Beer Machine

This is a very sad game. The graphics and style are really great and the voice acting is terrifying on times, the one guy who asks you to deliver a package is unbelievably worrying. Even the poor kids dreams are scary and not even his cartoon friends can make things better for him. It's a pretty good experience overall with no bugs that I saw and the pacing is good. It was good not to have any real annoying parts or frustrating enemy bits. Overall I'd say give it a go after all it is free.

Атмосферный хоррор‑приключение от первого лица: игрок в роли ребёнка выполняет задание — добыть пиво для отца. По ходу игры предстоит исследовать дом и окрестности, решать небольшие головоломки и сталкиваться с пугающими ситуациями. Акцент на сюжете и психологическом напряжении, раскрывающем непростые отношения в семье. Плюсы: гнетущая атмосфера — мрачная обстановка и тревожное звуковое сопровождение погружают в напряжённую обстановку; сильный сюжет — история затрагивает непростые темы и раскрывается через окружение и находки, а не прямые объяснения; исследование мира — поиск предметов и изучение локаций поощряет внимательность и помогает глубже понять происходящее. Минусы: линейность — свобода действий ограничена, маршрут и последовательность задач строго заданы; медленные моменты — в некоторых эпизодах динамика падает, геймплей сводится к неспешному осмотру окружения; ограниченная интерактивность — многие объекты нельзя использовать или детально осмотреть, что снижает ощущение вовлечённости. Итог: подойдёт любителям атмосферных хорроров и сюжетных walking‑simulator‑игр — впечатляет напряжённой атмосферой, глубокой личной историей и вниманием к деталям окружения. Может разочаровать из‑за линейности прохождения, затянутых неспешных участков и невысокой интерактивности мира.

Beer Machine is a short horror adventure that starts with a really simple job. I am playing as a child who has been told to get a beer for his father, so I have to search around the house and the nearby area to find what I need. It sounds almost silly when I describe it like that, but the game slowly turns that simple task into something much darker. The story is really about the child's relationship with his abusive father and how he deals with what is happening around him. I like how the game takes an ordinary task and uses it to build an uncomfortable atmosphere. The atmosphere is easily the strongest part for me. The game has a very strange mix of ordinary surroundings and horror, and I never really feel comfortable even when nothing is happening. The first person view and simple stylised visuals work well because the game does not need to show me everything clearly to make the situation feel wrong. There are parts where I am simply walking around looking for objects, but the sound, darkness and little details make those moments more tense than they probably should be. I think that is where the game gets most of its personality. The actual gameplay is very straightforward. I spend most of my time searching for objects, exploring different areas and completing small activities that move the story forward. There is not a complicated combat system or a large collection of RPG mechanics getting in the way. I actually prefer that here because the game is clearly trying to tell a story rather than turn the horror into an action game. The simple objectives also make the darker moments stand out more because I am not constantly distracted by complicated gameplay systems. The main problem for me is that there is not a huge amount of gameplay variety. Once I understand the basic idea, I am mostly walking around, finding things and following the story. That works for a short experience, but I would not want the game to be much longer without adding more interesting interactions. I also think the deliberately simple presentation will not work for everyone. It has a rough indie look that I personally think suits the subject, but it can sometimes make the game feel less polished than the atmosphere deserves. What makes the story work better for me is that it does not just use the abusive father as a cheap horror villain. The game is interested in showing the child's perspective and taking me into his mind as I learn more about why things have become this way. There are also mature themes involving domestic violence, alcohol and drug abuse, and death, so this is definitely not something I would describe as a light horror game despite the ridiculous sounding title. I also appreciate that Beer Machine knows when to keep things simple. It is free, it does not waste my time with unnecessary progression systems and it focuses almost entirely on getting me through its story. There are only three achievements, which gives me an idea of how small the overall experience is, but I do not think that is necessarily a problem. I would rather have a short game that has a clear purpose than one that stretches a simple idea out just to give me more hours. Overall, Beer Machine is a small but surprisingly uncomfortable horror experience. I like the atmosphere, the strange premise and the way the simple objective gradually becomes connected to something much darker. The limited gameplay, basic presentation and short length stop me from rating it alongside the strongest horror games I have played, but I think the story gives it enough personality to stand out. For me, it works best as a short psychological horror experience where the point is less about surviving monsters and more about understanding what is happening inside the child's world. Rating: 7.8/10

