WEBVTT

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(lively orchestral music)

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- [Eric] Goodbye Volcano
High, which comes to us

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from Canadian indie
development studio, KO_OP,

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the team behind 2017's
inventive puzzler GNOG,

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is an inventive, hand-drawn visual novel

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featuring musically-gifted
anthropomorphic dinosaurs.

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Last month, I got hands-on time

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with this prehistoric point-and-click,

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and was struck by how
the game manages to nail

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the stressful yet essential role

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that social media plays in modern life.

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Not to mention, the spot-on portrayal

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of text chain dynamics amongst friends.

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Volcano High, which comes out today

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after a lengthy, at times
fraught, development process,

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punctuated by COVID delays,

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a complete reboot of the game's narrative,

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and a deeply shitty 4chan
harassment campaign,

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follows reptilian teens

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as they navigate the perils
of high-school senior year,

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while reckoning with their
society's pending extinction

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via an incoming big-ass meteor.

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The game's clever use of
AI and text box pop-ups

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captures the overwhelming feeling

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of living in our
over-scheduled modern society

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and how a disaster of this magnitude

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would be reported on by mainstream media

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and consumed by the public.

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And for an extra bit of angst,

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have I mentioned this game
is set in high-school?

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Our protagonist is Fang,
a non-binary pterosaur

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capably voiced by Lachlan Watson

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from Netflix's "Chilling
Adventures of Sabrina,"

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who also identifies as non-binary.

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But, for real, Fang's rad.

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I found them to be
confident yet vulnerable,

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a perfect cipher for the player

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as they steer Fang
through a tumultuous time.

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I was also partial

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to drummer/stoner Velociraptor,
Reed's, whole vibe.

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Early on, the aforementioned
meteor prompts a text

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from a secret admirer of Fang's

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that gets our plot off and running.

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Nothing like a mystery to solve

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during the end of the world, right?

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Something I felt the game
interrogates really well

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is the byplay between our online
versus real life personas,

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illustrated best by a section

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in which Fang must choose where
and with whom to sit next to

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in the school's auditorium,

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a decision that caused
me all kinds of agita

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back in the day,

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during their brother's big
class president speech.

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And, oh yeah, speaking of the band,

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there's plenty of music in here too.

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A rhythm-based quick-time
button pressing affair,

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which wasn't included
in the demo I played,

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but looks solidly implemented.

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Really, the focus here is the feels

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and navigating delicious,

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prehistoric high-schooler doomsday drama.

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Which begs the question,

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how would you spend
your last days on earth?

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Let us know in the comments below.

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And be sure to check out kotaku.com

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for more gaming coverage.

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(energetic upbeat music)