Really enjoyed the vibe of this game! I felt like I was playing a Twine and a SCUMM game at the same time. Great music and implementation. There's a tactile feel to exploring the images that is immersive.
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The Restricted Archive's itch.io pageResults
Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
Mental Engagement | #13 | 3.870 | 3.870 |
Overall | #14 | 3.913 | 3.913 |
Lasting Impression | #16 | 3.739 | 3.739 |
Overall | #18 | 3.717 | 3.717 |
Atmosphere | #20 | 4.217 | 4.217 |
Emotional Engagement | #22 | 3.391 | 3.391 |
Characterization | #69 | 3.174 | 3.174 |
Ranked from 23 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Comments
I really like cosmic horror so this was a super fun mystery to solve. The atmosphere is fantastic and the puzzles were really engaging. The game made me feel like a detective. Amazing work!
The pixel art and puzzle design of the game are excellent, and the atmosphere is very immersive for players,nice job:)
This is so much fun! Loved the card catalog, the variety of the puzzles, and the pixel aesthetic.
Well done!
I haven't read too much of Lovecraft, but I'd say you nailed the atmosphere perfectly. Of course I got killed in the end, so I guess I have to give it another go - but not right away, this would spoil the feel of the game. ^^
I liked the use of the library an exploring the cult and their symbols.
Really good game!
I really enjoyed this. I wasn’t sure about the chunky pixels at first, but the story hooked me in and I grew to love the pixels too! Great atmosphere, I liked gathering knowledge from the library, and the part with the mirrors was really well done. I even managed to get the good ending on my first try! Great game.
very cool! the puzzles are very fun and not too difficult to figure out, though im not sure if theres meant to be a clue for the electrical switches -- i just did it by trial and error.
the story is fun and intriguing, it makes me want to spend more time in the world and learn more. and i always love a library setting. clicked on every single book topic and shelf despite my innate understanding that most of them would do nothing.
This was good! I thought the puzzles with the books were a fun way of translating Call of Cthulhu-type investigation into a non roleplay format. Art was very good and I like the choice of putting the game in the player's point of view.
That was pretty freaky. I don't know a lot about Lovecraft, but from what I do know, this appears to fit right in.
Excellent game! Really enjoyed exploring all the details of the cults and symbols in the library. I loved the story and the puzzles were fun and engaging. Music was great too and added to the atmosphere.
My first ending wasn't that great (ended up getting killed) so I went back and played again and escaped this time. It's really great that you managed to add multiple endings in a jam game, how many in total are there?
Overall, this game has left me wanting more, I'm intrigued! Really well done!
Really Really good! I love spooky stuff like this especially when it's well made. Reminded me of The Magnus archives in a cool way
I made it to the "good" ending, but let's face it: in Lovecraft's world, that doesn't really mean anything :)
You managed to capture Lovecraft's ominous atmosphere extremely well. The books abot the lore weren't just a nice idea, they were also very well integrated. The fact that you actually gain (practical) knowledge through the library is neat. I liked that very much. The story is well written and so are the dialogues. And the pixel graphics are really good too. They fit the theme and the general atmosphere perfectly.
Wonderful game. I hope you will visit this world again. I'd love to see more of it. Either way, I'll definitely check out some of your other games later.
The game is really nice. The atmosphere is engaging, and the music helps it. I wasn’t ever a big fan of pixel art, but I started to love it more and more.
It’s nice that you have a lot of information about the lore. At the same time, the game is rather straightforward about which part to use, so afterward, you have a strange feeling that there was (or could be) more in it. It’s not bad, of course :) maybe even good because you feel like playing more.
To be honest, I opened the door with trial and error. Almost the same is true for the other uses of levers. I noticed one thing in the library… but it could be a coincidence.
The nightmares and the “madness” topic… it would be really great to elaborate on this :) I was waiting when the “mad” part starts but died instead. That was a stupid mistake of mine, but humans are not perfect, after all :)
It felt a bit strange to go through everything once again… and here I thought. Maybe you can build a nightmare theme on such “resurrections”—sort of like Groundhog Day. Just sharing thoughts. Thank you for the great game!
This was really nice. The graphics made me think that this would be much more simplistic than it turned out to be. Such a very dense atmosphere and well thought-out story. I LOVED that you actually had to use the library to advance the story.
Two puzzles need a bit more work IMO: the mirrors and the levers (I ended up using trial and error in both). But overall a very nice entry that is remarkable for its story and atmosphere!
This was awesome! I really enjoyed the game. It was the perfect length and I was invested all the way through. The puzzles difficulty was spot on, they took a bit of thinking but I never felt stuck. I really liked the mechanic of looking for information in the library books, it felt very fitting. The sound and art fit perfectly with the setting and created a nice atmosphere. Great job!
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