itch.io

As usual, no number scores because the jam ended ages ago.

Playtime - Took me about half an hour to get both endings, although I played through the third tape rather than skip it, which adds a fair bit of time wandering around. 

Presentation - A nice "hand drawn" artstyle like Round and Round (another game from February's Review the Old Lineup). Since I just played them both back-to-back, I find it kind of interesting the ways that their distinct "hand-drawn" artstyles define the atmosphere of each game. This game is much cleaner and simplistic, reflecting both its more grounded and realistic tone and the "ordinary" presentation the family and house seem to desire, and the deliberately limited color palette is used very well. The royalty free Kevin MacLeod music is good (as it always is) but the usage of sound effects is excellent, especially where the Mother is concerned. The different ways her knife-chopping animation and sounds are used over the course of the game were one of my favorite bits. I also found the way everyone's feet are drawn to be kind of funny (in a good way), it looks like they're all standing on their tiptoes all the time.

Gameplay - There are a few puzzles but they're fairly simple, with the bulk of the game's focus being on exporing around and investigating objects or talking to people. I'm not a huge fan of the term, but I do think this game feels much closer to the "walking simulator" genre than anything else. Navigating the Tapes can get a bit confusing, especially the Third - although the game does give an option to skip it, doing so does cut out some reasonably important dialogue and I kind of wish the post-tape dialogue would change a bit to better summarize the tape for players that do skip it (although admittedly I imagine most people who would do so would skip it after trying it and reloading the game because they got stuck, and at that point they'd have seen all the important dialogue from the tape so maybe it's not a huge deal as long as they've saved).

Story/Horror - There's a few creepy moments here and there, but overall it's not particularly scary. Suffice to say it's ultimately a simple but effective plot with a clear and cohesive theme, but since the early game definitely feels like it's built to have the player guessing what that plot and theme are I won't detail it here. If the presentation/gameplay sections of this review made the game sound like it would be up your alley, I recommend just play it and find out instead.

Overall - It's a neat little story that I'd recommend even (or perhaps especially) to people who aren't a fan of "traditional" RPG Maker horror games since it's much more consistent (both in gameplay and tone) to something like Firewatch or What Remains of Edith Finch.

Once again, not bothering with numbers since the jam is long over, but the categories remain useful.

Playtime - My first playthrough took about 30 minutes, but seeing all the major dialogue differences and variations of certain events will take at least 4 playthroughs, so those interested in doing so can get at least an hour and a half or more out of the game.

Presentation - I love the art style. It's a very distinctive, hand-drawn look that adds a lot of charm and fits very well with the surreal atmosphere of the game. The characters and well-designed and memorable, and their personality shines through despite having just a few sprites and one CG each. The background map is both suitably fun and creepy, with a beautiful parallax and great fog animations at the bottom. The music is original and fits the carnival vibes well without being too stereotypical. Very impressive presentation overall, and one that really brings the jam's "macabre carnival" theme to life.

Story/Horror - The main plot is a bit abstract but still solid and comprehensible enough - there's some room for interpretation in places but there's plenty of substance to make an enjoyable story. The tone is pretty dark overall despite the "fun carnival" setting, and the horror leans very much towards the dark/psychological end of the spectrum. No flashy jump scares to be found here, although there are a few graphic and potentially disturbing setpieces.

Gameplay - Basically a visual novel with some cute little minigames. They're pretty simple and a couple of them can be a little buggy, but they're a fun enough break from the main game. The real mechanic is that the dialogue changes depending on what order you pick the booths in and what answers you give in the opening, which gives it a decent amount of replayability if you want to see all the options. 

Overall - A very interesting digital carnival trip that's absolutely worth the (nonexistent) price of admission. 

Doing this review long after the jam ended, so I'm not going to mess around with number values, but some of the rating categories are still useful for formatting.

Playtime - probably between 30-40 minutes on average, but it depends on how often you get stuck on the puzzles.

Presentation - Excellent in basically every respect. A fair amount of custom art/sprites/etc and what wasn't custom was used well. Great visual storytelling through the map designs, lots of small details and stuff moving around over the course of the game as time passes - the water bottles especially were a nice touch. The creature design was interesting as well. The ringtone/alarm did last a bit too long each time, although I liked what the game does with it later.

