ASYLUM

It's just not very good. Like many I saw a lot of praise for Scratches, and stayed totally blind to Asylum until I had chance to play it. I went excited, and left with the game having next to no impact. If you look at any of the discussion here about the ending especially, you'll see how unsatisfying and thoughtless it is. You'll come up with several theories whilst playing as to where the story is going, but rather than this being out of intrigue, its because the game sets up and abandons plot threads constantly. Characters aren't characters, they're only there as roadblocks and have no real traits or relevance to the plot (asides from Lenny, we like Lenny), to the point where they just vanish once you've solved the puzzle they're attached to. Actually calling them puzzles is incorrect. There's nothing to figure out beyond what order you need to click objects in to remove the next roadblock. It's one of those games where you know exactly what needs to be done, but you need to rummage through screens to figure out what the developer wants you to click, in what order, to reach the same conclusion. It's frustrating, not rewarding. Other than that, it's bring Item A to Location B, nothing else to even critique. Whilst the 00s graphics are charming and help to create a decently spooky atmosphere, the constant plotholes, 2d characters, and lack of gameplay mean that those feelings drip away very quickly. The plot has already happened by the time the game starts, which is fine, but its all told in long text scrolls; Show Don't Tell is a fundamental rule of storytelling, and its totally ignored here, so you don't feel involved in what's going on (SPOILER: this does also deflate the game's big twist as well). On a personal note, and not everyone will feel the same here, but I found the way the story approaches mental health quite insensitive as well. There's no actual commentary on anything, its just used for shock value in ways that would have felt out of place back in the 00s ironically. There's nothing beyond infantilised madmen with no agency to speak of. You learn about a rape victim who 'goes mad' from the ordeal, becomes pregnant, and repeatedly tried to abort the pregnancy herself. This is wholly irrelevant to the story, its just there because its shocking. To me, that's just a bit gross. The final scene of the game is much the same, it honestly reads like someone trying to be edgy. There are so many better horror point and clicks to spend your money on.

The story was decent, but otherwise everything was pretty meh. I kept waiting for something cool to happen but the game was short on action and had little drama.

Образцовый квест, созданный по лекалам нулевых. Всем дедам-пердедам, заставшим расцвет подобных игр - рекомендую без сомнения. Любители "Шороха" я думаю тоже оценят. Что касается более молодого поколения - ну я в принципе понимаю что вот это может отпугнуть. В то время как Myst переиздают в vr и с rtx, да еще с полной свободой перемещения, тут наоборот, в наше время на современном движке выходит игра, по ощущениям 20-летней давности, зато с такой-то атмосферой, проработкой локаций, почти без духоты и по адекватной цене. Я лично доволен.

There's some interesting ideas here, which are let down by a weak narrative, clunky game mechanics, and a decidely spongey ending. Some effective scares but nothing inspired, and the NPCs are flatter than a piece of paper.

Horribly anti-climactic ending. I expected a lot from the game due to the dev's previous work, Scratches, and the beginning of the game certainly makes you think it will meet them, but as the game kept going it continued to feel more less special and more uninspired. Once you catch where it's going, it becomes easy to predict and does nothing to surprise you. Many might love it and call it "a love letter to classic point-&-clicks", I would instead say that this ironically makes it feel uninspired. Definitely don't get it for more than $10.

Sell game for macs, then remind users on a macbook every two seconds to press the middle mouse button, which does't exist on that. Also provide no option to change the mouse bindings. Brilliant.

Just very... eh.

I honestly absolutely loved my time with this game, and it came as a surprise. Not that I thought it was going to be bad, but I didn't think a Scratches style point & click adventure game would be this interesting, this moody, this fun. Simply put, it's one of those games with atmosphere and identity. I find myself often wishing for more games like it, not with similar gameplay, but with the same untangible qualities that made it so appealing. Is it the characters? The environment? I don't know, but it sure transported me to older times and enraptured me in the story. Some time later after finishing it, I still remember it. Which is saying a lot for a game I absentmindedly purchased one afternoon and finished in a couple of sittings. And curiously, they're all good memories.

