Recent reviews by DeadeGuard98

A short & colorful thrill that may scare ages 15 and up… but how bad could it get, right!?
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3368853798



A few bites of exploration and note-finding mixed in with a couple ounces of palpitating chases that escalate into unexpected encounters, all while throwing in a modicum of fooling around (on the player’s end), and Little Screamies is the end result, grown in a flashy test tube. Or so I heard, anyhow~
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3368837947


We need some merch of those fine creatures right away…! Who is/are the artist(s), I know it says so in the credits, but please tell me again- they could give some of the timeless & iconic mascots across mainstream media a real run for their money~


The same level of love and attention for said gobble-worthy critters was obviously given to the level designs, if not more even! The array of unique props, pleasing color palettes, and foreboding signs complemented one another without coming off overbearingly uneven to the point of inducing eye strains~


Truth be told, the story isn’t much to write home about, or maybe there is and I just missed it in one of the optional collectibles- those buggers are driving me mad, I tell ya! Seriously though, it’s like an episode of Scooby Doo had amalgamated with Martin Mystery and that made for a nostalgic trip down man-child memory lane but with a not-so-satisfying payoff~



A number of reviews claimed this game was too brief- well, I beg to differ. It runs a tad too long, with tasks that become more and more repetitive. I would rather have it cut to the chases, no pun intended, as that would have showcased its adorable entities even more! Don’t get me wrong though, the pacing was perfect in the first half; it’s the second half that made the padding very apparent~


Can’t quite place it but running felt weird as if there was a delay between hitting the shift key and it registering. Sometimes its other interactions will be rather testing as well, but fortunately it is not too gameplay-laden~


x Platforming sections towards the end


~ Crouching gets cancelled automatically when opportunity allows for it to.


https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3368855841
Looks can be deceiving, and it cannot get any truer than Little Screamies. This is a splendid Halloween concoction passionately brewed with designs that will be both a treat for the eyes AND heart~

*Naruto run*

Here's The Thing:
Smile, for you play the part of Riley Townshend, an ex-news camera operator searching for her missing sister Laura. The latter of whom was last seen taking part in a sinister scientific experiment of unknown description. Now, armed with great concern, indignation, and curiosity, she navigates the bunker rife with red flags and eyes everywhere. Will the truth get out and more importantly, can Riley?


I swear, my disclaimers get longer with each review… but I must tell you anyway. Right, I am one of the voice actors (Geoff) in this title. Yes, I was intensively involved with the playtesting. And yes, I backed this game and believed in it when it still was in its embryonic stage. So, why am I writing this? Because the world must know of the evil lurking in the, oh umm- I meant to say I am perfectly capable of critiquing a game fairly. Can I help it that I only happen to play quality titles?



Right off the bat, the dual-perspective gameplay makes for an unbelievably fresh take on a horror work. One where you spend exploring and solving puzzles while alternating between 1st person view after you pick up the camera and 3rd person point-and-click adventure style for when you’ve set it down. Each with its own set of dangers and advantages. For instance, you are safe from the most harmful being while looking through the lens, BUT you cannot turn that valve or exert much force until both hands are free!

Devout P&C adventure fans are also in for a treat as the 3rd person mode is not just a cool or aesthetical gimmick; it literally feels and plays like your beloved Sierra Entertainment titles! This means you should expect smart-aleck observations from Riley as she “interacts” and “examines” various objects, some degree of backtracking, and even creative solutions to the handful of puzzles. Who can forget the various classic unfair deaths that can regress your progress as well!?

Furthermore, there are many optional things to do, some of which grant you lore, achievements, and others just because! The three Acts will occupy around 4-5 hours in total, but who can say for sure!? Like I mentioned, it’s really up to how good your memory is, how thorough you are, and how fast you can commit to the rules of the experiment~

TIPS:
1) Save often! And save smartly!! I’ve said too m-.
2) I wonder what double-clicking does?
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3202617861

I’ve always been dense about graphics, but what caught my eye, or the lens rather, was Andrew’s unwavering dedication in crafting a real and “sterile” artificial environment. And I’m not just superficially talking about the novelty of the bunker either. The same extends for its daunting universe, but more so how it is able to breed questions, paranoia, and above all a sickening slow-burn spiral into insanity, even if it never quite reaches that point out of sheer restraint.

Every single room to each floor is not without purpose, and it’s exceedingly rare these days indie-horror-wise, that such meticulousness is applied towards the location design. A point I’ve only solely deeply commended to none other than Ghost at Dawn for their Pines Hotel. And my goodness, the sound design is flawless as well, albeit much easier to overlook in brilliance due to the elevated horror pacing. The OST, brings out the tinges of intrigue and distrust, all in spite of the limited number of tracks.

Now, let’s talk voices- don’t worry, this will be excluding mine, although I KILLE-! Anyway, first-timer voice actor Kaylee May in particular stole the show with her blasé-empathetic reads as Riley, coming off a very genuinely normal individual who’s dealt a bad hand. Vanna Oh’s no-nonsense and intimidating poshness as The Administrator also stood out! Really, there was not one weak link in the cast in terms of performance, which only added further to the quality of the work~


I recall being incredibly blown away by my time in the demo, especially when it came to the story, and how it laid out a ton of mysteries that I just could not connect, AND I have an innate talent for it, mind you! Now, I can safely say that the final product delivered on that front too by providing an overall groundbreaking plot, whose revelations take a turn into the unprecedented just as you barely formulate a hypothesis of your own. A mish mash of genres with neither a lack of detail nor attention. You can just tell that Andrew spent weeks, perhaps locked away in a bunker of his own, coming up with this stuff!

