I'm a huge fan of the stylistic presentation of The Black Iris so I bought this on release and I have to say I am glad I did! I finished it in two segments, partially because the very last (crystal sample) quest glitched for me the first time, and in the pause between I was thinking about it daily, there is just SOMETHING about the concept and the presentation of it that is unforgettable and crunchy and inspiring to me as a horror author and in general once again the style did NOT disappoint, the whole game is filled with it and all these little decisions enhance the experience and make it feel grounded and real to itself; the menu, the dialogue, the general visual design and the absolutely stunning visuals of the cosmic horror itself. I also really love that this game is niche and local, exploring the idea of a cosmic horror existing in a specific place with a local history, people, language and way of life and with no malice or world-destruction-type threat. It feels natural, exactly the kind of cosmic horror I love - where it is alive just as anything else is alive in the world in its own place, existing just as any organism, surviving, influencing the world around it as it does. I will not forget this game and I really hope more will come after it :D

That said I think this game has a few things that made playing it more tedious than it needed to be, mainly the constant stuttering and what felt like poor optimization (when running on a new, fairly good laptop), and the occasional aimlessness combined with a huge area and slow walking speed - I wish there was a way that running could be toggled on instead of having to hold down the button the entire time.

But overall I am incredibly glad I played this and will most likely be referencing it as a source of inspiration somewhere down the line and recommending it to people; and thank you SO MUCH for making cosmic horror games about geology!! I feel very seen by these, it's incredibly cool! This game made me start a witch stone collection. I love this one sm.