Bloody Service

[code]Curator page here-->[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37670120/] DaRevieweD #71 [/url]<-- [i]New review every Sunday[/i][/code] [b]Bloody Service (BS)[/b] is CASE's first of hopefully many 80s throwback horror projects. The Argentina-based studio has been in the biz for ages but as it turns out, has been holding out on us! BIG TIME!! What lulled me into the bloodlust was firstly its brand; a slasher-FMV-VN title and right then and there, I knew I had to join in on the fun!! Ironically, I've never played any games with full on senseless, evading a killer type (guess the closest is Until Dawn) but I watched like hundreds of those, so it's long overdue :P So, more backstory to fill up the space~ I knew of this game through [b]RP[/b] (shoutout) and I was all set to review it for them until I engaged in conversation with the dev, who graciously offered me a key and the rest is history from there. Another funny-ish thing? I actually played the demo of their 2nd game and I didn't know it was theirs, so I was all "is this a new fad or something!?" hahaa!! Anyhoo, like some insufferable customer at a fine dining establishment- where on earth is that BLOODY SERVICE!? So here it is~~ [b]As the devs did with the achievement names, I also tried my hand at some tennis puns XD[/b] [h1]"Hospitality So Good, It's Criminal!"[/h1] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2410128204 [u]The Gist:[/u] Position yourself as Jamie, a catering waiter who gets a gig at the highly exclusive Hilltop Tennis Club. Feeling the sharp dissent actually materialize the moment he arrived! There's an important celebration later that night but little did the smug, snooty riches know- an even bigger, bloodier occasion was coming for- I mean to them!! And it's just as memorable~~ [spoiler] ! Let it out... Aren't You Tired?! [/spoiler] [h1][+] PROS;[/h1] [b](a) Ready to Serve... Justly![/b] Read the text- and into the situation, then you are presented with choices that can either be spur-of-the-moment or pretty lax. These could be how you respond to an awkward conversation, what you wanna learn or even what action to take, the whole shebang!! The inventory system is a point of awe because they matter, could be right away or later on, but they always come back to bit you! So, if you're not careful with how you place items; the first thing you "get" will be your last!! You can only hold as much as you can carry, and that was a nice touch of realism. There are 7 endings in the form of newspaper headlines, unlocked as you go along~ [b](b) All That Racket!? [/b] The use of non-static backgrounds; as the camera sways left and right or watching people talk albeit on a loop, intensified the sense of immersion. It's very much like you were there! And it's stressful and thoroughly discomforting!! There is no score, so to speak- but the varied sound effects speak louder than words. And the human-like but blurry textured aesthetic of characters and environment piqued my interest. It was pleasant to look at, more so when it came to the gory parts. Also, the scenarios can turn from civil to evil within seconds! There's so much built up pressure, I was shaking... [b](c) So. Much. Foul Play[/b] The story is delightfully thought up and it hits that black hole of revenge and cutting loose gratuitously!! But it also garners your attention towards the tragic lives of the "antagonists". The characters, as is the nature of a slasher; you have the waiting-to-be-killed snobby extras, and then the ignorant, get caught in the crossfire ones. But I want to direct you to the protagonist, who isn't just a blank slate but actually one who's well-read but with deep-seated vexes, opinions of his own. The conjoined twins are also distinct from one another in personality, mannerism... It's little things like these~ [b](d) Crossing The Line![/b] SCARY: Firstly, the unexpected turn of events which was... wow! A lot can happen in one night! It could change for the better or the worse!! And Jamie's own demon was resolved because of it! Celebrate the therapeutic effects that anger and violence can bring out, be it by your hands or through being a firsthand witness. Though who's to say- that euphoria will last. I for one, enjoy punching the crap out of concrete walls~ Secondly, it paints a pessimistic reality. The central theme is on keeping at arms-length people from opposing class groups and those deemed abnormal due to their disabilities. Here, both sides are equally contentious of the other and so the final act of raining and spilling red could very well be the sole mean of reconciliation. It was unavoidable from the start because people just don't learn! Finally, you may have pictured this tasty moment of comeuppance long before or even countless times in your mind. But when push comes to shove, could you back up your words? Throughout the game, your role in the bloodshed is ambiguous. So it's entirely up to you to either keep your hands clean (as they possibly can) or would you rather be complicit in the name of vigilante justice!! You can probably guess which route I went~ [h1][-] CONS;[/h1] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2410141420 [b](i) Dropped The Ball There[/b] As a VN, though not a conventional one at that. It's lacking some other features that makes accessibility like trying to power through lines such a drag. Features like skipping lines with 'ctrl' or heck even skipping between choices!! Having only one save slot at any given time does nothing to mitigate this issue either! It could be an artistic flair, but it's still tough to sit through when you just want to get all them achievements!! The Spanish to English localization still got some minor mistakes like typos and atypical sentence structures. But you can tell it used to be more of a fixer-upper, from the Steam discussions going on last December. [b](ii) A Fixed Game[/b] This problem is barely even traceable anymore in their 2nd game, but here the inventory so innovatively put together wasn't put to its full potential, much to my dismay. As per usual of a "choices matter" adventure, you start to see through how restricted it was. Though, your choices may have felt like they mattered as the popped up for the first time. But I can attest, this isn't the case~ Just to throw this out there, the story is purposely left with balls in the air (chuckles) but I liked this very much! There is no [spoiler]true, fixed villain[/spoiler]. But if you're finding it hard to follow, the store page has some (loads) more additional lore that couldn't be fit into the storyline! [h1]"You Must CARRIE On..."[/h1] https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2410144249 BS reeks of classic slasher films in all the 80s glory but with sardonic social commentary! Twists-and-turns ...of bones, blood in this slick revenge tale awaken a thirst inside, of what- up to you. But there's no guarantee you'll like it, not as much as you'll love BS~ Plus, its low-res graphics is bold but oddly charming, the sound effects and well-written dialogue situate you perfectly as the not-so-innocent bystander you may be. Of course, the tennis puns- though hard to appreciate for a non-sports fan, you might just revel in them and pull something! There are some design qualms that I had, like the highly restricting save and load options, that's a staple to the VN genre. As such, this precarious blending of genres may actually hold it back, albeit just a tad. The localization, is almost flawless- save for a few peculiar phrasings and overlooked words. And of course, the obligatory complaint of "choices" not really mattering much. All in all, a marvelous achievement in bringing slashers onto games and I can't wait for their next one~ [h1]9.2/10[/h1] [b]Look alive and wishlist "The Parrot That Summons Demons"[/b] [i]Sorry RP for the betrayal XD[/i]