If you’re not careful, you’d make the mistake of assuming it was an adaptation of a book! Which only speaks volumes of how much of an avid reader the developer is. I’m telling you, beginning to end, the twists and turns will be as frequent as the number of times you have to switch between the two perspectives…! If I had to name movie inspirations, and these are just thin references based on the setting and approach; they’d have to be Rec (2007), Shelter (2015), 10 Cloverfield Lane (2016), and V/H/S (2012). Everything was assembled together in a way that doesn’t just give you that singular a-ha moment but a series of them. Nor does it come off strewn about in hopes of making them work together. It’s one of the best & unusual stories you’ll encounter in horror this year~
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3202626211

The idea of “trust,” whether it be towards the authority in charge or Riley’s own instincts, is fully fleshed out and scrutinized, with it being constantly put to the test on top of the objectives of the experiment. Do you abide by every order without failure? How much do you really know about what is going on? At some point, you just end up doing things like a sheep to avoid from the pressure of thought… Maybe that’s what they want!? Who knows.

This title also voyeuristically plays around with the dichotomy of watcher and the one watched, not just because 99.9% of your time is spent either being subjected to it or doing it yourself! Rather, there’s no telling when one truly starts and the other begins. With Osiris being a question mark company specializing in high tech inventions- the possibilities of what could go wrong become endless. Not to mention, every variable could wind up being manipulated too. You feel powerless in that regard and perhaps you even come to enjoy it. Now smile for the camera~



Now I personally don’t mind the lacking of intensity and fast-paced action of the “usual” variety in the horror genre. That is to say, there is an absence of truly urgent & hostile encounters that impatient players won’t quite appreciate. However, there’s still a great deal of potential for them in that those pesky rules involving the camera and one-off mechanics introduced to you should keep you guessing and anticipating that fight-or-flight~


x No major game-breaking ones!


~ Animations may not be the dev’s forte, but a few blew me out the water!
~ Inconsistency in voice acting quality (not performance).


https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3203075747

Last Words?
Highly distinct gem whose two viewpoints and tied-in game elements were captured and framed seamlessly. Its laudably layered plot, eye-catching atmosphere, and all-roundedness make for quite a show~

https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3044094409

Here's The Thing:
You assume the role of Ben O’Hara, a private eye with a past, en route to the Pines Hotel after receiving a desperate plea from one Yuhiko Kosuke. The latter, as she’s detailed in her heartfelt letter, claims no one is taking the disappearance of her sister seriously, who was last seen at the place in question. Can the mystery be solved? Should it even be?? Or will Ben succumb to his frailty first!?


As the voice actor for the protagonist AND the lead QA for Ghost at Dawn (GAD), I probably shouldn’t even begin to review it… but I’ll let my words & carefully pondered analysis speak for themself!



You’ve seen it before, breathing down your neck, tugging on your bowels, yet not quite in this fashion. Correct, I’m referencing none other than everybody’s great distant survival horror relative Resident Evil, the most obvious of its lineup of influences. The initial false sense of security, surely you’d be more than acquainted with the genre by now- just aim and fire!? Then sweat trickles down when the unexpected arises, and your clammy hands barely get you out of the paranormal threesome. The inventory dilemma makes a resurgence, a six-slot case tougher to crack than the one you’re working on. Before finally, the eventual slip-up, whether it be out of cockiness or carelessness is unimportant, for the consequences come bearing down on you all the same… until your life gets snuffed out. Sometimes by your own hands and other times by ghostly helping ones.

That’s where the uniqueness of this gem arrives, it offers the familiar in ways that disarm you until you don’t really know how to feel about them. For starters, there is no conventional health bar to mismanage anymore… what you’re met with is an “invisible” sanity that gets drained the longer you let the malevolent spirits near you or if you loiter in the darkness. The latter is how matches become vital, serving not only as waning light sources that you could burn through swiftly, but also the difference between death and… more deaths if you decide to somehow skimp on using the incense burners. Additionally, instead of the plain old restorative items to down by the bulk, you actually have to retreat to a safe- well, as safe a space it can be before relieving yourself! Perhaps my personal favorite is the absence of intrusive puzzles, but make no mistake, for the investigation itself is one constant enigma with not much guidance.

Playtime is literally your call, in that you could cease the sleuthing at any time at the expense of missing out on the truth obviously cause YOLO; in so doing unlocking one of six possible endings. Each of which allows you to neatly pick up from where you last resigned to your fate and earning some goodies to stave off the inevitable. My 1st run ate up roughly 4-5 hours and then some, with the remainder of my time chasing that elusive S rank which would score me something wicked & BLOODY cool~


Can I just point out, I had never seen such a structurally sound setting (except maybe the town of Silent Hill itself), until I laid eyes on the Pines Hotel. Not only did it make sense as a lifelike hotel location with meticulous thought pumped into the architecture as its base, after which it only then decides to have its fun by traversing into the beyond and incorporating more haunting elements. Despite its possessed state, it maintains a regal grandeur, and is never too on-the-nose; it just works.

Almost every new room adds either weight to the history leading up to the tragedy, or authority towards the all-subsuming evil that has firmly set up residence. For example, while it is fixed-camera 85% of the time, your perspective sometime can take on a life of its own, tripping you up in the process. It is just as varied as the restless entities that roam the hall. You just do not know what you will walk into next…!

And the music, self-composed by the developer, seek only to reverberate the rich array of moods behind the already personality-laden places. I swear, it’s as if each track was designed and tailored to a harrowingly specific room; all of which ultimately climax together to create this symphony of pain and pleasure…


The woven narrative was nothing short of excellent, like even way before the game starts, another damning piece of evidence that exhibits the dev’s masterful attention to detail. The first cutscene was simply thought-provoking in that it gracefully eased you into this different, might I add, alluring 40s period while simultaneously grabbing your ears and heart through the realistic acting (mine excluded) played back on spotty tech from a bygone era! As the nostalgia reminiscent of your typical noir films drown out, Yuhiko’s plea to find her sister is all that registers in the back of your mind.