Story/Horror - I found it interesting enough, if a bit predictable. It's told very well though, both in text and visually (as I already mentioned). It wasn't particularly scary, although I could see somebody getting jumpscared in the stealth sequence due to how abrupt it starts and how easy it is to fail accidentally. Decent slow-burn psychological horror though over the course of the game though, and it was overall effective at portraying its themes of grief and slow self-destruction. I also felt it fit the jam's Urban Horror theme well, although that's probably just because I liked the map design so much.

Gameplay - Pretty standard "fetch items and solve puzzles" stuff, but I personally like that style of RPG Maker Horror game so it worked well for me. None of the puzzles were too difficult and I found all of them reasonably engaging. I actually think the "chase" sections were quite well done, since they focused more on avoiding the creature using the map clutter rather than just running away while dodging obstacles like a typical chase. The stealth section felt sudden and a little out of place, and wasn't particularly difficult once I figured out what was going on, but it wasn't bad. There were a lot of passability errors in the maps in the middle of the game, but thankfully none that really impacted the gameplay in places like the final "chase".

Overall - Definitely a game I would recommend, especially if you like the somewhat traditional style of "RPG Maker Horror game" (Ao Oni, Ib, Crooked Man, etcetera). I would have rated it highly during the actual ratings period, and I'm glad Beregon picked it for the Monthly Reviews because it would be a shame for all the new people who've come to these jams since to miss out on this.

To be blunt, it's not great. The plot is quite rushed and has holes you could fit a tractor through, the music and sprites are all basic RTP except for one janky low-effort edit (albeit one that got a chuckle out of me when I first saw it), and it has no choices or gameplay to speak of.

However, it also took me about 5 minutes to read from start to finish. It's over quickly enough that the average reader might not even care about all the criticisms I just levelled, and it's both free and playable in browser. I wouldn't call it good, but thanks to the incredibly short runtime it's not offensively bad either. It does what it set out to do, and it doesn't waste your time doing it. It also uses its RTP and/or web-searched graphics about as well as could be asked of it - the background images probably took some amount of searching to find and look alright (although they're very pixelated - presumably by a deliberate filter choice), and the character sprites are at least of a consistent style (since they're probably all from the same set) and fit what personality their assigned characters are given.

Also, it was made live on-stream in about 6 hours, so I think it's reasonably impressive in that light. Honestly, based on some other comments I've read, the process of creating the game seems to have been more enjoyable to both the creator and the chat than the final product, but unfortunately I haven't been able to locate a VOD of the livestream in question.

Overall, there are definitely worse ways to spend a few minutes of your life, and it's enjoyable enough for what it is.

Assuming you're stuck where I think you are, have you tried exploring the starting room with the UV Light on?

...the installer appears to only contain 4 pieces of music, and not the actual game?

Okay, I pushed an update that should (hopefully) make the part that I think you're stuck on a bit clearer (among other fixes). Also, since multiple people seem to be getting stuck/lost, I added a separate guide pdf available for download (there was already a puzzle solutions file in the downloadable version, but this will hopefully help people playing the browser version who don't want to download the whole game).

....yeah, it's definitely bugged, but it's an easy fix (it's just a variable not getting reset). It should be fixed in the update I'm planning to put out later today. Thanks for the report.

This Tomb of Ours by GrandPiekron, Wisteria Sakana (itch.io)

This Tomb of Ours by GrandPiekron, Wisteria Sakana (itch.io)

Gameplay - It seems like a reasonable foundation but there's not a lot to do because it's so short. 3

Story - Interesting hook, but unfinished. 3

Presentation - The art style is excellent. 4

Creativity - The dialogue in particular is very fun, and the premise is definitely not something you see everyday. 5

Horror - Most of the horror is atmospheric or implied, unfortunately. 2

Theme - The cursed jewel is literally the main character. 5

Honestly, most of these would almost certainly be higher for the full game but it's such a short demo. It definetly left me looking forward to more, I hope you continue this.

The gameplay is functional but fairly generic. No real puzzles or anything to speak of and the combat is just mashing the attack button. It feels like the skeleton of what could be an interesting horror game - what meat is there gets the job done, but there's not a lot of it. The pacing is good though, other than the battles dragging on a bit longer than they should. Unfortunately, the theme feels underutilized - there is indeed a "jewel", but there isn't really a "curse" to it other than "people are greedy". Numerically, I think it's a 2 all around (except a 1 for Theme). Not excellent but I think it could be good with more polish and fleshing out.

