One Chance

One Chance built its entire gameplay on a single, uncompromising rule, the game can truly be completed only once in one browser on one computer, because it remembers it has already been finished, and reminds the player of this on the next launch. Studio AwkwardSilenceGames created a short story in 2010 about a scientist who has six days left until the end of the world caused by his own invention, and the player must decide how to spend this time, with family, friends, or working on a possible solution.

It's precisely this mechanic of irreversibility that makes One Chance an interesting experiment, because it forces the player to take decisions seriously in a way most games don't allow, there's no option to load an old save and try it differently. The short playtime and simple pixel graphics stand in contrast to the weight of the theme, an approaching end and limited time, and the game thus ranks among small but emotionally powerful projects that showed even a free Flash game can evoke real anxiety and reflection on one's own priorities.

One Chance became part of a broader discussion about experimental web games as a storytelling medium, though its enforced one-time nature also means a second playthrough loses most of its meaning, and players today often have to resort to clearing browser saved data if they want to repeat it. It now requires a Flash emulator, because native Flash support in browsers has ended.

Why play: For players who want to experience a short, emotionally intense story with an unconventional mechanic of irreversibility, ideally without a prior spoiler about its ending.