Gameplay:

I liked the leg puzzle, though I felt like maybe it could have been done a little differently? The way it was set up made me think it was going to be more challenging than it was, not that it's an issue but I was looking forward to trying to think through the solution instead of just selecting all of the options. I did like that you had to check the blueprint before the margins though, it was a nice touch!

Also small thing, I noticed you could interact with a lot of the environment, which was a nice touch. However, a lot of these interactions resulted with the message, "an empty ____". It made sense for locations where you already found something in, but it felt weird seeing it in places I wasn't expecting like the couch or a table. It also felt a little repetitive, particularly in the locker room where only one locker has an item. Maybe for the lockers you could replace it with a little sound to mark that it's locked, and then if it has an item, have an unlock sound along with the message about the item you receive?

Also maybe a bug, in the campsite I interacted with a pile of wood in the middle of the campsite and it said "Path is blocked by fallen leaves". Is that intentional?

I would also suggest, when you complete the puzzle that opens the gate and comes back to the ruined campsite, if you try to go back to the forest there's a message asking "Are you ready to continue?". I think maybe take this out for now, since it gives players the impression that there's more content if you backtrack that way when there isn't really. I was also confused when the game said to get supplies, and there really wasn't anything I could find that let me do that? Just small things that don't make sense in the project as-is.

Story:

The story was interesting, though it felt like there was a lot that hadn't been explored yet? I'm still a little confused about what's going on, my best bet is that a secret lab is conducting experiments on people in the woods...? But as the game is in development I think, that makes sense. I would suggest adding DEMO to the title too maybe? And then when you release it fully you can change it, so people know to come back to it for the full game :)

Presentation:

I like the more unique UI and the use of gentle, bright whites and blues! The artstyle is also unique, I liked the painted look of the tileset. In the forest though, there were some strange horizontal white lines on some of the tree trunks? Not sure if it's intentional or a bug, but I felt like I should point it out.

There were also a few misspellings here and there? Nothing major, I think I noticed maybe one in the book's third chapter and one in the cutscene before you drive out to the campsite.

Creativity:

I liked the frozen taiga setting, the lab, the puzzles, and the secret book! I think I would have preferred if the monster looked a little less typical though, it felt like the mystery was adding up to something more complex.

Horror:

The lab had very little horror, though the story in the book was a bit unsettling. The forest and campsite were very good at building a horror atmosphere though! I think I scared myself thinking the rope on the last totem was a noose, though later just realized it was probably a part of a puzzle... Still, good atmosphere, especially when the forest steadily got darker!

I would suggest tweaking the cabin and the ending maybe to maximize the effect. The bright lights inside the cabin killed a lot of the tension that you'd been working hard to build, so maybe darkening the cabin or making it look creepy... maybe you interact with something and a lamp falls over and crashes? Instead of of killing the tension it could help make the player more on edge.

The ending was a little more confusing than frightening for me. I wasn't sure why the character automatically laid down? Also, it can be difficult to show a monster and keep it scary after you've spent so long building up the atmosphere. You can look at a classic example like Jaws, the shark was often more scary when people couldn't fully see it. In this case, possibly a quick jumpscare of the monster's face on the screen while the player is walking wouldn't have been a bad way to show the ending instead of a cutscene?

Overall:

I liked how this game kind of thought outside the box in terms of the theme and went with a snowy tundra instead of something more typical, like some lush dark woods. I think there's a lot of potential here in terms of story and gameplay, but it probably needs some tweaks to make the story less confusing and the gameplay less buggy and maybe a bit more engaging.

The chase sequence killed it for me. Too much trial and error.

Finally got a chance to sit down and finish this one! I really like the style of the sprites and the maps for the most part. I see what you're going for. There's something about your cover art,  I feel like you're really selling yourself short. TO ME it makes it feel lower effort than this game actually is, if that makes sense. Like making a cool gift and putting it in boring wrapping paper. I like the reflections on the ice but something about the font doesn't pop out. I dunno haha. 

The ending was a little goofy but fun. I like the idea of the snowy research place and the one character we had an introduction to besides our MC perked my interest. And the prosthetic leg! So curious what that's about. The totem puzzle was a solid idea, I think if it had been worked into the lore of the world better it would have made more sense. My silly brain was positive I was spelling "nope" hahaha. Thankfully the last three letters of nope led me in the right direction and I got there. 

Few bugs, when I left the to the forest after the camp was destroyed I interacted with a totem once and even though I clicked no when I went back to the camp the damage had been reversed and the gate was again shut. I reloaded an older save, no worries.

My favorite part was exploring the facility at the beginning and I LOVED the look of the big trees in the forest. Those looked really neat. 

This game had a lot of potential! I liked the puzzle with the prosthetic leg- it was very unique! I also really liked the totem puzzle as well, despite the hiccups I made along the way my first run.

It's a shame there's not more to it in this entry, as I'd love to see what all you have planned ahead! I really like the horror elements that are at least hinted at, and the segment where we're eaten by a wolf was pretty scary since it was an auto-event I couldn't escape from haha;;

I understand you mention a large monster/frenzy, but that just...doesn't exist in this release, which I think feels a bit dishonest for the challenge? If only for the fact that the only "monster" you actually "see" is the one in the only "ending". I'm sorry if this comes across as harsh- please know that I do really enjoy what you have so far! I also really like the original sprites etc. as well!

I think there's plenty to work off of from what you have so far!

Good Game, but i found little bug.