Gameplay - I really want to rate this higher, but it's just too messy. I couldn't even finish because I couldn't figure out how to get out of the throne room with the ring and emerald, and it's hard to justify continuing to look for a solution when there's a door on the left that just doesn't work and I can't decide if the puzzle is even possible or not. 1

Story - There's barely anything, just a basic premise. 1

Presentation - I think the art style is great and I like the map style and design, even if it can be hard to tell where the path to other maps is. 3

Creativity - There's definitely something here, and the wine puzzle is creative. 3

Horror - There's very little horror besides the atmosphere and the shadow butterfly that's extremely easy to avoid. 2

Theme - There are plenty of jewels but none of theme are explicitly cursed as far as I could find. There are curses though at least. 2

If this game is updated to fix the various issues (and perhaps just include a quick guide like Three Yellow Quartzes so people can more easily identify if they're stuck because they could't solve the puzzle or stuck because the game broke) I will absolutely play it again, but as is I can't spend any more time on it.

Gameplay - Very standard visual novel with a few quick and simple RPG maker sections. I do like that all of the choices felt meaningful though even if the correct choice for the good ending is always extremely obvious. 4

Story - I think it's a bit cliche, and the characters are a bit trope-heavy, but it works overall. 4

Presentation - I'm not a huge fan of the character designs (except Hades and Psychemis) but that's more of a personal taste thing. The overall presentation is great though and shows a lot of effort. 5

Creativity - It is self-admittedly just a retelling of a bunch of greek myths, but the execution is interesting enough. I also appreciate that each "trial" was unique and stood out from the others even if they were pretty simple. 4

Horror - It's not particularly horrifying though, although I'll give points for the surprisingly gruesome disarming. 2

Theme - The theme was present via the midas ring but it wasn't at all a central focus of the narrative, it was just kind of there. 2

It's a fun little game with a simple but heartwarming story. I haven't gotten every ending yet but it's definitely something I might play again sometime.

Gameplay - Mostly just walking around except for the final chase, but it also all works (albeit only because of post-launch updates if the changelogs are to be believed). I don't really mind the final chase all that much like some did, although the player slowing down when their candy bar gets too low makes one particular ending very frustrating to get. Overall it's nothing outstanding but it's perfectly serviceable. 3

Story - A bit confusing but it comes together well enough with all the endings. I do wish there was a bit more though, and look forward to the promised follow-up. 3

Presentation - The house is put together well, the music fits, and I love the arachne art. The drawn out vomiting sound effect in ending 1 is also excellent. 4

Creativity - While the execution can be confusing, I think the story is pretty creative. 4

Horror - It's very dark and there are some fun elements of psychological horror. 4

Theme - The stone is both present as the core narrative device and very "monkey's paw" in its wish interpretation, and the "candy" also works as a pretty terrible curse. 4

There are some elements that drag it down but it's still a fun time, especially given the shorter time frame it was made in. As mentioned before, I look forward to the follow-up game.

Gameplay - Probably my favorite chase scenes in the jam and some interesting puzzles to boot. 5

Story - It was a bit predictable and the endings were pretty abrupt, but I think it worked well. 4

Presentation - The maps are very fun, the indicators as to what you can and can't interact with are very useful, the sprites are very over-the-top but good, the sound design worked quite well. 4

Creativity - A very fun spin on Pinnochio with excellent puzzles. 5

Horror - The death scenes were both graphic and creative and the overall atmosphere was pretty effective. 4

Theme - The cursed jewel was the focal point of the storyline and the curse was very clear. 4

A very solid game and perhaps the most emblematic of "rpg maker horror" out of everything I played for this jam.

Gameplay - The combat is the core of the gameplay here and it's just too slow. The boss fights actually sort of work although they're definitely on the difficult side (Stun doesn't seem to do all that much, Luna's heal is worthless compared to High Potions, and Double Attack hits a bit too hard - even at level 7 the final boss can one-round a character if both hits land on them) but you have to grind first and the grinding is very bland. You very quickly hit a point where normal enemies do 0 damage, which combines with the slow ATB to drag out guaranteed victories and make them feel like a waste of time. At least you can auto-battle. 2 (but would be a 3 with some rebalancing and faster ATB)

Story - The basic plot is very generic but the character backstories are interesting enough and their banter is okay. There's not a lot that really jumps out at me, it's basically the character introductions at the beginning of a movie without the rest of the movie. 2

Presentation - The maps are fine although I'm fairly sure some are autogenerated. Pretty sure the enemies are just RTP recolors but the character designs are neat, and I like the music. 3

Creativity - Again, mostly generic besides the characters themselves, who I feel were the focus of development. 3

Horror - There's zombies and a netherworld but it's not particularly scary or atmospheric. 1

Theme - There is a jewel and it does seem to have some kind of curse, but it's not really elaborated on and seems to be the Not All that Glitters implementation as well, which is a bit underwhelming. 3

The credits mention we might see more adventures with Lune and Sol, and I would definitely be interested if you decide to follow through on that, but the game itself is just okay (and I can see where some people would get extremely frustrated with the slow grind and very RNG heavy final battle).

