Greetings from America! Thank you so much for playing! Man, I really thought you had it on your 3rd attempt. If you can get past the monster and put some distance between him, you have a good chance of making it. Once you get on the rooftops, you want to keep going up as much as you can, and avoid going back to the ground level. I don't know if you'll give it another try or not, but I think you would beat it with another attempt. Anyway, thanks again for playing! Be sure to check out some of my other games. If you want my best, definitely give NEMESES a run!
This game right here is what made my skin crawl. i was being chased by Eddy from ed, edd, and eddy. It was a fun experience and to whoever is reading this. YOU HAVE TO PLAY THIS!
Genius. Loved it. Ending was superb, final and only bit of dialogue at the end, they didn't deserve this you deserve this. Followed me unsettlingly into my dreams last night. So good! Want more. 😂
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it. My hope is always that my games follow people long after they play them, so that's great to hear. If you want more, I have several other games you can check out on my games page. If you haven't already, definitely give NEMESES a run!
I will do! I have become a big fan. Looking forward from this day onward to more of your work. I love horror games. The only true way to explore horror in all it's elements in my opinon. This is up there with Alan Wake and Silent Hill 2 for me. Amazing job. So glad I found these gems.
I had a good time running from a good villain while creepy dub step signaled my pending doom. I do wish the ending was different unless I just got the bad one.
I could write a novel about this but I'm going to summarize it into a few paragraphs. This game is nerve-wracking, sinister, uncomfortable, very intense and many other things - all aspects that should make up a horror game. The atmosphere is very ominous and I can tell you are a Silent Hill fan (much respect), yet original at the same time. I know what the full backstory of the game is now and it is captivating.
However, what strikes me most about this game is the look of punisher's character model and design - he honestly puts any horror character I've seen to shame in terms of scare factor, an absolute monstrosity to gaze upon and he is what terrified me above all. There was nothing worse than not knowing where he was at certain points and then hearing those footsteps! The fact he is mute as well fitted perfectly and added to the terror.
The music fits excellently as well, reminded me of a nigh heart attack that the character would have when becoming aware of what was chasing him. It seamlessly worked while being hunted by what seemed to be the epitome of evil incarnate.
Me and my friend consider this one of the scariest horror games we've every played. I only wish it were longer and had more things to do/explore but nevertheless, Kudos Matt , I certainly look forward to seeing and playing more of your work :)
Thank you so much for giving such an eloquent, in-depth review! It means a lot to me when someone takes the time to look more into my games and analyze them below surface level. There's always more there to dig up for those who want more than just a scary experience.
I'm so glad you guys find this to be one of the scariest games ever! My dream is to do just that, so I must be on the right track :) Thank you for appreciating the little nuances that collectively make the experience what it is. Making the Punisher was probably my favorite part, especially when I tested out his up close, shaky animation. It even terrified me, haha. I'm glad your experience went as intended; a lot of people just beeline it for the exit, and then complained that they didn't see him again. Taking more time to explore, and just having the Punisher constantly stalking you is what I was going for.
I agree with you that this game needs more to do. Since I made it for a jam, I decided to leave it as-is to maintain its integrity. I'm considering a remaster at some point though, because it would be fun to reimagine certain things without the time limitation. The goal would be to make it look better, be more fun to play, and definitely scarier :)
Thanks again for the lovely review! If you haven't checked out NEMESES yet, that's my bigger project, and you might even find it scarier!
No problem at all man, I'm excited to hear you may be considering a remaster which would be amazing :) Also I'll certianly check out Nemeses soon, just been busy with college and shit but it's a guarantee - especially having played this and your other games too!
Glad you enjoyed it! We'll see about making it mobile. I'm just getting into mobile development, but I haven't had a good experience with first person games on phones. Definitely possible for the future though!
I was lucky the character glitched ! but this is a fantastic game with a really dark hidden meaning (i do not know the full meaning but i have most of it right so far) a must play for sure!
You've done it again! One of the creepiest games I've played! your character design is flawless when it comes to genuinely creepy horror. I didn't find the hidden meaning whatsoever, but still thoroughly enjoyed my playthrough! Here's the video:
Usually I hate getting lost in mazes, but the atmosphere and the chase, knowing you can't slow down or stop to think about where you're going without getting caught, really intensified the game for me.
Saw you on Alpha Beta Gamer's channel a while back, so I just had to try this game, first things first I know this game was made for a game jam a year ago so this game is a old project but I genuinely did enjoy your game for what it had especially the maze-like structure of the map, it just made me a bit stressed out, that demon who came chasing after me had me on my best efforts to just finish the game (That dude just freaks me out), the atmosphere just makes me feel uneasy and kinda on my toes throughout the whole gameplay all in all I think this would be one of my most favorite indie horror games, I would like to see more of your future projects so I'm going to give you a follow.
Wow, thank you so much! I really appreciate that. So stoked you enjoyed it that much! I have a few other horror projects you can check out, but I definitely recommend playing NEMESES if you want my best. Thanks for playing, and I hope to see more from you!
