Despair Springs Eternal

This is my review of the game “Despair Springs Eternal”:

Warning: This review contains heavy spoilers for the game.

The game “Despair Springs Eternal” tells the story of Oliver and his friend Lucas. Because of a very difficult childhood, Oliver developed a deep hatred toward humanity. To escape his suffering, he decided that he wanted to end his life, but in a vengeful way that would cause pain and anguish to the people in his life who care about him. Oliver blames them for preventing him from “escaping” a world he hates so much, including Lucas, who had previously stopped him once before.

To take revenge on Lucas for preventing Oliver from ending his life in the past, Oliver kidnapped him to his room and gave him two choices: either Lucas shoot Oliver and “fix” what he had prevented before, or Lucas himself would have to die. In order to convince Lucas to pull the trigger, Oliver begins laying out his arguments to justify his goal, which is to end his life.

Despair Springs Eternal is a very philosophical game. There were quite a few moments where it made me stop mid-play and think, because it genuinely raises deep philosophical questions that are hard to ignore. I have to say, I don’t know many other games that have created moments like these for me, and that is largely thanks to how the dialogues are written and how Oliver’s character is handled.

All of Oliver’s arguments, which he presents to Lucas in order to justify his goal, combined with the very strong dialogue writing, create a situation where it is extremely difficult to argue against him. He explains and supports his reasoning so well that I can really understand Lucas’s sense of helplessness throughout the game. For example, Oliver argues that humans have no control over the decision to be born, nor over whether their lives will be good or miserable after birth, and therefore they should at least have the right to decide how their life ends if they choose to. Let’s just say it’s very hard to argue with someone who presents a claim like that. Another example (when we reach Zoey’s section) is Oliver’s argument that an illness can only be cured when it is still small, but once it is allowed to grow and take deep root, it can no longer be cured.

Once again, Oliver’s arguments and the game’s dialogues are extremely well written and difficult to counter. Because of that, the game made me stop and think many times, as I tried to form counter-arguments in my head. Oliver does not hold back with his words and speaks openly about his despair and his hatred toward humanity, laying all of his emotions out in a raw and unfiltered way. It was a very philosophical and unique experience, and I can’t think of many other games that have given me a similar feeling.

I also liked how throughout the game Oliver continues to give examples and logical explanations to justify his goal, almost as if he is trying to convince the player themselves to choose the option where Lucas pulls the trigger. Because of this, the game places the player in a very unique and challenging philosophical situation.

Regarding other parts of the game:

The city in the game feels big, detailed and alive, with many things to explore and see alongside the main story.

Alongside its heavy themes, the game also includes comedic elements throughout the game that make the experience even more unique.

The gameplay is very well made and is challenging on many occasions.

In conclusion: I really loved the game. Despair Springs Eternal is a very unique experience that combines philosophy and psychology and presents the player with highly challenging philosophical questions. The dialogue, the humor, and the story are all very well done, and the world is built beautifully and feels alive. Even though it felt like there was relatively little gameplay (the game is only about 4–5 hours long after all, of which 1.5–2 hours are actual gameplay), the gameplay itself is well designed and genuinely challenging. The ending and the final twists left me wanting more, especially a sequel.

Overall, for an indie game, this is a very strong experience.

My score for the game is 9/10.