I'm in love with this game.

First thing first: the quality of visual assets is uneven (by which I mean that some 2D art is poorly painted), the music is bland, and some sequences rely on truly moon logic. This is a very small, very indie game. On the other hand, my playtime is genuine — it's not THAT short. A decent point-and-click, especially since the game is very clear and generous with hints so you can unstick yourself at any moment if stuck.

Why am I in love, then?

Because by god, the writing, world-building, tone, aesthetics, and thus overall experience are great. At least in its original Russian — I switched between languages a couple of times and it seems that a lot of wit and wordplay is simply missing from English. I suppose Stanislaw Lem and Vangers are the clearest sources of inspiration here: remember that Lem wrote a LOT of comedy. In Exit's world you're surrounded by bugs with funny names, weirdly obsessed shoggoths, and locks that have a personality. Also a concerning lack of bioports.

You play as a man... or rather, as a bunch of his senses. You can touch, lick, smell (which revives memories)... connect to things through ports... send leeches... And since it's a biopunk world, a passport can be a drop of saliva, and things might need to be inhaled to influence you, or maybe inserted into an ear. By experimenting with senses, you create a lot of funny situations — but also learn about this odd synesthetic world.

Each sensory organ has a personality, and you seem to carry a couple of helpers/parasites as well. They argue and comment on everything you do. Which breathes soul into the game.

And yes, obvuiously it's fittingly surreal for the genre.

What I loved, however, is that Exit goes beyond the genre, unafraid to dip its toes into the fully surreal. And suddenly dialogue options appear after playing a silent protagonist for most of the game, or a UI element falls down, or your normal organs are replaced by zodiac signs. This world isn't fully scientific, you see — in Exit, humans made tools from the four elements and chemistry is intertwined with Kabbalah. Which to me elevates it above purely sci-fi stories like Scorn to a more complex aesthetic experience.

It's also written very well. It's one thing to create an interesting world — and another to find the good, snappy lines to text to represent it. The pathos touched me, the humor made me laugh. There is a reason why the game features an epigraph from Hugo Ball and not a sci-fi writer; it feels like it was written by someone who appeciates various epochs and styles of literature.

And so, despite all the jank, I had an absolute blast. Labours of love are always easier to enjoy; but this one is also genuinely talented.

I hope I won't have to wait five years for another game from Neurosaur.