It is that unease and dwindling hope that linger until the case gets wrapped up, if it ever does! Every clue you manage to find chips away at the glamor of this classy joint and reveals a much uglier side. It’s a most rewarding mystery to unfold, and an increasingly dark one at that. Ben’s characterization is a bit of an underdog as well, not that you’ll learn much of him, but the details that do come to light in private spaces only paint him positively and a relatable average joe; he’s troubled but tries his best~


GAD is a true return to the once grim and grievous survival horror as felt by your clenched cheeks 30 years ago. In case we are not appreciative enough of that fact, let’s take a minute for it to sink in… It will keep you on your toes, your mind jumbled, and set a precedent going forward that nostalgia alone isn’t the sole way to pay homage to the beloved genre.

Just as it’s easy to get swept up by the dealing with the supernatural, it’s near effortless to forget the core of GAD’s terror . It’s not quite as in-your-face about it, but the trail of breadcrumbs is there; if you thought the “antagonist” was the owner of the Pines Hotel, then you have another thing coming. It is so much bigger than that, realizing who’s indirectly complicit due to their individual prejudices was a wake-up call~
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3044099157


Highly subjective take, but one that needs to be raised. GAD can be a tad merciless; instant kills, scarce ammo, and default “hard” difficulty are the pressing ones. But really modern gamers are just testy and accustomed to the good life~


x Ben’s auto-aim sometimes decides to do its own thing.
x Animations get skipped over mid-action.
x Reload sound effect not syncing.


~ Sanity-draining AOE vary from ghost to ghost. Cool but frustrating!


https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3044103107

Last Words?
Even with odds and ends curtailing the case, this first-rate survival horror actively hounds you with its ancestors; unafraid to stand out, take risks, and stick to its guns. It’s GAD a lot more otw~

https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3007589516

Here's The Thing:
The little tyke, presumably the same one from the first Chester, finally remembered his name and it’s James! But boo hoo, his stuffed animal has turned against him (I would too especially with what this sequel did), he’s still a pansy, and the nightmares don’t seem to ever end~


I have *NOT* finished this game, I got fed up of the final sequence(?) in the second last level for reasons to be shared in the cons section… But I gather that I have a pretty good idea of its tricks to review it~



The same few muses make a return in this sequel only doubled in impact & influence. I’m referring mainly to the more child-friendly and clay-like nature to the settings this time around as featured in Among The Sleep. Compounded by increasingly boggling rules alongside the unpredictable minigames that plagued Leenie Boog. Of course, never forgetting its unique spreading of dread that, before was strictly serious but has gone on to grow a spine and a sense of humor, reveling in your misery!

For the sake of maximum effectiveness in blood boiling, I won’t venture much into what you’re expected to do in each of the five highly varied levels… Instead, I will paint a picture, so imagine your worst pet peeves in video games; no save points only checkpoints, a plethora of instant deaths, and a lot of racing against the clock. Still with me? Great! Now mash those together with the despairing feeling of not having much control when you’re off in one of your dreams. An adrenaline rush no doubt, but far from the fun kind.

Each dream lasts between 30-45 minutes, with some taking longer due to unfair time limits, odds stacked against you, and overlapping cues. I think there’s but 1 ending, though I don’t think I’ll ever want to find out. The sequel suddenly upping the required skill level of players in order to uncover the story makes it a niche in the horror genre and I’m sure self-loathing individuals will eat it up~


The most excellent and grabby element of ITL lies in its insanely palatable visuals. As opposed to the drab and overly realistic “suburban home invaded by an evil” of the OG where darkness was the only interesting extent of its personality. It really roots deep into a child’s colorful psyche in search of twisted ways to corrupt precious still developing memories. Best way to describe it? A circus in the guise of a museum located in a madhouse…

Seriously, every new location is not just meaningfully sound, it’s organic and vibrant with spots of black for good measure, all while retaining the characteristics of a good ol’ REM sleep. Sound design is up to snuff, does exactly what you’d like it to and certainly would scare a kid or man-child. The exception being the first level where the default music volume drowns everything and everyone~


Whereas the plot was as good as dead in the OG, the sequel took steps to address and satiate your curiosity by first serving a refreshing recap before filling in the blanks on the intricacies that is the aftermath of PTSD and the possibly lifelong mark it has. I really did enjoy how Chester changed sides, it’s a potent reminder of the hostility, often times uncalled for, that sufferers resort to as defense mechanisms; also could be an external symbol of James’ permanent personality shift~



What truly sucked all the fun out of it was the fact that ITL is a dream crusher, and by that it made every dream to be as drawn out and painful as possible. Each objective typically has you try to find something or do something while the creature tries to get at you. This is problematic for two reasons; (1) The once masterfully oppressive and menacing atmosphere where you had free rein over time and therefore you had no one to blame but yourself for taking forever to finish the game… has evolved for the worse into derivative trial-and-error gameplay, where a single misstep equates to redoing a sequence!

For example, ITL comes with some platforming sections that were enjoyable for like 2 seconds involving “jumping” (but really more like landing) on trampolines. However, the movement system is nowhere near polished and so any breaks in momentum means you have to go back to the very first trampoline and hope for the best. This is just one of unknown instances!

(2) You have basically no time to appreciate the details that were inserted into each level before that deafening and obnoxious “nabbed by the creature” interrupts. I think having a balance of free-roam and more pressing circumstances would have remedied this....!
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3007594012


The other major source of aggravation I had was over its controls, namely the hit-or-miss cursor and hitbox. Especially apparent in levels 3 & 4 where time is already of the essence, and so reliable and accurate interaction prompts would be well appreciated, you’d think… Whether it be running for dear life only to have that hide function not registering at the last second or not knowing where to aim in order to squish those pesky gremlins…!

