VA-11 Hall-A

Sin Vega of ''[[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]]'' received ''VA-11 Hall-A'' generally positively. He found the writing to be "decent" and the characters "generally enjoyable, even when they're not exactly likeable", and praised the game's references to current pop-culture issues and internet climate, for example [[4chan]], human augmentation and manufactured pop stars. The music and gameplay were also complimented, but the game's presentation was criticised – especially the presentation of the dialogue, which only takes up a few lines per page.{{cite web |author=Vega, Sin |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/06/21/va-11-hall-a-review/ |title=Wot I Think: VA-11 Hall-A |website=[[Rock Paper Shotgun]] |date=21 June 2016 |access-date=2 October 2016 |archive-date=6 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106075654/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/06/21/va-11-hall-a-review/ |url-status=live }} Caty McCarthy of ''[[Kill Screen]]'' wrote that ''VA-11 Hall-A'' "flips the atypical ways of cyberpunk", and lauded the game's story, which "has heart" as a "story of its people, its liliths, its sentient preserved-brains, its talking dogs. It's the story of Jill and her customers, all being lost, and eventually finding their way." She compared it also to a good book, where "we, the player, take[s] the backseat, and soak[s] it all in." A final score of 80/100 was awarded.{{cite web |author=McCarthy, Caty |url=https://killscreen.com/articles/va-11-hall-modern-cyberpunk/ |title=VA-11 HALL-A is how you do modern cyberpunk |date=21 June 2016 |publisher=Kill Screen |access-date=2 October 2016 |archive-date=11 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811032939/https://killscreen.com/articles/va-11-hall-modern-cyberpunk/ |url-status=live }} Zack Kotzer, writing for ''[[Motherboard (website)|Motherboard]]'', compared ''VA-11 Hall-A'' to "''[[Ghost in the Shell]]'' meets ''[[Cheers]]''", and added that what makes the game engaging is that it chooses to focus on "one very specific corner" of a complex world, writing "sure, there's an urban war brewing outside, but inside this [bar] is just people. Chatter about current events and politics, morality, and sex."

Sin Vega of ''[[Rock, Paper, Shotgun]]'' received ''VA-11 Hall-A'' generally positively. He found the writing to be "decent" and the characters "generally enjoyable, even when they're not exactly likeable", and praised the game's references to current pop-culture issues and internet climate, for example [[4chan]], human augmentation and manufactured pop stars. The music and gameplay were also complimented, but the game's presentation was criticised – especially the presentation of the dialogue, which only takes up a few lines per page.{{cite web |author=Vega, Sin |url=https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/06/21/va-11-hall-a-review/ |title=Wot I Think: VA-11 Hall-A |website=[[Rock Paper Shotgun]] |date=21 June 2016 |access-date=2 October 2016 |archive-date=6 November 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161106075654/https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/06/21/va-11-hall-a-review/ |url-status=live }} Caty McCarthy of ''[[Kill Screen]]'' wrote that ''VA-11 Hall-A'' "flips the atypical ways of cyberpunk", and lauded the game's story, which "has heart" as a "story of its people, its liliths, its sentient preserved-brains, its talking dogs. It's the story of Jill and her customers, all being lost, and eventually finding their way." She compared it also to a good book, where "we, the player, take[s] the backseat, and soak[s] it all in." A final score of 80/100 was awarded.{{cite web |author=McCarthy, Caty |url=https://killscreen.com/articles/va-11-hall-modern-cyberpunk/ |title=VA-11 HALL-A is how you do modern cyberpunk |date=21 June 2016 |publisher=Kill Screen |access-date=2 October 2016 |archive-date=11 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160811032939/https://killscreen.com/articles/va-11-hall-modern-cyberpunk/ |url-status=live }} Zack Kotzer, writing for ''[[Motherboard (website)|Motherboard]]'', compared ''VA-11 Hall-A'' to "''[[Ghost in the Shell]]'' meets ''[[Cheers]]''", and added that what makes the game engaging is that it chooses to focus on "one very specific corner" of a complex world, writing "sure, there's an urban war brewing outside, but inside this [bar] is just people. Chatter about current events and politics, morality, and sex."

However, ''[[PC Gamer]]'''s review was more mixed, opining that although "what ''Valhalla'' is trying to do is interesting", "playing it is boring", with criticism directed at the repetitive nature of gameplay as well as the game's tone, which leaves a "strange, unpleasant lingering taste in your mouth" due to the oftentimes unrealistic dialogue, for a rating of 60/100.{{cite web |url=http://www.pcgamer.com/va-11-hall-a-review/ |title=VA-11 HALL-A review |date=22 June 2016 |publisher=PC Gamer |access-date=2 October 2016 |archive-date=18 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018054618/http://www.pcgamer.com/va-11-hall-a-review/ |url-status=live }} Much of these sentiments where echoed by Kate Gray of ''[[Eurogamer]]''; she also praised the premise as interesting, but lamented that "''Valhalla''{{'}}s bartending is just boring", with not enough player control to make the game feel creative.{{cite web |author=Gray, Kate |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-07-06-does-va-11-hall-a-capture-the-joy-of-a-menial-job-well-done |title=Does VA-11 HALL-A capture the joy of a menial job well done? |date=6 July 2016 |publisher=Eurogamer |access-date=3 November 2016 |archive-date=2016-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103070321/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-07-06-does-va-11-hall-a-capture-the-joy-of-a-menial-job-well-done |url-status=live }} Adi Robertson of ''The Verge'' alleged that some reviewers found the game's sexualized dialogue from the female characters to be unrealistic. Ortiz responded that interactions were based upon their own interactions, including that "females have always been more open about those topics than males", but he did concede that "we wrote ourselves into a corner by making the cast predominantly female".

However, ''[[PC Gamer]]'''s review was more mixed, opining that although "what ''Valhalla'' is trying to do is interesting", "playing it is boring", with criticism directed at the repetitive nature of gameplay as well as the game's tone, which leaves a "strange, unpleasant lingering taste in your mouth" due to the oftentimes unrealistic dialogue, for a rating of 60/100.{{cite web |url=http://www.pcgamer.com/va-11-hall-a-review/ |title=VA-11 HALL-A review |date=22 June 2016 |publisher=PC Gamer |access-date=2 October 2016 |archive-date=18 October 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161018054618/http://www.pcgamer.com/va-11-hall-a-review/ |url-status=live }} Much of these sentiments were echoed by Kate Gray of ''[[Eurogamer]]''; she also praised the premise as interesting, but lamented that "''Valhalla''{{'}}s bartending is just boring", with not enough player control to make the game feel creative.{{cite web |author=Gray, Kate |url=http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-07-06-does-va-11-hall-a-capture-the-joy-of-a-menial-job-well-done |title=Does VA-11 HALL-A capture the joy of a menial job well done? |date=6 July 2016 |publisher=Eurogamer |access-date=3 November 2016 |archive-date=2016-11-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161103070321/http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2016-07-06-does-va-11-hall-a-capture-the-joy-of-a-menial-job-well-done |url-status=live }} Adi Robertson of ''The Verge'' alleged that some reviewers found the game's sexualized dialogue from the female characters to be unrealistic. Ortiz responded that interactions were based upon their own interactions, including that "females have always been more open about those topics than males", but he did concede that "we wrote ourselves into a corner by making the cast predominantly female".

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