This is a gleefully gritty and violent love letter to both 80s horror films and 90s FMV adventure games. If you hate both, I'd say you should reevaluate your poor life choices. If you love both, $5 is a small price to pay for an hour of bizarre choose-your-own-adventure madness.

Que placer romper cabezas de chetos.

If you liked Brian Yuzna's Society there's a high chance this will be up your alley.

It's really something else. I wasn't expecting a game with this depth and overall quality at this price! Looking forward to continue playing and try different paths! Highly Recommended.

[h1] Genre [/h1] Ein Interaktives Story Driven Adventure [h1] Story [/h1] Wir spielen einen jungen Mann namens Jamie und haben einen Aushilfsjob in einer High Society angenommen. Dort findet eine Party statt und wir sollen dort aushelfen. Was in der Nacht aber alles passiert, konnten wir nicht erahnen [h1] Gameplay [/h1] Wir lesen uns durch die Story und treffen immer wieder Entscheidungen, die das Spiel leicht beeinflussen können. Es gibt einige Bad Endings aber diese sind nicht weiter schlimm denn das Spiel wirft uns dann zurück zu der letzten Entscheidung die wir gemacht haben. Zwischendurch können wir auch Gegenstände aufheben und diese Spezifisch einteilen in entweder Linke oder Rechte Hand, Linke oder rechte Hosentasche oder Hemdtasche. Wenn man einen Gegenstand in der Hand hält werden andere Personen darauf Aufmerksam und reagieren darauf was dazu führt das sie uns entweder den Gegenstand wegnehmen oder uns als Kleptomane beschimpfen. Ich kann nicht genau sagen wie sich das weiter auswirkt wenn man im späteren Spielverlauf Gegenstände in den Händen hält, ich habe diese meist in Hosentaschen oder Brust Tasche gepackt. Der Grafik Stil ist etwas, ich sag mal besonders. Es ist irgendwie eine Mischung aus 90er Jahre 3D Optik und FMV mit Filter. Es gibt hier ein paar Gore Szenen aber diese sind in den meisten Fällen kaum erkennbar [h1] Achievements [/h1] Es gibt insgesamt 23 Erfolge. Hierfür muss man 6 spezifische Endings gesehen haben. Die Restlichen 17 gibt es während des Spielens wenn man bestimmte Entscheidungen trifft [h1] Pro/Contra [/h1] + Story ist OK aber irgendwie verwirrend + Grafik Stil ist besonders aber auch irgendwie Merkwürdig (FMV mit Filter und dann doch irgendwie 90er Jahre 3D) + Viele Entscheidungen zu treffen die das Spiel leicht beeinflussen + Achievements [h1] Fazit [/h1] Ein etwas anderes Adventure. Die Story ist an sich interessant aber irgenwie geht alles viel zu schnell und man kapiert einiges nicht wirklich und stellt sich die Frage, was geht hier eigentlich vor und warum. Aber das Spiel ist an sich ganz gut gelungen. Auch der Grafik Stil ist höchst eigenartig aber nicht schlecht. Ich kann das Spiel auf jeden Fall weiter Empfehlen, denn es hat mich gut Unterhalten 👑 Powered by HoI 4 Deu Curators group in German / English 👑⠀⠀⠀[list][*][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/30388691/] Follow Main group [/url][*][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/40282064/] Follow Second group [/url][/list]