Beer Machine is a free Horror Game, in which you play as a child, who has to continuously get more beer for his father, whatever it takes. The game combines Horror and Alcoholism and there are even Mascot Horror elements present. This in my opinion is a very interesting premise for a Horror Game. The game consists mostly of beer getting missions for the alcoholic father and flashback dreams. Those flashback scenes often mix what could be real memories of the protagonist with Mascot Horror sequences, where you get chased by a dog person. It’s not entirely clear if those scenes are real or just part of the imagination of the player. It is possible that he just developed those dream like sequences as a copying mechanism to deal with the abuse he faces from his family. I however like the idea of having those Mascot Horror sequences without committing to it fully and leaving it up to the player to decide what kind of Horror Game he sees this as. Beer Machine consists mostly of atmospheric Horror and rarely uses jumpscares to create a threatening atmosphere. I do think that direction fit the game and its theme well. It’s mostly a very linear game. There was only 1 mission that allowed you to choose one of two alternative paths, which however lead to the same result. Beer Machine also doesn’t feature multiple endings, but it offers 3 relatively easy Steam Achievements. I did like the atmosphere and theme of the game, but let’s also talk about the weakspots of this game. Item interactions in Beer Machine are too clunky. You often have to stand at exactly the right point to interact with objects in this game. It feels very unprecise and frustrating. Additionally the pace of the game is also too slow. The game might only be around 30 minutes long, but unfortunately there are a couple of glitches present. The game has no checkpoints. I once got stuck permanently in an object and another time my game just crashed. This meant I had to replay the same sections of the game multiple times and it painfully showed me, that the walking speed of the protagonist is simply too slow. It makes sense to not want to break the immersion by being able to run too fast, but the protagonist unfortunately moves at a snails pace across the world. The same goes for the TV sequences. I don’t dislike their inclusion, but you can’t skip them and sometimes you have to watch for 10-15 seconds without anything actually happening on screen. That’s just bad pacing. The Visuals are also nothing special, but comparable to a lot of other Indie Horror Games. I did like the voice acting, however. The father in particular was voiced quite well. Result: Beer Machine has a very interesting premise. You don’t often see a Horror Game mixing themes like Alcoholism and Family Abuse with Mascot Horror sequences. It’s the kind of thing you probably only get to experience in an Indie Game. That being said, the gameplay unfortunately holds Beer Machine back. The Walking Speed is simply too slow, interactions are too clunky. The pacing overall isn’t good and there are too many glitches present. It might still be worth a look, if you also find the concept of the game interesting. Beer Machine is only an okay game, but it had the potential to actually be good. 5.5/10

Игра 'Beer Machine' – это забавная и довольно захватывающая бизнес-стратегия, в которой вы управляете собственной пивоварней. Начиная с малого, с ограниченным бюджетом и скромным оборудованием, вам предстоит варить разнообразные сорта пива, исследовать новые рецепты, бороться с конкурентами и расширять свою империю. Геймплей простой, но увлекательный. Нужно внимательно следить за ценами на сырье, оптимизировать производственный процесс и грамотно распределять бюджет на маркетинг и исследования. Графика хоть и не блещет современными технологиями, но вполне приятная и функциональная. Особенно радует разнообразие доступных видов пива и возможность экспериментировать с рецептами. Можно создать уникальный сорт, который покорит сердца (и желудки) виртуальных потребителей. Однако, игра может показаться несколько однообразной после продолжительного времени. Повторяющиеся действия и не всегда интуитивно понятный интерфейс иногда утомляют. Тем не менее, для любителей экономических стратегий и крафтового пива – это достойный выбор, способный увлечь на несколько вечеров. Рекомендую попробовать!

На вечер можно и зайти