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YMMV / Broken Age

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  • Ass Pull: There is more evidence that Shay's parents are AI than evidence that they are humans in Act 1, and The Reveal that they are really humans in Act 2 requires a combination of selective Parental Neglect, weird terminology usage on Shay's part, and technology we hadn't seen up until The Reveal to work.
  • Awesome Art: Something everyone can agree on is just how gorgeous the graphics are in this game. It's like someone animated and voice acted a storybook while still using the original illustrations.
  • Angst? What Angst?:
    • Shay gets over finding out his parents were actually people, despite evidence showing that he had convinced himself they were merely computer AI awfully easily in Act II. He apologizes to his father for his actions once or twice but it doesn't really lessen things.
    • There isn't any trope for this, but very few characters in the game ever express any POWERFUL emotions. Shay always seems disinterested and stoic, Vella never shows any hint of uneasyness, even when approached by a monster as big as a mountain. The only characters who even raise their voices at any point are Mom and Curtis. Even during the climax of the story, when fiery death is raining down from above, nobody is even slightly nervous.
  • Broken Base:
    • Some fans had complaints about Act II, which is focused on a different style of puzzles than Act I, with a couple puzzles that are dependent on knowledge from the other character's story which your current character would have no way of knowing.
    • The ending and how well it wrapped up the story is also a point of contention. It was either appropriate or felt like there should've been more.
  • Fan Nickname: People tend to refer to Shay's parents and Sun Mom and Moon Dad, or in his mother's case some call her the Overmother.
  • He Really Can Act:
    • Some reviewers were surprised at how good Alex Rigopoulos' acting was, especially considering he isn't an actor by profession.
    • Others who professed not to be fans of either Wil Wheaton or Jack Black were surprised by/enjoyed how much both played against their usual type.
  • It's Easy, So It Sucks!: Hardcore old-school point-and-click adventure game enthusiasts were generally not pleased, expecting a very challenging, lengthy adventure game in the style of Tim Schafer's old LucasArts games. Instead, the game was streamlined for touch devices and geared to be approachable to newbies.
  • It's Hard, So It Sucks!: Conversely, the main criticism for Act II (aside from the Schedule Slip) is the massive Difficulty Spike.
  • Les Yay: In the end, Dead Eye Dawn and Dead Eye Courtney reveal each one became a Dead Eye Druid to impress the other, and had relied on what they believed to be each other's faith to stay strong despite their own failings. They are last seen (until the credits) riding off into the sunset together naked holding hands.
  • Memetic Mutation: "3.3 MILLION DOLLARS", which is the amount the Kickstarter campaign raised, often juxtaposed with a less-than-impressive tech demo released early in the game's production.
  • Squick:
    • Vella is rightly disturbed when Lavina talks about Mog's breeding.
    • In act 2, the way Marekai and his superior talk about "processing", which again grosses Vella out. Though it's actually fatally melting them down, the initial implications that they're taken for reproduction are just as horrific, and the rape subtext remains clear either way. One of them mentions that there is a "quivering in [his] blood."
  • Rewatch Bonus:
    • During the second and third "save the creature" sequences of Shay's story, both of the remaining creatures that Shay tries to desperately "save" despite Marek's oppositions appear to have Vella's feather headdress.
    • Mog Chothra has red hexagon shaped eyes that look like the windows on Shay's ship.
    • Several lines in Act I become more noteworthy after playing Act II. The spoon measures pH, Mogs appearing every 14 years (which is how old Shay appears to be), Levina considering herself "distinguished", going beyond the Plague Dam being forbidden... Not to mention the brief mention of the rumor that Mogs breed beyond the Plague Dam. There is breeding going on over there.
  • That One Puzzle: Even before Act 2's public release (beside game reviewers, backers received it 24 hours earlier), the knot puzzle and especially the many instances of robot rewiring quickly became infamous, not much for their difficulty but because they involve a lot of trial-and-error and going back and forth to get clues.
  • They Wasted a Perfectly Good Plot: Late into Act II, Levina is revealed to be working for the villains. Nothing comes of this and the character is never mentioned again.


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