: ̗̀➛ Positives
+ OST
+ Gameplay / Puzzles
+ Characters
+ Art Style / Dreamcore / Liminal concept
+ Restart Mechanic / Meta Gameplay
+ Ending

: ̗̀➛ Negatives
- Length
- Game-Breaking Bug
- 3D

Noticeable themes:
✦ Capitalism / Workplace Hierarchy
✦ Liminality
✦ Loss of Self
✦ Childhood Trauma / Religious Trauma (Minimal)

• Introduction:
I first want to start this review by saying wow. The effort that went into this game is so impressive. It's very well-rounded, thought out, and executed for a game jam event. And for a free itch.io game as well, I found it to be phenomenal. I don't have many negative things to say about the game, honestly.

+ Positives:

Firstly, I want to discuss the beautiful OST. Though simple, they did so much with what they had. My favourite variation of the track was on the 8th floor with the doppelgangers. It just felt so eerie. I find sometimes in games a loop of a single song or track can be noticeable and repetitive. Once I notice them, they can get on my nerves. Though with this I didn't find anything too repetitive or annoying. It was absolutely perfect for the game and fit so well with the atmosphere on every floor. Perfect lofi / liminal / cafe esc songs.

With puzzle games, I can get stumped and find myself looking for a walk-through. I try to hold off, but most games end up in me looking for a tutorial, which usually indicates a poor-quality game. Elevator Hitch's difficulty level was satisfying to get through without being frustrating. The game didn't hold my hand but allowed me time to immerse myself and understand all of the hidden clues. Great dialogue cues!

The art style and characters were such a lovely treat. Both characters are loveable in their own ways and drawn so satisfyingly. I found their humor to be so perfect and honestly a bit Undertaley with the wit. I can't stop looking for fan art. The only gripe I have is that I wish the supporting character was used a tad bit more within puzzle interactions. The ending characters were perfect as well. The corporate boss felt very "Vivarium" esc and the faceless man was actually terrifying. Beautiful character designs, very dreamcore.

I felt the way the developers captured liminality without feeling overdone and cliche to be very impressive. I love liminal space and dreamcore but find it to be getting too popular and basic... which totally... defeats their entire intent. This captured the vibe so well without using too many cliches!

Love the restart mechanic. As a completionist who also enjoys meta gameplay, it was SO perfect.

As for the final true end, it was simply well-rounded and felt satisfying, silly, and terrifying. Oh, how I wish it was longer! But at the same time, it feels not too complicated or overbeat.

- Negatives

I think this is just a personal thing of loving the lore, characters, and setting but I wish it was longer, selfishly!

I had an issue on Mac (I believe it's known) where the game doesn't save if the application isn't installed correctly. So every time I died, the game wasn't remembering where I left off and I was missing out on dialogue and was unable to get the item from the doppelgangers on floor 8. I had a better experience when I correctly installed it and was able to finish and replay the game properly a second time. (Looking up and down was also broken on Mac but wasn't quintessential to finish the game).

And lastly, I think the 3D transition didn't make a ton of sense to me and was slightly confusing to get the hang of. I didn't understand why we were in the POV of the main character and not seeing the supporting character. I also think I just have an issue with mixing 3D and 2D mediums in animation and games. Just feels weird but it's a personal gripe! It was well done nonetheless, but it just felt out of place and was a bit weird to get used to.

//

All in all, I really really enjoyed the game. I haven't really played anything like this before and got me really excited to check out other work by the same developers. I love the art style, themes, and story as well as the meta / rouge-like incorporation. The developers deserve the hype but I love how this is still indie and a secret. Hope it absolutely blows up, it deserves so much love and hype! Well done!

Edit: After replaying for a third time with a family member, I have one more thing! I really wish the parent monster was more easily triggered. I found whenever I showed a friend the game, getting the parent ending was more an afterthought on a completionist list rather than an accidental ending. I'd love it if the monster came up quicker! It's usually the only ending I've seen my friends not get!

+ Art Style
+ Gameplay mechanics
+ Gay

- Happy Birthday Song
- Story / Mental Illness Representation

This was fun to play on a Sunday morning with a cup of coffee! It is very quick to play, even when trying to get all endings though. I thought it was sweet, though it could be pretty cliche at times. It's also difficult to input meme culture into a game without it ending up dated. For the most part, the memes were pretty current, but "big mood" and "that's the tea" really made me cringe, haha.

+ Art Style
To start, the art is stunning. Everything about the style is elegant, visually pleasing, and comforting. So soft and all the girls are beautiful. The coloring of everything was so pastel and well done. Very stunning art direction.

+ Gameplay
I found it fun that when you replay the game things have changed and you have different options as well as different text prompts. I think the intent is to get the player to replay , though in total I'd say there is less than 45 minutes of gameplay. Though I found it interesting and cozy! I loved the music as well as the sounds the characters made when they spoke, gave me that ASMR tingle, honestly!

