It became apparent to me that Her Story is something special after about one hour. I had a notepad on my lap with untidy half-sentences scrawled across several pages; profiles, events, theories, and anything else I thought was relevant to the story. The slow but consistent drip-feeding of information was enough to keep me hooked but not enough to satisfy. As my brain whirred, trying to second guess the story in order to obtain the next information high, my eyes were scanning my pages of notes trying to identify hidden links. I became a detective solving a mystery with my own notes and this level of player interactivity is subtle but it’s the key to Her Story’s success.

 

It begins with a simple computer screen, low resolution and few applications, from the 1990s. The video database is open, with a search term already inputted in the search bar and four videos await your perusal. The search term reads, “MURDER”, and so the investigation begins. Each video presented is of one lady in an interrogation room answering questions from the police. You only get the answer and you never hear the police speak. Videos range between one second and two and a half minutes and feature as part of four different interviews with the same woman at different stages of the investigation. Your objective is to watch all the videos on the database.

 

When you search the videos with a keyword, however, the database can only reveal five videos each time due to its simplicity. This is where things get crazy. As you flick through the videos, some more helpful than others, new information with reveal itself, allowing you to narrow down searches with more complex search terms. In order to remember everything I resorted to the classic pen and paper, and soon I became lost in my own web of ink and mystery.

 

The story and how it is presented is the foundation of Her Story. Without it there would be no reason to continue. The story is intriguing, with strange twists that throw your train of thought off course, and well-acted. The actress, Viva Seifert, plays her character brilliantly, easily swaying between sincere, angry, and distressed. Everything down to the way she sits in her chair radiates personality and makes the whole story completely believable and eerily real.

 

As you unlock the story from the database, you don’t unravel the mystery in a chronological order. As mentioned earlier, the videos are part of four separate interviews and when you search through them, you might unlock a plot twist miles ahead of where you are in your investigation. On paper, this sounds like a flaw, but as with all other information, it isn’t enough to satisfy the itch. It just becomes another part of your investigation as you unravel the meaning behind each event. Each line of dialogue has been crafted this way to keep you questioning and this is why it is so brilliant.

 

There are a lot of videos and even though most can be found relatively easily once you dive into the story and begin to dissect it, there are some which are harder to find. They are often very short videos which have very little, very general dialogue. Whilst they add to the reality of a real conversation between two people, you won’t ever find this video unless you guess that one word said. Even though it adds to the feeling that this is a real conversation, these shorter, almost pointless sections are quite frustrating to find. Despite this niggle, the game flows very well and is not derailed from its captivating mystery.

 

Her Story’s final gift to the player is that you as the player have your own story to tell. As you dissect the story, you use your own predetermined opinions and beliefs to analyse and deconstruct the facts presented to you. You can sit down with friends and share your own ideas on the story, how you came to certain conclusions and any wild theories that you came up with whilst playing.

 

Whilst Her Story’s mechanics are incredibly basic, it is what the game makes you do away from the mouse and keyboard that makes the game engrossing. There is no emotional attachment to the character, just the perfectly medicated need to find out what the hell has happened. Her Story leapfrogs its way to being one of the best narrative driven games ever made.