Either Matt is a NIN fan or im going crazy xD This is a great little game. took me about half an hour to find my way round this aMAZEing place. Really quite creepy, wasnt expecting it to make me quite so tense at times. Loved trying to work out the hidden meaning. Pretty sure ive worked it out or at least rather close to what its meant to be. Had a few frame drops but think thats more down to my pc being on its last legs. Not much else to say without potential spoilers for anyone reading this. All i can say is, another well put together game. Really loving your content. Keep it up :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8dJ5qQjTAY
You'll need an extraction program like Winrar. Then you'll extract the file with it. From there, go into the folder, and there should be a file called "CITY". Run that, and you should be good!
This was a great game! Very simple but with a creative story (if you bother to find out what the story is). The developer does hint at the fact that he actually tried to make a story for this game. The monster was also creepier than I thought it would be. Lastly, some people complain about the maze portion of the game, but I don't feel that's appropriate. It wasn't that difficult. You just need to keep your eyes open :) Great job!
just made a vid of your game ... wow what a ending love it! ALL of it..... would like to hear what was said in the end though I was too WoWed to hear properly
Thank you so much for playing! Sorry for the late reply. Been a super busy month. I really enjoyed your video. At the end of the game, the voice is saying "You know that you deserve this". Thanks again!
Hmmm. Ok. Two lines. (this was my train of thought). I'm in purgatory. Heaven & Hell. One line up. One line down. Two Lines. So started going up to see the road signs are now upside down to suggest even going up is actually going down. Found a murder scene in which I killed everyone and then myself to which the birdman hookhand thing comes in to send me back to the start so I can't leave Purgatory. Turns out all this was totally wrong but even getting it all wrong the game was still extremely fun to play knowing your being chased and even seeing the thing chasing you on the stairs below or across from you. You just have to keep moving and that was very cool. Overall I really liked this even if I didn't get the story. Well done Matt. Another winner... :)
Thanks so much, Kev! Yeah, the story is very cryptic. If you wanted to see a video that does a great job of explaining it, watch JayskiBean's playthrough. Anyway, I'm really stoked you had fun! That's the idea :)
This was a lot of fun. I got a bit frustrated at the runway maze in the second part, but knowing you're being stalked makes it more tense and encourages you to just keep moving.
The WHAM moment at the end was great, and a good example of powerful minimalistic storytelling.
Glad you had fun! Yeah, it certainly turned out more mazy than I had wanted, but that's one of the results of the time constraint. Did you by chance figure the ending out? I'd be really curious to hear your thoughts. There's a lot to figure out at the end, and most people don't get it, or they only get a small piece of it and think it's a really simple story. Let me know what you picked up, and we can talk through it!
I suppose there could be some similarities between NEMESES and Dark Deception, but in terms of gameplay and story, they are almost nothing alike. Stay peeled!
My initial (see edit below) interpretation was that the "right-side-up" world was first moments after death, literally leaving the world behind. The...something...chasing after the character felt at first representative of not wanting them to move on. In retrospect, it felt a lot like Jacob's Ladder, but that might also be due to the street names from Silent Hill and how Jacob's Ladder influenced that series so much.
So getting to the "upside-down" world at first felt like ascension to a higher plane or something, but after finding my way back into the building, that changed. I remember feeling like it was part 1 - Escaping and part 2 - Confronting. I felt like the character had to return to his death to confront what he did and ultimately move on, whatever that entails.
The weirdest thing I thought after playing was wondering if the creature was trying to chase you away from the end, or into it,
May not have been the meaning you were going for, but that's what I took away from it.
EDIT: Something was niggling me, so I went back and watched the ending again, and suddenly noticed something that literally gave me goosebumps (and still is as I type)
It was a pregnancy test. Two lines. Holy crap. Wow. I'm going to try to go back and play it myself again so I can look around the last couple rooms some more. It looks like a murder/suicide love triangle maybe, but I obviously overlooked a lot of stuff when I played.
I love hearing from fellow deep thinkers! Thank you for sharing, especially in such great detail. I would say that you were getting there with the original post, and then the edit took you very close. Definitely go back and look closely at the details in the last two rooms. If you follow them in order, I think you'll be able to piece it all together. If you can tell me a sequence of events, or what you think happened, I'll fill in the rest.
I'm so happy to hear that you got goosebumps from my game, especially after your first time through it! Effective storytelling is only as good as one's ability to comprehend it. And I made the story pretty cryptic. But I'd like to think that the end result, though only understood by a few, is more rewarding to discover than a story completely accessible to the masses. I made this game for people like me, so it's always great to see responses like this, and know that those people are playing my games. Bigger games, and deeper stories are in the works as we speak!
Again, thanks for sharing. Really looking forward to hearing a final interpretation.
This game is the last game I played and I gotta say... I did get a little bored and disappointed with this game.
I did, although, see your conversation with someone with similar opinion about this game and understand why this game is like it. I do, in fact, not enjoy mazes because it's annoying and tedious. Which is why I did not play the whole thing.
