Created in 2-3 days for the #IndiE3Jam, Sanctuary is difficult to play. The mood is heightened by some interesting music, and I must say, the lomographic visuals are very striking. However, it’s an odd game. And like I said, it is difficult to play. Rather than talk about the gameplay, I will instead focus on the mechanics.

Sanctuary is a first-person explorer, and begins suddenly with you in the midst of a natural scene, surrounded by trees and flowers, with a cloudy sky above you. But there’s a very odd quality to this game: the visual field of your character is low-sitting (as if you were a small animal) and skewed at the periphery. So what this entails is a clear field of vision toward whatever you are looking, straight ahead. However, above and below this field – as well as to each side – is blurry. If this was intentional, I found this feature to be very distracting.

Conceptually I am open to experimentation on the topic of visual obstruction. I think this may provide some truly fascinating scenarios and mechanics. Naturally, for an obstruction to be deemed necessary, there has to be an explanation for its existence, for it is normative to be able to see what you are looking at. I can see without any aid. My eyes work properly. This is normative. If I cannot see, I must get corrective lenses or contacts. This is not normative. In the same way, there must be some reason for obstructing the vision of the player. Don’t get me wrong: I am all for it! I just think it is unthoughtful and in poor form to implement something like this without a reason.

On to other things: I rather enjoyed the atmosphere of this world, and after playing through three of Sherlock’s games, I think this is one of his strongest attributes across the board. Sanctuary is surreal. It is conceptually staggering, and I like that. I like that a lot.

One peculiar feature of the game is the low-sitting nature of your perspective. What is this about? Are you playing as a small dog, or as a rabbit? How about a cockroach? The perspective feels extremely awkward and really unlike anything I’ve ever played before (not in a good way).

But perhaps this and the visual obstructions are the result of the same lagging graphical issues, with the game being in his words, poorly optimized.