After having played Stasis, and in doing so encountering one of the most visceral and rather shocking sequences I've seen in any video game (the PDT removal), I decided to put Bone Totem on my list. After completing it, the original Stasis felt like a superior idea, while Bone Totem has better execution and polish. The good: The developers seem to know their limitations and play to their strengths - pre-rendered sequences are usually framed in extreme close ups to avoid showing too much animation (which takes an incredible amount of resources to do well), better to leave things implied than show clunky movements. The voice acting is highly professional (I played in English) and entertaining. The game is atmospheric and does connect conceptually to this studio's other offerings, but can absolutely be played by itself, that's always something to dig. The bad: Parts of this 'serious' game, one that features a constant theme of descents -- physical, moral, and emotional, was rather spoiled by fart jokes. Now, the jokes are very minor and may not be noticeable to most players, but it's a huge risk to take: if its not done perfectly it breaks the mood they spent so long establishing. I'll also say science is utterly overcome by fiction in this sci-fi world. The stark implausibility of the plot is at times another immersion-breaker. AI characters are infused with all-too-human motivations, and some of the extensive flavor text can be almost as verbose as this review. In short, I felt the writing could have been better. And yet, I was still compelled to complete the story, it certainly had its moments. Overall, I am extremely interested in future developments from this studio, and would recommend Bone Totem to anyone looking for a darkly themed diversion.
I'm middle-aged, and have no particular gift for puzzle-solving, but found this game very enjoyable. It was roughly 5 hours in length. It involves inspecting alien artifacts and completing geometric puzzles. The artifacts have a sense of weight. The sound and visual effects provide good texture while poking around in an attempt to find a hidden compartment or button. It is satisfying to unlock a mechanism that was previously jammed.
