Dropsy got the meaning of life...
Love everyone altough they don't love you

you need a hug today

The more cynical you are, the more this character will melt your heart

I really enjoyed the game.

If you like classic graphics adventures with gorgeous pixel artwork and are looking for a game that leaves the trodden path then this may be something for you. Dropsy really pulled me in with its atmosphere that was both foreboding and light-hearted at the same time. The nightmarish beginning draws the player right into the world of Dropsy and keeps them guessing whether the plot will develop into a horror story with you being the monster or maybe something else entirely.

The game pulls something off brilliantly that few games dare today, and that is to tell a story without words. Dialog is presented in pictograms only and they are so well-designed that it is a lot of fun guessing what the characters are saying. I played the whole thing through in one sitting and was motivated enough to try and solve the puzzles myself, even when I was stuck. This was largely due to the fact that there are a lot of optional tasks you can do when stuck and some of them may lead you to places that get you back on track for the main story.

These days it's been getting more and more difficult to find an indie game that actually bothers setting the mood, creating a dense atmosphere and bringing something new to the table. Dropsy was a nice surprise in that regard and has been one of the best story-based games I've played this year.

There may be some quirks in the game mechanics that may put sensitive players off, but if you are used to old school adventure games and enjoyed some of the newer indie adventure games then you should be pretty much used to the other imperfection. And really, overall the game was super stable for me, so I didn't get the feeling I was stuck due to a bug.

My only gripe is that I bought it cheaply off a sale, because Dropsy is worth every penny.
I really feel like buying it again and gifting it to someone who can appreciate it.

nice little point n click game!

pros
+ the story is pretty decent
+ nice gameplay twist with the pets
+ images only communication somehow works pretty well
+ hugging concept
+ soundtrack is simple but sets a very fitting mood

cons
- some animations could use some more frames
- no heads up or special save before entering the final chapter, where you are not able to explore the map with your pets anymore, forcing you to restart from scratch if you want to achieve 100% hugs
- no skip button
- fullscreen bug

Possibly the best game of 2015, or at least one of, for sure. The design, music, characters and story is all top notch and all filled with love and inspiration! My only complain is that some puzzles are a bit too obscure and some "dialouge" too difficult to decipher. The creator himself even thought so as I understood it, but then again, some got themselves all the way through, while others did not. It may be a case of people being a bit spoiled with quick solutions in the modern age compared to the golden age of LucasArts and Sierra, where pixel hunting & trial and error basically were the rule as there were no forums or walkthroughs on the web.

But to conclude: I love this game. It enriched my life.

I was expecting to love this game, but I just didn't. I'm a long time fan of point and click adventures, and this looked like a particularly heartwarming and delightful one. It has a great soundtrack and attractive art stle, but sadly the rest falls short. The story is very minimal, mostly consisting of very short side stories (fetch a homeless woman a sandwich, now she's happy). Many of the puzzles are obtuse and have little internal logic or clues pointing you towards the solution, which makes for a lot of backtracking in the hopes of stumbling over the next solution.

Well done to the devs for trying something different, there's clearly some talent here. I hope to enjoy their next project more than this one.

When I first heard about Dropsy, I was kind of put off. I mean, look at him. He's kind of creepy looking - especially if you don't have a fondness for clowns.

But after talking with the developer and reading up on Dropsy's creation... I fell in love. I played the side game that put out for a game jam (Dropsy and the Black Lodge) and that just cemented this character for me.

He's an innocent. Probably one of the only pure innocents I've ever run into in gaming.

I don't do a lot of standard reviews of games (and this is my first on Steam), but I love this game enough to write this.

I honestly am not sure what to say that doesn't just sound like me gushing about Dropsy. So... I'm going to gush.

The audio is fantastic. The soundtrack helps set the mood (and the Dream-world tracks... some of my favorite).

The hand-drawn animation just fits. The first time you see Dropsy get excited because someone likes him, when you go to hug someone and they accept the hug... I'm actually getting a little emotional just thinking about it.

Jay does a fantastic job of including humor in the game. The emotional scenes hit you right in the feels. The laughter is contagious. And even the frightening gives me goose-bumps.

Controls are fairly standard Point-n-Click.

There is nothing written in the game. The visual method that characters use to communicate can take a little getting used to, but it's laid out simply enough that even a child can understand it.

It's not often that a game comes along that can literally be appealing to kids and adults, but my nine year old son is just as excited to play with Dropsy as I am.

What are you waiting for? Go start hugging!

The world completely changed after the terrorist attacks occurred on 11 September 2001 in New York. Leading us to an increased militarization in the western countries, now obsessed with the idea of security. So consequently, the artistic and cultural manifestations also changed, including videogames. A generation which grew up with cute videogame mascots was followed by a new generation of children playing realistic war simulators. While they saw tragic news on television, talking about the devastating consequences of the Irak War. It’s not a coincidence that in a country like the United States, where so many young lives were lost in the Irak War, Call of Duty became the best-selling franchise. In the New World Order raised from the ashes of the 9/11, the war was seen as an everyday routine.

