It is sort of a mistake of only offering one character and hence one love interest. They are trying to appeal to everyone and thus Cheritz have made him too generic. There is the point that Cheritz are boasting 200 days of content so it is meant to be a slow burn relationship. I do find the conversations rather bland. The situation could had done with other characters to bounce off of. Rather than 200 days of Teo, why not 50 days of 4 characters instead? 50 days of content would’ve still been super impressive.

My next concern, 200 days is quite a commitment for a game. The plot better start becoming engrossing, otherwise the game is just a chore. There is no way to save and take a break either. You can pay via IAP to go back or forwards in time.

I missed the wake up chat this morning because I didn't open the app until just before my breakfast time. However for a game that boasts its realistic dialogue, Teo quickly forgot that we didn't actually have that conversation. Not to mention the English translation is rather poor for a game that had several delays. It's playable and passable, but needed someone who spent time living in an English speaking country to edit the script.

I won't be paying for the subscription. For where I live it's over $1 per day and that's far too steep, especially when there's 200 days of content. No matter how you look at it, that's $200 to play the game. PS5 games here are $110-$130 at the moment for a standard edition. There is no way this game is worth more than a PS5 game. So I will suffer the ads and the slow text speed. Also it doesn't unlock Teo's private account? The money grabbing Cheritz is doing with this game makes me sick. I get that there is a lot of continued maintenance required to keep the side stuff going, but we're not talking a few coffees here.

Tl, dr: The Sum has a lot of confusing filler to the game thaf you can ignore. If you intend to play, take care setting your schedule because you can't fix it without paying money, which is just one of a dozen ways the game tries to take your money. Four days in and the chats have been shorter than Mystic Messenger with considerably less plot development. It is meant to have 200 days worth of chats so the relationship is expected to develop slowly. Teo though feels very generic. Trying too hard to appease every preference?

Also why no option for player to be male/nonbinary? They provided a female love interest in Mystic Messenger. This feels backwards...

I'll give it a few more days and to see how it goes.

#the ssum

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ventismacchiato · 1 year

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this is absolute mental illness putting so much effort into one singular man smh (my loser era is back why am i playing otome games instead of getting real bitches 😭)

-🍭

YOO U PLAY TEARS OF THEMIS TOO? i haven’t touched that app in a while 😭

nah fr like i tried the ssum but it was so confusing but if u want an otome game i recommend picka it’s sooo fun i love it

#kai mail 💌#🍭 anon

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roxannarambles · 2 years

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Trying out the Ssum game tonight and it looks cool but also, I am Very Confused. There are so many thingies on the left-hand menu? Virtual pets?? A place to post your thoughts for other players to see? Collecting . . . orb . . . thingies? Some weird plot about aliens studying human emotions or somethin’?

idk man, I will keep poking at it and see if it makes sense. The dating part of the game seems good so far (there’s only one person to date though, I think). I see they are implementing some quality-of-life changes probably due to complaints about MysMe, and I must admit adjusting my sleep cycle with the game is pretty dope. But the little timer that counts down to the next chat is RUINING MY IMMERSION :P Also I don’t need the lil text telling me what Teo is doing during chat (pausing to think, etc.), I just want it to look exactly like a chatroom, ‘cause better immersion that way. these are minor complaints tho.

(To be honest, I even liked the 1am/2am/3am chats on MysMe, the feature that is probably THE most complained-about among fans. Because it’s just so realistic-- sometimes you DO miss chats if you’re not there. It feels more real to me that way, and staying up late for MysMe chats made it feel so much more special to me. but that’s getting off track.)

anyway, the other thing I wanted to whinge about was tying conversation choices to microtransactions/in-game currency. I totally get they need to make money and do that hustle, and most of the microtransactions seem reasonable to me (pay to unlock the ability to get him to type faster, the ability to change his name, whatever). but paying for chat choices? ugh. that kinda sucks. but maybe earning the in-game currency for free won’t be too bad. we’ll see!

