This is a good entry to the genre, it feels however rough around the edges when it comes to story telling and when the game is finished, it felt a bit like "wait that's it?" due to a rushed ending. The world is interesting, and the game has a dark atmosphere, with some interesting characters, which I wished we got to know even better. I was genuinely invested in the story line and the world itself - it felt like we were given only a small insight into the world and the characters, that could perhaps have been fleshed out if the game was a bit longer (or had a sequel?). Other than that, the graphics are beautiful as well as the cut scenes, I don't know Finnish, but I did enjoy the voice acting as well as the several funny moments (especially the one with the printer). The puzzles are good and logical and are in my opnion at a good level of difficulty that doesn't take away from the experience or feel too easy.
I've had the pleasure of finding this game back in 2009 and fell absolutely in love with it. As someone obsessed with mermaids and underwater worlds and mysteries as a child and adult, Aquaria scratches the itch I have for beautiful stylised underwater exploration adventure with a gorgeous soundtrack, I keep coming back to again and again. The gameplay is quite simple and uses the mechanics it introduces very well as you progress through the game. As you gain new abilities, there's an incentive to go back to areas you've already been to to explore areas that were previously unavailable. The story is intriguing and ends on a mysterious note - very unfortunate that we will probably never get a sequel to it, although in my opinion it still holds up as a standalone game. This game might not be for someone who wants something more complicated in terms of game mechanics, but would definitely recommend it to someone who enjoys a good platform adventure game set in an underwater world, that holds dark secrets but also provides an atmosphere of comfort and whimsy.
Cozy game where you unpack your belongings and try to make them fit into the place you've moved into. The art style of this game is gorgeous and cutesy, and the music is relaxing. The best element of the game is definitely the story telling - you learn so much about the owner of these belongings and from the place they're moving into, it's a very clever way to tell a story without any need for dialogue or exposition. I was surprised that I was so touched by the end of the game. Can definitely recommend it!
As some of the other reviews point out, the main problem in this game is the story. The story itself is fine, nothing groundbreaking or surprising, but the handling and execution of it feels very bland and not well thought out. The climax of the game is particularly disappointing and doesn't make a lot of sense, even using the logic of the story itself. The story and dialogue definitely needed to go through another draft or two. A big problem for many players of this game was also how the relationship between an adult man and a teenager is framed as an 'affair' and not grooming in the game. The framing of this relationship would not necessarily have been a problem had the story been revised and worked on more, but it definitely doesn't put the makers of this game in the best of light by today's standards. Even in the context of the story, it leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth. On the plus side of the gameplay, I appreciated the setting of the hotel and the details of the artwork, as well as the sound design. I wish it was utilised better however. It makes no sense that when you zoom in on certain objects relatively close to you, that they somehow get more blurry. You receive 3 items during your gameplay which are used once (if even that), which seems pointless. As another reviewer pointed out, the pacing is strange when it comes to exploration of the hotel - I wanted to explore the hotel but often found out that I was in certain areas "too early" in the story. The dialogue choices are irellevant and make no difference to the game whatsoever. While the game makes a point of the story being hidden in the details, I found that a lot of the story was told through exposition and not through discovery, which was quite disappointing - especially since I liked the hotel, and the story could have been discovered slowly through finding different objects and such. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this game.
Statis is a great game that combines the dread of deep space horror and isolation with an engaging story about a father trying to find his family and discovering one terrible thing after another. The game feels like a nod/tribute to older games of the same genre, such as Sanitarium (another isometric point and click classic), where the more you study the environment around you, the more you learn about the world which feels rewarding. The aesthetic of the game feels very Dead Space / Alien inspired, and the coldness of the deep space vessel and its interior frames perfectly the horrific events that have transpired there prior to your arrival. While the game isn't jumpscare-scary (although there are a couple here and there), and the isometric perspective definitely plays a role in this, the atmosphere is what makes the game unnerving and provides a sense of uneasiness throughout the whole playthrough. As a horror and sci-fi fan as well as an point and click fan, this falls into one of my favorite categories of games that I can play to enjoy the story, artwork and atmosphere, while feeling uncomfortable and uneasy but not stressed out due to frustrating gameplay. I can highly recommend Stasis!
