Review.
Introduction
Please Follow is a Walking Simulator with light Puzzles. You are a presumed soldier patrolling the trenches. While patrolling, you came across a tunnel. Fearing this may be dug by the Enemy, you set your mind to explore it.
Presentation
Please Follow is a simple game that is about following. Jokes aside, there isn't much to elaborate on the gameplay. You start following the tunnel down into Earth. Coming across what looks like growths on the walls of the tunnel. Interacting with it gives you the only bit of narrative, consists of two sentences, phrase differently from one or another. And there is more than one. Unfortunately, it's shaky and can't be paused. After that, puzzles become the main focus.
Puzzles are mainly of "bring X to Y" nature. What are X? Worms. Please Follow used worms as a form of an offering to an undisclosed God or entity. It doesn't go far with it, and I'm speaking (mostly) conjecturally on my part in the following.
I see a fair bit of similarities between Please Follow and the unlikely story, the Terror from the Depths {pub. 1976} by Fritz Leiber (which I recently finished reading a couple of weeks back. Check it out.) Both feature a worm-like entity. The worm, as a gravitational hypnotic effect on both characters. The most damnable parallel is the appearance of the Please Follow's worm, which has wings. Yet, both take the worm in different directions. If only Please Follow's narrative was less cryptic. Not saying a cryptic nature is wrong, but Cosmic Horror relies on subtleness and hints.
Visually, it's excellent, an PlayStation One era graphics. While I made the issue, with the narrative-on-a-screen, it works well with the war setting. For a short game {clocking in at twenty minutes long} there is a sense of scale, not just on the surface, but underneath in chthonic depths. The final extension of the chamber opens into space with stars sparkling with light. It could be minerals reflecting, who knows. It gets psychedelic at times, and annoyingly, a spinning pyramid for meme sake. The sound design is atmospheric. It has moments of shock and grotesque, and the perspective of the soldier, we do hear them crying in one scene inconclusive what it may represent.
- It represents the traumas of war.
- They saw something beyond their comprehension and proceed to have a mental breakdown.
Likely number two, as collective scenes are going. Or I could be ignoring the underlining meaning it is nudging at. PTSD. Admittedly, this isn't my area of expertise. I'll leave it to someone else in the field.
Collapsing Cosmoes
Please Follow is a cryptic journey of the depths, aren't much like it. The world is captivating as it's store description. While it is very little to analysis, a spelunker will find a mystery to unravel. National Intelligence requires your help to solve the Terror from the Depths... 