STASIS

Not sure where all this positive feedback has come from--the game is a by-the-numbers point and click title with an irritating isometric perspective, pixel hunting and obscure item combining aesthetic that really doesn't have a lot going for it. The plot is largely nonsense and fairly straightforward apart from two or three last minute twists that the game throws at you (one literally a second before the fade to black in the final cutscene) that add nothing of value. There's plenty of flavour text scattered about, but apart from one or two logs, the quality of the writing is not fantastic. So the plot is average, the puzzles are annoying at best... What's left? The aesthetic of the game borrows somewhat from murky 1024*768 adventures of yore, stretched out across a wider screen. The effect is not unlike a less interesting or diverse Sanitarium. The isometric perspective does little to help things and occasionally results in little navigation bugs. All in all: thoroughly average. As I have said, I have no idea where all the positive feedback is coming from; the game is a standard point and click that would have been buried under an avalanche of identical titles in the early 2000s. Don't go out of your way to avoid if it's cheap, but don't expect a whole lot.

Stasis is a horror game with outstanding atmosphere set by the quality art and sound production. Good horror needs the proper tone, and this game nails it. There are a few jump scares, but the isometric perspective diminishes their effectiveness. The puzzles in Stasis rely on your real life logic to solve, but we've been spoiled by games with assurances, guides, limitations, and absurdities that real world logic tends to take a back seat. I think it's a good thing this game requires more logic, but good puzzle design does mean providing cues towards progress. Stasis has virtually none. So even if you're on the right track, you won't know until after you've already solved it. This could have been solved easily with a more talkative MC. The MC talks to himself a lot already, so it wouldn't hurt if he narrated a few pointers here or there, or at the very least, would say something if the player is stuck. The lack of cues not only makes it easier to get stuck, but to mess up. Messing up usually leads to the MC's death, and that's a big "no-no" for good horror. I am not proposing plot armor. The MC should absolutely be vulnerable. But maintaining an atmosphere of dread is objective #1. The fear of death is far more compelling for horror than being dead. So, in a horror game, having traps that will just kill the player's character due to the lack of informative cues will make the player frustrated rather than fearful. When that happens, the game has failed. I've foundmyself more frustred with Stasis over this than anything else. Stasis also does not have skippable dialogue. So when you repeat a scene after dying, you have to watch/listen to it again. It's annoying. Finding things can also be a pain in Stasis. While most interactable items have lights as indicators, some do not. You will find yourself clicking everywhere trying to find something you need. An option for more embellished interaction indicators, especially for pickup items, would be extremely helpful.

the game works, it might even be a really good game... however, the problem is that the volume is ALWAYS at 100% and will take your head off... the setuptool program sort of works, but not good enough. i cannot currently recommend the game or give it even 3 stars as it currently stands, the game is unplayable as long as there is no workaround or setting for the volume that will keep it from switching back to 100%.... SO PLEASE UPDATE THE GAME SO IT WILL PROPERLY KEEP ANY SETTINGS/SETUPTOOL THAT ARE SET SO THAT OUR EARS STOP BLEEDING AND OUR BRAINS/HEAD WONT EXPLODE.

TL;DR Give it a try on sale, it actually has gameplay and the good is really good if you can get past the bad. Pros: It's a tight game by a small company The presentation is fantastic Some sounds, like the main character and the enviroment are spectacular It lacks a lot of adventure pitfalls The dark areas it goes to are well done and not the type you see often Cons: As far as I know you can't skip any bloody dialogue or death scenes. Super awesome when they purposefully put you in a trial and error situation after a dialogue scene, kill you, then automatically send you back before the scene. Everyone knows better, make your damn scenes skippable. All together the plot seems iffy with many things that could have been explored more (but it's a humble game so I won't harp too much on what are very likely bugetary short comings. It would seem as though they for some reason believe that adventure gameplay involves reading 12 non brief diary entries for each bloody pda you find, of which there are plenty. It screamed for audio logs supporting solid puzzle gameplay. Granted this is probably because the voice acting budget was likely very cheap. They bafflelingly use text to speech for a human character despite having access to a human female. The actual adventure gameplay leaves much to be desired and any backtracking and exploring can at times get very tedious. To conclude: If you really love reading as a way to pad out the bits of gameplay, and are also patient, the negatives may actually be positives for you. Clearly the people who made it are capeable of making something good as long as they understand the shortcomings that they are able to fix. It is a great horror experience but not a great gaming experience. I hope they're next efforts show growth. I'm rooting for you.

This game feels like it was custom tailored to my personal tastes. I love it! If you have an affinity for atmospheric science fiction / horror settings, and are open to playing a point-and-click game, consider purchasing this title. All dialog is competently voice acted. Ambient sound and music both succeed in hightening emotional engagement. Very well done. The many log entries available for optional reading, are well written. A significant amount of them are interconnected and help flesh out the world. Puzzles are well designed. Even the ones I got stuck on for a bit ended up having logical solutions. There are generally only a handful of items in the inventory. Graphic design is very good as well. The screen oozes atmposhere. Even though the game runs in fullscreen mode, the assets are of a lower resolution than a typical computer screen. For me, this look added to the atmosphere, but you may find it deterring. It appears Stasis is a projection of clear, focused vision. It is concise and consistent throughout. It took me a good 10h to complete over the course of a weekend, taking my time figuring out the puzzles and reading everything I came across. I did not encounter a single crash during my playthrough.