I've just finished this amazing game/VN and my answer would be "no". Each location, each poster, the story, the characters, the dialogues, the soundtrack and of course the rain ... if you are even remotely a fan of the film noir genre you won't be disappointed. Of course this still is a VN at heart but unlike the usual VN it does not feel this way. It offers a few mini games and puzzles, gives you the opportunity to chose which hotspots you want to click on first or which dialogue you want to hear next ... last but not least there are the interrogation and conclusion scenes and the very few action scenes in which you have to shoot (don't worry - you can always retry if you fail). Then there is the fact that depending on the dialogues you chose you might unlock additional codex entrys (background of the universe the game plays in) and you can also collect some collectibles more or less hidden inside the scenes. However, even if this would just be the usual VN it would still be great because of the unusual artwork, the great characters and most of all the voice over they must have stripped right out of some noir movie since it is so spot on. Along with the atmosphere the mystery itself also unfolds nicely and the solution might surprise some. If the devs should decide to do a sequel I will definitely buy it on release. Highly recommended for every fan of the genre.
Today many gamers are just asking about how much playtime a game has to offer and if you ask me, that is the wrong thing to ask when it comes to the question whether a game is worth its price or not. Much more important in my opinion is the question how much you will enjoy the game. It's not really difficult to drag a game to get as much playtime as possible - the art lies in making each second enjoyable. That is what "The Shattering" is doing. If you like surreal and artsy settings in which everything can happen and if you like mystery and maybe even are interested a bit in psychology ... if you love movies like "Stay" or "Jacobs Ladder" then you will enjoy every single second of "The Shattering" since it breathes the same air. From the first second on I really enjoyed everything "The Shattering" had to offer: The great art, the love for details, the intelligent and unusual way of narration and the fact that everything could happen anytime. This was like a rollercoaster ride and while playing it I was constantly trying to piece the puzzle together. It was a great ride and now after my 5 hours of pure enjoyment I would buy it again, because it is that good and technically so well done. The free DLC they just added now also gives you the option to access each chapter of the game directly, listen to the complete soundtrack and some developer commentaries (which are also subtitled in different languages btw). To unlock the developer commentaries you will have to solve some puzzles just like in the game ... so it is additional playtime as well which the devs are giving away for free. I also enjoyed playing this DLC as well. For those of you who are more into story and atmosphere than challenges I cannot recommend this high enough.
I am playing this now since 30 hours (still far from the finish line) and I guess it is time to give it the 5 stars it deserves imo. I have so much fun, you have so much freedom and there is so much to do ... and the game looks and plays as you would expect a Mad Max game to look and play. Is it repetetive? Yes, it is - but you don't need to do everything that's on the map, that's up to you. It's also (mostly) up to you what you want to do first. As long as you don't expect a complex story and like the world this plays in you will have fun for a long time. Also, afaik there is no other game out there that does car combat so well (and it never gets old to simply pull the driver out of the seat using the harpoon). Feel the need for speed and fight cars in high speed, infiltrate fortresses, hunt for snipers, search for mines using a dog as sonar ... fight dirty and hard with just two buttons ... all this is this game. Best 5 Euros I've spent for a long time.
Bad Dream: Fever is a nice and short point and click that took me about 7 hours I enjoyed the predecessor (Bad Dream: Coma) more than I thought and it only took me so long to buy and play this one because of the negative ratings. Unfortunately they are true. The game only lets you collect items when you need them which leads to an extreme amount of backtracking and pixel hunting. Often you don't knbow what you should do and so you walk through the same locations again and again. So yes, the gameplay is suboptimal to say it in a nice way. Because of the fact that the game uses an auto inventory and simply shows you which item is usuable on which hot spot - no item combinations possible - finding items and hotspots is basically the only thing you have to do (with one or two exceptions). Still I think it is a great game because of the story and what it does ... problem here, whatever I would tell you would be a big spoiler so I won't do this. However let me tell you that more than once my mouth was wide open I really enjoyed those OMG moments ... there are even more of those if you played the predecessor like I did. So, if you are in it for a ride and not for a point and click with amazing puzzles you won't get disappointed. However because of the lack of good gameplay wait for a sale.
Just finished the game and while it really plays a lot like Portal (in general you are walking from test chamber to test chamber and try to figure out a way to continue), there is this special clue: The game is full of optic illusions and impossibilitys - because you are in a dream and everything is possible. You might expect the unexpected but in this game you also have to think in an unexpected way to solve the puzzles. The game does contain a sort of story - it even has a deeper solution to what this is all about, but the game does not focus on the story. So play it for the puzzles and for an amazing ride into crazyland and not for the story and you will enjoy it a lot. The game looks nice and specially in some of the later levels the developers went overboard and created quite surreal areas which really enhances the feeling that you are in fact in a dream. The game was buttersmooth for me and I did not have any problems with the controls (used keyboard + mouse and the keys as well as the gamepad buttons are fully rebindable). The game also offers enough graphic options. Like I said, the game does not focus on story, but it has narration in it which is subtitled in different languages. I tested the German one and was really satisfied (found two tiny bugs in the end which I told the devs so they might even get fixed). What really amazes me is that they even subtitled the developer commentary in different languages so I might replay the game with these turned on again. I purchased it for about 13 euros and imo it is well worth the asking price even though one playthrough is not much longer than 5 hours max. I don't remember any other game that was so "different" so I'd still recommend it despite the rather short experience.
