Socrates Jones: Pro Philosopher

The Good
This game is leans heavily on the educational (rather than the "game") side of an educational game. The story progression is linear and strict, with almost always one possible solution to each debate.

Which is good! This way you get to experience philosophy in a chronological order and see how certain notions, thoughts and ideas advance through time. While the game won't give you any true and full understanding of any one philosophy, nor will it provide with the full ramifications of a certain set of ideas, it will give a decent short version of several key Western philosophies. Moreover, since the game is styled around debates, you will not only learn about the strengths of those philosophies but also their weakness. Crucially, if you happen to agree with any of the philosophers presented you will be forced to examine your own fallacies in order to finish the game.

Ultimately, while the game is short it uses its gameplay to educate you not so much about the facts of one philosophy school or another, but rather about the philosophical attitude in itself (must not make Ding an sich joke) - which the constant, never ending drive for new knowledge and understanding through rigorous logical examination of your ideas and those of others.

The game boasts gentle and funny writing that never jars with the difficult topic that is explored in it.

Game-wise the graphics are nice and inoffensive enough that even a hater of manga (or Western-anime hybrids) style like myself enjoyed them (although they did make the father look almost as young as his daughter). The instructions are easy to understand and the presence of Ariadne is very helpful when it comes to untangling (snicker) some of the more complex debates.

The Bad
It really shows that the game was created by a Millsian philosopher. Your helpful Ariadne will not be as useful in your argument against John Steward Mill (since she is Millsian herself), which, together with the length and complexity of that encounter make the Mill debate the hardest in the game. Except it's not the last debate and isn't supposed to be the hardest! This means that the game hits its gameplay climax before its narrative climax making the ending slightly less satisfying than it should be.

Furthermore, the game is structured around the Socratic Method of debate making it appear as the main why of critical analysis, in effect ignoring its downsides and detracting from the game's educational quest to familiarize the player with different philosophical points of view. Many philosophical schools, particularly any that are relevant to current thinking and political ideologies are entirely ignored. Mill is the closest the game gets to that, which is a huge shame.

However, despite the above, for a small flash game Socrates Jones: Pro Philosopher is remarkably free from major flaws, with the possible exception of amateurish sound.

The Bottom Line
The game succeeds perfectly at teaching the very basics of critical inquiry and debate, teaching the player the main pillars of philosophy, all while being neither too simple to become boring, nor too hard to be inaccessible to younger players. It's main flaw is the lack of depth and representation, but it works quite well as a short, casual introduction into the philosophical world.