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elizj____'s review
5.0
I have never read a book like this before. It's interactive like a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book, but the form itself ends up being incredibly important? In a way I can't explain further without spoilers, lol. The puzzles were fun, the existential angst was unexpected, the conclusion blew my mind. I'm going to buy dozens of copies of this book and make it my go-to gift for people I like.
matthewroy's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
gabe_willem's review
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
gildius's review
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
nocturama's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
worth reading/"playing" for the novelty alone, as there aren't many interactive, choose-your-own-adventure horror graphic novels on the market.
as many reviewers have already mentioned, 2120 more closely resembles a point and click adventure game than a traditional graphic novel. the opening page explicitly states that you, the reader/player, control the main character wade, a computer technician sent to a mysterious building to repair a computer. to use a video game term, there're two main "gameplay loops" in the book. the first loop involves solving puzzles to unlock various doors, which is actually quite clever: you need to figure out the correct two- or three-digit pin number, which corresponds to the page number that continues the story. (if you get stuck, consult this reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/graphicnovels/comments/xbknsx/working_my_way_through_2120_by_george_wylesol_but)
the second loop involves wade encountering some truly nightmare-inducing imagery, dying in some horrific way, and then "respawning" (flipping back to the page you were at). this actually never got old, as the illustrations are quite creative/evocative--a sort of flat, ms paint horror, glitchy and fractal and spidered with scrawled lines--which juxtaposes well with the banal malevolence of the hallways and conference rooms you traverse. one of the most effective passages of the book is when wade walks down a series of anonymous hallways, with me convinced that at the end was another horrible death, but which turned out to be completely empty.
anyway, the reason i'm not giving this more stars is that i was pretty let down by the ending. the power of this book is how mysterious and otherworldly it is, and to have everything explained to me at the end kinda defeated the purpose. throughout the book there are hints of some larger world (or conspiracy?) involving a murder, a federal government agency, and a death row inmate, that don't really cohere into anything--which i'd be okay with, if the ending didn't wrap up wade's story so neatly. it's cliched to describe a spooky piece of art as "lynchinan," but in this case the comparison is apt; i only wish that wylesol followed david lynch's example of ending on a question mark rather than a period.
as many reviewers have already mentioned, 2120 more closely resembles a point and click adventure game than a traditional graphic novel. the opening page explicitly states that you, the reader/player, control the main character wade, a computer technician sent to a mysterious building to repair a computer. to use a video game term, there're two main "gameplay loops" in the book. the first loop involves solving puzzles to unlock various doors, which is actually quite clever: you need to figure out the correct two- or three-digit pin number, which corresponds to the page number that continues the story. (if you get stuck, consult this reddit post: https://www.reddit.com/r/graphicnovels/comments/xbknsx/working_my_way_through_2120_by_george_wylesol_but)
the second loop involves wade encountering some truly nightmare-inducing imagery, dying in some horrific way, and then "respawning" (flipping back to the page you were at). this actually never got old, as the illustrations are quite creative/evocative--a sort of flat, ms paint horror, glitchy and fractal and spidered with scrawled lines--which juxtaposes well with the banal malevolence of the hallways and conference rooms you traverse. one of the most effective passages of the book is when wade walks down a series of anonymous hallways, with me convinced that at the end was another horrible death, but which turned out to be completely empty.
anyway, the reason i'm not giving this more stars is that i was pretty let down by the ending. the power of this book is how mysterious and otherworldly it is, and to have everything explained to me at the end kinda defeated the purpose. throughout the book there are hints of some larger world (or conspiracy?) involving a murder, a federal government agency, and a death row inmate, that don't really cohere into anything--which i'd be okay with, if the ending didn't wrap up wade's story so neatly. it's cliched to describe a spooky piece of art as "lynchinan," but in this case the comparison is apt; i only wish that wylesol followed david lynch's example of ending on a question mark rather than a period.
joshuavrysen's review
4.0
Damned if there aren’t a few typos with the numbering?? Pretty egregious for the type of book this is, so feels necessary to mention. But! These mistakes do not take away from the overall experience of the book - and maybe weirdly enhance the impending/increasing dangers the book elicits.
livlamentloathe's review
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
This took me SO LONG to work through!!! I spent my entire break yesterday then like 3-4 hours at my other job today!! I have pages of notes on which room leads to which!!! As infuriating as this all was, it’s also a major credit to the creator. And the story is well constructed.
I feel like there were a couple loops I couldn’t connect but I no longer have the energy to scour this book for clues. Unplug me. Let me die.
I feel like there were a couple loops I couldn’t connect but I no longer have the energy to scour this book for clues. Unplug me. Let me die.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Vomit and Torture
seasonalkrill's review
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
sizrobe's review
3.0
This is a choose-your-own-adventure book, but from what I can tell, it's actually fairly linear. You can explore around, but only one true choice will get you to the next section of the book. Unfortunately, after about half an hour I hit a wall. There was a both a computer PIN and a padlock that I found the correct answers to, but I couldn't figure out how to get past them with that knowledge.
IMHO, this sort of thing works better as a video game anyway.
IMHO, this sort of thing works better as a video game anyway.