Nakana Bundle #3 (Eqqo + Lydia + Stilstand)

Genre: Compilation / Graphic Adventure

Players: 1

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Review:

(Note: Some of these games also appear in other bundles. Eqqo is also included in Nakana Bundle #5, along with A Night at the Races, Cosmic Top Secret, Infini, and Please Touch The Artwork. Lydia and Stilstand are also included in Nakana Bundle #4, along with Journey of the Broken Circle, Mythic Ocean, and Soul Searching. And all three games in this bundle are also included in Nakana Bundle #6 (10 games), along with A Night at the Races, Cosmic Top Secret, Infini, Journey of the Broken Circle, Mythic Ocean, Please Touch The Artwork, and Soul Searching.)

Nakana Bundle #3 (Eqqo + Lydia + Stilstand), released on Nintendo Switch in 2022, is a Compilation of the three named games, previously released individually on the Nintendo Switch eShop in 2020 and 2021.

I have reviewed all of these games. Here is what I thought of each of the games in this collection:

Game	Genre	# of Players	Grade
Eqqo	Graphic Adventure	1	C
tl;dr Eqqo is a Graphic Adventure where players guide a young blind boy trying to carry and protect a large egg. The game itself is decent though not without its issues (namely, poor controls), but the $6 price tag for a game that’s on mobile devices at $1 makes this game seem overpriced.
Lydia	Graphic Adventure	1	C+
tl;dr Lydia is a Graphic Adventure that follows a child into a world of nightmares both real and imagined. As a game, this is a brief, tedious, soul-sapping experience. But as a piece of art, this is a beautiful look into a horrible situation that’s all too real for far too many children. I doubt anyone will truly enjoy this game, but some may be able to appreciate it.
Stilstand	Visual Novel	1	C
tl;dr Stilstand is a Visual Novel about a woman suffering from loneliness and depression. And also there’s apparently a nice, kind-hearted reverse-Babadook. It’s a short story, with crudely-depicted characters. I suppose, to its credit, it does succeed in painting a particularly bleak and depressing picture for players. I’m just not sure what the appeal is here.

In short… this is a really depressing trio of games. Not bad, just depressing. I suppose Eqqo is somewhat lighter than the other two games here, but it still has its share of darkness. Of the three games, I suppose I appreciated Lydia the most, but “appreciated” doesn’t quite mean “liked”.

However, if you enjoy dark stories, this package provides a pretty good value – at $7, it’s just over half the cost of buying these three games individually, and a mere $1 more than buying Eqqo on its own (thanks in part to the Nintendo Switch version of the game being overpriced). For anyone considering getting these games, that makes this bundle a no-brainer.

In the end, whether or not you should get this bundle will really come down to how much you want to dive into stories about depression, loneliness, parental neglect, and emotional suffering. This clearly is not going to appeal to everyone, but if this sort of thing works for you, I think you’ll find these games compelling, and find this Compilation to be a good value.

tl;dr – Nakana Bundle #3 (Eqqo + Lydia + Stilstand) is a Compilation of three story-driven games (two Graphic Adventure games and a Visual Novel), with somber, dark, depressing themes. These stories will not be for everyone, but if these sort of themes appeal to you, I think you’ll find this bundle to be a good value.

Grade: C

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