I’m sure you’ve noticed by now that I didn’t touch on its “horror” aspect and that’s because I didn’t find anything scary at all. Sure, I was creeped out within the first 15 minutes and yeah, surprised once or twice as a result of the game over screens but that’s all really… There’s so much going on, that you don’t have time (ironic I know) to be terrified~


This last con is a bunch of misnomers that amount to ONE large annoyance. The logic of ITL meanders in that instructions are generally spoon-fed in whole chunks of text, then all of a sudden in excruciating fragments so you don’t know what to do until you die like 3-4 times.

The eligibility of notes is trying too, like one can be picked up and examined in closer detail, meanwhile the rest must be read from afar... good luck to those with poor eyesight! The minigames sometime feel “cookie cutter-like” that is to say added well after a dream should’ve rightly concluded!

“Leenie Boog” triumphed in the whole minigame thing by incorporating difficulties and so those who wanted to dive into the story can select “Easy” to beat it quicker. Here? They’re all stuck on the base “Hard”, and each death chips away at your sanity and interest. I wonder, was this even playtested by other people besides the developer!? I can't imagine anyone enjoying this with a straight face~


x Caught in a lot of objects in Dream 4.
x Dream 3 should’ve been over but a fail state overrode end transition…


~ No subtitles. And so I cannot understand or make out some names. Not that I even bothered as the levels went on.
~ No controller remapping… It made Dream 4’s wave defense super infuriating!
~ The gremlins were nowhere near my nuts and instant game over!
~ How much is one "coin"? I’d wager it’s a quarter but come on…


https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3007593235


Last Words?
Sequel branches out its ambiguous narrative and doesn’t retread past slip-ups… Which would’ve been showstopping, had it not invite even more issues that test your patience and waste your time~

https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2995642189

Here's The Thing:
You are the breadwinner of a normal family, for the most part, and it’s up to you to put food on the table by hunting rats! You know what? I can’t do this… they’re corpses. But whose of you ask? They could be your household or just a house you took over; I haven’t the slightest, but let’s just play along and see where this goes~



The store page already summarized what there is to do in the game pretty darn well- you wake up, get to work with your trusty shotgun, bring home the furry bacon (just pretend it is), and turn in for the night. Each day/level you’ll make your way to a new liminal space to explore and exterminate-collect exactly 3 rats, no more no less… But be careful, you’re not the only daddy hunting out there. What then, you ask? Repeat that for 5 days!

Sounds banal, tedious, and straightforward? Good! However, there are additional “meaningless” tasks that you can do in your home which acts as a hub or transit between you chasing your responsibilities and escaping from them. Did you know you can move “random” stuff around only to have them tidied up, thereby giving off the impression that there’s activity still? And that you shouldn’t forget to check your phone messages to see how much you matter to the outside world! And also, you can just lounge around, looking at walls listlessly, and kill time with your family, though you’ll do most of the talking…

Your work doesn’t take up too much time, it should only go on for 30 minutes at the very least. There is but one ending and no achievements so there’s no need for a 2nd playthrough… for it won’t change things. Even though it may help you understand things slightly better. That said, life isn’t as complex as we’re making it out to be; just a struggle for purpose when there really isn’t none~

TIPS:
1) P to pause, just you, not the game itself!
2) No saves. Finish in one sitting.


The various hunting grounds were molded after everyday spaces albeit hollowed-out caricatures with tinges of abandonment and even extinction! This includes a blindingly white art gallery whose macabre paintings will glue onto your attention, a normal-looking convenience store with a warehouse whose shelves know no end, a motel that somehow accentuates the already-thick air of loneliness always present at every turn. Even at home, one’s supposed haven, is deathly still… try as the nameless protagonist might to mask this idleness.

The audio design is essentially a husk of a radio, with silence being earsplitting until the inevitable draws near and static finally emerges… only to disappear just as quickly! There are sounds, but only those that draw attention to how alone and lifeless you are in your pursuit of the “Man of the house”. Such as your fatigued and faint footsteps, stuck in gear 1 walking pace. Even the way objects clang and thud all similarly and then subside, like your brain is too lazy to register and compute them properly hints of your disheveled state~


There is a “story”, but then at the same time there isn’t one… What I will do instead is point out its themes which include dealing with disillusionment, grief, facades of love, possibly mental illness, and all while featuring death as its core! There were even severe undertones of Marxist ideology especially with how the day-to-day is portrayed. I so badly wanted to cry, but wasn’t able to because I figured it wouldn’t have changed anything anyway. Only one other game did this to me and that’s Mothered: A Role-Playing Horror Game which, surprise-surprise also critically worked through comparable themes!

The tortured and emotionally-resilient (least on the outside) wage earner role was eerily uncanny to Donald Sutherland’s John Baxter of Don’t Look Now and Anthony Perkin’s Norman Bates in Psycho I & II. It’s rare that I mention specific characters and not merely movie storylines, so you know this shi* is the real deal, just sayin’! But the question then becomes, which of the two fates will be the one to prevail because their downfalls also get inserted one way or another~


Glancing a couple of other reviews, everyone appears to have gotten the gist down to a T! The bleakness, near nihilist, and “open-endedness” were done with a strong will and heavy-handed intent… Designed to illustrate just how directionless life is despite the personal goals we set out for ourselves. The dreams we strived so tirelessly to pursue, if ever to be reached. Everything is a mind-numbing and heart-hardening distraction, like the single-minded work that drives, some would say plague our main character… to the point he doesn’t even realize his family is dead before his eyes.

The significance behind the title alludes to a truly miserable and hopeless situation; a factory (again, Marxism ideology) that instead of generating profits, creates only more tears and disconnect! Feeding dead unclean creatures to decomposing bodies seems rather pointless, doesn’t it? Well, to this working family man, it’s the sole responsibility and routine that he knows, so who can blame him! I do wonder what he himself ingests to stay alive for God knows how long…

In fact, you’ll find that many of the details are iffy. Like, did he kill his family? How long have they been that way?? Why is that one door locked??? Short version, it doesn’t friggin matter… that’s life. They’re dead and that’s that~
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2995643066



The only cons I can muster pertain to the gameplay, like there being a general and overall lack of polish. For instance, the shotgun having a crazy spread & damage regardless of range. Furthermore, there isn’t a HUD whatsoever to tell you how much ammo you have left. There is no control scheme too, so work it out yourself!