ASYLUM ist für mich eines der besten psychologischen Horror-Adventures der letzten Jahre. Das Spiel hat mich mehrere Tage beschäftigt – nicht, weil es künstlich gestreckt wäre, sondern weil es Aufmerksamkeit, Geduld und echtes Mitdenken verlangt. Der Preis ist dafür absolut gerechtfertigt. Gleich zu Beginn positiv hervorzuheben ist, dass man im Spiel nicht sterben kann. Kein Zeitdruck, keine Kämpfe, kein Game Over – der Fokus liegt vollständig auf Atmosphäre, Rätseln und Story. Was ASYLUM besonders macht: Es wird aus der First-Person-Perspektive gespielt, fühlt sich aber in vielen Momenten trotzdem wie ein klassisches Point-and-Click-Adventure an. Gespräche, Rätsel, Beobachten, Kombinieren – alles ist da, nur moderner inszeniert. Die Story ist gewaltig. Subtil, düster, unangenehm – psychologischer Horror ohne Dauer-Gewalt oder Geballer. Die ganze Zeit liegt dieses ungute, schwer greifbare Gefühl in der Luft. Für mich hatte das stellenweise eine Silent Hill 2-artige Stimmung, nur eben ohne Gewalt und etwas ruhiger. Die Geschichte hätte genauso gut aus der Feder von Stephen King stammen können. Die Rätsel sind rückblickend im mittleren Bereich angesiedelt, aber das Spiel kann zwischendurch trotzdem richtig schwer werden – nicht wegen unfairer Logik, sondern weil man entscheidende Details übersehen kann. Mein klarer Tipp: Hotspot-Anzeige immer verwenden, langsam drehen und Bereiche systematisch absuchen. Bei Großaufnahmen die Maus wirklich über jeden Bereich bewegen und ganz genau auf die Hand-Anzeige achten. Ebenfalls sollte man Notizen, Visionen und Hinweise immer ernst nehmen und mit Personen regelmäßig über alles erneut sprechen. Wer ohne Lösungen so wie ich spielt, sollte sich am besten zusätzlich Notizen machen. Technisch hat mir das Spiel ebenfalls sehr gefallen: Steuerung komplett problemlos mit Maus, starke Kulisse, großartige Atmosphäre und das Sounddesign sowie die Musik tragen den Horror perfekt. Es gibt nur wenig explizite Gewalt, dafür umso mehr psychologischen Druck und knackige Rätsel (vor allem in der zweiten Hälfte des Spiels). Im letzten Viertel zieht das Tempo dann wieder spürbar an und das Spiel wird wieder einfacher – hier hätte man das Finale vielleicht noch etwas verlängern können, da nicht alle Bereiche der Anstalt voll ausgespielt werden. Das ist aber wirklich Nörgeln auf hohem Niveau. ASYLUM ist ein hervorragendes Adventure für Spieler, die Atmosphäre statt Action suchen, Rätsel mögen, und psychologischen Horror schätzen. Mich hat Asylum um die 32 Stunden beschäftigt. Ich wünsche mir mehr solcher Spiele – ruhig, intelligent, fordernd und ohne Effekthascherei. Absolute Empfehlung für Adventure- und Point-and-Click-Adventure-Fans.

[h1]Review after 100%:[/h1] 7.4h to play 8h to perfect (/w save scumming) Rating:⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐5/6 A wonderful 3D, modernized, point & click, atmospheric, horror game that I've (among many) have waited patiently for since 2013, though that's irrelevant. Visually its stunning with insane atmosphere and a very well designed asylum, everything is laid out nicely and usually within the floor you're on. The story is great, easy to follow and understand. It constantly sucks you in. The sound design is perfectly complemented and immersive. Nicely voice acted, and the puzzles are solid with a good balance between easy and frustrating. Now, if you miss out on information or a location throughout your journey the puzzles can become quite tedious and prolonged as you'll need to make your way through the entire asylum in hopes of stumbling into what you missed. While the story is great and holds your attention all the way through, there is a lot of reading and the ending can be quite confusing/dissapointing. There's multiple locations you're never allowed to explore for some reason and the worst part is Bruno being a terrible guard. While most of the achievements are tied to progression, the extras are all pretty easy assuming you save prior to entering the endings tunnel. You don't need a guide what so ever however I used one for a single curious item I somehow missed multiple times over. While the hardest achievement on steam is Fan of Wire Cutters (just don't use them until [spoiler]you must.[/spoiler]), I think Fan of Valves was a lot more toxic. If you do the sewer valve first instead of last you'll need to replay the entire game over unless you scum saved prior. BUT would I recommend it? well... Yes, absolutely. Just don't compare and expect it to be their older title, enjoy it for what it is. If you're a fan of this genra it's truly a work of art I know you'll enjoy just as much as I did!