Gameplay - An excellent RPG Maker puzzle game, and with a full guide included for if players get stuck. 5

Story - A very fun story with likeable characters that handles the slow revelation of its characters' pasts very well. It does get a bit confusing in places though and the grammar can be a bit off at times. 4

Presentation - The map is excellent, the monochrome style suits it very well, and I love the characters. 5

Creativity - Every aspect of the game had me 100% engaged. 5

Horror - Much more subtle than the other games, but it was also the only game in the jam that managed to successfully jumpscare me when the upper floor presence came back after I thought it was gone. 4

Theme - The jewels in question are central to the plot, and while the curse never impacts the player it is very much present in the story. 5

My favorite game of the jam overall, and one I definitely recommend to anyone who happens to read this.

Gameplay - Mostly just a walking simulator except for the confrontations with Acmon which are very simplistic but functional. 3

Story - Interesting hook, but unfinished. 3

Presentation - The music was alright, the atmosphere sufficiently dark, and the voice acting was a nice touch. 4

Creativity - Quite a bit of optional worldbuilding through those two books at the back. 4

Horror - Mostly atmospheric but the unhinged voice acting rant at the end does help, and there's a lot of implied casual death and horror in the world itself. 3

Theme - The skull is there and does appear to have some curse to it but we don't really see it in action. 2

I enjoyed it overall, it's not my favorite but I'd definitely play it again if you add more to it later.

I did find a major bug though - after the flashback scene when it tells you to visit Franz, if you try to leave the map outside the MC's house through the south exit (heading towards the church), the game crashes with the following error:

Script 'crash's crashsteps' line 162: NoMethodError occured.

undefined method '[]' for nil:NilClass

Gameplay - Mostly walking around with a few simple chases, but it's polished and didn't break/bug/crash at all. 3

Story - I'll admit I'm not the biggest fan of Ju-On/Ringu style "unwinnable" horror but I think it's very solidly written. 5

Presentation - The characters and monster are well-drawn and the final walk with various graphic fates is quite unsettling. 4

Creativity - A definite standout, with the odd and unsettling creature design and death scenes. 5

Horror - It genuinely feels like a short horror film in video game form. 5

Theme - The gem was very present in the story but it did also end up being a red herring/hope spot to trick the victim. 4

Amazing. Definitely the most horrific entry I've rated, and overall just a well-crafted horror short.

Done. I think.

Doomstone by GrandPiekron (itch.io)

This is a pretty good RPG Maker game - the combat is solid if a little easy late game, and the map design is good especially in the final dungeon. The custom art is excellent and plentiful, the story is reasonably well-written from a technical standpoint, and it's very polished and generally free of major bugs or typos. Overall a pretty enjoyable RPG if you like or can set aside the tone.

That said, the tone's a pretty big thing to set aside, especially since it's an Eroge that chooses to emphasize and occasionally revel in its dark moments rather than handwaving them. The story overall is pretty dark but not (usually) unbearably so, and there are plenty of lighter or more hopeful moments too, especially in the mid-to-late game, which gives the impression that it's leading towards an "earn your happy ending" moment. Unfortunately the final dungeon doesn't deliver on this, whiplashing back so hard it actually surpasses the second chapter's already very dark tone and ends way too abruptly with little-to-no payoff for anything other than the immediate conflict. 

The whole point of the true route is the protagonist putting aside her selfish desires to get bad-ended to focus on saving people, but whether you can actually do so in any given case is also wildly inconsistent - I don't want to get into spoilery specifics on the game's main page though, maybe I'll use the email mentioned in the credits. With little indication as to which events or contracts your actions can actually matter in, I often found myself more annoyed with a decision or event I found stupid because in a different (better) contract or sidequest I might have actually had a choice instead of getting railroaded.

Thankfully, the game's still in development, although the focus is currently on fleshing out the vampire route, so I have hope that the ending may eventually get expanded and that some of the plot and tone inconsistencies can get smoothed out. Even with these issues, it's still one of the best overall RPG Maker games I've played, and one of the few long-running RPG Maker TF games that's actually finished its main story which is a feat worth congratulating.