Lastly, there are no settings, not a one… the interaction cursor is too small that I didn’t even notice it in my first playthrough. All these are like chump change issues, but I guess it could be a irl/in-game meta of sorts which show that the developer couldn’t be bothered to fix these because it would be pointless in the end~


x Floating cartridges sometime don’t enter the shotgun to be loaded.
x Can’t climb up stairs…
x Get caught by corners of objects like doors, walls, and etc.
x Crashes on Day 1 Maze entry.


~ No sprint…


https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2995643703

Last Words?
Latching morbidity & nihilism, or an up-front peer into everyone’s eventual future…? Gameplay left heaps to be yearned but its despair effectively enveloped every inch of your saddening existence~

https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2987270162

Here's The Thing:
You’re a hobo…!? Silly me, a poor person, who has rented a very run-down place that’s totally not also a drug den. Reasoning? Well, I can only assume it was offered at a beyond affordable price! Anyway, moving day is here and you just want to put your feet up that is until it all goes seriously wrong~


This week’s review pick was put forth by Stasis Booth Games. A beloved indie developer best known for the contemplative trip 7th Chance” and now “We Are Not Alone”. Today (June 11th) is also his birthday, so send some wishes his way~



Been a while since I played a full-on walking simulator but I knew what to expect gameplay-wise and so should you by now! Scour for keys, look around, trigger scares, observe for changes in your surroundings, and pretty much play right into the hands of the “landlord”. If you’re already dozing off- don’t worry, the confinement to strolling speed takes place in a very constricted apartment and so you can cover ground rather quickly.

While the owner is a frugal and questionable fella, they did leave- not one but TWO flashlights to aid you in meeting your demise! How… kind!? That means you just have to put up with the unforgiving conditions of the lighting early on and feel your way around the walls for switches to flip! Your stay won’t be all that long, like around 30-40 minutes, barring any delays from the puzzling malevolence~

TIPS:
1) To save you time, the code is… 5**9


If the goal behind the atmosphere was to wrap around you a sense of slowly creeping perturbance with constant traces of an unknown third party… one that’s ever-present and omnipotent within the small space. Begetting the questions that will always be at the back of the player’s mind “who in their right mind would reside here, broke or otherwise” and “why did *I* agree to pay for this again”!? Seriously, the place is filthy and there were a lot of signs that druggos used to hang here, or they just stepped out for a smoke break somewhere…

However, the visuals would be nothing without its convincing audio design which is what must’ve greatly sweetened the pot of an advert for the place, eventually selling this hole! No fancy composing, no staying power after the ordeal, but they sufficed when and where it counts; relentlessly barking whispers and unidentified noise sources. Another thing to lodge a complaint about to the human landlord~


I tried and tried, but I couldn’t really make much associations to already-existing horror movies on the basis of premise or choice of setting. HOWEVER, both The 4th Floor (1999) and 1BR come quite close in terms of plausible influences. So, if you’ve seen either of these, you know what you’re in for… the most part.

I wished and prayed to a higher being that we’d at least get to learn more about the main character and the decisions that led to this move to no avail… That said, I can understand as to why it was left ambiguous, I mean we have all found ourselves in circumstances we have no power over- so to have that snowball into being at the mercy of yet another trying predicament sort of makes sense in a very twisted and nihilistic manner~



Yes, it’s a $1 game. And yes, the dev is a first-timer, so a lot of the things I point out were perhaps unavoidable. Maybe I’m unreasonable and demanding…? However, what better way to make sure they don’t happen again in the future by raising them!? Like I talked about in my review of The Dead Are Not Dead; cheap cost shouldn’t justify cutting corners and releasing sketchy products.

It was missing vital constituents that, taken in isolation could be pardoned, but when put together? They show exactly just how unsatisfying and gaping everything was ! The dilemma arises when the protagonist is, all of a sudden, thrust into a locked room without even taking a minute to question anything that occurs, hazard a guess that would make for interesting exposition, or even call for help… Zero redeeming character traits.

I know, many silent walking simulators are guilty of this too, but here it came off even more illogical and was tangible enough that I actually stopped to tilt my head and wonder. Whereas other titles would blur the line by having you accept the dream-like state beforehand and therefore anything happening from then on is fair game. Same can’t be said here, for the puzzles and scavenger hunt that followed only existed for the sole purpose of (a) it’s a horror game, and (b) we all just love engaging with them apparently~
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2987270850

This one’s a doozy and it has no bearing on the dev just starting out. Overall, the game had this jarring and incomplete quality to it. Talking about how it offered no explanation as to ANY of the events that took place, that it was baffling simply for the sake of being cryptic, and how after reaching the end- I knew less than I did initially! Ohh, it’s just episode 1? Well, that doesn’t change the fact there’s barely a proper cliffhanger, no credits, and not even a cute “to be continued” so you know it’s planned as such.

Instead, a “thank you for playing” awaits… so, essentially a paid demo!? Had you not read the store page, you would’ve had no clue it was episodic in nature. Not that the former helped since it described both “Unknown Memoirs” and “The Rental” side-by-side! Thus, if you go into it expecting the juicy things it promises, you’ll be sorely mistaken and disappointed. Why not be transparent, or just slap an “Early Access” disclaimer. Also, I think the dev is torn between creating a horror anthology or series~


Another victim of the “dark = scary” discourse, even when that means you can’t see jack! The 2nd “torch” you come into possession of deliberately limits the lighting distance which is about as helpful as having no batteries… With the exception of “volume” and “sensitivity”, there are virtually no other options whatsoever to tweak. If you think about it, that’s as good as doing nothing~


x Crashes frequently until it stabilizes… but since there are no saves- becomes unintentional purgatory trip
x Corners of objects are very bumpy & obstructive; you can see you have ample room to maneuver but game’s just like “you wish”.


