The more I ponder on this collection, the more I come to appreciate and enjoy it.
When I first approached this collection, I had the wrong mind set. I was expecting 24, fun horror games. Tight little mechanically driven experiences with a horror theme.
Instead, so far with the four that are out at the time of writing this, are short, intriguing experiences that I am extremely happy that I played through.
I am enjoying this collection, and like coming back to it every day. I would like to offer my critique, however.
Sorry for the huge long comment, but I have a lot of thoughts about this. I hope it validates the work you guys put into it though, and that I am not offensive or anything.
First, I like the creepy Christmas tree, and the VHS aesthetics. The voices that murmur in the background if you just hang on the screen long enough, I like it.
RIP
This is the most gamey one so far, with an interesting mechanic to play around and figure out. I love the strange, paper mache world that's been created. I like exploring this amalgamation of apartments and rooms that are almost dream like, or as if they're created by a neural network. You can get the sense of what they are supposed to be, but it's struggling to represent it accurately. Weird texture warping. crumpled walls, rooms that are empty besides a single piece of furniture. I love it.
I also really like the shadow mechanic. Having my own self chasing me, with the only clues as to how close it is being the sounds of what I have done before is so cool, and really builds up a sense of dread as I try to get through it faster. My second playthrough was really fun with this dread.
I do have problems with this one though.
For one, I don't think the mechanics are well conveyed, and I think it really comes down to the ripping. If you left click on any surface, the hands come up and rip, and a ripping sfx is played. This utterly confused me. Keep in mind, I wanted a completely blind experience so I didn't look at the gifs on the page.
At first I just started left clicking on things. The hands would come up, rip SFX...nothing happened. Ok, I guess that mechanic doesn't really do anything. I just stopped trying. I was able to push the tarps out of the way, so I didn't think to rip them.
This led me to not understand why I was going back. I would walk around, a high pitched noise would play, and that was it. The hand banging on the walls was too subtle for me to hear, so I didn't notice it coming for me. And because every time I tried to rip, the same sfx would play, I didn't make the connection that those were echoing what I did in the past, I assumed that something else was doing some ripping. I think, if there was perhaps a sound for failing to rip, I would have noticed the rhythm and pattern much earlier.
And then, the ending is very abrupt. We go up some stairs, and it's over. When I first got through the game and didn't understand the mechanic, I was confused. When I played a second time, aware of what was going on, I was sad there wasn't more, or at the least, a satisfying ending to the experience.
Screenplay in Autumn
I loved the premise and environment of this game too. Finding this abandoned stone tomb, that somehow turns towards me, and is way bigger on the inside than outside sets up a really cool atmosphere.
I think the idea of having to perform in a play is really cool. Following the stage directions set by the script, performing for this empty tomb with only a cardboard cutout is really eerie but interesting. I like when I had to look at a certain place, and strike a pose, and when I first figured out that *I* needed to interact to get my lines to play, I was excited.
Unfortunately, what I feel is the best part about the game kind of petered out, and I was left wishing there was more. Maybe that was the point, paralleling a story about a soldier who expects to be valorous and receive awards, only for their life to end abruptly, alone.
- But the acting part stopped. And instead I'm waiting for the mother's line to finish, so I can press some buttons till my line finishes. Then I walk off stage, and the end. It ended so abruptly, and I didn't find the play itself to be extremely investing, I was more interested in the mechanics that unfortunately were not expanded upon.
I understand that these were short games, I didn't want a huge experience, but maybe three acts, with a more satisfying ending, I would have liked it more. It seemed like just as it was going to get interesting, it's over.
December 3rd
I liked the remembering mechanic, and driving the boat around to learn more about this person's life. Having the very first interaction I see be "End it?" was very surprising and set the mood perfectly.
But jeez dude, the sensitivity on this was super high. It was really hard to just control my camera.
I didn't play through this one as much. The sensitivity made it hard to control and I had trouble finding things to remember.
A Godforsaken Hole...called...
So far, this has been my favorite game, this is the one that had given me the most unique and awesome experience.
At first, it seems kind of shallow. I'm a ball wandering around a maze, that's hard to see and kind of awkward to control. I'm not entirely sure what to expect. I see this guy sitting in a chair in a corner. Who is that? Why can't I get to them?
Eventually, I find the screen with the mouth. What the hell is she saying? I stay and listen, intrigued but unable to really discern what she is saying. The door opens, I wait till the monologue is finished, and I leave. The game closes. That's it? I was disappointed.
But I was really intrigued by that mouth. What the hell was that?
I look at the credits and find the performance for Not I, and read about it's writing. I watch the whole thing, and everything seems to come together.
I'm aimlessly wandering, in a field (which would explain the green mist), with the buzzing! Yes, the buzzing that never stopped, and I can barely hold on to this grasps of reality, the mist keeps weaving in and out making everything hard to see and discern. The lights keep going to various intensities.
The man in the corner, well, that had to be the Auditor, correct?
This game seems like both an interpretation and performance of "Not I" by Samuel Beckett, and I thoroughly enjoyed pondering it and researching this play. So thank you for that.
But nah, can't all be positive here.
Again, I feel like it ended so abruptly. Maybe that was the point, but I had the same feeling I did in Screenplay in Autumn. I explored this maze for however long, kind of confused, not sure what I'm supposed to be doing. Then finally something interesting happens. A screen with a mouth that's just going crazy. And as soon as it got interesting it was over...
Again, sorry for the long comment, and I hope I haven't offended anyone with my critiques. I just had these opinions so far and I really wanted to share them.