While the first two games in the franchise had players managing AIM chats and stalking buddy profiles, the latest game adapts that idea to messenger and the feed. Like its predecessors, Emily is Away <3 is a visual novel with some extra interaction. It’s a sincere coming of age story for both 2000s adolescents and social media itself. With its nostalgic premise, Emily is Away <3 portrays the awkwardness of growing up online with honesty and authenticity. The fiction layered atop the all-too-real experience underscores how carefully we curate our words online, even today. While the first two games took place on a version of the now-defunct AOL Instant Messenger, the threequel rekindles teenage angst in a faithful replica of Facebook circa 2008. Like previous entries in the indie series, this third installment is a visual novel told entirely through the ancient internet. The rules for how we talk to each other in person don’t apply when composing an email, commenting on an Instagram post, or awkwardly flirting via DMs.Įmily is Away <3 is a meditation the nuances that form our digital personas. A branching storyline and new ways to interact should increase the number of ways players can experience the game, allowing for more replayability.Online communication is a language unto itself. Other characters can react in a myriad number of ways, all to determine the outcome of the game’s story. The game will be available “ soonish” on Steam.Īs a facsimile of Facebook, Facenook lets players set statuses, post on friends’ walls, get into poke wars and customize their profile.

Like the previous games by Seeley, Emily is Away <3 uses nostalgia to draw players into memories and moments of a certain period of time.

Players must sign up for a Facenook account, send friend requests, instant message, and play through the game’s branching narrative. “ It’s 2008 and AIM is dead.” Emily is Away 3 (stylized as Emily is Away <3) is a new story set afte r Emily is Away Too. The game is set in an alternate 2008 where the player must manage their “Facenook” profile and engage with friends online. The third game in Seeley’s acclaimed Emily is Away series. Emily is Away 3 is the latest story from developer Kyle Seeley.

Emily is away 3