Day 181 - Dead Detention #1 (Rescribbled)

SPOOKY MONTH!, Visual Novel, Horror · 28 Oct 2024

Skeeter’s Take:

I’m going to try something new today and “live react” to this game as I play through it. I’ll post my thoughts here as I have them, and we’ll see if this was a really terrible idea by the end!

DEAD DETENTION #1 (RESCRIBBLED):

00:00 - I have a secret.

00:30 - That took forever to load. What are the odds this game has a title screen? I hope I don’t just have to use this:

01:35 - Game just asked if I was playing on a touchscreen. I resisted the temptation to use my mouse to click “yes”.

03:00 - SAVED!

03:30 - HOLY FUCK THIS IS LOUD, BUT PROPS ON THIS MENU. VERY CLEAN. SORRY I’M SHOUT TEXTING SO I CAN HEAR MYSELF OVER THE MUSIC.

5:00 - The settings have a music volume adjustment so we are riding high now. Playing on Easy because I’m not a man with something to prove.

06:30 - I failed the first mini-game because I didn’t realize I was playing Warioware. Turns out when the game said “Sleep!” it meant to tell me “Click on the sheep or lose!”.

09:00 - Not much happening. I’m playing some anime high school kid with electric-blue hair who fell asleep in class. My teacher reprimanded me for falling asleep. Not much to report, I’m really only filling you in so I can show you this face:

I like the line paper outlines. Adds some character.

10:00 - Just played another mini-game (nailed it). I think this is Warioware with a story? Idk.

14:00 - The teacher asked me about Lord of the Flies and my character gave the dumbest answer. Then this goody two-shoes butts in like a friggen nerd and makes me look like an idiot. Screw you, nerd!

It’s ok. I shrugged it off. The teacher was not happy.

16:12 - Attack on Titan mentioned

17:14 - I’ve got a nearly empty can of Axe Body Spray (probably used one time) and two matches and one solid chance at a makeshift flamethrower.

19:00 - they are on popsicle sticks!

20:00 - the main character’s name is canonically “Max” but I think I might just call him Anime Complainy Boy (ABC).

21:00 - I’m worried ABC might actually kill himself if he misses the Attack on Titan premiere… I hope Mrs. Whatserface has him under 24 Hour surveillance.

24:00 - SOMETHING’S HAPPENING

24:50 - AHHH

25:30 - I Warioware’d the evil zombie off of me and survived!

Wow, some girl with pink hair and more protagonist energy than our real main character just hit the zombie in half with a bat:

Here’s the zombie:

This is her:

29:15 - Just kidding. This is her:

And her sister is trapped in the library.

31:22 - I’m really liking the “Paper Puppet” style. There was an onomatopoeia in a text bubble and even that was on a stick.

33:00:

34:00 - ABC keeps complaining about his ankle. Outloud. During a Zombie outbreak.

36:02 - CALLED IT!

36:51 - I think Max may have forgotten that little sister that was supposed to be hiding in the library. I’m sure it’s fine. He saw this in DayZ, as he proudly declared.

38:22 - Against all odds, her sister somehow survived. I have to admit, when I saw who it was, I wished she hadn’t.

40:13 - The alarm for the Attack on Titan premier came back! Now THAT’S how you tie up loose ends! The timer goes off, and the zombies come swarming. I had to play Dead Detention’s version of the Chrome Offline game as the final boss, so that was cool.

Pausing to play a Deadlock (Experimental Hero mode is only available for a few hours. I’ll be back. Timer Paused.) I think we are rounding the end though!

41:00 - Ok we are back. Naomi is currently trying to sacrifice herself like the idiot and main protagonist she is.

So, naturally I ran away and left her.

43:26 - The Final Review/Game runtime. After I tried to run away and leave Naomi to her self-prophesized fate, I am stopped by none other than my Pokemon Rival:

She grabs the bat, smashes the zombies and saves Naomi who honestly seemed disappointed that she didn’t get devoured by zombies. That’s it. The end. Bye bye.

Post-game:

That is exactly what it feels like. A polished and functioning game with a high school-written script. There is something so oddly specific and funny about the writing. The main character is clearly a self-insert (as anyone in high school would do), complete with all their specific hobbies and interests. I also love that the main character is in more despair over the potential to miss the Attack on Titan premier than he did coming face to face with a zombie.

High School, amirite?

Recommend: No

Replay Percentage Chance: Episode 2?

Time Played: 43:26 (Game and Review)

Edit: Now that Sam has finished his review I can tell you my secret. This is the same developer as Alula Falling, which won’t mean anything to you, but will mean everything to Sam.

Sam’s Take:

Honestly, I’m playing Deus Ex while watching Skeeter type his review live. This is way better than playing Dead Detention (probably).

…

Ugh, fine I’ll play the fucking game.

Aight I finished. It’s cute. Skeeter is right on with all the self-insert main character stuff (what was it with every Newgrounds protagonist and being a student with potential that just never tries?), but the game is totally functional. All the minigames are easy to figure out and were kind of exciting in that sugar-rush Warioware way. It was certainly better than Pig Goat Banana Cricket: Game Lad Blitz.

I even like the art style. The lined paper around the characters and the use of fake popsicle sticks softens the blow of obvious high school writing by creating a framing device of a literal high schooler making up the story as we play it. I don’t think the game is self-aware, but it creates a layer of obfuscation that makes it more tolerable than most Newgrounds trash.