STASIS

An old school adventure game with an immersive atmosphere, good art direction, nice story and even nicer storytelling. Not a game-breaker at all, but the resolution is a bit low and -even as a visuals junkie- I quickly got used to it. Honestly, I usually prefer triple-A's over indies, yet Stasis was a very nice change for me.

I've never seen a game with no settings. Had to use the system volumne mixer to not have the game blow out my ears. But no settings in game means you can't adjust various aspects so some things are too loud others too quiet. If you can get past the annoyance factor, the atmospherics are decent, but also disjointed and inconsistent. I mean, if no one is around, why are there voices and screams? Why do your random comments not address these? It feels piled together without proper finish. Also some of the voice over is just horrid. Your daughter sounds like a robot. On top of this the puzzles are just too obtuse. After getting stuck for what I should do next I looked up a guide. The answer was so devoid of any clues that would lead you to the solution that I quit at that point. Complex solutions with nothing to point you to them isn't a challenge, it's just frustration, and in context of this game that rips you out of the immersion required to really get into the story. So, for me it's a bust.

The atmosphere is masterfully crafted, almost immediately evoking images from "Alien" as you watch the intro cinematic. The enviornments, the lighting, and the ambient noises are top-notch. The music--by Mark Morgan--is sublime, and is used very effectively. The puzzles are mostly straight-forward and logical, occasionally frustrating and progress blocking. Generally above average for adventure games, which tend to have a certain logic of illogic within their worlds. The story is delivered via voice communications with other parties (competently acted), and through readable personnel logs. The writing is generally good, although it drops dramatically near the end. I found the villains to be cartoonish and one-dimensional. You probably won't feel afraid playing this game. However, you'll feel horrified, shocked, and appalled as you learn what's happening. The game pulls no punches, and I was emotionally crushed near the end. I found the ending satisfying if a bit cliched. From a mechanical perspective, the controls are fairly simple: Left click to walk, double-click to run. Hover on objects for description, click on them to interact if a context-sensitive hand icon appers. There is no quick save or load, but you can save at any point by opening the menu. This is important, because the automatic checkpoints often occur before unskippable dialogue or custscenes, and if you die you'll have to go through them again. Indeed, you can die in this game. Often times it'll be obvious that the action will lead to death, but sometimes it isn't. Also, sometimes you die if you don't act fast enough, and it's in these pseudo quick time events that the game becomes more about trial and error than puzzle solving. Highly recommended if you're a fan of SciFi horror or adventure. I recommend playing the game with a walkthrough/guide if you're not an adventure fan, just to enjoy the atmosphere and story.

I enjoyed playing Stasis, but I found the game too short. The characters and settings in this game are on the small side, so the in-game sequences are often hard to fully see and appreciate. This takes away from the moodiness appreciably. Not to mention the fact that the plot 'borrows' a bit too liberally from films like Pandorum, Event Horizon and even Aliens. As a fan of those horror classics, my prior knowledge of the movies made Stasis a bit predictable, and therefore the horror aspect ended up being somewhat lackluster. It's also quite linear, which was disappointing, given the game is relatively new. This game did not scare me, so I suppose, overall, it's not a win if you're looking for a true fright. For a real horror experience, try Downfall and The Cat Lady, both of which I enjoyed immensely for their unconventional interfaces, artwork, story and dialogue.

Seriously, I don't get it. How can did this ugly mess managed to score so many positive reviews? Cliched plot, to say the least. Illogical puzzles, some make no sense at all: it comes down to find the object to interact with, and mindlessly try all the items of your inventory on it. Clunky animations. Terrible pathfinding. Awful voice acting. Way too many PDA to read. If you want a good horror adventure, even if the setting is different, get The Last Door.