I also think that it’s not a coincidence that a game like Dropsy was launched in the same weekend of September 11. Given that it’s a work surrounded with a pacifist message, talking about the act of giving our unselfish love to others as the only possible means to make the world a better place, mitigating the intolerance by trying to not prejudge other people. It’s easy to see in the cheerful and lovable clown Dropsy a mirror of all the Muslim people resident in western countries that were judged as potential terrorists in the aftermath of the attacks of September 11.

With a lot of its contemporary games relying in the idea of violence as the only possible means to defend our countries and using an ever increasing level of realism, in Dropsy we have our hugs as the main tool for interacting with other characters, trying to bring happiness to other people’s lives. And it departs from realism, sculpting an intentionally surreal world with some dreamy landscapes reflecting Dropsy’s traumas that seem taken from a Dali’s painting mixed with LSD.

Dropsy is clearly inspired by Yoshirou Kimura’s Chulip, one of the all-time best adventure games. Prior to the creation of Chulip, Yoshirou Kimura was one of the co-founders of Love-de-Lic, a Japanese studio that was responsible for some of the most creative games in videogame history. With Chulip being the consummation of Yoshirou Kimura’s principles regarding art creation.

Chulip, like Dropsy, was a game based in the idea of help other people with the final objective of give a kiss to every single character. So like in Dropsy, all of its puzzles were centered in how to win the confidence of the city inhabitants until we may be able to kiss them.

The subtle difference between Dropsy and Chulip comes in the form of its ambience and artistic and intellectual references. Chulip was envolved with a tinge of sadness and melancholy, highlighted by a palette with a tendency to ocre and brown tonalities. Its universe was so quirk as the showed in Dropsy, but another type of quirkiness. With cute characters more close to the perverted habitants that you could find in Austin Jorgensen’s Lisa. An the use of narrative in Chulip evokes the cruel society found in Charles Dickens’ novels, with a component of social criticism resembling Akira Kurosawa’s films such as Dodes’ka-den or The Lower Depths.

Dropsy is more like the luminous and warm opposite to Chulip. Its colorful palette takes its inspiration from Tim Schafer’s classic adventures in the vein of Day of the Tentacle, suggesting 60’s cartoons. At a first glance, some of its characters may seem a little disturbing. But all of them hide in his interior a kindness and friendly part waiting to be discovered. Dropsy, like Undertale, is a perfect antidote against all the skepticism surrounding the 21st century. A warm damp hug given to neutralize the nihilism.

If in Chulip the Akira Kurosawa’s social films were an obvious inspiration, Dropsy looks directly to Charles Chaplin’s first silent movies. Showing the same wise combination between tenderness and dramatic elements. Like Charles Chaplin or Takeshi Kitano in some of his first movies, Dropsy’s creator Jay Tholen has the magical ability of generating vivid emotions in the player, making you pass from crying to laughing. But most importantly, Jay Tholen shows the same talent as Charles Chaplin in the creation of a mise-en-scène. By disposing visual elements with a narrative focus in every shot. By evoking a lively environment through the interaction of these visual elements. And by providing accented expressions to his characters. With a narrative constructed only through the use of images, Dropsy becomes a love letter to classic silent movies. Resulting in a touching experience that it will be able to draw an immense smile on your face.

Dropsy also serves as an acid social critic to the globalization. And like Charles Chaplin’s films, it introduces subliminal messages for the construction of a more equitable world, eradicating any type of intolerance. In one of its more emotive fragments, we can see a woman in a church predicating against minority groups. Outside of the church, in an adjacent street, we can see an elderly woman begging for food. When Dropsy gives a sandwich to her and after and emotive hug, she will retire to an isolated corner with a crucifix to praise the Lord. Showing the true meaning of christianity as a religion about giving our love to others, trying to not discriminate those people with personal beliefs that are different from ours.

Like Hylics, another videogame masterpiece created by Mason Lindroth and also a sole-man effort, Dropsy shows an extreme level of detail in its animations and backgrounds, with thousands of small and subtle details. An ambition emphasized by its open world structure, with a cycle of day and night altering the interactions with other characters. In both creations, Dropsy and Hylics, is easy to perceive the seminal influence of Bill Plympton, one of the greatest American independent animators.

And its soundtrack composed by Chris Schlarb envelops its world with a groovy Jazz feeling, that serves to sculpt an idealized postcard of the American culture.

Dropsy is one of the best indie adventure games ever created. And an emotive art piece that equals other instant classics such as Kentucky Route Zero, Why Am I Dead at Sea, Botanicula, Gemini Rue or The Last Door.


( The writer of this review is not an English native. So you should expect occasional grammar errors. I apologize in advance. )

I hugged a tree. I felt alive inside.

No other game has let me experience that.