Gayme of The Week: Regardless, I Love You
Interactive fiction is an incredibly underrated genre for the most part, but it has its specialties that make it stand out from the crowd. One of those special things is that it is full of queer stories from queer creators – some of which will pull on your heartstrings. Regardless, I Love You is such a game.
Part poem, part letter, Regardless, I Love You is a game that looks into the emotional and physical repression that labels on sexuality and gender can cause – especially when you end up not fitting into the box that you thought was made for you.
Labels are a tricky thing, and while they have the absolute power to help someone understand who they are, they can also hinder progression too. It’s this feeling that Cheng’s Regardless, I Love You manages to capture so well through the use of interactive, dual poems. I don’t want to ruin the game and how it works, but if you’re interested in the intersection between game and poetry then you’ll sincerely love Regardless, I Love You.
It may feel somewhat whimsical at first, but the interactive poetry makes the game feel much more like a journey of the self than it would have if it wasn’t interactive. Some words are colour-coded to represent different feelings and thoughts, and backgrounds also change depending on the mood. One of my favourite moments in this game is when the author and player reach ‘ascension’ – a moment where clarity on who you really are is entirely up to you. The background shifts to a yellow colour, one that quite simply symbolizes happiness and understanding, a perfect contrast to the red (passion) and blue (sadness) that we saw before.
Again, I don’t want to spoil too much of what makes this little game so special but if you’re interested in seeing for yourself, head on over to itch.io – and leave a comment while you’re at it, too!
Gayme of the Week is a weekly column by Aimee Hart about indie LGBT+ games that she’s played and what she loves about them. If you’ve got any recommendations, be sure to contact her on Twitter (@AimemeRights) or email (aimee@gaymingmag.com).
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