+ GAAAY
All of the girls are so pretty ;w; Very comforting types of pals as well. GAYYY!

- Happy Birthday Sound Clip
As much as I think that it's cute that May remembers your birthday and sings happy birthday to you, I couldn't help but cringe every time the voice clip played. I'm not sure what it was... it just felt very try-hard and didn't match what i was picturing her character (or voice) as. Just pulled me out of the moment.

- Story & Mental Illness Representation
Buckle in, I have a bit to say on this topic. I so badly wanted this to be a cozy dating sim, haha! I was very surprised with some of the content of the game and the suicide warning before launch. But I went into it blind and open-minded... and was kind of disappointed with the story and how it progressed. Though I really enjoyed replaying the game and having other actions from your previous playthroughs dictate some future content.

In terms of May, having her kill herself after talking to her for 5 minutes wasn't really the best way to go about getting a reaction from the player I don't think. If we had gotten to know her for a while and then had it happen, I feel like it would've sparked more of a reaction from me. I just felt kind of shitty? It was out of nowhere and we didn't know anything about her. It felt like the depression representation was a bit cliche and wrong. Everyone has their own experience, but from my own personal experience, the whole "are you okay" "I'm not really okay" thing is very overdone.

I'm not sure if it's intentional but the first run i got was May killing herself while I went on the date. It really tempts you away from May with the airdrops from the 'goth gf' and is kind of jolting to come home to a dead roommate after only a few minutes of gameplay. I suppose that's how it's supposed to be so that you go back and try to save her in the next runs.
It just feels weird, I wish there was something more between the characters and even May + the player before throwing the player into that.

As much as I loved the art, sound design, and concept, I think the mental health content could be revised and revisited with a more educated mindset. For a free game, i thought this was fun and visually pleasing. Though the mental illness representation just felt 'off'. I think having everything go by so quickly makes it so that you miss her ques and the mark on a slow-burn friendship between the characters. I just wish the game were longer to provide better context for May's mental illness. It feels like the "goth gf" character is completely unneeded, though i suppose serves as as an intended distraction so that you pay closer attention to May next run.

+ OST
+ Art Direction
+ Conclusion

- Lore/story building
- That one sound effect

I didn't hate it! I'll say that. Going from Little Nightmares (1+2) to Inside to Limbo is most likely not the most fair comparison in the world but that happens to be the order I played them in. Out of the 4 i would say this is my least favourite based on multiple reasons but mainly lore and storytelling.

The OST was very subtle, lovely, and liminal. Fit well with the scenes they played in. Not super noticeable but that's usually for the best in games like these. Doesn't overpower or stunt the player's thought process.

Gorgeous art direction. For sure different from Playdead's second game 'Inside', but still uniquely horrifying and beautiful. Love the motion blur and use of shadows.

I struggle with picking whether or not I liked or was disappointed by the conclusion. With the concept of Limbo and the restart of the entire game after the death at the end, i thought it to be really interesting and made sense to me. Though, it also could be seen as lazy and lackluster. I honestly can't decide. I was kind of hoping to see more from his Sister and get a definite ending from her as it seems to be one of the main selling points, but i guess it's just limbo and a space in between. Nobody gets closure, nothing happens, it's sadness, lifelessness, and nothing is in your favour.

Alright, so the story might be the biggest problem for me. With these types of non-verbal side-scroll horror puzzle games, I tend to really favor story and lore over puzzles and game mechanics. I think being able to tell a full story through a game without speaking a single word is so incredible and impressive. Though the puzzles I found were okay and interesting enough to keep me intrigued, I was really yearning for something more. ANYTHING more. It can be chalked up to having nothing in limbo make sense or need to make sense, sure. But how badly I wanted to know who those people were? How badly I wanted to know what he did to get to limbo? Anything? It felt like a great concept and art piece, but I was really hoping for something to hold on to. And I thought playing Inside distanced you from the protagonist - but this is on another level. I understand the anonymity and the desire to give this non-gender-specific character no personality as they have a mission and are trying to survive, but damn. I suppose I was expecting too much on the story telling side of things when it's mainly puzzle heavy. Personally not my favourite type of game.

The one sound effect of the big metal blocks moving sounded like farting and after I noticed it my partner and I couldn't take it seriously LMAO.

All in all, I thought it was a great concept but could be executed better in the storytelling aspect. I'd prefer something less vague and something that has a satisfying full-circle ending. I LOVE me a tragic ending, but this felt sort of disappointing. Never gave me the jaw drop that Inside and Little Nightmares gave me at multiple points in each game.

