Review Copy*
I really wish you gave me a bit more time with the characters, the idea is certainly very original and it had a good mystery going for it, if the ending was more impactful I would have no problem recommending it, but in the end, it felt like something was missing in terms of context, I didn't really understand how you are meant to interpret the last scene. The game is only 30 minutes and I don't think it had enough time to really nail that feeling of paranoia, even though I think you could have done it with a bit more context, instead, the whole thing happens in like 8 minutes so you not capitalizing on the best part of the game. About a year ago I played a game called Isolania which played with a similar idea of going insane in a small space, but that game was like 11 hours so it had a lot more buildup for the conclusion.
On a side note, the post-processing effect you added makes the words too blurry, and I think the retro aesthetic in this game looks much better without it. Luckily you can disable it in the settings. I also had a bunch of bugs specifically with the opening and closing of the capsule.
So essentially you play as a service robot, or at least that is what I got from it, and it seems there is some kind of unknown substance that affects the people that are on lockdown, the entire game takes place in 4 rooms, playing more into the idea of isolation and psychological decay. There were a few scenes with the characters that I liked, I think the few times you would animate their interactions the game felt a lot better, for example, the scene where he watches you or meets you at the start of the day, I think the game needed more moments like that building toward the ending, I wanted to see their mental state decay more slowly. I also think the game needed more moments with the characters just chilling, if you gave me a better idea of who they are, the ending would be more impactful. I think the narrative in general had the potential to be interesting, it just happened way to fast for my taste, and I wanted more time doing those advertised mundade tasks while watching the characters go crazy.
[h1] Pros: [/h1]
(+) If nothing else I think the game was relatively original, and I think you could have done a lot with the paranoia if we had more time with the characters, but in the end, it had a lot of good ideas which I feel were not explored enough.
(+) So if I am not mistaken the models are not custom made by you, but overall I think the retro aesthetic and texture looks decent, you can always give a little bit more detail, not so much the graphics but just the things in the environment to catch your attention.
[h1] Feedback: [/h1]
You had my attention with the mystery, I wanted more time with the characters and get a better feeling of isolation, watching people go crazy in the small space is a compelling idea, but it just happened too fast. If you would add maybe a few extra days just me watching the character chill and interact with me I think the overall experience would feel more complete, I also didn't really get the ending, not sure if it's me or maybe you didn't explain it enough. Overall if you could put a bit more effort into character emotions, make the models move at least a little bit so I am not just looking at static objects. The few times you get those weird interactions is when the game shows some promise.
There are all kinds of softlock bugs with the capsule depending on how and where you close it. The post-processing effect looks really bad in this game, but you can disable it, the only reason I mention it is because it made the game look worse than it actually is, why would I want blurry text.
[b] Overall Thoughts: 5/10 [/b]
It's an interesting experience for a low price, I was very much looking forward to where you would take the narrative, but I just didn't feel like you gave me enough to work with, it was too fast, I wanted more time with the characters and I wish you explored the idea of isolation and mental decay more slowly. You need to put more effort showing emotes from the characters as well, make them move a little, or have more interactions with you that are not just objects using dialogue boxes. I like some of the effects like that "hug", you need to do more of that.
I think the game is cool, I just wanted a little bit more effort with the details and context, that is the main issue, you had a unique experience, just not enough of it to really make it memorable for me. I thought about leaving a negative review, but in this case I think it's not so much that I didn't like the experience, I just need you to give me a little more substance.
[code]Niche, obscure and underrated games: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]
