First Impressions of Random Steam Games (September 2024) #2: 1990

We’ll be looking at only one game this time: 1990.

1990 is an adventure game / RPG that appears to be a passion project of either a solo developer or a very small team. My first playthrough which included reading all of the text and accessing any areas that seemed accessible took about 2 and a half hours. I didn’t have to reload from a save at any point for any reason. It’s 2D and does not scroll. Everything occurs on a single screen with a brief loading period between screens. Combat is turn-based and what you’d expect for a classic turn-based RPG.

Graphics / Sound

This game has very, very basic graphics. Similar to something you’d expect from 30 years ago but most of the environments repeat too often. It wasn’t uncommon for me to have to think about if I was going the correct way through the game simply because many of the screens repeat. The characters and enemies look better both in the environment and the battle screens, but none of them are exceptional. The music is forgetable. Neither the music or sound effects are great, but at least they didn’t annoy me. (6/10)