Totally understandable! I get that some people just don't have a strong internal compass, and those tend to be the people who get lost quickly, and as such, don't like maze games. Really, the fact that it's a maze is more of a means to an end, and had I had more time, I would have developed it more. Anyway, given that you're into Silent Hill, I highly suggest at least watching someone beat it, because there is much more to the game, and there's just no way to know that if you don't even get past the first segment. If you're curious, look up JayskiBean's playthrough. He figured out most of the story, and then I left a comment on his video that explains everything. Anyway, thanks for playing! I appreciate you posting it.
Hello, I just wanna address one problem, I have a slow pc and there is no way to turn down the quality, with that being said, I can't play the game. HELP!
Load up the game, then press the "~" key, then type "SCALABILITY 0" and hit "enter". That should knock it down to the lowest quality setting. Let me know if that worked for you!
I enjoyed the game, but I still had a few issues. Nothing major, mind you, just a few small things. But first, let me address the stuff I LOVED about the game. 1. The atmosphere is absolutely terrific, both in a terrifying and amazing way. 2. The music is haunting, and sounds like something straight out of an 80's horror flick. 3. Speaking of 80's horror films, the killer is scary as hell. When I first saw him my heart started pounding out of my chest. Absolute nightmare fuel. Now, the bad. The maze-runner style is absolutely fine, it's just that you aren't given ANY hints of where to go, meaning that the game could take up to an hour to complete. The story is nonexistent. At least, I think. I wasn't able to beat it because I couldn't find the exit. The fog in the game is great, but it makes it too hard to see the killer, so you could accidentally run face-first into the killer and his shiny hook. Very minor things, and I honestly think this game is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, especially since the game was made in just a week! I just would've liked a teeny tiny bit more story. Other than that, 10/10 game Matt! Can't wait to see if you make any other games!
Thank you so much for posting, I really appreciate your thoughtful feedback! This game turned into a maze because I ran out of time, but I added street signs as a way to help navigate. I know that can be hard to do with a killer constantly pursuing you. Nevertheless, if you really stick with it, it's shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes to find your way through, even if you take every path. And there is definitely a story, but again, due to time constraints the whole story is revealed at the end. If you play again, really pay attention to the last area if you want to figure it out. If you'd just as soon watch someone play it, JayskiBean has a great video where he attempts to solve the riddle and the ending, and he gets very close. I left a comment on the video that fills in/corrects anything he missed. It's worth checking out! Thanks again for posting, I'm stoked you enjoyed it so much!
Damn, I wasn't expecting a reply so soon! I didn't notice the signs, and I was really just running in circles. I'll check out the JayskiBean vid, and I'll keep an eye out for the comment! Thanks heaps, Matt!
This is not a good game. All of it was just you 'running' around the city in staircases and stuff. This is medicore game design, and should not be in a horror game. Not only that, but the story itself is missing. You might go, 'oh but you didn't finish it'. I don't need to finish the game if it takes like 10 minutes just to reach the end via a maze. This impacts the game servely so much that it doesn't compensate for the ending or whatever story is in this game. Looking at the comments, it's very apparent that you are hiding something well-written in this game (considering you had a decent introduction at the beginning of the game), in which I'd absolutely love to see. But put a 10 minute+ maze in it? Lowers my speculations. Trust me, I love well-written games (wonderful indie examples including Umfend, Lost In Vivo, IMSCARED, FAITH...), and love it when games attempt to deliver a written piece of game differently from other games, however you also have to ensure gameplay and fun factor is treated equally as writing/atmosphere. Unfortnately, this game falls in that line. That being said, with your ideas, if you were to balance gameplay, fun, themes, e.g., with your knowledge of writing, you could yourself create a great indie horror game. But for now, I cannot say this is a game worthy of playing.
Hi n3dd. Thank you for your feedback. I actually really appreciate brutal honesty, even if I don't agree with it, so long as it's given in a respectful way.
First of all, I think it's totally unwarranted to say "this is not a good game". Obviously you're the minority. Nevertheless, let's talk about the points you brought up, because I think some unfair comparisons were drawn. Two Lines was made in ONE WEEK for a jam. Each game you listed as examples were not jam games, which means the creators could have taken weeks, months, or even years to make their games. So to pin my game up to theirs is like comparing a sketch to a painted portrait. There just isn't a fair comparison there. Have you ever made a game in a week? Have you ever made a game? Have you ever done it completely by yourself from the ground up without any outside assets or help? I could make assumptions, but I'll get to my point instead. If you knew the amount of work it took for me to create this 100% in a week, on top of working a full time job to support my stay-at-home wife and 7 month-old son, I would only hope you would have a different opinion of it. There are many things I would have loved to put into this game. But just to give you an idea, the majority of the map was created in the last day and a half of the jam, because I had spent most of that week creating all the models, textures, animations, music, sound effects, story, and then creating game mechanics so the game could actually be playable. This put me in a corner to crank out an environment, and put the story into the game. The story is the most important part of this game, and doing that part right was more important to me than making a "fun" horror game. Personally, I prefer horror games that terrify me and make me think, over horror games that are fun to play.
