I first played Kinmoku’s VIDEOVERSE on Steam Deck. I remember the exact moment I booted it up, thinking I’d spend maybe 15 minutes or so with it before doing something else and returning to it over the weekend. I ended up putting in over an hour into it and was hooked. It felt like a game made for people who grew up with the early internet, forums, and obviously experienced the Miiverse.
VIDEOVERSE has now launched for Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox consoles through Ratalaika Games. I was curious to see how the experience would translate over and whether it would play well with a controller. For the former, I can say yes, but the latter leaves a bit to be desired right now on Switch.
VIDEOVERSE is a story-driven, decision-based game where you interact with various characters in a fictional social network in a game console titled the Kinmoku Shark. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say that if the words “MSN Messenger” mean anything to you, VIDEOVERSE is for you. Even though I already played VIDEOVERSE, it still hits as hard on a revisit two years later.
Back in 2023, I thought it wouldn’t be worth playing for those who didn’t grow up in a specific era. Looking back, I think I was wrong. VIDEOVERSE can also be a window into an era before someone’s time because it still has so much that is relatable, not only with the friendships and relationships in-game, but with how you see parts of the internet just become worse over time.
Visually, I adore VIDEOVERSE’s aesthetic and the themes included for the in-game Videoverse. Kinmoku’s character designs, the light animation work, and menus all feel perfect for the era. These are complemented by the most nostalgic old internet sounds. I don’t think I’ve seen anything encapsulate those old chat apps and the experience of interacting with online friends as well as VIDEOVERSE does even today.
As for the Switch port, it is good for playing on the go with touch controls, but I’m not a fan of the pure button controls when playing docked. They don’t feel as responsive and I ran into an issue where the cursor wouldn’t appear sometimes when I used my Switch 2 Pro Controller. If you plan on buying VIDEOVERSE on console, I recommend playing it fully handheld with touch controls if you can. In an ideal world, a Switch 2 Edition with mouse controls would exist. Barring the control issues, some of the text can look blurry on Switch 2 when played via backward compatibility.
I also think VIDEOVERSE is the perfect game to play on the weekend or a holiday break in a few sittings. I didn’t even realize I had nearly 10 hours into it on Steam until I saw my playtime a few weeks ago. It felt like I just played it over a few days back in November 2023.
VIDEOVERSE is the closest to a time capsule from the early 2000s internet in game form yet. It will make you feel nostalgic, remember old online friendships, and might even push you to make some new ones. A little while ago, I saw someone post about what media you associate with a specific term. When I think of friendship, the two pieces of media I associate with it are VIDEOVERSE and Tenacious D’s song “Friendship.” VIDEOVERSE is a reminder that we really had it better in some ways back then, and it will always be there for you in
Version Tested: Nintendo Switch
Review Copy Provided by Ratalaika Games
