Ib, an RPG Maker masterpiece

A screen shot from the beginning of the game.

Before I created this blog and was only sitting on the idea, I knew that I had to write about Ib. I fell in so much love with the game that I had to share its existence with other gaming friends; it's that kind of game. I wasn't sure how long I should hold off on posting about it, but this game is fantastic, and everyone ought to know about it.

Ib is a free (yes, free!) RPG maker horror game by Kouri that was released February of this year. I think it would be fair to categorize it as a puzzle game as well since puzzles are a necessary component to progressing in the game. If you're not a puzzle person, don't allow that to deter you. The puzzles aren't too difficult, and the game itself is a lot of fun.

Ib is about a young girl, named Ib (pronounced "Eve"), who visits an art museum that is holding a special exhibit for a lesser known artist, Guertena. After looking at a particular, large painting, Ib finds herself alone in the museum and soon finds herself in another world after descending into a painting. When she goes to turn back, the exit has disappeared, and Ib traverses the new world in hopes of escape, along the way meeting allies and enemies.

As I mentioned, the game isn't that difficult. Most of the puzzles can be figured out with logic, or, even, trial and error. There was only one puzzle in the entire game that I had trouble with. I felt so embarrassed afterwards because the solution was so simple and logical. The puzzles are unique and interesting, and often require interacting with the paintings of the "fabricated" world. One of my favorite puzzles was "The Liar's Room" which requires Ib to find out which portrait is lying to her. Once you pick the right one, something decidedly eerie happens...

With regard to gameplay, it's pretty straight forward. You play primarily as Ib. The arrow keys allow the player to navigate, pressing enter/space allows the player to examine things or speak to other characters. Ib's health is represented by the red rose found in the fabricated world. She has 5 HP, then it's game over. As the game says: "When the rose wilts, so too will you wilt away." While there is no fighting in the game, which may make you curious about the need for HP, there are many enemies. Much in the vein of Amnesia: The Dark Descent, you'll need to run away from enemies since there is no way to fight them.

The graphics of Ib are interesting. Perhaps not groundbreaking, but good all the same. The designs of the enemies are cool, the portraits (while artwork sometimes repeats itself, there are many different paintings to look at) are lovely, and the design of certain rooms is just plain awesome, especially if you revisit the same room as a different character. The graphics change dramatically at the end of the game, when Ib proceeds from the alternate museum to a new area called the Sketchbook which, as you might guess, looks like a child's sketchbook. The dramatic shift in graphics compliments the change in atmosphere by that point in the game.

The music is wonderfully and artfully done. The theme for the Sketchbook suits the game's change in atmospheres. Hide and Seek is arguably the game's most beautiful and saddest-sounding song. Another claim to fame for this game is the characters. While Ib herself is more a silent protagonist (think Link from The Legend of Zelda series, though you can sometimes choose Ib's responses during cut scenes) and most of her emotions are shown through the other characters, Garry and Mary are three-dimensional characters. They are interesting, and they both have very clear personalities. An all important factor in the game is Ib's relationships with other characters. It is especially vital to the plot.

A fun mechanic of the game is seeing how the player's actions cause things to happen. As I mentioned, choosing the correct portrait in "The Liars Room" puzzle causes things to change. You'll find this often happens as you work on puzzles and progress through the game. It's very interactive in that way.

This game can be replayed again and again because of it's sheer number of endings; there are six in all. In order to get certain ones, you have to do certain things (things one might not consider while playing the game), not do certain things, or, even, do nothing specific at all. There are also unique events that you may miss out on the first time playing. (For example, I played at the same time as a friend, I got an extra scene that she did not, likely because I spoke to a particular character more, or what have you.)

Ib isn't so short that it leaves the player longing for more (though, depending on how invested you are in the characters, you may feel this way nonetheless), nor is it so long that it just seems to drag. It has a nice, solid length that will keep you interested while playing.

Don't forget that this game is a horror game. There are some very dark moments (e.g. "The Liars Room" puzzle), some very violent (albeit cartoon violence) moments, and there can also be some genuinely frightening moments (though it depends on the player) during chases and more.

I could go on and on about my views of Ib and how much I adore it. For a free game made on RPG Maker, it's breath-taking, and it has spurred quite a following. As clichéd as it sounds, Ib is an experience, one I would almost definitely pay an obscene amount of money for.

Over all, I would probably rate Ib a four, broken down as such:
Plot: Easily five stars. Great characters, great endings, great story.
Graphics: Four. Nothing to get too excited about, but still great.
Sound/music: Four. Again, nothing amazing, though there are some very great themes.
Difficulty: It's not that difficult, so I would rate it a three in terms of difficult. Don't let that turn you away. The game's mediocre difficulty level means that gamers (and non-gamers) of all walks of life can play it.
Ability to replay: 4 for the number of endings alone.

Here is the original website. It's in Japanese, so I doubt most of my readers can read it, but I feel that the creator should get credit. There's also an image gallery on here, which is pretty cool.

Here is the translated website. It has the download link for Ib, so you should definitely play it. There's no reason not to, as I already mentioned, it's free! The translator was kind enough to include a guide for the endings.

If you have a PC, go ahead and download the game! It's a great experience, no matter what and, most of all, it's free, so if you don't like it, you don't have to pay for it. If you don't have a PC, there are plenty of Let's Plays on Youtube. Certainly, if you do play it or have already played it, be sure to let me know in the comments.