So first things first: When I initially tried this game it had AI art in it, which I complained about, and the studio was receptive to and removed the AI entirely from the game! They also made a really good statement on why they had initially used it (AI was seen as a novelty rather than the torment nexus at that point), so I'm really glad that they turned round on it and were able to actually hire an artist in order to replace the AI assets.

So moving on to the actual game. I love the atmosphere of this game, the crispy low res graphics work so well for this kind of thing, and help add to the vibe of an old abandoned city in a way that I don't think high-res ones would. It adds to the uncertainty of what you're looking at, and the fear of possible movement in dark corners which you just can't see into. That fear does start to fade off later I think though, as the depictions of eldritch creatures are a little too goofy I think, and a little to comprehensible. I'd really like it if the game leaned more into the potential for uncertainty in details that these styles in graphics provide.

The fear also fades away when it becomes clear after a while of exploring the ruins that you're not in much real danger of any creatures or environmental dangers, as your main danger is losing your sanity and perhaps getting blown off of a cliff if you're not careful. Sanity meters I think are neat conceptually, but I am a bit tired of their use in games as presented here. I feel that having something that tells you exactly how close you are to losing your mind does take away a bit from the fear that comes from the uncertainty of it all, and while I do want to avoid dying as much as possible, I think just falling over dead from going mad just feels a little uninteresting so I wonder if there's a different mechanic that could be used to give the player a sense of urgency (or perhaps, make death feel more meaningful). The game however is pretty short so I didn't mind this aspect too much. One thing I do like is that when you respawn after death you hear a little gasp and everything is as you left it when you died, implying that your character is actually coming back from the dead due to these sigils, I think that's a really neat bit of storytelling!

Speaking of storytelling, I do have to talk about the narration. It is very lovecraftian, for better and worse (It might even be actual excerpts from the short story it's based on, I don't know). What I mean by this is that while it is definitely invoking the dread and horror of lovecraft's writing, it is also bringing with it the flaws of his writing, such as undermining its own tension by having the main character be in denial about the obvious truth in front of him, much to the annoyance of the reader who can tell already that the horrors are very much real. Sometimes this style can work in the hands of a skilled writer, as you can reveal things to the reader that the character doesn't know yet and the reader will be in suspense as they hope against hope that the character realises before it's too late. This however does not do that. The player character is in denial and then accepts the truth, but this realisation changes nothing for them as they are still doomed to explore and be consumed by horrors at the bottom of the nameless city. This I think is maybe the more real horror buried in this story; it is not whether ot not monsters are real, it is that this character is compelled by his own curiosity and morbid obsession to explore the very depths of the ruins and see the horrors with his own eyes. Instead tho the end fizzles a bit as the player sees the monsters at the end in an otherworldy landscape and it's like, yeah, figured that would happen. Oh well.

To end on a positive note, I enjoyed the puzzle aspects of the spells in the game, and I also very much liked the non-euclidean otherspace that looped on itself, it was very cool and creepy.

All in all, great atmosphere, could do with a bit of rewriting to make the horror of it all really hit home