But let's talk about why this is a maze game, and more importantly, why people immediately write off maze games. People have been playing the same horror game for 20 years, because of Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Now these are some of my all-time favorite, and most influential games. However, when you've literally spent 20 years reading notes, and hunting for keys, you tend to get bored of it. My goal for this game was to create an atmosphere, and then drop a horrible creature in it to chase you. Obviously anyone who still loves to read notes and unlock doors is going to complain and call this a maze game, because if you take away those elements, that's essentially all any horror game is. What people seem to have forgotten how to do is set aside their own script, and just enjoy a piece of art for what it is--what the creator intended for it to be--rather than trying to force it through the filter of all their expectations.
Ultimately, I didn't have time to make this game any better, and I plan to do a future update that will hopefully improve it, and make it feel less mazy. But the fact that it spent a week at #1 despite everything you didn't like about it, has to count for something. I'm certainly humbled by it.
If you can't finish a simple little 10 minute jam game, then I've done you a favor by taking more than that amount of time away from my own to type this up for you, rather than ignoring it like I could have done. I care about my games, and I care about the community who plays them. So it's worth it to me to talk to people who think I make bad games. I implore you to take into consideration the things that I've said (and hopefully with a new perspective on this game), and give it another shot. Or, you can watch someone else play it. Or you can do none of those things and continue believing whatever you want about my game, and I won't lose any sleep over it.
Lastly, I have a new game that I recently uploaded (another jam game), and it's almost completely linear, and very easy to beat. Perhaps you would actually enjoy that one, so if you're willing, give it a shot. I would love to hear your thoughts on it. Hopefully you didn't take any of this as hostility, but as genuine discussion. Again, thank you for your feedback.
Hi, thank you for the response - it was clearly better than the response you've made to negative comments. I'll give my response now.
Regarding the first point you pointed out - I didn't mean to compare your games with the indie games I've mentioned (in fact I only mentioned those examples of games to point out some of the well-written games, that are popular, that I love), so I apologise if my comment made you believe I'm attacking you for thinking I'm critising your game for being lackluster or not matching the quality of other indie games - in fact, I've played some jam games previously (72 hours, a week, eg), and I pretty much enjoyed a majority of them. What I'm saying is that I'm not critising this game for not being the same as those indie game I mentioned. So again, sorry about that.
Secondly, I find the idea of taking a different approach to horror tropes interesting, how you added elements of a maze in a horror game to differentiate it from the usual horror elements in games. I can't say I'm with this - mazes are something I don't really enjoy if they aren't utilised properly (with due respect). The problem lies with how the maze and creature is used and utilised in the game - not what is in this game, so it is completely fine if a developer like you decide to put something like a maze like this, it's just it needs to feel 'right'. However, I understand that one, you had a short period of time to develop this (thus it's difficult to polish and etc.) and two, you've gone for a different artistic vision for your game, so for the sake of fairness, I won't comment anymore.
I'll attempt to replay your game again at some point, in a supposedly different perspective. And I'll certainly also attempt your other game. Thank you for your response, and I look forward seeing your future creations (I do not wish to reply again, with due respect).
I actually really appreciate your feedback, so you are welcome to comment on any of my games. You've been very respectful.
There's actually only one review on this page that I would consider truly negative, and it wasn't helpful in any way. I understand if someone doesn't think my game is good, but to give it a 1/10 is a blatant insult. You, rather than spitting on my hard work, actually gave a thoughtful response, with critical feedback. So thank you for that! Please feel free to do so with any of my games, and I will happily read it all.
To your original point, yes, I can make something much better than this, and I am. To be completely honest with you, I'm blown away that this game did as well as it did, but it is what it is. Be sure to watch for NEMESES, which is my big project that I've been working on for months. I'll warn you, it is a bit mazy, but hopefully in a more interesting, and more terrifying way. Keep an eye out for that one. Thanks again.
birdman + captain hook.....how could that be scary! screaming so hard peaked the mic too many times, edited this before i found out how to limit peaks on premiere pro
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Good and Creepy as hell.
Greetings from Germany. :)Greetings from America! Thank you so much for playing! Man, I really thought you had it on your 3rd attempt. If you can get past the monster and put some distance between him, you have a good chance of making it. Once you get on the rooftops, you want to keep going up as much as you can, and avoid going back to the ground level. I don't know if you'll give it another try or not, but I think you would beat it with another attempt. Anyway, thanks again for playing! Be sure to check out some of my other games. If you want my best, definitely give NEMESES a run!
Great! I loved it! I'm a little behind, but I'm definitely gonna check out the rest of your stuff!
This game right here is what made my skin crawl. i was being chased by Eddy from ed, edd, and eddy. It was a fun experience and to whoever is reading this. YOU HAVE TO PLAY THIS!
PLEASE NOTIFY ME WHEN NEMESIS IS OUT.
FUCKING SCARY IS VERY BAD GAME!!!!
=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)=)==)=)=) 100% SERIOUS
This was without a doubt a phenomenal game and quite the experience 😱😱😱
Thank you for this amazing game, can't wait for NEMESES 💚
Thank you so much for posting! Can't wait to see more!
i enjoyed this :D very spooky and awsome soundtrack.
This was a great horror game. One of the better ones I have played in awhile!
Thank you so much for posting!
