Don't give up – The Ensign Review

I used to to not finish the things I started. I was the type of person who would take the easy road. Over the past couple years as I've matured, I've gotten better with this. The Ensign, however, tested me. When it was released a year or so ago I was turned off by the difficulty and gave up, deleting the app vowing never to return. About a week ago, I saw the ensign again, sitting in my recommended. Seeing it and remembering how much I enjoyed the dark room and the developer commentary, I chose to give it another try. The first attempts were hard for me. I found myself wanting to give in and give up after every death by either the defectors or lack of attention to my food and water. After making it so far in this game as to get to the spaceship and seeing hope of beating it, I die again. Curses *SPOILERS AHEAD* This world I came to draw in my mind, one filled with hopeless and beaten humans struggling to survive. Men screaming wildly as they charge to their fate of the Ensign slashing them down for a few scraps of food. The flashbacks gave me more insight to the war and destruction. The beautifully drawn mental pictures of a struggle of morality as the Ensign went along his path. The hesitance to continue after dying for the firsts time after making it to the spaceship was real, but I continued, making sure to grab every alloy I could find, in a hope to make it past the asteroids. Eventually I saw the final screen, but I was bugged by my incomplete run through. It left me wanting to accomplish the impossible, refuse the food and so on. It was hard to go on but I wanted to prove myself I could do it. I couldn't resist the secrets button. After listening to the 2nd sound file and hearing the creator say "don't sell yourself short, you've made it this far." I knew I had to beat this fully before I perished all the developer comments, it wouldn't feel right otherwise. Finally I finished the game, and god how good it felt. I was proud of what I had accomplished and suddenly found myself thanking the developer for giving me this experience. Though it was a hard journey, getting through it and experiencing this beautifully crafted world, I was a better person for it. I urge those of you reading this reviews for a reason to keep playing to not give up. Keep playing.
Review by Hedgie12345 on The Ensign.