14 DAY TRIAL // 
Continue?9876543210 is a strange experience, a game that might seem incredibly poetic and even deep one moment, only to move towards adjectives like frustrating and broken the next. However, it’s still an interesting experience that some video game lovers might thoroughly appreciate.
The game was created by Jason Oda.
The core gameplay ideas are rather simple: the player character can move around the levels, use his sword to destroy enemies and press the same button to talk when he is close to non-player individuals.
They give out information, trade or offer to deliver a lightning or a shelter, which are required to clear levels and to survive in the long term.
The tutorial information is detailed and clear, but at least one playthrough of Continue?9876543210 is required before all the pieces fall into place.
Be sure to talk to anyone in the level, win all battles, respect the time limits and explore all the doors that open up in order to progress as far as possible.
The game also requires players to remember some information, so pay attention, especially when it comes to shrines and mentions about parts.
There’s an air of mystery linked to Continue?9876543210 at all times and I often struggled to understand what was happening on screen or why I was choosing a shelter rather than a lightning strike at certain times, but I continued because the atmosphere of the game remained intriguing throughout.
Much of it is derived from the main character, a video game protagonist who has lost and should be deleted, but refuses to accept his fate and continues to move around levels, interact with NPCs and gather resources in order to make sure that the coming oblivion never reaches him.
Continue?9876543210 was developed by just one person and that unique vision for the game comes through clearly when it comes to the dialogue and the references, which are plentiful but clearly connected with a cultural baggage that remains somewhat elusive.
The statements from NPCs are sometimes convoluted, but intelligible, at times truly incomprehensible, but there’s a wonderful sense of discovery that followed me as I navigated the levels the best that I could.
A lot of the text that a player has access to is about death and the value of love, but there are also elements that never create a clear narrative but suggest interesting ideas.
There is a lot of emotion included in Continue?9876543210 and it’s easy to lose oneself in its weird locations and complex dialogue, but the game can also be frustrating, especially when it comes to the mix between controls and combat.
The biggest issue is that the main characters can basically only move and attack in four directions, but enemies can approach from the diagonal, with some really annoying results.
Continue?9876543210 does not shine in the graphics department and never manages to find a visual style that feels comfortable or to make it easier for the player to identify all the details in a level.
I understand that the resource constraints probably determined the final look of Continue, but I would have liked a little more clarity, which could have made the final experience more accessible.
Even reading text can be a little tough in the game and it’s a pity because the obvious quality of the core concept remains hidden to some because of the less than adequate presentation.
The soundtrack is mainly built upon melancholy and loss and is intriguing at first, enhancing the impressive weirdness of the experience, but it can become monotonous very fast and I often found myself wishing for a little more variety and complexity.
Continue?9876543210 is not an easy game to love, but the one man development team that created it has managed to make it interesting, a quality that can be all too rare among AAA franchises.
I have never fully understood the narrative or the mechanics of the experience, but I liked its trippy vibe and the weird, weird spaces it allowed me to explore as I was searching for lightning and shelter.