~ Hire a voice actor! Don’t just simply and suddenly add asset-store heavy breathing to a silent protagonist…
~ No credits? Shady to the max!
~ Absence of “to be continued” disclaimer.


https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2987272314

Last Words?
Debut shelters mild discomfort and serial horror promise, but sneakily omits a good chunk of what it’s advertised. I’m gravely concerned for the next entry, which will either make or break this one~

https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2984463062

Here's The Thing:
You see the world, now in the wake of the KN028 virus having ravaged it and turned millions into zombies, through Alfred’s eyes and suffering is the life many are all too familiar with… He wakes up one day to find his brother Jake has gone to seek out one “Captain Jack” who’s supposedly taking in survivors. Antsy that the worst has happened, he sets out to catch up to his only family before it’s too late ~



Plays somewhat like a mutated sister of Resident Evil’s (RE) tank control and Silent Hill’s (SH) 3D over-the-shoulder camera! A welcome change that then immediately plunges you into familiar territory as well as mechanics like having precious ink ribbons to save progress, storage boxes, green herbs to munch on… or snort. Well, you get the picture; an obvious homage that doesn’t bother to cover its tracks.

There are even minuscule brain teasers such as cracking number combinations, the now-obligatory sliding picture puzzle, way-finding to proceed to the next area, and the usual birds and the bees of survival! You should be right at home with the combat seeing as it gets the job done despite being otherwise elementary and not going overboard on the weapon variety.

The first run occupies roughly 3 hours on account of the hard-hitting zombies and a handful of careless deaths. $2 for a RE-like title seems overly generous, but alas there’s a catch- several in fact. See you in the cons~

TIPS:
1) Knife can stun-lock the zombie goons.


The low-poly graphics grant it that dose of PS1 nostalgia which would’ve been enough to sway your judgement, but the list of locations you’re to frequent; however little the actual resemblances give it that extra kick of reminiscence towards the named survival horror games regardless! The vacant city streets are grand and disorderly, their presence only extending onto the areas you’re to frequent. Whether it be a derelict apartment building where hope goes to inhabit before committing suicide, a police station that’s seen better days just longing for crime, a hospital so desperate for patients it will inflict- so on and so forth.

I appreciated and adored the sound design more than anything it had to offer visually… It complemented the loneliness and deathly silent atmosphere by having you walk-run with either nothing but the noises you make or the snarls of zombies. RE/SH-ish music only materializes out of thin air in safe rooms (if even then), boss encounters, jumpscares, and when Alfred literally whips out his instrument to strum away and sing a tune~
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2984465756


The plot is largely exempt of any profound influences and probably the most original out of everything! That said, the searching for family plot line gave me throwbacks to RE2 & SH (1999); the looking for a safe haven- RE Afterlife. The minutely open-world design of a city in ruins recalled specific instances of SH Origins, The Last of Us, and I Am Legend. Seems like a lot of watered-down caricatures, but they didn’t come off as such. It appeared to genuinely attempt (emphasis on this) to tell a heartfelt story that could rival even The Walking Dead only more close-knit and small-scale~



While I’m most thankful the narrative isn’t as heavily plagiarized as their previous entry Evil Is Back, which by the way they’ve gotten away with, this time they’ve reached a new low… What’d they do? Well, they copied RE & SH in a “style over substance” manner and once more have to lean on nostalgia for crutches! This particular endeavor grossly reminded me of Delivery Man (DM), which was yet another game averse to the word “new” and inserted only what they themselves thought were the most telling elements of what made a RE title!

This naturally led to the existence of previously context-laden puzzles which shouldn’t otherwise belong here for they defy all logic. With the only explanation being, well, other than the fact that the OGs had them back then; ergo their inclusion is more than justified. Despite DM doing it a tinge better, both were outright starved of any worthwhile personality or memorable characters… serving solely as placeholder “remember that more interesting individual in RE/SH? Yeah, good times”.


I was feeling the locations initially, but variety did JAKE all in taking away from the reality that they were subpar in their dressing and layout. I thought the apartment was the biggest offender with rooms that differed little to none from each other. But really, every single area was ridiculously spacious and identical in their environmental storytelling thanks to repeating props… Almost as if to exclaim “forget interesting set pieces, we just need places to pad the runtime” which becomes gospel in the next cons~


You would think “RE-esque title” and “fun” are synonymous, well think again; the latter is aggressively as well as aggravatingly replaced by long bouts of backtracking. Sheer amount of plot-bending done to allow for key items to be found in places that, in a sane world, would have zero chances of being associated! This key with no discernible markers whatsoever must open that locked door from halfway across the city…! DUH!!

The bullet sponge bosses painfully drain the fun out of the very sad amount there already was. To add insult to injury? 2/3 of bosses could’ve been easily bypassed by simply ignoring them had you been permitted to use your brain. It’s only cause the game forces you to deal with them by making that completely unobstructed gap and the door that wasn’t locked suddenly inaccessible. Lastly, the degree of inventory stupidity going on whereby picking up similar items don’t automatically pool them together and so you have to slow travel to safe rooms to dump your crap. It’s just a whole thing to artificially pad the runtime in terms of gameplay~
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2984468786


Put simply, Twitch streamers rarely make for good voice actors. There, said it! At least pick the semi-decent ones much like Night at the Gates of Hell did. If I wanted disinterested & soulless reads that border on hilarity, I would just view an adult film~


x Entering a new area, the camera does this thing where it flies towards the player-
x 2 of 3 bosses can be exploited through environmental means.
x Alfred clips with certain objects
x Camera stutters when touching the environment
x Textures keep changing place…
x Auto-aim disabled when an object gets in your way.


