Dysfunctional Systems: Learning to Manage Chaos

TL;DR: Since the developer has abandoned the project and the remaining episodes will not be made/released in the foreseeable future I wouldn't spend your money on this. Its story is incomplete and will probably never be completed. In the end by paying $5 for this you'll have 1.5 hours of prologue that is, in itself, not nearly enough to leave you satisfied. Update: As of July 14th, 2015 Dischan Media has officially shut down. Dysfunctional Systems: Learning to Manage Chaos will not be reinvigorated. [b]Game review:[/b] Dysfunctional Systems is a visual novel about, as the title inclines, the managing of chaos. The premise of dysfunctional systems revolves around an organisation in some technological utopia that sends meddlers to other worlds to solve their problems and reclaim order. It's an interesting concept, but it's not too different from what we've seen before. That said, it doesn't mean dysfunctional systems has no potential, in fact it has loads of potential. Too bad none ...

I just finished this first episode and I must say it was absolutely fantastic! It's been a long time since a VN I've played had a story that was so engaging and held my interest so much. I mean, the art is very well done, the music is excellent and the story itself is something that's rather unique and it was very well written to top everything off. I could go on and on about how great this visual novel is. But like others, I can't, in good conscience, recommend anyone purchase this game. You see, after finishing this first episode, I raced to the forums to see when I could expect the next installment to show up. Alas, I found the message, dated over a month ago, stating that Dysfunctional Systems was no more and that future episodes would most likely not see the light of day. I still hold a small hope for that one miracle to happen though. So, while you may feel free to ignore my (and others') non-recommendation and purchase this game, you will still be receiving an excellent ...

Great artwork, soundtrack and story, but since it has been cancelled and they won't be finishing the story, I don't think I should recommend it. It's like buying an incomplete game. I think if it's on a sale, you should take a look at it if you really feel like it. But still, it is an imcomplete story in the end.

[h1]AT A GLANCE[/h1] (Full review follows below) [list] [*] [b]Game Name:[/b] Dysfunctional Systems: Learning to Manage Chaos [*] [b]Original Release:[/b] 2013 [*] [b]Genre Tags:[/b] Visual Novel; Sci-Fi; Anime; Story Rich; Great Soundtrack [*] [b]My Overall Grade:[/b] A- [*] [b]Estimated Playtime (Campaign):[/b] 2-5 hours [*] [b]Multiplayer Aspect:[/b] None [*] [b]Recommended To:[/b] Established fans of the genre; Those intrigued by the genre; Aesthetes; Strong narrative advocates; Visual novel buffs [/list] [h1]REVIEW[/h1] Visual novels are not for everyone, and that is fair. Even fans of the genre can admit that some of them are boring and disinteresting. That said, [b]Dysfunctional Systems: Learning to Manage Chaos[/b] is one of the best visual novels I have “played” to date. Instead of relying on cartoon drawings of “waifus” in underwear to keep your interest, it actually has a very interesting and well-told story. (But don't worry, there are still some cartoon drawing...

While it has an intriguing story and good visuals, I sadly cannot recommend this game because the producers of the game mismanaged their funds and are not continuing the trilogy. This leaves us with an uncompleted story and even the choices you make in the game don't effect the overall result.

Chapter 2 is on hiatus because you nerds didn't buy this. I hate you all. UPDATE: CHAPTERS 2 & 3 GOT KICKSTARTED GG UPDATE 2: KICKSTARTER FAILED LMAO

UPDATE: A sequel was kickstarted, then cancelled. You'll find no closure in this game. Just a lot of unfulfilled potential --- I like VNs and all, but with this game you're essentially buying a prologue. In fact I'm pretty sure that the Steins;Gate prologue was longer than this entire game. It's so short that even at such a small asking price I can't justify in my head wanting a VN that serves as merely an introduction to the main cast. Here is your protagonist. This is her mentor. Getting to know them? Good! TRAGEDY! Oh no something bad happened in the first 45 minutes of the game. That was tough- hey look at this cutie pie. Do you like her? Good! Game's over! See you next time! Roll credits. I need more to go on than this, I don't decide if I like a show after the first episode and I can't decide if I like a visual novel after the first chapter. But if I absolutely must, then no - it's not good enough. One out of five Lennys ( ͡͡ ° ͜ʖ ͡ °) ( ) ( ) ( ) ( )

tl;dr: 6/10 - Pretty good but really short. [h1]Full review:[/h1] As a rather critical visual novel fan, I can't say I'm easily pleased. A visual novel being sold on Steam does raise some eyebrows, but nonetheless I decided to give it a go, and I was pleasantly surprised after reading the disappointing World End Economica a while back. Although Dysfunctional Systems is an original English language (OEL) visual novel, which is generally a good indicator of poor quality, my past experience with another OEL VN (Katawa Shoujo) was actually rather good, so I wasn't deterred from the beginning. Overall, the visual novel was quite good, all things considered, but we can take a bit of a deeper look into things. First thing's first: the writing. I can't vouch for the story being fresh and original, but it was well executed regardless. The characters' personalities were generally consistent and the story developed in a logical order. However, the visual novel was painstakingly short. I felt ...

This game is so engaging if you like to be challenged on moral decisions. The political dilemmas and agendas and the issues that plague humanity are experienced from the innocent point of view of a child. Playing as a young girl on what was supposed to be a simple 'shadow' lesson of following an experienced mediator, suddenly having "xxxxxx <spoiler> xxxxxxx" thrust upon you, and being forced to make choices with little knowledge and no experience. This is a visual novel... That means lots of reading. Do not buy this game if you can't rest your WASD fingers long enough to get to know the story. Just going to add in here for anyone who skims over long reviews, since mine is the first shorter one, please, if this game, or genre interestes you, Kuro's review (above) has a link to a kickstarter page for the next 2 episodes, it's active until March 24th, please consider helping out to get the rest of this story done!

Not worth the money, even if it's cheap. It's just an introduction to a series that will never continue cause the devs stopped giving updates