I’m still very hopeful, game seems to hold a lot of promise

#ssum #I didn't read ANYTHING about this game at all while it was being developed #so you all prob have a WAY better idea of what it is about than me!#going in blind #no spoilers pls

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ssum-thinginthewayshemoves · 2 years

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The Ssum: Forbidden Lab: First Impressions

It’s been one week since the release of South Korean developer Cheritz’s new phone game The Ssum: Forbidden Lab. I am writing a review as part of their promotion to earn in-game currency’s, I would also genuinely like to express my thoughts on the game.

To ssum up the premise (hah), you’re connected with a young man named Teo through a beta test of an app that is supposed to help you find your “special someone”. The player can interact with Teo in two ways, through a private message system and phone calls, where the player's responses are from pre-determined choices, similar to a visual novel. Over time, you get to know each other, and the story and character develops based on your choices.

Teo

From the trailer and marketing surrounding this game, I expected this game’s story to progress slowly, giving players just a little bit of something each day. A slow burn, to use fanfiction terminology. After all, it’s supposed to have 200 days worth of content playing out over real time.

My experience so far has matched that expectation: Teo messages me 5 times a day, when I wake up, mealtimes, and sometime around bedtime. If I message him back, it leads to a conversation that can be anywhere from a quick 5 minute back-and-forth, to several bursts of conversation spaced out over an hour or two. The conversations are fun and lighthearted: we’ve only just met, after all, we’re still getting to know each other.

I wasn’t sure what to expect of Teo as a character, but he grew on me quickly. A grad student studying film, he seems to harbor a lot of the hopes, fears, and self doubts that anyone trying to enter an artistic career would have. In my experiences speaking with him, he’s shown a passion for storytelling and a determination to prove himself as a director. He also has a good sense of humor, gleefully going along with any weird jokey thing I choose to say. It shows a very “Yes, And” attitude that makes me think he may have a future in Improv Comedy, if directing films doesn’t work out. I find myself genuinely looking forward to the next chance we get to talk.

That said, no game is perfect. The English script has some translation issues, ranging from the occasional missing article such as “a” or “the”, to some outright bafflingly confusing sentences where I can’t even begin to guess what’s being said in the original Korean. This hasn’t ruined my enjoyment by any means, but it’s led to some occasional confusion on what Teo’s trying to say, or why he’s reacting a certain way.

There are also the limitations inherent in a Free-to-Play game. Certain choices you can make in conversation with Teo are locked, and you have to pay with the game's in-game currency, “Aurora Batteries”, to use them. Additionally, starting on day 5, some pictures he sends you are also locked behind a battery paywall. You can also spend batteries to skip the wait time between , if desired. There is also Teo’s “private account”, a sort of twitter feed where you can see his thoughts and reactions to what you say to him. This is limited to the games subscription plan, which I’ll get to later. While one can choose to buy batteries with in-app purchases, it’s not terribly difficult to earn more for free in The Forbidden Lab.

The Forbidden Lab

Second, again from the trailer and the marketing, I got the impression that there is more than meets the eye with this application. The trailer had a moment where things went glitchy and ominous. Also, the subtitle Forbidden Lab is not exactly subtle. It left me curious: What is the forbidden lab? What are these AI called “Piu-Piu” that seem to be helping with the app? Is it Aliens? If this is a lab, are we in an experiment?

While I don’t have the answer to all of those questions, Certainly not this early into the app’s life cycle, I now (sort of) know what the Forbidden Lab is. The lab, surprisingly, takes the form of a sort of online forum, meant to be a scientific study on human emotions. Players are encouraged to participate in a daily study by responding to a question, reading other players' responses, and sending each other support through a system similar to likes on social media pages.

In addition to the daily study, players can unlock different “planets” in a section called the “Infinite Universe”. (See, there’s a lot of space motifs in this game. I’m telling you, it’s definitely aliens.) Each “planet” acts as a sort of sub forum, themed around a different specific emotion, such as boredom, gratitude, passion. There are 8 main planets total, as well as a ninth planet that seems to change seasonally. Posting, commenting, or supporting others will allow you to level up each planet, earning you in-game currency, which you can then use to call Teo or access locked content in the messenger.

Leveling up planets can also earn you little alien creatures that you can adopt, name, and house in another subsection of the forbidden lab. These little guys are cute, and different ones can give you different benefits to help you with your game.

