I like a bit of horror, be it books, movies or games, so this recent release caught my eye. The third game from the maker (the TS is for Tony Shoulders and near as I could tell its a one man band), it unfortunately wore me out before I reached the end.
A spin-off from the maker's second game, you play as Deacon, a man plagued by the whereabouts of his missing father. It ebbs and flows from his mind, until a newspaper article brings everything to the surface again. And so things begin.
I was having a good time at first, notwithstanding the 'casual' nature of some of the early tasks (clean up the trash, put the statues away). It takes place in a very particular house and at the start it very much tells you what to do as a way of helping you settle in. Helpfully as things progress, your current objective is always displayed top left.
The house is visually quite sumptuous overall, and the combination of sound effects, ambient noise and situational music creates a cautious, almost unsettling vibe. A jump scare here and there adds to that vibe.
There is a lot you can observe but can't interact with, but you will find and read articles and gather inventory items. Never too many at one time, the game will tell you when an item is needed. Cycle through, then and click the chosen one, and if it is correct it will automatically be used.
It plays in the first person and uses the keyboard and mouse. Movement is with the WASD keys, interacting with the world is with the mouse. The keyboard also allows you to e.g., sprint or toggle your torch. A small white dot centre screen will react to hotspots (you can't reveal these), and then the mouse takes over.
You can't save manually, instead there are checkpoints throughout the game. These are not frequent; I played for 80 minutes and just reached my second one. Which means you either commit to playing for a goodly chunk of time, or reconcile yourself to replaying segments.
Where it wore me out was in the basement. I confess that well before it got to me it felt a tad like filler - walk around an extensive and dark flooded basement with limited light, looking for the thing/s you need. It's not a maze, but it has some maze-like qualities. Then you reach a point where something is after you, and continue to try and find your way around, while successfully hiding periodically or being caught and obliged to start over.
I confess I gave up relatively quickly. The wandering in the dark had softened me up; the continued wandering while trying to avoid being caught tipped me over the edge.
Looking at walkthroughs, it isn't a terribly long game (the basement was about the third quarter), and you might well find the basement exhilarating. Just as I don't mind horror, I don't mind a chase or a bit of stealth, but this didn't do it for me.
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