I'm kind of shocked that this game has mostly negative reception. It's quite an inventive experience that takes a tried and true storytelling trope into the realm of the suspense thriller. Less Groundhog Day, more Vertigo.
This game is not optimized well for iOS, which made the experience a bit worse for me, but I could get over it. Every time I tried to use the item menu, I would pull down the notification center on my phone, which would pause the game and exit out of the item menu. It was frustrating but not game-breaking. I wish I played it on PC, but whatever.
The voice acting is phenomenal, though James McAvoy and Daisy Ridley are nigh unrecognizable with their American accents. I think that Ridley's starring role as Wife was the better of the two performances by far. But Willem Dafoe, as always, steals the spotlight with every single line of dialogue. I thought the narrative was very well done, though I must admit the big twist isn't very well-telegraphed and kind of came out of nowhere. Still, I gasped when I made the connection. It was a real gut punch that I don't normally get with anything anymore. That alone is worthy of praise.
Gameplay-wise, some of the puzzles are a bit obtuse. I never even thought to turn the bedroom light on, then off, then on again, and that's a crucial part of the progression. Nothing tells you that that's what you're supposed to do, and it was one of the few things I had to look up. I also had to look up the final action to get the ending, which was even more obtuse than the light switch. At least with the light switch, I can see you maybe coming across it by accident. But the ending? No way anybody came across it organically.
I had quite a few "a-ha!" moments, though. Stuff like putting the sleeping pills in the water, using the knife to pry open the vents, and proving the time loop to Wife with the thunderstorm. When it works, it works. It just doesn't always work.
This game is not optimized well for iOS, which made the experience a bit worse for me, but I could get over it. Every time I tried to use the item menu, I would pull down the notification center on my phone, which would pause the game and exit out of the item menu. It was frustrating but not game-breaking. I wish I played it on PC, but whatever.
The voice acting is phenomenal, though James McAvoy and Daisy Ridley are nigh unrecognizable with their American accents. I think that Ridley's starring role as Wife was the better of the two performances by far. But Willem Dafoe, as always, steals the spotlight with every single line of dialogue. I thought the narrative was very well done, though I must admit the big twist isn't very well-telegraphed and kind of came out of nowhere. Still, I gasped when I made the connection. It was a real gut punch that I don't normally get with anything anymore. That alone is worthy of praise.
Gameplay-wise, some of the puzzles are a bit obtuse. I never even thought to turn the bedroom light on, then off, then on again, and that's a crucial part of the progression. Nothing tells you that that's what you're supposed to do, and it was one of the few things I had to look up. I also had to look up the final action to get the ending, which was even more obtuse than the light switch. At least with the light switch, I can see you maybe coming across it by accident. But the ending? No way anybody came across it organically.
I had quite a few "a-ha!" moments, though. Stuff like putting the sleeping pills in the water, using the knife to pry open the vents, and proving the time loop to Wife with the thunderstorm. When it works, it works. It just doesn't always work.