As a point-and-click (PNC) goes, it's a little below average overall. The story helps to make this worth playing, and it's the sort of game you can knock out in maybe 3-6 hours depending on how long you spend on each bit. The controls aren't that great, but also aren't terrible. There are a few real-time sequences that are fairly terrible (as per the norm in PNC games), but thankfully most of the game is not real-time. It's the first person view where you click an arrow to move to an adjacent screen, meaning there are a set number of maximum areas you can actually explore. This is both good and bad. The background scenes are actually pretty nice, but a lot of it simply ends up as dead space (for example, the entire village has quite a few screens you can walk through, but very few things you can actually interact with). There are lots and lots of "dead" items that simply serve no purpose. The real issue with them is that most of the time they won't disapear after they've fulfiled their task, so you're left with the confusion of "what do I still need to try?". There also aren't really any "inventory-combining" items, meaning you don't click on one and drop it on another to "combine" them, as is the case with most PNC's. The puzzles are all pretty good actually, though a couple stumped me and I had to look up a hint. Thankfully they are mostly intuitive. The primary mechanic of the game is you switching between your true self and impersonating your brother. This isn't a spoiler as it says it right in the game's description. Anyway, this is a pretty refreshing mechanic and leads to some interesting gameplay. However, I feel it was also underutilized. Most of the game you spend the time dresed as your brother, and there is very little to do as yourself. It is interesting that dialogue and a few scenes will change depending on which one you are currently dressed as. My final thoughts: the game ranks for me around 2.5 to 3 stars, maybe like a 2.8 or so.
Well, this is just a prologue or sample for the full game the studio is working to produce. Their kickstarter was funded so the full game should be coming out at some point. Right off the bat, this is a gripping horror mystery. It was unsettling, unnerving, and kept me on the edge of my seat up until the ending. This prologue takes roughly an hour or so to play through. The other important note: this is a very Slavic game. Things like the names, manner of speaking, openly discussing religious themes, and even some of the folklore was very reminiscent of Eastern Europe. There is a lot of religious reference (mainly Eastern Orthodox), and as several other reviewers have pointed out, the game launches right into that from the get-go. If you're turned off by Eastern-Orthodox Christianity then this game will probably not be for you. What did this game do pretty well? -2d background with 3d sprites. Like many (good) modern PNCs -highlightable action points. Yes, it does take away some of the mystery, but it's worth not having to "pixel-hunt" -good voice acting. -intriguing (albeit somewhat frustrating) characters. -gripping, suspenseful atmosphere. -Great artwork. What didn't it do so well? -Writing/dialogue riddled with typos & grammar mistakes. You have to keep in mind, though, that this was written by non-native English speakers. -No real puzzles. I'm assuming the full version will have these, but you can't make a good PNC without some good logic puzzles. Final verdict: 4/5 stars and I'll definitely be picking up the full game at some point. Extra stuff: Though I'd likely never choose to hang out with either Benedek or Nikolai in person, I found both their personalities relatable and familiar, especially to some of the wonderfully varied people I met or know in Eastern Europe. Religious culture is a far more ingrained part of society there than in America for example, and many "fanatics" are like that. Poor Nikolai is genuine enough, but a slave to addiction.
If you are a fan of the BS series like I am, you might still like parts of this game. The story is interesting enough, but it lacks much of the lore depth the other games have. It will rarely explain anything beyond the surface, which bugged me at times - being a lore nut myself. What it does well: -98% voice-acted -the templar manuscripts are beautiful -Stobbart-quips -Puzzle/item variety -good story -fun side characters -3D controls are much better than BS3 -surprisingly long game What it does poorly: -clunky movement -many puzzles are devoid of logic -frustrating real-time segments -inventory bogged down by excess dead items -can't skip dialogue -confusing cut scenes Is it worth playing? If this is your first point-n-click, absolutely not. If you like the series? Maybe. If you are intrigued by the story? Probably. I had to use hints for most of it since the game almost always makes you guess what you are supposed to be accomplishing. The puzzle designer really didn't give much thought as to how someone other than themself could solve these. The real-time elements, as with 95% of P-n-C's I've played, are absolute garbage, and terribly frustrating. I gave it 3 stars because it's definitely the worst game of the series, but not a terrible experience. I still enjoyed it overall, but make sure not to set your expectations too high. If I were to compare this to the other games in the series, it would be getting 2 stars. As for game length, I was actually pretty happy with this area. P-n-C's tend to be pretty short compared to lots of other games, but I'd put this one on the longer side: I played it over the course of a couple weeks and it took me almost 12hrs with occasional glances at hints. According to Galaxy, the average playtime for this is 7.5 hrs.
I give the game 3.5 stars out of 5. In this case, 3 would mean it's a decent game, so 3.5 means it's a step better than decent, but not quite to a 4-star level. Here are my reasons for that review, with the spoiler-free stuff on top and the spoiler-light stuff on the bottom. Overall, this is a pretty solid game and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes mystery/suspense novels since the game plays much like an interactive short story; the entire game can be played through in about four hours. Picked mine up on sale for $5, glad I didn't have to pay full price. SPOILER-FREE Some things I liked: -engaging story -simple, mostly non-repetitive gameplay -decent dialogue and writing -easy to finish in 1 setting -great voice acting -nice visuals -fun easter eggs -great main character development -realistic map/compass -very little hand-holding -linear gameplay wasn't boring -didn't have to use hints or a walkthrough -went back and forth from calm to suspenseful -attention to graphic design Some things I didn't like: -poor pathing collision -didn't develop much care/attachment to the side characters -not much replay value beyond character development -your choices don't really matter; they only change dialogue not what happens. -ending was not for me (and that's ok) but enjoyed the other 95% of the game -lots of foul language with no option to disable SPOILERY I thought they did a fantastic job crafting an intriguing & suspenseful mystery. It had so much potential for almost any kind of ending, and it just fell flat. I was fine with not meeting D. I don't care that it wasn't aliens or supernatural stuff. All the build-up had absolutely no payoff; the whole game was a giant red herring. I personally feel that defenses saying the game was "human", "raw & real", or "truly an emotional wellspring" are not great reasons to have great writing for 95% and fall flat. I don't agree with the requirements of being asocial or emotionally-fragile to love the ending.
