Posted August 12, 2014
low rated
Because I thought it wouldn't be released on GOG. Dammit that's so annoying, but well. Can't be helped now.
But is this game worth buying? On GOG, I'd lean towards *yes*. The bitter taste in my mouth after buying it on Steam partly ruined the experience for me, no joke.
*no spoilers*
But I only lean towards yes, because this game is not for everyone. Setting my Steam gripes aside, this game had me hooked from the beginning and I couldn't stop playing it until I had finished it.
That was a good thing. It felt a lot like a modernized version of old-school adventure games, though without any puzzles, just a narrative and objects to investigate and an environment to explore. It has elements from here and there, a little bit of Myst, a little bit of the Stanley paradigm, a little bit of its own thing.
That's all good and well, but the thing to remember is that the game is at the end of the day a narrative. A story, as such it is linear and non-interactive in the sense that you can't affect the story.
And that's why this game isn't for everyone, because the game kind of lives or dies on how you experience the story. How you like the story.
I liked parts of it, it drew me in and held me until the end. It's just when it was all said and done, the credits rolling, I stared in disbelief and thought: "I'll never get those two hours back".
See the game is only about two hours, even if played very slowly. I certainly didn't rush through it, but then, it's just one house you're exploring, so it can't go on for very long - but it seems rather short. And the ending itself is going to win you over to either "wow great game!" or like me "I'll never get those two hours back".
Such is the way of story driven games, they will be polarizing, because they rely completely on how the player experiences and understands the narrative.
While I did not appreciate it as the developer perhaps hoped for, I have to confess that the game is gripping, exciting at times and nerve wracking when it is played late at night in a darkened room. Chills will be felt, there are places you'll feel really nervous about entering and some are downright creepy.
It's an experience I'd recommend, if only to see that this kind of game could be great. It's just that this one is not. And that's completely thanks to the ending, in my case.
For the 5 dollars they're asking now, go buy this game! It's so worth 5 dollars. It's even worth 10 dollars. But not 20 dollars. That's just way more than this is worth.
But is this game worth buying? On GOG, I'd lean towards *yes*. The bitter taste in my mouth after buying it on Steam partly ruined the experience for me, no joke.
*no spoilers*
But I only lean towards yes, because this game is not for everyone. Setting my Steam gripes aside, this game had me hooked from the beginning and I couldn't stop playing it until I had finished it.
That was a good thing. It felt a lot like a modernized version of old-school adventure games, though without any puzzles, just a narrative and objects to investigate and an environment to explore. It has elements from here and there, a little bit of Myst, a little bit of the Stanley paradigm, a little bit of its own thing.
That's all good and well, but the thing to remember is that the game is at the end of the day a narrative. A story, as such it is linear and non-interactive in the sense that you can't affect the story.
And that's why this game isn't for everyone, because the game kind of lives or dies on how you experience the story. How you like the story.
I liked parts of it, it drew me in and held me until the end. It's just when it was all said and done, the credits rolling, I stared in disbelief and thought: "I'll never get those two hours back".
See the game is only about two hours, even if played very slowly. I certainly didn't rush through it, but then, it's just one house you're exploring, so it can't go on for very long - but it seems rather short. And the ending itself is going to win you over to either "wow great game!" or like me "I'll never get those two hours back".
Such is the way of story driven games, they will be polarizing, because they rely completely on how the player experiences and understands the narrative.
While I did not appreciate it as the developer perhaps hoped for, I have to confess that the game is gripping, exciting at times and nerve wracking when it is played late at night in a darkened room. Chills will be felt, there are places you'll feel really nervous about entering and some are downright creepy.
It's an experience I'd recommend, if only to see that this kind of game could be great. It's just that this one is not. And that's completely thanks to the ending, in my case.
For the 5 dollars they're asking now, go buy this game! It's so worth 5 dollars. It's even worth 10 dollars. But not 20 dollars. That's just way more than this is worth.
