Recent reviews by Oxycoon

This was highly enjoyable! I already mentioned it following the demo, but the game's atmosphere is just fantastic and the voice actors really nail it! It also plays really, really well and makes me feel clever when I can use the curses to my advantage, rather than just being detrimental. Great job!

It is worth say I finished one route in about 4 hours, but there are several paths unexplored for me to check out. Will definitely be playing some more runs to see more of it and learn more of this mystery!

While I was given the product for free, I'm going to see if one of my friends would like a gift from me. I think it is well worth the $20 price tag, and I want to put my mouth where the money is by buying it for a friend.

Ever since I finished Soulset back in June/July, and learning about this game's development, I've been looking forward to it ever since. It does not disappoint! Indeed, the atmosphere is spot-on for what I've been looking for in a horror visual novel. I'm not too much into horror as a genre in games as a whole, but EGC one works well in the same way DDLC did for me.

The art style is particularly noteworthy: the hand-drawn, cutout style feels amazing with the environment and gives the game a very special feeling. Together with an eerie, haunting soundtrack and fitting soundscape you are in for a very atmospheric journey.

The characters and story are wonderfully crafted, and you are slowly but steadily immersed in their experience as you explore the building.

For the best immersion and feeling, play the game without using the fast-forward features the game offers for riding the elevator. There is just something about the soundtrack combined with the creaking of the elevator going up and down that builds the suspension as you get closer and closer to the end of your sequence. There are a few sudden scares, but I feel they are foreshadowed well with the music, ambience and context so they don't come as a massive surprise when they do occur.

While I did not technically receive the product for free myself, I did receive three keys to give away on my stream from NoBreadStudio. Because of this technicality, I opted to check that box. For the price of what equates to a movie ticket or a nicer takeaway dinner where I live, I feel this game is well worth the price! Looking forward to whatever comes next from NoBreadStudio!

This was described to me as cozy horror, and I'll happily agree with this. I am about four hours in and I am enjoying myself immensely and still have much to explore. Survival horror with emphasis on inventory management and puzzles, no combat. I purchased the game on launch, but received a free key from the developers to give away on my release live stream.

The game's difficulty is adjustable, where it adjust the amount of sanity, inventory space, movement speed, stamina and/or if I've understood it correctly how much the dark drains sanity. I find this a welcome way to adjust the difficulty.

On the note of sanity and gameplay, this will be the most important thing to manage throughout play. Akin to Amnesia: The Dark Descent, the player needs to manage an oil reserve and their sanity. Unlike Amnesia there is nothing really hunting you, but there are many items that cannot be interacted with while in the dark, so the players needs to manage their supply of oil, their sanity and judge whether or not using the oil is worth it if they risk running out and thus be unable to pick up more resources. There is some initial trial and error to get to grips with managing the sanity, but I find it rather forgiving. There is also another aspect where sanity is used as currency with the game's trader and some of the other aspects, where you have to give up sanity to obtain items or perform actions, once again bringing he focus on resource management to the front, a most enjoyable aspect of gameplay.

The atmosphere is fantastic, with just the right amount of unsettling events that keep that nervousess going. Exploring the manor is a joy, and the music cues hit it wonderfully in anticipation of things to come, or not to come; like a game master rolling their dice at random to keep the players on their toes: a welcome sound design to keep it interesting.

The game features a good map to keep track of where you've been, where you've yet to explore, where you cannot pass due to a blocker and where various puzzles are located, making it easy to navigate. The fast travel system is a welcome addition, due to the sheer size of the manor.

The story thus far is intriguing, following entries in journals, mousings of the protagonist and piecing together the clues given in the items collected throughout playing. A most enjoyable experience thus far. That being said I have experienced a few bugs, but nothing game breaking, and I have faith the developers will sort these out in short order.

Dreamfall was my very first game in the series and it has amongst the most outstanding examples of storytelling in gaming. The only thing I do not like about the game is it's janky combat system, but there are not a lot of combat sections. I recommend playing the game in chronological order, starting with The Longest Journey, the game is dated, but amazing with some HD mods.