STASIS

I was so impressed by this game, from the haunting grotesque environments to the excellently acted voice overs. The slow reveal of the story was perfect, most captured via 'found' diaries in such a way that was not obtrusive. I found myself bonding to the main character as he worked his way thru the horror with only a lonely contact on a radio for company. There were many times I would balk at proceeding as it just was such a vile landscape. Gameplay was pretty seamless, point and click. There is no tutorial so it took some fumbling around to find the inventory, menu etc. In fact, the save game function was so obscure that I played halfway thru the game before finding the save slots, this was not too severe as the game auto saves thruout, but I find it always useful to have hard saves of my own choosing, which I used a few times in the game when the auto save was not beneficial. Complaints: hard to read small text, very dark atmospheres to the point where I could not find the character on the screen. Small screen size, objects and items were hard to find. Unskippable dialogue trees with timed actions, death would start the process all over again and one scene had at least a minute of dialogue before you could attempt again, also irritating while exploring , having to wait out repeated text/dialogue. Those complaints fade when compared to such an immersive tale. I was totally involved in it. I loved the style of the inventory, loved the spinning helix used for the loading icon, loved all the pdas personally adorned specific for each user. The art work was pretty good, you felt like it was a real working spaceship. The soundscape for this game was spectacular, from fading music as you left a room, to hollow clangs, bumps, grinds, screams, drips, mechanical beeps, talking robotics and advertisements. Reminiscent of System Shock. probably the best game i have played in 2016, will replay again to find clues to the shocking ending. well done devs!

To me there's two kinds of horror. Number 1 is the classic scare jump, lot's of violence and gore, strobe effects and what-not. Number 2 however is more subtle, there isn't that much action it's more the atmosphere, the ancitipation that something might happen at every turn. For me, this game clearly falls in the second category, but it isn't able to keep the tension up all the time. But I think that's because it delivers more than just the fear of the unknown, it also delivers very, very shocking scenes. Not shocking because you're creeping through some corridor and some alien is stalking you, or because something is able to control minds or a powerful AI taking control of everything. No this one is more sinister, while many horror settings focus on things we don't know or can't or fight and are therefore scared off, this one has it's focus on something we totally can understand and relate to, humans. Humans are capable of great things, so is the human mind. And history has shown that humans are able for experiments and methods that really ask the question, when is something/someone violating humanity? It's difficult to draw a clear line, but this game crossed it anyway. There are some very sick minds in this game and learning about their doings and trying to understand why they're doing it left me feeling very uneasy and ill. In conclusion, it's a great game, the characters seem a little bland and sometimes I hated the controls but all in all it's a great game. Not a fun game though.

Stasis is a really solid point and click adventure game. It's done in the same gameplay style as the 1999 game Sanitarium. This makes it stand out, in my opinion, since there really weren't a whole lot of games like it ever since. The story is about a father who wakes up in a mystery compound from the titular Stasis, unaware as to where his family went. The gameplay is mostly reading posthumous diary entries, and manipulating item puzzles with the environment. The atmosphere is astoundingly morose, where you stumble upon scene after scene of violence after the fact. The environments are especially impressive, considering as how this was made by a very small team of devs. I liked the interpersonal and personal drama of the diary entries. There's a few characters in the game you interact with directly, and they're pretty loathsome experiences. The secrets of the compound unfold as you advance the plot, which raise more questions than answers. It's got a satisfying but open ended and absolutely ****ing miserable conclusion. However, please note that the game is actually easier than you'd think, since the danger presented is almost entirely scripted to startle and disgust, without really being a true threat to your safety. It's more likely that you'll die at your own hand, in secret Easter Egg cutscenes. If the themes of suicide bother you, then avoid this game. If the themes of body horror and personal horror appeal to you, then definitely buy this game, (and I think you'll especially dig the surgery scene.) So, all in all, this game isn't fun or relaxing but it's moody and compelling horror and dread. If you like your narrative games dark and hopeless, this one is a fine choice. 4/5.

This "game" is absolutely fantastic. I felt like i was reading a graphic novel. It's story is captivating, the atmosphere is dense but realistic, voice acting is superb, puzzles are not frustrating ( i never had to check a walkthrough and im not a hardcore adventure gamer). The universe of the game is rich and credible. It's the kind of game that you play AND you remember. This will be a classic for sure in the future, but for now it's a masterfully narrated isometric graphic novel. A must play for sure!

I enjoyed the puzzles but not the theme. It was too gory! The dialect was difficult to read. The PDA units contained too much garbage.