+ Sound Design
+ Graphics
+ Game Mechanics
+ Length
+ Slow Burn Ending

- Boost Box Mechanic & Mermaid Concept
- Alt Ending
- Story / Character development (no questions answered)

Noticeable themes:
✦ Loss of individuality
✦ Capitalism and corruption / Abuse of power
✦ Ethicality
✦ Death
✦ Revenge
✦ Human vs Human

+ Positives
Okay, so this was actually really fun and impressive! It for sure kept me hooked and wanting to play every evening which is important to me because I find I can get bored of games easily.

I know they say "Good sound design is something you shouldn't notice", but I do disagree with this on some terms and with some exceptions (this is the exception). Wow. The muffled sounds underwater, the VERY lowkey but beautiful OST (perfectly liminal and timed well), the amazingly gross moaning and groaning of the human blob (especially with certain interactions), and the chiming bell sounds of the chicks. It felt so refreshing, creative, and acted as such a treat.

The graphics I thought were really awesome for a side scroll with minimal set design and interactive pieces. I appreciated the lighting and atmosphere of the depths of the factory, ocean, and lab and the simplicity of the foreground. Adding onto the lighting comment, I loved the little dots of lights and buttons in the background to show the depth. The side scroll with depth aspect also helped with the playability of the puzzles. Minimal but helpful colored hints were appreciated.

The game mechanics were very interesting and helped elevate the story. Being able to control the workers had my mouth fall open the first time it happened and made me so intrigued to continue the story. I really liked the swimming and water mechanics as well - again, very refreshing. Really liked the puzzles.

I think the length of this game was perfect! It was just enough to keep me wanting more but also feeling satisfied.

THE ENDING! WOW how I LOVE a tragic ending. The slow burn of watching the blob sit on the beach and lethargically move around in silent agony with a very slow zoom outward. Will our main protagonist pop out? Absolutely not. SO happy about that - as much as i thought he was sweet, i really liked how fast he became one with the blob and become completely indistinguishable. I saw a theory that the whole time the blob was controlling him to lead him to it to free it. Really think that's awesome.

- Negatives
The first little gripe was the boost box mechanic. Everything else felt pretty grounded but something about the box thing felt a bit ungrounded (pun intended). Honestly, the 'mermaid' stuff was also something that i noticed felt out of place. I assume it was another thing they were testing and mutilating in the labs but it just felt random in comparison to the mind control. I didn't understand why the main one killed our protagonist every other time they got to him except for the intentional bite and hook up to the wires either.

So I was very excited to hear there was an alt ending. My partner and I played this together and are very keen on Easter eggs. We found 3 of the 'orbs' throughout our entire first playthrough and we thought we were onto something. With further looking online we found we weren't even CLOSE to getting all of them and some of them were so disguised that we were shaking our heads (ie. corn field). Only someone checking every single corner of the game and pulling and pushing everything would find something like that. The alternate ending didn't really answer as many questions as we wanted but we did find it interesting. So just a bit frustrating to have to watch a tutorial to get the alt ending and have it be very short.

In comparison to Little Nightmares (which i'm sure a lot of people will compare it to) I felt the LN characters are a lot more developed. I think if I saw Mono or Six become a formless blob at the end of LN i most likely would've cried. LN for sure has some more intense themes and really makes you connected to the characters without the use of direct naming or dialogue. LN is also a bit more well-rounded and satisfying with it's endings.

Overall I thought it was a great game. I haven't played Limbo but it's on my list now! Can't wait to watch more theory videos.

+ Graphics / Visuals
+ Music + Audio Design
- Storytelling
- Pacing
- Gameplay / Gameplay mechanics

After just playing "Gone Home", I was so excited for another walking simulation. I honestly just need to get on here to rant about how frustrating this game was. I had a lot of hope for it at first. I was in awe of how good the graphics were for a game made in 2015, and was genuinely impressed by the radio transmission and the way everything was initially laid out. I didn't know it was turning into a confusing and frustrating mess.

The visuals and graphics in general were beautiful. If you're looking for a pretty game, this is for sure one of them. Gorgeous music, scenery, and a very pleasant walk-through if you aren't expecting anything else.

I will say that the story concept was really interesting, though a bit rough to decipher. I love games and films with a story and lore to pick through. I was upset that I never got that "oh my god," revelation moment from this game. The story concept felt rough and unfinished, not giving a really satisfying snap-into-place ending.

With the story, I found that not only was it difficult to follow, but it was extremely repetitive. I understand things like this need to be put in place for a non-linear game, but wow. It was bad. It would go from Stephan panicking about this 'thing' being alive and having a consciousness to "I think there's an influenza outbreak". In the second act of the game. Though the concept was interesting, trying to pull it apart was bizarre. I noticed lots of star motifs around the map, astronomy, pulled together with Christianity, and a thought-to-be pandemic. Parts of the story fell away when we noticed the man's shoes near the train track, implying everyone is naked if clothing can be seen and doesn't disappear with you.