I have not enjoyed a horror experience as much as this in quite some time, thanks Matt for creating this gem :)
You're welcome! Thank you so much for posting, I'm so glad you enjoyed it :)
I really enjoyed thanks for ur creation
Awesome, thank you so much for posting!!
Genius. Loved it. Ending was superb, final and only bit of dialogue at the end, they didn't deserve this you deserve this. Followed me unsettlingly into my dreams last night. So good! Want more. 😂
Thanks so much! Glad you enjoyed it. My hope is always that my games follow people long after they play them, so that's great to hear. If you want more, I have several other games you can check out on my games page. If you haven't already, definitely give NEMESES a run!
I will do! I have become a big fan. Looking forward from this day onward to more of your work. I love horror games. The only true way to explore horror in all it's elements in my opinon. This is up there with Alan Wake and Silent Hill 2 for me. Amazing job. So glad I found these gems.
Ah man, that is such a high compliment, thank you! Stoked to hear what you think of the others!
plz make for ma
I had a good time running from a good villain while creepy dub step signaled my pending doom. I do wish the ending was different unless I just got the bad one.
holy shite!! congrats on markiplier playing this game!! its been a while but super proud of your perseverance
I could write a novel about this but I'm going to summarize it into a few paragraphs. This game is nerve-wracking, sinister, uncomfortable, very intense and many other things - all aspects that should make up a horror game. The atmosphere is very ominous and I can tell you are a Silent Hill fan (much respect), yet original at the same time. I know what the full backstory of the game is now and it is captivating.
However, what strikes me most about this game is the look of punisher's character model and design - he honestly puts any horror character I've seen to shame in terms of scare factor, an absolute monstrosity to gaze upon and he is what terrified me above all. There was nothing worse than not knowing where he was at certain points and then hearing those footsteps! The fact he is mute as well fitted perfectly and added to the terror.
The music fits excellently as well, reminded me of a nigh heart attack that the character would have when becoming aware of what was chasing him. It seamlessly worked while being hunted by what seemed to be the epitome of evil incarnate.
Me and my friend consider this one of the scariest horror games we've every played. I only wish it were longer and had more things to do/explore but nevertheless, Kudos Matt , I certainly look forward to seeing and playing more of your work :)
Thank you so much for giving such an eloquent, in-depth review! It means a lot to me when someone takes the time to look more into my games and analyze them below surface level. There's always more there to dig up for those who want more than just a scary experience.
I'm so glad you guys find this to be one of the scariest games ever! My dream is to do just that, so I must be on the right track :) Thank you for appreciating the little nuances that collectively make the experience what it is. Making the Punisher was probably my favorite part, especially when I tested out his up close, shaky animation. It even terrified me, haha. I'm glad your experience went as intended; a lot of people just beeline it for the exit, and then complained that they didn't see him again. Taking more time to explore, and just having the Punisher constantly stalking you is what I was going for.
I agree with you that this game needs more to do. Since I made it for a jam, I decided to leave it as-is to maintain its integrity. I'm considering a remaster at some point though, because it would be fun to reimagine certain things without the time limitation. The goal would be to make it look better, be more fun to play, and definitely scarier :)
Thanks again for the lovely review! If you haven't checked out NEMESES yet, that's my bigger project, and you might even find it scarier!
No problem at all man, I'm excited to hear you may be considering a remaster which would be amazing :) Also I'll certianly check out Nemeses soon, just been busy with college and shit but it's a guarantee - especially having played this and your other games too!
Awesome! Stoked to hear your thoughts.
Game is very good. I'm doesn't see so good psychedelic horror. And please make this game for ANDROID!!!
Glad you enjoyed it! We'll see about making it mobile. I'm just getting into mobile development, but I haven't had a good experience with first person games on phones. Definitely possible for the future though!
2 years passed so quickly. I'd like to see your future works, thanks for reply!
It's really scary, I mean, so many stairs, oof...
Hey, watch it Mr.... if you want to start a fake rivalry with me, just remember you have more games posted :)
But imagine climbing so many stairs in real life, and there's a monster chasing you too, so you must climb, that's too scary for my legs
Easy leg day!
Very Very Well Done gave me the creeps and made me think alot. Very well made game can't wait to play others from you!
I was lucky the character glitched ! but this is a fantastic game with a really dark hidden meaning (i do not know the full meaning but i have most of it right so far) a must play for sure!
You've done it again! One of the creepiest games I've played! your character design is flawless when it comes to genuinely creepy horror. I didn't find the hidden meaning whatsoever, but still thoroughly enjoyed my playthrough! Here's the video:
Usually I hate getting lost in mazes, but the atmosphere and the chase, knowing you can't slow down or stop to think about where you're going without getting caught, really intensified the game for me.
Saw you on Alpha Beta Gamer's channel a while back, so I just had to try this game, first things first I know this game was made for a game jam a year ago so this game is a old project but I genuinely did enjoy your game for what it had especially the maze-like structure of the map, it just made me a bit stressed out, that demon who came chasing after me had me on my best efforts to just finish the game (That dude just freaks me out), the atmosphere just makes me feel uneasy and kinda on my toes throughout the whole gameplay all in all I think this would be one of my most favorite indie horror games, I would like to see more of your future projects so I'm going to give you a follow.
