Reviews

• gamedeal user

  Oct 17, 2023

  I couldn't help but notice that some of these reviews look a little odd (6+ private profiles with only 1 review post?). But anyway, I did enjoy the game personally, and given the opportunity, I think it can find genuine fans. It certainly was a unique experience, not exactly sure how to describe it, it reminded me a bit of Yume Nikki but with more focus on the cerebral narrative and a sense of melancholy, and while it has some horror themes, it's not much of a jumpscare game, it just touches on some sensitive subjects. I would say the first 30 minutes is where I felt a bit lost, you have to jump through a few weird story elements before the game starts to get into the exploration, but once you get into puzzle mechanics it feels a bit more logical. You should be able to complete most of the content in about 4 to 5 hours, I am not actually sure if I found everything, there might be a bug or perhaps I am missing another part of the narrative. The writing here is something that I felt was very nuanced, even though some of the side characters probably could play a bigger part or just have a few more dialogue lines, there is this subtle but heavy sense of world-building which is some type of metaphor for the struggle of the character. This game constantly gives you a reason to speculate about what this means, and what that means, who is that character and how he relates to me, and I think it's great, it feels like a lot of thought went into structuring the story. Surprisingly the puzzle mechanics were both unusual and thought-provoking at the same time, like you can equip different masks with special powers, for example, one mask is used to communicate with the spirits, and another mask allows you to enter different paintings, so you have to switch between them depending on the situation. There were no hard puzzles which is fine with me, I think the longest I got stuck was maybe 5 minutes, although you might find yourself lost with the navigation in certain areas, or even just not understanding how to progress the story. I thought the mood of the game was overall very consistent and immersive, I would even say the game has a very unique soundtrack, it's kind of like an ambiance for horror, but with a little twist to it. The occasional jokes in the story also didn't hurt it, it feels like you just in this crazy world where anything goes, and I really enjoyed it.

  Pros:

  (+) There were a lot of cool narrative elements, it feels like the game allows you to walk the story, instead of feeding it to you. I often found myself thinking "what this means" and "what that means", many thought-provoking themes, and how they relate to the character. If I had to nitpick something, sometimes I felt like you could have more dialogue with some side characters, but for the most part, I like that kept the interactions very subtle, it's not a skill many people have, to know when to stop. (+) I thought the puzzle mechanics were very creative, like you can equip different masks with weird special powers, aside from giving you funny skins for the character, they also made me think "outside the box". Nice and easy puzzles, mostly. (+) Cool visual experience, a bit like Yume Nikki but with more of a nightmarish theme, also the whole angle thing with the shadows was pretty neat. Lots of weird space-like areas to explore. Not too long though, about 4 to 5 hours.

  Feedback:

  Just some random thoughts - there was this part with the character on the bed where you had to interact multiple times, I think that part might a bit confusing. Also, when you would finish the paintings, after the cutscene I thought you could just go back to the elevator, but you should pick up the note first, it's not automatic. Other than that, I can't think of any big issues that I had with the experience, as already mentioned, I thought some of the side characters could play a bigger part in the story, you could populate the space with things to do just a bit more. Overall Thoughts: 8/10 It took a little bit of patience to actually get the story going, I think the first 30 minutes are more confusing than the next 3 hours, but once you get the general idea of how the game works I think it’s a very satisfying narrative experience, and I really enjoyed the ending. I thought the mood in the game was on point the entire time, the locations were interesting, and the puzzles were easy and creative. Niche, obscure and underrated games: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/
• gamedeal user

  Oct 17, 2023

  In for about an hour now and I can already tell I'm going to binge the crap out of this game just wanting to know what's going on! Also, this soundtrack really complements the eerie artwork style of the game, it's effin' spooking me out. Welp, time to get back to the game!
• gamedeal user

  Oct 17, 2023

  Surprising little work of art! It's really good to see a game not operating on cheap scares. Developing surreal mood and dark psychological vibes with minimal but present writing. It had all that I would expect from good indie horror in terms of mood and art direction. Concept with the masks switching and unlocking more surreal places with more story fragments - in short exploration was great. The only downside of this game is it's length 3-4 hours to complete all. Multiple ending though so it is alright. Good example where the whole Looping concept makes sense and a feeling of challenge to solve riddles under the pressure. Heartfully recommending this one! It was clever and fun night.
• gamedeal user

  Oct 17, 2023

  The nights definitly loop, 10/10 game
• gamedeal user

  Oct 17, 2023

  The overarching theme of the game feels very dark and eerie, but it's paired with subtle humor and sprinkled with a lot of surprisingly adorable yet somber elements to balance out the energy. The same goes for the audio. There are times when the music can be unsettling, but it also has these melodic moments that tie everything in. The mask features are really interesting and make me want to find out what the next one is. Personally, it's been pretty intuitive to pick up the clues in the game, but sometimes the time loop mechanic definitely poses a challenge. Overall, I really enjoy the subtlety in symbols and the vibe of the game. If you're someone who's into eerie, quirky aesthetics and some trippy dialogues and storytelling, I'd recommend this.