This was a very fun and engaging experience. The game's story was a very fun mystery and the vibes overall really tied this experience together.
The game's story was very interesting. It had a lot of themes relating to the creative process itself which I really enjoyed. I always love when media is referential and/or focused on the process of creation as it gives a very interesting look into how people who create the thing we love think about the creations they make. The story overall was also just very fun with lots of twists and turns that lead you every which way and luckily, in my opinion, it doesn't get to confusing by the end, and by the time you're done, you have a pretty good overall picture of what just happened. I'm prefacing this as a positive because some mysterious and vague/abstract stories like this leave you confused as hell by the end, but luckily this one doesn't, at least not for me.
Now the gameplay on the other hand. The gameplay can be pretty fun and is quite engaging when you get in the good flow of combat, but for me at least, that was really hard to do. This game feels kind of clunky in its flow and overall movement. But this is a game from 2010 so I'm not gonna dock it too much for that, and overall the idea of the gameplay is cool, which gets me excited to experience how the second game handles its mechanics. But again the combat was kinda clunky and some of the enemies were annoyingly designed. one of the enemies is technically one-hit kill, but puts you in a three-hit combo to kill you which makes you think you can escape between hits but in reality, you cant.
Finally the VIBES. If you've watched shit like twin peaks or, ya know, traveled to the specific north west, you know the vibe, and this game captures it perfectly in my eyes, and adds a nice gloomy spin to it when the night comes around. The little town the game takes place in is very cozy feeling during the day, but very hostile feeling during the night. this hostile feeling is helped by the overly americanized enemies who yell phrases at you about shit like fishing and wood work and what not. It might just be me but I'm kinda of scared of old working class white dudes, so it definitely felt hostile (half joking). But anyways the very grey and blue night made the atmosphere and vibes pop, and the very bloom-heavy shines of the bright lights in this game also gave it a unique sense of identity. Very good art direction for a game that's supposed to look as real as it can.
Overall, very fun and engaging story and vibes, with some gameplay hiccups and minor annoyances along the way. I cant wait to play the sequel when I have the time. If you are at all interested, PLAY IT! (8.5/10)
The game's story was very interesting. It had a lot of themes relating to the creative process itself which I really enjoyed. I always love when media is referential and/or focused on the process of creation as it gives a very interesting look into how people who create the thing we love think about the creations they make. The story overall was also just very fun with lots of twists and turns that lead you every which way and luckily, in my opinion, it doesn't get to confusing by the end, and by the time you're done, you have a pretty good overall picture of what just happened. I'm prefacing this as a positive because some mysterious and vague/abstract stories like this leave you confused as hell by the end, but luckily this one doesn't, at least not for me.
Now the gameplay on the other hand. The gameplay can be pretty fun and is quite engaging when you get in the good flow of combat, but for me at least, that was really hard to do. This game feels kind of clunky in its flow and overall movement. But this is a game from 2010 so I'm not gonna dock it too much for that, and overall the idea of the gameplay is cool, which gets me excited to experience how the second game handles its mechanics. But again the combat was kinda clunky and some of the enemies were annoyingly designed. one of the enemies is technically one-hit kill, but puts you in a three-hit combo to kill you which makes you think you can escape between hits but in reality, you cant.
Finally the VIBES. If you've watched shit like twin peaks or, ya know, traveled to the specific north west, you know the vibe, and this game captures it perfectly in my eyes, and adds a nice gloomy spin to it when the night comes around. The little town the game takes place in is very cozy feeling during the day, but very hostile feeling during the night. this hostile feeling is helped by the overly americanized enemies who yell phrases at you about shit like fishing and wood work and what not. It might just be me but I'm kinda of scared of old working class white dudes, so it definitely felt hostile (half joking). But anyways the very grey and blue night made the atmosphere and vibes pop, and the very bloom-heavy shines of the bright lights in this game also gave it a unique sense of identity. Very good art direction for a game that's supposed to look as real as it can.
Overall, very fun and engaging story and vibes, with some gameplay hiccups and minor annoyances along the way. I cant wait to play the sequel when I have the time. If you are at all interested, PLAY IT! (8.5/10)