Wow, thank you so much! I really appreciate that. So stoked you enjoyed it that much! I have a few other horror projects you can check out, but I definitely recommend playing NEMESES if you want my best. Thanks for playing, and I hope to see more from you!
Found this game here
Thank you for posting this!
Either Matt is a NIN fan or im going crazy xD
This is a great little game. took me about half an hour to find my way round this aMAZEing place. Really quite creepy, wasnt expecting it to make me quite so tense at times. Loved trying to work out the hidden meaning. Pretty sure ive worked it out or at least rather close to what its meant to be.
Had a few frame drops but think thats more down to my pc being on its last legs. Not much else to say without potential spoilers for anyone reading this. All i can say is, another well put together game. Really loving your content. Keep it up :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8dJ5qQjTAY
Thank you so much for playing! I left a comment on your video :)
It said''This program can't be opened'',so I can't play the game.Could you help me?
You'll need an extraction program like Winrar. Then you'll extract the file with it. From there, go into the folder, and there should be a file called "CITY". Run that, and you should be good!
This was a great game! Very simple but with a creative story (if you bother to find out what the story is). The developer does hint at the fact that he actually tried to make a story for this game. The monster was also creepier than I thought it would be. Lastly, some people complain about the maze portion of the game, but I don't feel that's appropriate. It wasn't that difficult. You just need to keep your eyes open :) Great job!
just made a vid of your game ... wow what a ending love it! ALL of it..... would like to hear what was said in the end though I was too WoWed to hear properly
Thank you so much for playing! Sorry for the late reply. Been a super busy month. I really enjoyed your video. At the end of the game, the voice is saying "You know that you deserve this". Thanks again!
Hmmm. Ok. Two lines. (this was my train of thought). I'm in purgatory. Heaven & Hell. One line up. One line down. Two Lines. So started going up to see the road signs are now upside down to suggest even going up is actually going down. Found a murder scene in which I killed everyone and then myself to which the birdman hookhand thing comes in to send me back to the start so I can't leave Purgatory. Turns out all this was totally wrong but even getting it all wrong the game was still extremely fun to play knowing your being chased and even seeing the thing chasing you on the stairs below or across from you. You just have to keep moving and that was very cool. Overall I really liked this even if I didn't get the story. Well done Matt. Another winner... :)
Thanks so much, Kev! Yeah, the story is very cryptic. If you wanted to see a video that does a great job of explaining it, watch JayskiBean's playthrough. Anyway, I'm really stoked you had fun! That's the idea :)
SCARY GAME. IT WAS ALOT OF FUN PLAYING!
This was a lot of fun. I got a bit frustrated at the runway maze in the second part, but knowing you're being stalked makes it more tense and encourages you to just keep moving.
The WHAM moment at the end was great, and a good example of powerful minimalistic storytelling.
Glad you had fun! Yeah, it certainly turned out more mazy than I had wanted, but that's one of the results of the time constraint. Did you by chance figure the ending out? I'd be really curious to hear your thoughts. There's a lot to figure out at the end, and most people don't get it, or they only get a small piece of it and think it's a really simple story. Let me know what you picked up, and we can talk through it!
ay bro! i love ur new nemeses game and let me guess its kind of like dark deception
I suppose there could be some similarities between NEMESES and Dark Deception, but in terms of gameplay and story, they are almost nothing alike. Stay peeled!
SPOILERS BELOW!
My initial (see edit below) interpretation was that the "right-side-up" world was first moments after death, literally leaving the world behind. The...something...chasing after the character felt at first representative of not wanting them to move on. In retrospect, it felt a lot like Jacob's Ladder, but that might also be due to the street names from Silent Hill and how Jacob's Ladder influenced that series so much.
So getting to the "upside-down" world at first felt like ascension to a higher plane or something, but after finding my way back into the building, that changed. I remember feeling like it was part 1 - Escaping and part 2 - Confronting. I felt like the character had to return to his death to confront what he did and ultimately move on, whatever that entails.
The weirdest thing I thought after playing was wondering if the creature was trying to chase you away from the end, or into it,
May not have been the meaning you were going for, but that's what I took away from it.
EDIT: Something was niggling me, so I went back and watched the ending again, and suddenly noticed something that literally gave me goosebumps (and still is as I type)
It was a pregnancy test. Two lines. Holy crap. Wow. I'm going to try to go back and play it myself again so I can look around the last couple rooms some more. It looks like a murder/suicide love triangle maybe, but I obviously overlooked a lot of stuff when I played.
I love hearing from fellow deep thinkers! Thank you for sharing, especially in such great detail. I would say that you were getting there with the original post, and then the edit took you very close. Definitely go back and look closely at the details in the last two rooms. If you follow them in order, I think you'll be able to piece it all together. If you can tell me a sequence of events, or what you think happened, I'll fill in the rest.
