Side Effects

Side Effects is a branching narrative game with turn-based decisions that evolve based on the emotional and mental state of the main character. Every choice comes with consequences, affecting abilities, visuals, and character interaction in layered, sometimes subtle, ways.

Choose Actions, Manage Consequences

In Side Effects, gameplay centers on managing daily decisions in a surreal environment filled with inconsistent logic. The protagonist’s state of mind alters which dialogue options or abilities are available, shifting the gameplay tone between strategy, exploration, and survival.

Each turn presents a limited set of actions. Your selected path influences not only the outcome but also the reliability of the character’s perceptions. The game introduces a mood-based mechanic that adjusts reality itself as moods change.

Game Mechanics and Player Tools

• Emotion-aligned choices — Options tied to fear, apathy, paranoia, or clarity offer unique branches and outcomes.
• Health vs. Stability — Players must balance physical well-being with mental equilibrium, often sacrificing one for the other.
• Randomized perception shifts — Each playthrough introduces unpredictability in what is seen, said, or heard.

Common Player Strategies

1. Track emotional stats — Keep a mental note of your current mood category and adapt decisions to maintain desired outcomes.
2. Delay critical moves — Wait for more grounded emotional states to unlock clearer or more reliable paths.
3. Utilize journal entries — They provide cryptic clues that help align reality fragments and track previous actions.

Unlocking Endings and Events

Side Effects offers over a dozen endings, each tied to combinations of moods and decisions. Replay sessions are recommended to fully understand how hallucinations, truths, and memories interact. Special visual events trigger only if certain criteria are met during mid-game turns, such as:

• Maintaining high paranoia while avoiding physical damage.
• Making three consecutive impulsive decisions followed by one logical one.
• Interacting with hidden objects while in a state of emotional clarity.

Side Effects challenges players not to just win, but to understand. Progress lies in interpreting inner shifts and aligning them with external events across increasingly unstable game loops.