In writing a review of this game, I find myself in a real tough spot. There are two competing and equally reasonable viewpoints about this game, and I still don't know which side I find myself on even still.

On the one hand, this game is immensely polished in its graphics, gameplay, voicework and interface. If you read the comments from the team members who worked long nights for years building it, you really get a feel for the passion they put into the game and how much they cared about it all this time. For a freshman effort from an indie studio, this is an immensely impressive game, and I think our saturation with cheap AAA titles has led us to expect the world from these tiny teams.

On the other hand, I agree with many who say that the retail price seemed a little steep to me for a game with about 4 hours of total play time and not very much replayability. The storyline is quite linear, and while you can occasionally wander around off the beaten path, there isn't enough of that side material to justify playing the whole game through again.

So the question has to be, is this worth $15 or $20 or whatever to you?

If you're like me, without a reliable stream of income, it hurts the wallet a little more to think that I only got 4 good hours out of this, and I probably won't pick the game up again. Years of Steam sales and Humble Bundles have spoiled me by giving me dozens upon dozens of hours of replayable entertainment at pennies on the dollar. This game doesn't make that same value proposition, but once you realize that it's coming from an indie studio, it makes more sense why they're asking that amount for it. They've gotta keep the lights on, after all.

Consider it a compliment to the game and Campo Santo that it's so well-polished in so many respects that, at first, I assumed it was just pushed out by another big name publisher who wouldn't care about one refund in the big picture. You might get that feeling after playing it, too, but remember that this isn't a product put out by a giant, monolithic company, but rather a small and hard-working team of people. I wouldn't dare ask for a refund knowing that.

In writing a review of this game, I find myself in a real tough spot. There are two competing and equally reasonable viewpoints about this game, and I still don't know which side I find myself on even still. On the one hand, this game is immensely polished in its graphics, gameplay, voicework and interface. If you read the comments from the team members who worked long nights for years building it, you really get a feel for the passion they put into the game and how much they cared about it all this time. For a freshman effort from an indie studio, this is an immensely impressive game, and I think our saturation with cheap AAA titles has led us to expect the world from these tiny teams. On the other hand, I agree with many who say that the retail price seemed a little steep to me for a game with about 4 hours of total play time and not very much replayability. The storyline is quite linear, and while you can occasionally wander around off the beaten path, there isn't enough of that side material to justify playing the whole game through again. So the question has to be, is this worth $15 or $20 or whatever to you? If you're like me, without a reliable stream of income, it hurts the wallet a little more to think that I only got 4 good hours out of this, and I probably won't pick the game up again. Years of Steam sales and Humble Bundles have spoiled me by giving me dozens upon dozens of hours of replayable entertainment at pennies on the dollar. This game doesn't make that same value proposition, but once you realize that it's coming from an indie studio, it makes more sense why they're asking that amount for it. They've gotta keep the lights on, after all. Consider it a compliment to the game and Campo Santo that it's so well-polished in so many respects that, at first, I assumed it was just pushed out by another big name publisher who wouldn't care about one refund in the big picture. You might get that feeling after playing it, too, but remember that this isn't a product put out by a giant, monolithic company, but rather a small and hard-working team of people. I wouldn't dare ask for a refund knowing that.