Vanity Fair: The Pursuit

Games like Vanity Fair: The Pursuit are kind of what I imagine FMV games would be like when the Sega CD came out! Back in the 90s, I thought that games that use real actors were the future, boy, was I wrong with that one! However, as someone who was there when the Sega CD launched, I have always had a fascination with FMV games, and this one here is one of the most impressive I have seen in a long time. I would say that the best way to think of this is that it is like a visual novel.

I Will Do Whatever It Takes!

The story in Vanity Fair: The Pursuit is actually really cool. We play the role of a director, and we are not exactly the best. One day, we decide that we are willing to do whatever it takes to make it to the top, and the game's story is basically our journey in being a director, trying to find love, and dealing with less-than-good people along the way. Honestly, this is a very interesting story, and I liked the way that the game plays it all straight. There is no goofiness here, and I found myself genuinely intrigued by the plot.

Just About Right

While I found the plot of Vanity Fair: The Pursuit to be great, there are just a couple of things holding it back from being great. Firstly, the translation from Chinese to English, I would say, is about 90 percent right, but there are a couple of little errors with the translation here and there. Nothing that completely takes you out, but as the rest of it is so well done, you do notice it. There are some pretty big time jumps that happen in the game, and these are explained with perhaps one line of text. To be fair, they make it work, but some of the stuff that happens sounded really interesting, and I would have liked to have actually played through it.

Truly An Interactive Movie

I mentioned the Sega CD before, and when that was a thing, interactive movies were what I thought we were going to be getting… but that was not really the case. Vanity Fair: The Pursuit, I feel, is very close to actually being an interactive movie. This is one of the best-looking FMV games that I have ever played. The sets and locations are fantastic, the wardrobe department did not skimp, and the acting is good as well. It honestly looks like a movie, and I would love to know what the budget for this thing was! Off the top of my head, I cannot think of another FMV game that has this much of a polished look. When I play something like this, it is kind of funny how I thought that stuff like Ground Zero Texas, Star Wars Rebel Assault, and Sewer Shark were the most movie like games I had ever seen back in the Sega CD!

This Choice Will Have Consequences

Yes, that is a Life is Strange reference. Any chance I get to drop one of them, I am going to take it, but it is very fitting when talking about Vanity Fair: The Pursuit. You see, this is an interactive movie, but you will have to make key choices along the way. You can see a progression tree that shows how many different outcomes there are depending on the story you make, and it is honestly staggering just how much stuff they filmed for this game. There are many different ways that the story can go, both good and bad. I have not seen all of the outcomes yet, but I have seen a few, and I have not gotten bored with playing the game yet. While it was not done with FMV, I think the progression/route system here is best compared to the also awesome As Dusk Falls game.

Pros:

• I found the main character genuinely interesting
• The main story arc really did hook me
• This is one of the best-looking FMV games I have ever played
• Your choices truly do feel like they matter

Cons:

• In just a couple of places, some things are lost in translation
• I would love to see this developer make an FMV game in English