I expected something like Layers of Fear but instead I got a pure Firewatch clone. Unfortunately there's by far not as much to do as in Firewatch and the voice over while still being good is not as exceptional as it was in Firewatch (imo Firewatch had the best VO ever). The story is starting a bit slow but it develops a mystery vibe after a while and the player is starting to try to puzzle things together. The environment looks beautiful and there's no doubt the developers were big fans of Shining and Kubrick in general (red/white toilet, overlook, carpet and of course the general theme). I am a slow player and it took me 4,5 hours to finish the game. Unfortunately there's not anything to explore outside your to do list so you are basically just following the narration. It's also a bit annoying that you are moving really slow if you don't run (and there's no always run option available). Still if you are playing the game for what it is (a narrative experience and nothing more) you still might enjoy it the same I did. One word to those "the game glorifies pedophiles" and "the victum did not get a voice" ... that's not true. The game does not glorify anything it simply tells a story about love, society, family, loss, tragic events and how people cope with those. The pedophile father itself is also not glorified at all. Those people who think this might have missed a few conversations inside the game. Anyway: short, enjoyable and it could have been better gameplay wise - but still a nice narrative experience with some great looking environment and a nice but tragic mystery plot.
What I liked most about this one is that it is a true sequel. You revisit the places you visited in part 1 (10 years ago) and the game references some of the things that happened in the first one. It is not necessary to have played "Curse of the ancient circle" but it is a whole lot more fun if you did. This felt like a reunion for me and I was glad to be able to visit Barrow Hill once again. So much was familiar but many things changed. This game has much more inventory based puzzles in it rhan the predecessor had without completely dropping the code and clue finding from books and notes the first one did so well. Just like with the first one there are not really illogical or impossible puzzles and just like the first one the game oozes atmosphere until the very end. However this game has one minor downside - sometimes you might get lost in the woods despite the map you get early on - happened a few times to me which was a bit annoying. This should not scare anybody off though - it's a minor gripe because there aren't that many locations and after a while you will memorize the short ways much better. I recommend this fine game to every fan of first person point and click adventures who really enjoy a creepy story with great atmosphere. If you enjoyed part 1 you will enjoy this one as well I am quite sure about this.
Yes, it is not a true sequel and no, it is not made by Sierra and Al Lowe has nothing to do with it. So I was extremely sceptical when I bought this. I just finished the game recently and I was very surprised how much the game tried to stay true to the orginals while also recognizing that it will never be able to be a true successor. The devs are obviously true fans of the original and it shows. The game has so many references to the originals while at core it shows the player how time has changed. It also has so many fun details and references to the actual real world if you look carefully. There are a LOT of puzzles in the game - most of them are logical, some of them require thinking out of the box. The main problem gameplay wise is that quite early you will have several locations available and even more items in the inventory without even knowing what to do with them. Sometimes it is exhausting to figure out what to do next and there's a really good chance you will get stuck multiple times. This is the reason why I substract one star here since I enjoyed everything else in the game. I would not recommend this game if you are easily offended but nobody who ever played any of the Larry games should be easily offended. Al Lowe might not have been involved in this but I could imagine he would enjoy the game as well.
I really enjoyed the previous two games (Time Gentlemen, please!/Ben there, Dan that!) the devs made so buying this was a no brainer for me. However given the fact that this was supposed to be a hybrid (point and click and platformer) I was not sure how much of the humor (which is political as incorrect as it can get) I enjoyed so much in the predecessors would be in this one. A few minutes ago I finished the game (took me a bit over 13 hours) and I am happy that it still is a point and click at heart and it also still has the great humor I enjoyed so much. Those platforming sections though are not just there to make it a bit different, they are in fact sometimes quite challenging and even though there is the option to turn on "platform assist" to make platforming more easy you cannot skip them. That is the ONLY negative thing that I could point out. Everything else was top notch for me. If you play this game you really can expect the unexpected, You'll get regular puzzles, challenging ones and puzzles that are just mind blowing genious. I did not experience any moon logic. The platforming was fun most of the time, the frustrating bits were only a few ... and they are doable as well, just give it a bit time. It's also great that with new abilities you can do more and different platforming which makes it feel a bit like a metroidvania. The game will offer you quite a few surprises along the way and it's probably best to not tell too much about the content. I simply enjoyed it quite a lot and it for me it was the best of the three games they made. I am really hoping the devs will make another one. Highly recommended even if you are not an avid platformer.
The controls are not perfect but usuable and you can rebind keys. The game is hectic and chaos but imo that is how it is supposed to be otherwise you could just place your army and reposition them now and then. To be honest I was frustrated quite a bit in the later levels (finished it today) but after I beat the final boss i went back to get some collectibles and sudenly I was able to beat these easier monsters with an S rank - so it's all about practice. Okay, I have to admit that those timed sequences the other review mentioned are really trial and error and trying to get get faster and you will die quite a few times before making it. However the sections are quite short and there are only a few of them inside the whole game (I only experienced the mentioned aiming problem of the archer in one of those sequences and you have to position your archers correctly to be able to hit the target and not the stone - slo, don't be too close, that was the secret for me). These sections and the puzzle and search sequences prevent the game from becoming just a game about battle and therefore prevents the game from getting boring. The game autosaves often and at the end of each level - collectibles are saved independent from the chosen difficulty (3 difficulties available) while rank is dependent from the chosen diffilculty. Therefore you can use the easiest level to get some of those collectibles you might have missed in your first playthrough and you can freely chose the level. This gives a bit of replayabilty since some of those. collectibles are well hidden.
