reviews: 33
This data as json
| id | game_id | external_id | review_text | added | posted | allowed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | 232430 | 88331315 | I'm a bit torn on this one, but I decided to go for a no after all. As a walking simulator, I think this game succeeds just fine. The story is interesting, I felt engaged enough to continue and gather all the pieces and the pacing is well done. You discover new hints and locations as you go, and the house is large enough to space everything out, including several secrets. However, where the game really fails for me is the atmosphere. The house is big, empty, dark and the rain and thunder don't really help. I felt afraid the ENTIRE time while playing this, even though the Internet had told me there would be no jump scares. That creepy basement, those creepy passages, having to walk into a dark and scary looking room towards a little rope to turn on the light, it is horrible. My mind saw a million places that ghosts or monsters could jump from. And you find an Ouija board, with scary things some ghost could have said, and that makes it even worse. So why is this a problem? Simple: if you want me to feel the story, go through the narrative emotionally, the WORST thing you can do is clench my heart and stomach in fear. Fear blocks out everything, and I stopped enjoying the game after walking through the front door. Only in retrospect can I appreciate the story, when the nightmare of that empty creepy place is gone and I am looking at my desktop again. After a few rooms, with the thunder echoing outside while I scrambled for the light switch, we simply turned off the sound. Only when subtitles appeared, indicating that Sam was telling a story, did we turn it on, and as soon as Sam was done we muted it again. Her voice-acting is great, so well worth it, but every creak, thud and other sound just made me feel an uncomfortable shiver. I started noticing shapes in curtains that scared me and I felt nothing but fear. And that is why I do not recommend it. It's a decisive game in gaming history according to several articles on the Internet, so I'm happy to have played it. But I'm also SO happy it's done. Whew... | 2021-03-14T05:51:59.317057 | 1 | 1 |