I was so excited to explore the story concepts more but it just felt like it scraped the surface of what could have been.

The pacing and walking speed was absolutely brutal. I felt like I was pushing the joystick the entire game and wishing I could go faster. My partner noticed how slow it was and at first I told him the reason was "so you pace yourself and take your time to enjoy your surroundings and take in the story", but by the middle, I was looking up "is there a way to run" and jamming all the buttons on my controller.

The numbers. Really had me at first, I was so excited to collect them all on a piece of paper and decipher them. I wanted there to be a big moment where we find a way to cipher them and find something underlying throughout the entire game. NOTHING. ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. I was relying on this mechanic the entire game to bring something new and exciting to the plot.

The following the light mechanic felt so broken, and without receiving any instructions, I was unsure what I was supposed to do. Some balls of light were static in a bedroom, the others going around the valley quickly. I was unsure why they would make me walk halfway back around the map to show me a path I'd already been on just to let me know I missed a 10-second conversation about someone cheating on someone else.

Did anyone playtest this game? It just feels like a common courtesy to the player to block off or not suggest that a path doesn't need to be taken. ESPECIALLY in a game where you're unable to take a shortcut through bushes. I found there were a few times where there was a dirt path that I'd follow for a few minutes and get to a locked gate at the end that wasn't able to be cleared at all. This goes for houses that don't have any story inside as well. THIS was one of the things that really made me walk away.

My final straw was finding a walkthrough on Youtube (which I don't do often) to figure out where I was supposed to go. It turns out, a specific door doesn't open (beside the flashing pylon) until you hit every spot around the map and unlock every conversation. You're telling me that I might have to walk upwards of 15 minutes to the other side of the map to hear some chit-chat before walking back to unlock the end of the game? I feel like non-linear games like this need to be playtested by people of all types before being released. I left the game at that point, it felt like it was mocking me and wasting my time.

I didn't understand the shaking mechanic with the controller. It happened twice? Made me think I had some sort of powers and then released "i" don't exist. Why do I have footsteps? Kate was clearly the last person on earth and that was pushed.

Anyways, just needed to rant. I was expecting something beautiful and came away frustrated and thinking of a better game with more potential.

+ Graphics
+ Story
+ Mini puzzles
+ No jumpscares
- Uncanny Vally
- No alternative text
- Suggested Suicide

What an awesome game. Having a horror game turned romance is so perfect and interesting. The concept of this story being told throughout the entire house and not with a single other person in the building is so exciting and unique. I'm not normally a fan of walking sims, but my partner and I had a lovely time deciphering things.

The uncanny valley was a bit bizarre. Some images were very much real photos and others were weird art renders. Off-putting. Wish they stuck with one or the other (real images would be preferred because what was that art...)

I really wish this game had alternative text. As someone who is able-bodied, I still found it difficult to read the cursive writing on the notes and letters. I can't imagine being hard of sight and trying to decipher. Having the option to read them as normal text or have the letters be read via TTS would be amazing.

As much as I loved the lack of jumpscares, I did find the game creepy which was awesome. Though maybe it was just me but the heavy implication of suicide felt like it needed a trigger warning of sorts. I know nobody ended up dying, but it just felt a bit inappropriate to suggest that throughout the game.

Other than that, I really enjoyed it! The run-time was perfect considering the size of the house and the ending was super sweet and adorable. I really enjoyed it!

+ Story / Lore
+ Art Direction / Character Design / Graphics
+ Length
+ Extra gameplay mechanics
- Lack of playtesting

Little Nightmares....what a game. For SURE one of my new all-time favourites. Like I suggested in my run down, there isn't much I didn't like about this game. It is such a beautiful art piece and covers lots of interesting topics like trauma, abuse, childhood experience, loss, etc. for a game that is very strictly visual storytelling.

I love the open-endedness of the story that allows the audience to have input with their own interpretations. I think for a story game having that kind of allowance for audience opinion and theory is so important. The character design is also absolutely 'beautiful', no matter the character. It's horrifying and so interesting to look at and take apart.

The new gameplay mechanics they added were so fun and helped differentiate this game from the last game (ie. hand holding, tv remote, teleportation, x-ray, etc.)

One thing I would say is that there are quite a few flaws in terms of some of the gameplay. Not buggy per se, but the fact they only have 2 QA testers really shows. My partner and I had issues getting up the stairs at the end (which wasn't supposed to be a problem) in terms of depth perception, and we found the boss battle to be extremely difficult for a game so based on theme and story. The teacher was a bit frustrating to get past when we were trying to immerse ourselves in the story as well.

Overall, amazing game. Will play again!