~ Gun reloads automatically…!
~ Map opacity is terrible.
~ “Files” menu has more slots than there are notes! Misleading.
~ Short black screens after QTEs are jarringly intrusive.



Last Words?
Scarily basic survival horror that bares too much of its muses… Save for a few scraps of novelty & sincerity; winds up feeling derivative, ill thought out, and rushed. “Affordable” came at a price~

Here's The Thing:
You invade the Sam’s life, a hipster resident of Glenn Devin Estates with killer taste in music but is a slob. Like everyone else, he’s forced into quarantine due to the outbreak of Paraschaphism. Anyway, indoors is the new… in and norm for now. Willing to try anything to pass the time, he plugs in a time-limited brand-new console he got in the mail. Can he survive self-isolation? Can he trust this corporation?? More importantly, can he emerge the victor in “Future Racer 2000” (FR2)~



What began as your stereotypical walking simulator centered on one recognizable space and ominousness conjured out of nothing, something in the vein of The Convenience Store… Slowly gave way for a game-within-a-game style of exposition much like what Janitor Bleeds executed only with much less screentime as it went a vastly different route afterwards.

There isn’t all that diverse of tasks in the 80s as this title demonstrates, not to mention when a large portion of it is spent in quarantine and so Sam mostly plays games, watches tv, and heads to bed… OMG I just found out I’m willingly trapped in the 80s in real life! However, once Future Racer 2000 lands, the supposed panacea to boredom- you then make out more colors and sounds. Even if it’s just Dance Dance Revolution for your fingers and each miss press is equivalent to you shifting to the wrong gear driving stick!

All in all, the 80s high should consume up to an hour at most, though it felt as if it was way longer! There are two difficulties that weren’t properly elaborated upon, but basically “Easy” implies you don’t have to be decent at FR2, much less come in first in the races; “Normal” forces you to get gud and you will play more rounds unless you a borne champion~
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980695587


Graphically, this game goes through a mini time-travel of sorts where it’s crisp and tangible one moment able to pass off as a title released in 2020s. Then pixelated the next and nearly back in the good ol’ days of arcade titles. Now in terms of visuals, despite not being born in that era, I was pleased by the choice of assets whether it’s posters of bands & movies I don’t know or cassettes that I’ve heard so so much about!

It’s very dedicated to realizing that feel-good 80s illusion but also maintaining that quarantine realness… The windows let in light yet not much else, the days and nights seem to pass as well as alternate between quicker or slower depending on your state of mind. The apartment hallways are long but cramped like a birth canal, and having to go through them doing the same few actions put your sense of security through the wringer… implanting a tiny seed of delayed aggravation.

The audio design is no backseat passenger either in that it aims to fill and linger in your ears all throughout the short airtime it gets. You can rarely go wrong with synth, and this game epitomizes that saying- y’know the one I just coined! Be it the little sampler tracks on the keyboard that echo of Final Fantasy, Owl City, or just of cheerier times in general. Down to the eventual signature theme of FR2 that’s every bit as iconic and high stakes-sounding~


In describing the plot, I’d say it’s a low-key version of Hidden (2015) only the pandemic is more well-documented (to a point) and the situation is more chill… But there is a twist and it’s that there are remnants, dare I say callbacks to Ringu (1998)!? Just less supernatural, and more psychologically subtle in going about things!

The story is vague and its storytelling feels indifferent, emphasized in the way the protagonist remarks, and responds aloud to the littlest matters, but that’s the beauty of it! He’s probably gotten used to the pandemic and its ways (or just doesn’t care) by now… I really hope that’s it. But if you choose to look alive, you’ll realize you do get clued in on these key plot points~


I like the type of horror that stems from something that was neither labelled or marketed as such; allowing developers to get off their high horse and come up with innovation! For instance, here, I wasn’t really expecting a psychological horror… especially one of this caliber (if it was intending for it to be). For all you know, it’s yet another work that piggybacks of the COVID-19 relevance! But that’d only be 25% accurate, the rest is a rather original Lovecraftian-influenced yadda 3x!!

The ambiance is insane and cabin-fever-like, downplayed in terms of severity but enough to be perceived and bother you. The sick beats and entertaining shows distract you from the horrendous and tedious reality- but how long can they stave off the inevitable!? It’s practically an unspoken slow-burn gaming addiction PSA because just as playing FR2 becomes Sam’s unyielding priority, some would term him obsessed, even at the most inopportune of times like when death literally comes-a-knocking on his door.

I, too, was doing the exact same thing in reality… more or less! What started out as a plausible coping mechanism for the pandemic, can dangerously cross over into “time-wasting” activities that take away from more meaningful and seize entire life opportunities if one isn’t more mindful. That was some otherworldly 4th wall-breaking shi*. I’m not kidding, you could make it to the end of the game and still be in the dark because you consciously chose to ignore or didn’t notice important notes. Also, has the human race truly evolved in the future (where we’re at now), since it takes place in the 80s and all?~
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980697573


The one thing I didn’t like was the manner in which interactions were handled. Mainly that objects had a wide zone in which they can be prompted, and the cursor makes no attempt to differentiate between different things. Technically you could even miss out vital clues by this reasoning, through no fault of your own!

The dialogue advancement wasn’t very interface friendly either in that it’s a tad jarring as to who’s speaking and who’s replying, even if logic dictates the bottom as being Sam; still got them confused. Lastly, the “closing eyes” mechanic should only & rightly be introduced when the need for it arises, instead of being made available throughout the game. Why? Well, I found that in repeat playthroughs, I actually missed scares of note because of it~


x A few objects were too light, the slightest touch and they’d fly across the room!
x Superintendent’s bed is mistaken for Sam’s own bed?
x Stood on some objects.


