Skip to main content

Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
TagsGame Engines

AndreWharn rated NetEscape

AndreWharn rated a game 1 year ago
A downloadable game for Windows.

This is my first time doing a "real" review on something. I apologize if I am not that clear or good with it.
(WARNING! This review contains SPOILERS!)


GAMEPLAY
The gameplay is really nice; it is really mysterious, captivating and it gives me a lot of anxiety like if I am expecting something to jump at me all of a sudden. The latter is not a bad thing at all; this pressure is definitely what you guys wanted the player to have, and you have succeded at that. Amazing job!!
Even after playing the game a second and third time I still had that pressure. But of course, after a bit the charm and feeling dies off after a while; replayability isn't really that strong, due to knowing what the objectives, maps, characters, the ending is/are, but it isn't even that weak either, due to how impredictable things as the "Shadow Man" spawning and the teleport to the "Bloody Hell" area. Makes me wonder if there's even more creepy stuff than that I can randomly encounter.

About controls, uhhh... the moment speed is incredibly slow. I don't mind it THAT much personally, but as a game developer myself, I feel the majority of people will complain about it. Especially when re-playing the game.
I wish there was a way to move outside of using the mouse, like with WASD, Arrow Keys, and a Controller, for more accessibility.
Also, kind of a nitpick, but please remove the "ESCAPE closes the game" thing. I personally believe it is only useful to make people pissed off and lose progress. There is ALT+F4 for closing a game, there is literally no point for having such key.
And also, I had trouble with understanding how the leave the PC, since nothing explained how to do it. Put a little indication tutorial on how to do it, maybe like in the first FNAF games.
There are some functions like the chat and emotions thing that seemed to not do absolutely nothing. At least, as far as I have seen and used them. There must be at least some hidden secret use for them, right...?
Despite all these things though, controls were overall fine. I really love the lock movement option.


TECHINCAL SIDE
There are a few bugs, but it is expected for a demo; lots of objects have Z-fighting issues; they go above the game HUD if too close to the camera. I assume Unity doesn't have options like Godot's CanvasLayer node and everything must be put in a 3D plane? But even then, it feels weird this stuff happens. Doesn't Unity have at least a rendering priority option of some sort? How did the coder manage to achieve this mistake? Not that much of a big thing, but I am fascinated by this and I'd love to hear more.
Many things also miss collisions and you can just phase through them, but for the majority I think it's intentional, considering the game retro style.
The "New File" audio you receive on your desktop also keep playing infinitely, despite it stopping abruptly at a certain point (is that intentional? or was there supposed to be more?).


STORY
Story is obscure, mysterious, fucked up; and I FUCKING LOVE IT! I love this type of shit so much. I had fun theorizing in the fourth episode of my YT gameplay, and even off-camera I still do think a lot of it randomly. That is how much I love it, and I honestly can't wait for the full release; what else could you guys possibly add? This game pretty much feels final and good already on its own!


GRAPHICS
The 90s game aesthetic was achieved wonderfully. The artstyle is delicious and charming, and everything perfectly fits the style. Between cute things and disturbing stuff. All done perfectly. Great job!


AUDIO
The audio volume normalization of this game REALLY needs improvement. Some times stuff are too loud (especially the creepy sounds), some times are too quiet.
My opinion on the music is pretty much the same as the graphics'; amazingly done and fitting. I really love especially how creepy and ominous the forest area track is, and Dave's World track featuring the Mario Paint cat instrument. That was a really lovely touch.
For sounds, same thing as above pretty much; wonderfully done.
I wonder; do you guys need more people for the audio department for the full game? I would LOVE to contribute in some way to this game (even with money, but I am sadly broke so I can't really do that... but I would love to contribute with my skills).


Overall, I really enjoyed this game and I wished to give it a 5 star score at first, but then as I was typing all the things I had in my mind I realized there are quite some things to adjust. Giving it such vote would basically nullify them, but what I want instead is to encourage you to fix them, as I want the best from this game. TLDR; I love you guys, don't take this score as a negative thing!!
I really can't wait for the full game. I'll surely buy it eventually when I'll have a bit of money to spare.