Judge feedback

Judge feedback is anonymous and shown in a random order.

• PRESENTATION
  

  Graphics were asset packs with some edits. The mapping was decent for the most part - some areas were a bit odd but otherwise it was okay.

  Writing was technically alright, and the story was decent framing but as with the characterisation, it felt a bit flat.

  The sound was very well done though it could have used some atmospheric additions in certain areas. The music did well, though, and helped convey the menace of the game to good effect.

  GAMEPLAY
  Gameplay consisted of typical escape the room examples. This meant puzzles and critical thinking, but also included enhancements in order to unlock areas.

  You could find items to equip to the toy car you had to drive around and interact with the world with. These items would allow you to see hidden clues, interact with certain objects and access other areas.

  Most environmental items had text to read about them, even if some were copied from others or they just told nothing more than "nothing interesting here".

  There was a timer of an hour which counted down so it became a race against the clock.

  I found a bug? where my first copy downloaded didn't do the right/up x3 code (I put it in and it didn't unlock the safe). Redownloading seemed to fix it, even though it was the same version. Not sure what caused it.

  ENGAGEMENT
  One the one hand I like escape games a lot. They can be fun and interesting and seeing how people approach the design of them is really cool. That said, most escape the room games tend to have parts you go back for and not a lot of red herrings. This game, however, had a lot of red herrings which wasn't really fair since you wouldn't be able to piece together what to do when you were instead aiming for something else to do - especially when there was a timer in effect.

  There was also a large missed opportunity to expand on the character of the killer with the text from interacting - it could have been used to build up a more terrifying image of the killer, but instead we got lack-lustre lines about nothing of interest.

  There was also the main character who talked a lot to himself in third person - it didn't really work well and he felt very stilted in his speech.

  I enjoyed some aspects of the game, but there were a few puzzles were things just weren't evident. It took me forever to get the Right/Up x3 combo (the reason I didn't immediately think I had a bugged version was because it was extremely obscure to figure out how the three interacted with the directions right and up).

  Then there was the knife, which I didn't find because I wasn't aware I was supposed to be finding a knife (the character saying something like "Oh, I could cut those ropes if I had something sharp!" would have helped with that) and don't get me started on the paperweight - having not found the knife but getting to the paperweight area I had no idea that it even existed, so I was looking around forever for something to shove down the hole.

  A little more leading dialogue would have helped.

  THEME
  The theme was escape. It did a good job both written and mechanics wise in showing that. The mechanics could have been a bit better at leading you towards solutions instead of throwing red herrings all over the place, though.

  56/80

• Theme

  Sculptor wants to make you a literal statue by drowning you in clay. You have to rely on a toy car and a remote controller to stop it and find your wife Beth. It's a slasher/SAW-like story and fits the bill a lot.

  Gameplay

  Some really clever puzzles.  Ed’s monologue adds to the sense of urgency even if you want to smash his face in just to stop talking too much.

  Presentation

  Some inconsistent art here and there. Some parts of the map needs some remapping because they don't convey information very well. For exampl like going to the shed is hard to notice at first and something I discovered 30 mintues in. Very intense atmosphere thanks to the music.

  Engagement

  Finally, a decent puzzle game. I enjoy slasher/thriller flicks a lot so this is right up my alley. Please tell me that this is a demo and there’s a chance Beth and I can escape this hell?

  Total – 72/80

• I was really impressed by this. It reminded me of the Saw movies, but if they were this good the reviews would be better. Operating a toy car is a great premise and most of the puzzles had just the right amount of mystery so that when you did figure it out you feel like a genius. A few were a little more obscure, I couldn’t finish the pushing statues room on the first playthrough because I had absolutely no clue what I was supposed to do with the 2 “x” spaces. Got it the second time but not being able to save was a bummer cause then I couldn't stop to think it over without losing time. Still, it’s very gripping and atmospheric and the music was perfect.

  Score: 67/80

• 48/80

  No saving and the somewhat long intro can make replaying the game for the other ending tedious.You seem to be able to ride up certain walls in the switch room full of toggle gates and one ending is rather short (takes about 15 minutes tops) while the other is long (60+ minutes). At least one puzzle is a bit confusing due to the red herrings.
  

  I suppose it has become the standard for this kind of horror story to leave out a lot of information, but there is definitely quite a bit to be answered.

  While the graphics and sound work reasonably well for many areas, there is one room where it is somewhat of a pain to deal with if you don’t switch accessories after getting the clue to solving the puzzle.

  The game has some decent pacing to push the player along, but otherwise the timer feels like it forces the player to ignore the story and lore. Getting more than one ending is a bit of a pain without the ability to save, but not having saves helps with immersion. I think it would have been nice if saves had been an unlockable after getting an ending.

  This might be a nice game to play for a few minutes, but the game doesn’t really have much going for it otherwise as there is little reason to replay it for another ending.