sucker for love: ★★★
to the end of days: ★
the toy shop: DNF
charlotte's exile: ★★★★
diving bell: ★★★★
squirrel stapler: ★★★
touched by an outer god: ★★★★★
solipsis: ★★★★★
arcadletra: ★
another late night: ★★
undiscovered: ★★★
the thing in the lake: DNF
definitely stronger contenders this time around, and what i did enjoy i absolutely loved. the "launcher" has received a massive facelift and was a large part of my enjoyment, being less of a menu and more of a 3d playground of puzzles to progress through more of the entries. there's some regular suspects regarding the work of returning developers though i feel a bit less jaded about these experiences enough to talk about a few of them.
sucker for love - surprisingly enjoyed for someone adverse to parody visual novels as the vehicle remains an ironic whipping boy. the interactivity really carries the experience and the scares are pretty effective. i loved the artwork and ending cgs as well, i wouldn't be opposed to trying to full launch titles of this one.
to the end of days - it's weird, because i know scythe dev team are capable of some interesting and decent work seen in the northbury grove arc particularly, but their entries for this anthology series thus far have been the most gruelling and unsatisfying gaming experiences i've had in a long while. imagine my reaction when giving this team another chance and after fumbling through a level using the slowest shotgun with hitscan opponents, i'm faced with the return of carthanc's screeching enemies which made me hate it so much. it felt like a bad joke.
charlotte's exile - this created quite the vibe! the static position of the player and the limited perspectives afforded to them makes the approaching entity really terrifying. you can't get too engrossed in your work though it's satisfying to complete.
diving bell - ohhh i love cabin fever/isolation horror, especially when it derives from a place of sanity-consuming guilt. the repetition to the tasks tanked this a little but the writing of the dialogue and atmosphere were awesome genuinely.
squirrel stapler - david did it again here but the quality of presentation and horror factor are overshadowed by the length. a really disquieting experience that unfortunately drags its feet, loved the ending sequence and a minor scare which can occur on one of the last days.
touched by an outer god - i wanted a full length game out of this more than any previous title. absolutely adore the transformation themes and the way they alter how you play, i ran through this one a few times just because it was so fun.
solipsis - simple but effective, it felt a little like i was playing darkwood. not at all surprised to find this was the pony island and inscryption dev (which i do want to replay/give another chance). the FMV elements were awesome.
this second entry has definitely invigorated interest in the series, hope i can afford to play the others soon.
to the end of days: ★
the toy shop: DNF
charlotte's exile: ★★★★
diving bell: ★★★★
squirrel stapler: ★★★
touched by an outer god: ★★★★★
solipsis: ★★★★★
arcadletra: ★
another late night: ★★
undiscovered: ★★★
the thing in the lake: DNF
definitely stronger contenders this time around, and what i did enjoy i absolutely loved. the "launcher" has received a massive facelift and was a large part of my enjoyment, being less of a menu and more of a 3d playground of puzzles to progress through more of the entries. there's some regular suspects regarding the work of returning developers though i feel a bit less jaded about these experiences enough to talk about a few of them.
sucker for love - surprisingly enjoyed for someone adverse to parody visual novels as the vehicle remains an ironic whipping boy. the interactivity really carries the experience and the scares are pretty effective. i loved the artwork and ending cgs as well, i wouldn't be opposed to trying to full launch titles of this one.
to the end of days - it's weird, because i know scythe dev team are capable of some interesting and decent work seen in the northbury grove arc particularly, but their entries for this anthology series thus far have been the most gruelling and unsatisfying gaming experiences i've had in a long while. imagine my reaction when giving this team another chance and after fumbling through a level using the slowest shotgun with hitscan opponents, i'm faced with the return of carthanc's screeching enemies which made me hate it so much. it felt like a bad joke.
charlotte's exile - this created quite the vibe! the static position of the player and the limited perspectives afforded to them makes the approaching entity really terrifying. you can't get too engrossed in your work though it's satisfying to complete.
diving bell - ohhh i love cabin fever/isolation horror, especially when it derives from a place of sanity-consuming guilt. the repetition to the tasks tanked this a little but the writing of the dialogue and atmosphere were awesome genuinely.
squirrel stapler - david did it again here but the quality of presentation and horror factor are overshadowed by the length. a really disquieting experience that unfortunately drags its feet, loved the ending sequence and a minor scare which can occur on one of the last days.
touched by an outer god - i wanted a full length game out of this more than any previous title. absolutely adore the transformation themes and the way they alter how you play, i ran through this one a few times just because it was so fun.
solipsis - simple but effective, it felt a little like i was playing darkwood. not at all surprised to find this was the pony island and inscryption dev (which i do want to replay/give another chance). the FMV elements were awesome.
this second entry has definitely invigorated interest in the series, hope i can afford to play the others soon.
3 Comments
@radradradish really appreciate your reading! it's crazy how anthologies can change each person's individual experience obtained entirely through which order you go through the entries. i think my aversion to end of days definitely stemmed from me booting it up as my first game unlock because i really did want to see what else they brought to the table this time, kind of contrary to your own progression path ;_; + thank you for the recommendation for sucker for love!
i am really loving reading your thoughts as well! i like wrapping up a game and then checking your reviews lol, i admire your patience for finishing the toy shop (i got the achievement for its completion by way of a bug) though genuinely what was going on in another late night.... look forward to seeing you again when i get to the third release!!
i am really loving reading your thoughts as well! i like wrapping up a game and then checking your reviews lol, i admire your patience for finishing the toy shop (i got the achievement for its completion by way of a bug) though genuinely what was going on in another late night.... look forward to seeing you again when i get to the third release!!
lmao I think I got the exact same bug with The Toy Shop; I started up Solipsis and then quit out of it and that gave me the achievement for clearing The Toy Shop which then became the reason I played it next. I think the fact I drudged through all of that speaks to stubbornness and loose awe, more than anything. at least The Thing In The Lake, bugs and polish and general roughness aside, had stuff going for it
eager to see your thoughts on Dread X 3 too! for what my thoughts are worth I think it's my favourite of the three I've gone through so far? there's, like, one or two stinkers (and the overworld has, uh, one pretty major issue) but aside from that there are a lottttt of highlights. will be curious to see what you think when you get there!
eager to see your thoughts on Dread X 3 too! for what my thoughts are worth I think it's my favourite of the three I've gone through so far? there's, like, one or two stinkers (and the overworld has, uh, one pretty major issue) but aside from that there are a lottttt of highlights. will be curious to see what you think when you get there!
radradradish
15 days ago
also love your thoughts. I think we agree on most everything though it's slightly :c you weren't able to warm to to the end of days. in hindsight I probably wouldn't put it up as high in my rankings as I did but as a fellow Carthanc hater I thought it to be a huge step up and a fairly decent arcade shooter. though maybe also I was desperately hoping to be impressed after having gone through The Toy Shop/Another Late Night back-to-back.