I'm so happy to hear that you got goosebumps from my game, especially after your first time through it! Effective storytelling is only as good as one's ability to comprehend it. And I made the story pretty cryptic. But I'd like to think that the end result, though only understood by a few, is more rewarding to discover than a story completely accessible to the masses. I made this game for people like me, so it's always great to see responses like this, and know that those people are playing my games. Bigger games, and deeper stories are in the works as we speak!
Again, thanks for sharing. Really looking forward to hearing a final interpretation.
This game is the last game I played and I gotta say... I did get a little bored and disappointed with this game.
I did, although, see your conversation with someone with similar opinion about this game and understand why this game is like it. I do, in fact, not enjoy mazes because it's annoying and tedious. Which is why I did not play the whole thing.
Totally understandable! I get that some people just don't have a strong internal compass, and those tend to be the people who get lost quickly, and as such, don't like maze games. Really, the fact that it's a maze is more of a means to an end, and had I had more time, I would have developed it more. Anyway, given that you're into Silent Hill, I highly suggest at least watching someone beat it, because there is much more to the game, and there's just no way to know that if you don't even get past the first segment. If you're curious, look up JayskiBean's playthrough. He figured out most of the story, and then I left a comment on his video that explains everything. Anyway, thanks for playing! I appreciate you posting it.
Hello, I just wanna address one problem, I have a slow pc and there is no way to turn down the quality, with that being said, I can't play the game. HELP!
Load up the game, then press the "~" key, then type "SCALABILITY 0" and hit "enter". That should knock it down to the lowest quality setting. Let me know if that worked for you!
ok
I enjoyed the game, but I still had a few issues. Nothing major, mind you, just a few small things. But first, let me address the stuff I LOVED about the game. 1. The atmosphere is absolutely terrific, both in a terrifying and amazing way. 2. The music is haunting, and sounds like something straight out of an 80's horror flick. 3. Speaking of 80's horror films, the killer is scary as hell. When I first saw him my heart started pounding out of my chest. Absolute nightmare fuel. Now, the bad. The maze-runner style is absolutely fine, it's just that you aren't given ANY hints of where to go, meaning that the game could take up to an hour to complete. The story is nonexistent. At least, I think. I wasn't able to beat it because I couldn't find the exit. The fog in the game is great, but it makes it too hard to see the killer, so you could accidentally run face-first into the killer and his shiny hook. Very minor things, and I honestly think this game is ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, especially since the game was made in just a week! I just would've liked a teeny tiny bit more story. Other than that, 10/10 game Matt! Can't wait to see if you make any other games!
Thank you so much for posting, I really appreciate your thoughtful feedback! This game turned into a maze because I ran out of time, but I added street signs as a way to help navigate. I know that can be hard to do with a killer constantly pursuing you. Nevertheless, if you really stick with it, it's shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes to find your way through, even if you take every path. And there is definitely a story, but again, due to time constraints the whole story is revealed at the end. If you play again, really pay attention to the last area if you want to figure it out. If you'd just as soon watch someone play it, JayskiBean has a great video where he attempts to solve the riddle and the ending, and he gets very close. I left a comment on the video that fills in/corrects anything he missed. It's worth checking out! Thanks again for posting, I'm stoked you enjoyed it so much!
Damn, I wasn't expecting a reply so soon! I didn't notice the signs, and I was really just running in circles. I'll check out the JayskiBean vid, and I'll keep an eye out for the comment! Thanks heaps, Matt!
Of course, thank you!
This is not a good game. All of it was just you 'running' around the city in staircases and stuff. This is medicore game design, and should not be in a horror game. Not only that, but the story itself is missing. You might go, 'oh but you didn't finish it'. I don't need to finish the game if it takes like 10 minutes just to reach the end via a maze. This impacts the game servely so much that it doesn't compensate for the ending or whatever story is in this game. Looking at the comments, it's very apparent that you are hiding something well-written in this game (considering you had a decent introduction at the beginning of the game), in which I'd absolutely love to see. But put a 10 minute+ maze in it? Lowers my speculations. Trust me, I love well-written games (wonderful indie examples including Umfend, Lost In Vivo, IMSCARED, FAITH...), and love it when games attempt to deliver a written piece of game differently from other games, however you also have to ensure gameplay and fun factor is treated equally as writing/atmosphere. Unfortnately, this game falls in that line. That being said, with your ideas, if you were to balance gameplay, fun, themes, e.g., with your knowledge of writing, you could yourself create a great indie horror game. But for now, I cannot say this is a game worthy of playing.
Hi n3dd. Thank you for your feedback. I actually really appreciate brutal honesty, even if I don't agree with it, so long as it's given in a respectful way.