The experience interacting with players in the daily study and the infinite universe has been interesting, varied, and surprisingly heartwarming. On one planet, I came across someone’s post saying they were having a hard day, and decided to send them a support-gift with a note to cheer them up. Later that evening, I got a note back from them, thanking me for the note and telling me how much it made their day. Honestly, the best interaction I’ve had with an internet stranger in years.

However, there are frustrating points to the infinite universe. Navigating to older topics is a luck based mission, since we can only view the most recent, the most popular, or a random mix of topics. This has proved to be both a blessing and a curse: in this day and age, when someone’s terrible hot take from seven years ago can be dug up and waved around, it’s almost comforting to know that anything embarrassing you say will get buried quickly. The flip side of this is, if you see an interesting topic you want to comment on but don’t have time to do so, deciding to come back and find it later is basically impossible.

There’s also a frustrating problem with the game’s attempts at moderating with chat filters: using normal, inoffensive words such as “about”, “assess” or “gratitude” will trigger a pop-up saying your post has inoffensive language, without specifying exactly where the problem lies. Confused users will then either spend the next ten minutes trying to figure out what the problem was, writing and rewriting their post until they accidentally find the problem, or can give up in frustration, delete the post, close the app and complain about it elsewhere.

I certainly didn’t expect this cutesy dating sim to come with an entire community in the game. While some of the sub forums appeal to me more than others, there is certainly something for everyone, if you can figure out how to navigate it.

Monetization

Like many free-to-play apps, The Ssum: Forbidden Lab comes with extras one can buy through in-app purchases. Players running low on Aurora batteries can buy them in bundles, ranging from $2.99USD for 30 to $99.99USD for 1400. Players who like the alien creatures in the forbidden lab can also buy a gacha-game-esque creature box to get a new random creature. Anyone who wants to jump ahead or back in time with their chats with Teo, or want to readjust the timing for Teo’s daily schedule, can buy a one-time-use ticket to do so.

There’s also a few quality of life features one can unlock permanently with a one-time purchase. To me, these features honestly hardly seem worth the steep price, as they only speed up the idle game aspect without actually adding to the game pls experience.

Then, there are the Subscription models. There are two different packages that each grant access to exclusive features. The most robust (and expensive) package includes features such as:

removing ads

removing the battery requirements for locked options, pictures, and phone calls

a set amount of an exclusive currency granted daily that allows one to skip wait times

Access to Teo’s “private account”

Expanded creature shelter to care for more at once

Extras for use in the Forbidden Lab

The different subscription options range in price depending on the package and payment plan, from 20 to 25 USD. The price of the subscription has been the source of a great deal of controversy among the game’s userbase, with many begging for Cheritz to either lower the price or split off individual features into separate subscription bundles, such as the Private Account Access. I am absolutely in agreement with them: even with the cheapest option, $20 a month is nothing to sneeze at, and if one wanted to use the subscription for the whole 200 day duration of the game, that would add up to more than $120USD on one game.

The subscription is absolutely not necessary to the enjoyment of the game. Generous users have been documenting and sharing the locked content on social media, and the game gives enough free batteries to allow a patient and resourceful player to interact with Teo pretty freely. Still, I can’t help speculating that lowering the subscription price to 5, or even 10USD would benefit Cheritz as much as it would users, reducing complaints and likely increasing the subscriber base exponentially.

Final thoughts

All in all, The Ssum: Forbidden lab has so far been a unique, enjoyable experience. While it’s not without its flaws, they’re not deal breakers for me, and I have hope that many will be ironed out with time.

Diehard otome game fans may find it lackluster compared to other, more exciting staples of the genre such as Code: Realize, Amnesia, or even Cheritz’s other phone release, Mystic Messenger. However, it helps when you understand that this isn’t meant to be a grand melodrama, but a quiet slice of life; less of a Fruits Basket and more of a Yotsuba&!. It’s not meant to be a full meal you consume in one go, but a nice little bit of spice to enhance my day to day routine.

… Unless I’m right, and this IS all an alien experiment. With at least 193 days to go, only time will tell if this theory will prove true or not. Either way, I look forward to the journey.

#the ssum #game review #mobile game #otome game #cheritz

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