~ No option to just play the eponymous game freely.
~ Not sound capitalization, punctuation, and a number of typos freaking me out…
~ No crouch to inspect really low objects.


https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980696614

Last Words?
Well-oiled analog horror whose engine appeared to be stalling at first but it wasn’t for naught. Result? A short race that has you awash in suspense, blood pumped, nerves shot, and eager to finish~

Shoutout to

Indie Gems,

for GEMME-ing a key! Follow them right now for more well, y’know~

https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2978584411

Here's The Thing:
You’re an unnamed boy looking for his missing… boi, Tomy! Tipped off as to the latter’s whereabouts, he heads to the shady clinic armed with natural innocence, unwavering hope, and most importantly his trusty ball that a certain canine wouldn’t be able to fight~


Today’s review pick (and yes, you *can* do that; just reach out and suggest games) was brought to you by Stasis Booth Games. An all-around endearing & talented indie game developer known for the reflective journey 7th Chance. Be sure to subscribe to him for devlogs and sneak previews of the upcoming “We Are Not Alone”~



Visualize this, a series of brief encounters that will keep you on your toes akin to those of Chester and Leenie Boog. It also hosts a semi-open playground where there is a wandering threat the AI for which you can never quite tell whether it’s scripted or deviously built into the programming much like one unbested Alien Isolation.

In short, the game is a long “fetch” spread across key areas, except in this one you wouldn’t want the doggie to bring it back to ya! However, it is cleverer and more suspenseful in that tossing the ball should only be a last resort as there’s no telling what can happen once you do… It then becomes a drawn-out “hide-and-go-seek” where just about anything can become a cover but good luc- I mean, have fun trying. The end goal is still to search for the switches that open up the exit, but I’m sure you can be excused if you, I dunno, were to get lost or mauled!

This leisure activity should theoretically cost you about 30 minutes of your life span, but on the off chance you somehow can’t get enough of the hellhound and want to seek out the two endings; an hour would be your next best bet! There are also little treats by way of achievements and a high score feature that would make any lovable scamps jump for joy~

TIPS:
1) Yellow lines + green lights keep you safe and sound!
2) Don’t throw your balls, save Tomy, and run like hell to nab that 5-star rating!


The fact that the entirety of the game resembles a giant cage whose interiors are further made up of several maze-like pens should be a crystal-clear indicator of what it wishes to evoke in you! Regardless if it’s a run-of-the-mill office, a laboratory of capsules housing some nasty specimens, a warehouse of empty or rather hopefully unused kennels; you assume the worst of fates for your beloved furry friend…

Without giving too much away, the creature design is fantastic in both the bizarre yet somewhat recognizable sense. And no, not just because it’s a PSX title where details are purposefully scarce, if not obscured. I’m talking more about the deeply gleaming and cold eyes that somehow give the impression of shifting pigments, the not-so-obvious towering and lean figure not all that different from an awkward-manned teenager, and I think… a tail, or what I truly hope is just a tail.

The sound design is every bit as liver-flavored a feast as the visuals, for one, there’s this dog whistle-esque sci-fi alarm that only goes off when you’re well within “accidentally stumbling in the predator’s path” proximity. Every step of the beast is slow, heavy, grating, and terrorizing… you could mistake it for your heart pounding half the time! Fortunately, there’s a “safe room” alongside an accompanying music that will cradle you and melt away the stress that maybe, just maybe, the approaching footsteps will stop and turn 180~


The ruthless killing machine, through no fault of their own, sent me chills as well as gave me chunks of Cujo. That and factor in the artificiality of things, tampering with things one shouldn’t- and we have Man’s Best Friend in addition to The Shape of Water; only much less bestiality, just the appropriate amount of man-dog love to be had here! In all seriousness, I thought that was a great mix of movie breeds to be incorporated.

Even though the story had all the usual science jargon and experiment blather, it demonstrated a certain prowess that, no, the plot wasn’t afterthought. Instead, the developer thoroughly came up with the initial foreboding “missing pet” premise complete with its aching worries at the onset and then gently assembled all the emotional appendages together. All while meticulously making sure the payoff is going somewhere and not just have it be trapped in the gameplay, as many tend to do. I was scared straight, reduced to tears, and did I mention… SCARED!!!?


I wholeheartedly dug the PSA angle about strays being ruthlessly exploited. So, to then have you, the nameless player, essentially treated as one of said expendable strays was a nice role reversal. Lured into tragic circumstances, all turned around in a big, mean and dark place, and really desperate to get out and live life! Just as you quiver in your hiding space going “what is this creature going to do to me”... an animal is out there thinking the exact same thing of another human.

Who can forget that there’s something about putting a dog in a horror work, and having one be subjected to the slightest hint of harm that just makes us lose our shi*! Granted, I’m a dog lover and already very biased, buwho can resist equating them as one of our limbs, or part of our hearts!? Lastly, it pits you against your supposed strength of devotion and unrelenting love towards your dog. Like, if push comes to shove, would you really go out of your way to save your dog… or will yourself suffice?
https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2978582858



Stealth was straightforwardly “easy”, but that’s not why I’m moaning… rather it can reveal itself to be a bit inconsistent! What logically should’ve been hiding spots were instead restricted, even though the kiddy stature should prove to only be a boon. Moments like that took me out! Furthermore, the ball-throwing irked me for you always have to wait a set amount of time before you can pick it back up again… because reasons~


x Cujo’s AI goes haywire and he keeps patrolling into a wall RIGHT BY the exit; nearly costing me my “no-death” run…!


~ Spanish players would be more at home due to a fair amount of Spanish text being left untranslated.
~ I sure hope the English localization wasn’t done by a humanoid dog!
~ Ball should be bouncier and be able to pass through gaps that shouldn’t be invisible walls.


https://steamproxy.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2978584010

Last Words?
Vile PSX horror sniffs out your fear… Pouncing on you fully committed visuals and sound design that should be better contained! Unleashes a simple yet effective plot; I nearly didn’t DOG any points~