Make no mistake: In Sound Mind isn't the horror game it markets itself as. It's a first-person exploration/puzzle game in the same vein as Half-Life. In fact, it's as close to Half-Life as legally permissible. The main character is an everyman with brown hair, beard, and glasses, who crawls around vents and breaks wooden boards with a shard of glass instead of a crowbar. (How would that even work?) The story is predictable, unfolding mostly in old recordings and scribbled notes, as is tradition. The puzzles are engaging without being frustrating, and stand out as the most enjoyable aspects of the game. They involve some creative problem solving, a healthy dose of exploration, and rarely (if ever) require hints or Google searches. They serve as a solid foundation for a spiritual successor to Valve's flagship series. Unfortunately the rest of the game is heavily flawed. The visuals are ugly, even for a low-budget title. Environments are a mix of hazy darkness and nauseating neon, and performance is shockingly poor for something that looks like Elder Scrolls: Oblivion. The enemies are designed like abstract nonsense, and there's almost no variety to speak of. "Stealth" does nothing and is only used once as a tutorial. The shooting mechanics are downright bad, made frustrating because the enemies jerk around too quickly and randomly to hit. All the bosses are of the "relentless pursuit" variety, dogging the player during specific sections. Only the first one requires clever use of equipment to evade. The soundtrack is too cyberpunk for a game that sells itself on atmosphere, featuring a lot of dubstep and techno beats. And overall, the game is simply too long for what it is. With more variety it might have been a true powerhouse of a title. But as it stands, it brings too little to the table and overstays its welcome.