First of all, I think it's totally unwarranted to say "this is not a good game". Obviously you're the minority. Nevertheless, let's talk about the points you brought up, because I think some unfair comparisons were drawn. Two Lines was made in ONE WEEK for a jam. Each game you listed as examples were not jam games, which means the creators could have taken weeks, months, or even years to make their games. So to pin my game up to theirs is like comparing a sketch to a painted portrait. There just isn't a fair comparison there. Have you ever made a game in a week? Have you ever made a game? Have you ever done it completely by yourself from the ground up without any outside assets or help? I could make assumptions, but I'll get to my point instead. If you knew the amount of work it took for me to create this 100% in a week, on top of working a full time job to support my stay-at-home wife and 7 month-old son, I would only hope you would have a different opinion of it. There are many things I would have loved to put into this game. But just to give you an idea, the majority of the map was created in the last day and a half of the jam, because I had spent most of that week creating all the models, textures, animations, music, sound effects, story, and then creating game mechanics so the game could actually be playable. This put me in a corner to crank out an environment, and put the story into the game. The story is the most important part of this game, and doing that part right was more important to me than making a "fun" horror game. Personally, I prefer horror games that terrify me and make me think, over horror games that are fun to play.
But let's talk about why this is a maze game, and more importantly, why people immediately write off maze games. People have been playing the same horror game for 20 years, because of Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Now these are some of my all-time favorite, and most influential games. However, when you've literally spent 20 years reading notes, and hunting for keys, you tend to get bored of it. My goal for this game was to create an atmosphere, and then drop a horrible creature in it to chase you. Obviously anyone who still loves to read notes and unlock doors is going to complain and call this a maze game, because if you take away those elements, that's essentially all any horror game is. What people seem to have forgotten how to do is set aside their own script, and just enjoy a piece of art for what it is--what the creator intended for it to be--rather than trying to force it through the filter of all their expectations.
Ultimately, I didn't have time to make this game any better, and I plan to do a future update that will hopefully improve it, and make it feel less mazy. But the fact that it spent a week at #1 despite everything you didn't like about it, has to count for something. I'm certainly humbled by it.
If you can't finish a simple little 10 minute jam game, then I've done you a favor by taking more than that amount of time away from my own to type this up for you, rather than ignoring it like I could have done. I care about my games, and I care about the community who plays them. So it's worth it to me to talk to people who think I make bad games. I implore you to take into consideration the things that I've said (and hopefully with a new perspective on this game), and give it another shot. Or, you can watch someone else play it. Or you can do none of those things and continue believing whatever you want about my game, and I won't lose any sleep over it.
Lastly, I have a new game that I recently uploaded (another jam game), and it's almost completely linear, and very easy to beat. Perhaps you would actually enjoy that one, so if you're willing, give it a shot. I would love to hear your thoughts on it. Hopefully you didn't take any of this as hostility, but as genuine discussion. Again, thank you for your feedback.
Hi, thank you for the response - it was clearly better than the response you've made to negative comments. I'll give my response now.
Regarding the first point you pointed out - I didn't mean to compare your games with the indie games I've mentioned (in fact I only mentioned those examples of games to point out some of the well-written games, that are popular, that I love), so I apologise if my comment made you believe I'm attacking you for thinking I'm critising your game for being lackluster or not matching the quality of other indie games - in fact, I've played some jam games previously (72 hours, a week, eg), and I pretty much enjoyed a majority of them. What I'm saying is that I'm not critising this game for not being the same as those indie game I mentioned. So again, sorry about that.
Secondly, I find the idea of taking a different approach to horror tropes interesting, how you added elements of a maze in a horror game to differentiate it from the usual horror elements in games. I can't say I'm with this - mazes are something I don't really enjoy if they aren't utilised properly (with due respect). The problem lies with how the maze and creature is used and utilised in the game - not what is in this game, so it is completely fine if a developer like you decide to put something like a maze like this, it's just it needs to feel 'right'. However, I understand that one, you had a short period of time to develop this (thus it's difficult to polish and etc.) and two, you've gone for a different artistic vision for your game, so for the sake of fairness, I won't comment anymore.
I'll attempt to replay your game again at some point, in a supposedly different perspective. And I'll certainly also attempt your other game. Thank you for your response, and I look forward seeing your future creations (I do not wish to reply again, with due respect).
I actually really appreciate your feedback, so you are welcome to comment on any of my games. You've been very respectful.
There's actually only one review on this page that I would consider truly negative, and it wasn't helpful in any way. I understand if someone doesn't think my game is good, but to give it a 1/10 is a blatant insult. You, rather than spitting on my hard work, actually gave a thoughtful response, with critical feedback. So thank you for that! Please feel free to do so with any of my games, and I will happily read it all.
To your original point, yes, I can make something much better than this, and I am. To be completely honest with you, I'm blown away that this game did as well as it did, but it is what it is. Be sure to watch for NEMESES, which is my big project that I've been working on for months. I'll warn you, it is a bit mazy, but hopefully in a more interesting, and more terrifying way. Keep an eye out for that one. Thanks again.
really creative and creepy game:
No commentary on this one - just exploring the possible routes and trying to see everything the game has to offer -
Thank you for posting!
I don't know if I managed to solve the riddle, but it is a good horror game with a good use of the music to add tension.
Here's my channel for other games I have played. http://www.youtube.com/c/Levont
birdman + captain hook.....how could that be scary! screaming so hard peaked the mic too many times, edited this before i found out how to limit peaks on premiere pro
man all i know is that creature was fast af lol. Thanks reeves for this one
What screen capture do u guys use for recording a gaming video...let me know in the comment.
obs studio
Thank U :)