These are no doubt some of the worst controls I have ever seen in a game. I remember control schemes having a pretty high learning curve back in the old days, but this is ridiculous. Almost up there with Die By The Sword in how frustrating it is to control your character and manuever about the world. Which sucks because it's got a really interesting story and very engaging gameplay that is utterly ruined by the garbage controls. It's frustrating because you will want to play this game. You will want to love this game. But for some reason they decided to make it so difficult to enjoy it by kneecapping your ability to move or see anything.
I'm a veteran of this genre and have played these adventure-puzzle games for most of my gaming career, but this one just doesn't grab me at all and is kind of hard to get into. There's no real carrot-on-a-stick that makes me want to continue moving forward past the initial few puzzles, despite being somewhat engaging in the early-going. The first couple of puzzles are nicely done and give you something to look forward to, but once you exhaust them it's as if the game just slams on the brakes and hits a brick wall. I spent the better part of 3 hours shuffling bricks around some sort of door-opening contraption (?) to no avail and just gave up. I wandered about the very little area available looking for clues and find none. I feel like the only way forward is to use a walkthrough or just spend another 3 hours blindly guessing and that's just not good design. I would recommend this if you're just looking for a time-filler and it's on sale, but if you're looking for an engaging adventure, steer clear of this one.
This is one of the most immersive and atmospheric games I've ever played. As an interactive fiction experience, it's amazing how well this holds up after 24 years. Top-notch storytelling!
Title says it all. This game puts the player at the center of a narrative that is driven entirely by the creepy vibes its environment creates. It's a scary, lonely place that only gets more gripping as the storylines unfold. The deeper you dive, the better it gets. This is truly a horror adventure.
