Posted on: December 12, 2019
Flashman85
Verified ownerGames: 297 Reviews: 19
We're lucky we even have cues.
This is less of an adventure game and more of an evidence-gathering simulator. The story takes place over the course of 8 in-game hours, and the clock only advances when certain pre-scripted events are triggered. As time goes on, new clues and items appear, people and objects change locations, new areas become accessible, and people get murdered. Your goal is to stay alive and learn as much as humanly possible about these people and this place. Unfortunately, the people are one-dimensional stereotypes who barely want to speak with you. They'll respond concisely if you ASK or TELL them (this is a text parser, mind you) about different things, but you can't really influence them. You're an observer until the end. The gameplay is characterized by aimlessly wandering in search of the next plot point, pestering people for information, looking for secret passageways, spying on people, and thoroughly examining anything new or different when revisiting old locations. A handful of traditional "use item on object" puzzles help break up the repetition, but the puzzles tend to solve themselves the moment you discover there's even a puzzle in the first place. There are several ways to die, though all of them are completely avoidable if you're being at all attentive and careful. Otherwise, you're guaranteed to win eventually, whether you're playing as a super sleuth or a lazy slacker. The ending is impacted by how much information you've gathered; after the final cutscene, you get a useful (though terribly belated) checklist of what information actually matters, plus some hints for the next playthrough. I can recommend the game for its creepy atmosphere and unique concept, but the story and gameplay execution could've been so much better. I want more of the "interactive play" promised by the manual. The interface has a few problematic kinks, too. Sensitive players should be advised that there's a fair amount of blood (the title screen is the worst) and mild nudity.
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