Dereba... Dererereba... Derereba! I don't know how to pronounce it, or even what it means but I love the game! Detarou's latest release is completely Detarou; in other words, it's a wonderfully weird, surreal, delightfully presented and maybe even a little unsettling point-and-click game with three endings to discover.
The goal, of course, is to escape using your mouse to click on objects, add them to your inventory and use them to interact with the characters and the environment. There's also a little puzzle solving to do, but it's really only a smidgeon. In typical Detarou style, collecting and using items is a one-click delight. The trick is figuring out what to use and where, resulting in some of those nice moments of "oohh, right..." The logic is a tad bewildering, but it's there.
Those familiar with Detarou's previous games, Henna Escape and Gold Door, will know how confusing and surreal these games are. I would suggest that quite a bit of the confusion lies in the presence of items that appear to be clickable, but really are not. Many of the items and characters present in the environment are included simply as detail. And some of them, despite their benign presence, lend a wonderful quirkiness to the game. It's worth clicking everywhere just to find them.
Much of the appeal of Detarou games lies in the surprisingly realistic artwork; the posturings of each character and their facial expressions convey so much mood, and despite the apparent lack of a storyline you can't help but feel your imagination stirred into wondering about what the heck is really going on in this house. There's also a delicious anticipation of what lies around each corner, because you know that what's next is will be utterly bizarre and either funny in a left-field kind of way, or almost poignant.
I've Google'd Derereba until my fingers were sore, and I still don't know what it means. The game itself defies any sense of reality, but it's funny, quirky, surprising and a real pleasure to play. And each ending only adds to the enjoyment of play with startling humour.
Walkthrough Guide
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Derereba Walkthrough
Thanks, Chiktionary, for the walkthrough!
Posted by: Mike | April 26, 2011 1:07 PM