edit:
been a few days now since i finished this but i still can't figure out any real words on it.
kind of best played blind as it will reveal everything it needs to say to you in fairly blunt terms.
i loved that while it presents as horror it actually unravels into genuinely good sci-fi as it slowly demystifies itself and stays fairly grounded.
the final third when you travel into the abyss is some of the most terrifying nature ever in a game.
i love that this game presents you moral choices but doesn't really add them into the narrative. they're not "roleplaying" options but rather there to colour your experience and really make you think without game-ifying the choices. and the choices are... well all kind of the same but filled with a sincerity that makes them horrifying every time to a degree and scarred me.
it's a game that answers the question "can you tell a story about humanity without any humans in it?" the answer is yes, and maybe make it feel more human than any game with humans in it.
it's a surprisingly gentle game all things considered. no real villain. no antagonist. the monsters are scary but far and few in between and their existence is genuinely more sad than anything.
it's a game about existence that mostly feels like a collection of moments of just you existing in these various quietly nightmarish spaces. hell of an ending.
been a few days now since i finished this but i still can't figure out any real words on it.
kind of best played blind as it will reveal everything it needs to say to you in fairly blunt terms.
i loved that while it presents as horror it actually unravels into genuinely good sci-fi as it slowly demystifies itself and stays fairly grounded.
the final third when you travel into the abyss is some of the most terrifying nature ever in a game.
i love that this game presents you moral choices but doesn't really add them into the narrative. they're not "roleplaying" options but rather there to colour your experience and really make you think without game-ifying the choices. and the choices are... well all kind of the same but filled with a sincerity that makes them horrifying every time to a degree and scarred me.
it's a game that answers the question "can you tell a story about humanity without any humans in it?" the answer is yes, and maybe make it feel more human than any game with humans in it.
it's a surprisingly gentle game all things considered. no real villain. no antagonist. the monsters are scary but far and few in between and their existence is genuinely more sad than anything.
it's a game about existence that mostly feels like a collection of moments of just you existing in these various quietly nightmarish spaces. hell of an ending.