Review: Emily Is Away (2015)

Life ain't always as it is, mate.

★★★

This was an interesting experience. "Emily Is Away" isn't your average "indie RPG"; it's an interactive story with a good, but sometimes silly, plot. Remember a time before Facebook and Skype? When Windows XP was the next big thing and AIM was king? "Emily Is Away" takes you back to a simpler time, around the early 2000s. All the late '80s and '90s kids will surely feel nostalgic for this.

The game takes place during your later years in high school with your best friend Emily, leading to graduation and then college years. Each chapter represents a year, and depending on your choices, the story will play out differently, with various endings. I appreciate that the developers didn't include a "good ending." The story shows us that whatever you say or do, things will not always turn out the way we anticipate. And that's true of all friendships. It's okay to be hurt when friendships end, that's just how life is.

The game includes a bunch of different Easter eggs, which add a little fun at the beginning before the story kicks in. To access them, all you have to do is change your profile picture to something iconic, and Emily will react to it based on the picture you've selected.

Overall, I really enjoyed this game and I highly recommend it! It's short and sweet, but Emily is a horrible person, though. Don't go making friends like her.