I love this game so far -- the art work, the eerie storyline, and the different choices you can make, and how they can impact the other play-throughs (even just slightly in the way the MC recalls things are all so amazing! I truly spent so much time just going back to try new options to see the alteration in the game progression.
ABSOLUTE WINS for this Game:
- I didn't realize the red highlighted text can shift to different options of interpretation. At one point, text that says "mold" becomes "fungus" and then later "flesh" and this easter egg was so exciting to stumble upon.
- the history that is maintained by the game so if the text accidentally glitches and speeds through dialogue, you can still reflect back on what was said so you can respond appropriately.
- the amount of ways you can replay the game and the way the choices (especially the emotional reflection choices that the MC decides on) shift the way the MC experiences the church is SO cool. Love the way the options are never just "you hate this and everything" but also have at least two other options, something similar to "you're hella confused" (written so much more beautifully) or even "you accept the Church, relieved to be back." The diversity of personal perception the MC is allowed in this game is wonderful!
- the build up of suspense and the lore that is woven throughout this game is ALSO so fascinating. Truly making me heartbroken I can't play the full game until 2025.
My only issue is that the game seems to crash every time I get "far enough" down a route. The textbook just stops loading and then I have to refresh the entire webpage, restart from a checkpoint, but lose all of the process (gaining a key for example) and therefore, the ability to progress further. I'm unsure if this is a design choice for this demo, the game just hasn't been developed/released further than these points, or if this is a bug but it's definitely frustrating and if it's the first two, I'd appreciate a clearer notice.
I only got the official "this is the demo" message once when I reached the end of the rope in the locked checkpoint but all other times, it felt like a "Twisted Journeys"-esque end of the line.
Just in case this isn't an issue, I'll lay out where I got cut off each time. Please excuse my paraphrasing of the great story and dialogue choices. Also BIG WARNING FOR SPOILERS. DON'T READ if you don't want things to potentially get spoiled:
LOCKED? - Checkpoint
- the game shorted out when the eye saw me and if I chose the option similar to "I don't want to feel like this."
I ended up just having a red illuminated box that stayed blank.
FINDING THE HEART - Checkpoint
[Confession Booth Route]
- Regardless of when I got the key, I was never able to move to other locations to test it on anything. It didn't matter whether I received it in the bucket, through the confession screen, or went around to the outside of the booth and claimed it from the bench. Regardless, after noting the key, the following textbook would just stay indefinitely blank.
- For the little girl: regardless of whether I "helped" her or accidentally helped her get consumed(???), I would get stuck after reflecting on the experience and leaving the booth. No following actions possible.
[Going Upstairs Route]
- Going upstairs indefinitely led me to peeking through a keyhole and not even getting the satisfaction of seeing even a bit of the other side. Of the disappointing ends of my exploration, this was the most frustrating and saddening since the blank text box that left me stuck was supposed to at least give me a hint about something. I just want more lore -- please for the love of everything wonderful in the game, I just want to know wtf I'd hardly even see.
- Going downstairs, regardless of my choices after opening the door, I get a blank text box freezing the game after I get digested by Church juices. Just a few text boxes after seeing bone.
Overall, this game is amazing and within just an hour or two, I've become so invested in the lore and understanding everything to do with the Church's sentience and the MC's history with said church. I have so many theories and so many questions and leads I want to pursue but unfortunately, the way this game continuously freezes when it gets to this "blank text box state," disabling my ability to access either the restart function or any of my checkpoints is highly frustrating. Each time this occurred, I had to refresh my webpage and even force refresh it as, after a decent amount of time had passed, it was clear the game was not continuing. If this is temporary due to the demo state or limited game function, totally alright! I'd appreciate some sort of clarification though or a similar "this is the end of the demo" screen that I reached previously. The inconsistency in the way the game "ends" is confusing and makes me worry it's a bug rather than a purposeful choice/feature.
One more humble ask I'd like to make is for the checkpoints to be more clear. Maybe it's just because the game play was SO stop and start with the game freezing repeatedly but maybe having checkpoints for investigating the booth, going upstairs, or even just when you gain the key in someway, would be amazing. Going back so far every time because I was forced to restart everything can be frustrating. I'm so hungry to learn more about this world though and in-love with everything else though so I am willing to play through repetitive text prompts but it would help players like me who want to explore every inch of what choices you all have provided us. Even just voluntary save files for players to go back to a choice to try another one to gain more information from this play through would be so appreciated.
Okay, last things I want to say are just my personal story theories! Potential spoilers but these are just my theories and things I'm excited about:
- I think the Church is almost like the house in "Monster House," where the rooms inside are all different interjections of internal human anatomy. The confession booth is a mouth for the Church to eat the worries and even the confessing supplicants depending on their devotion and fervor for the cause.
- The basement is a stomach for the deserters, those deemed "weak" even if faithful, and anyone else deemed "disposable" by the faith.
- I'm PUMPED to see the overlap between the life of the woman/girl and the MC. I wonder if she's related, maybe even their own mother who unfortunately, didn't actually get advice from MC to leave (or to stay) and made the choice to stay unilaterally in the hopes that her prayers could accomplish something.
Anywho, 9/10 playability at the moment but 11/10 concept and general game mechanics! I'm so excited to play this game when it's fully released and I wish you all rest and well-deserved appreciation for this wonderful game. Please have a lovely day!