Me compré este juego por dos razones: el precio, y que el desarrollador es de Argentina, mi país, y quería apoyar. No tenía ni idea de que se trataba y decidí no leer la descripción antes de comprarlo. Cosas a favor: -Me encanta la estética que tiene y los colores, me gustó el detalle de que todo parezca tener un "filtro" que hace que parezca que los modelos estén pixelados, siento que queda bien con el tipo de juego y para darle un estilo artístico propio que lo diferencia de los demás. -La persona que escribió la historia claramente sabe lo que está haciendo - te dejan ver la complejidad del personaje principal con el tiempo, con datos que, a pesar de no ser relevantes en la historia, te dejan entenderlo más y darle más profundidad (me gustó el hecho de que sea cleptómano y los recuerdos de su niñez/pasado). Además del personaje principal, en general siento que, a pesar de terminar de una forma muy abrupta (sólo lo jugué una vez, ni bien lo terminé la primera vez vine a escribir esta reseña), la manera que tiene de describir los hechos hace notar que la persona tiene experiencia y talento. -Amé los diálogos, si hubiera sabido que existía un juego donde literalmente describen a alguien como "gordo sorete", hubiera comprado el juego el mismo día que salió. Que esté todo con acento argentino me sorprendió y fue muy interesante de experimentar. -Los personajes son realistas e interesantes, tienen diálogos donde realmente puedo imaginarme a dos personas hablando y no sólo dos personajes de un juego. Me hubiera gustado que hayan descripciones sobre cómo son visualmente para ayudar a la inmersión, pero aún así siento que están bastante pulidos. Cosas en contra: -Hay muchos casos donde no importa qué elijas, el resultado va a ser exactamente el mismo, y en un juego donde la toma de decisiones es lo más importante, creo que podrían haber hecho algo más (a excepción de la decisión de agarrar la tijera y creo que la pelota de tenis también, donde el personaje principal no se puede resistir y las agarra igual debido a su cleptomanía, ese me pareció un buen detalle.) -Deberían tener más cuidado con los modelos 3D, cerca de la parte final, en la fiesta, hay dos hombres sentados, uno en una silla común y otro en una silla de ruedas. El hombre sentado en la silla normal traspasa completamente el mantel de la mesa con la pierna y el traje del hombre sentado en la silla de ruedas traspasa la misma en la parte de atrás. Creo que es algo que podrían arreglar fácilmente. -No lo sentí como un juego de terror, soy bastante asustadiza y normalmente cualquier cosa me hace saltar pero acá no sentí nada más que un poquito de tensión, creo que juega más con el suspenso y el terror psicológico(?), creo que si están apuntando a hacer juegos de terror tienen que pulir más ese aspecto. -Con respecto al idioma, la versión en inglés no captura muy bien lo que realmente quieren comunicar con las escenas y diálogos, y, no sé cómo describirlo, pero se nota que fue traducido del español al inglés y me imagino que para alguien que no sabe español puede ser un poco difícil de entender exactamente (ojo, solo jugué la primera partecita en inglés y después lo cambié a español.) Obviamente, al ser un juego indie, no me voy a poner a quejarme de cada mínima cosa que veo. Es algo que disfruté genuinamente y le veo mucho potencial. Voy a estar al tanto de las próximas entregas de la empresa y apoyando a los desarrolladores tanto como pueda :)

I found myself really enjoying this short VN FMV horror game. It's a pretty wild ride with PS1-like graphics which fit the atmosphere pretty well. I really loved the multiple endings the game offered. The story is pretty good with a lot of baddies and the feeling that there's really no one (or mostly no one) that you can trust (not as if you have a choice either way). Having a story full of bad people does make a lot of the gore seem justified, even with the over-the-top kills. Beyond the very, very gore scenes, the story does mention or hint at some pretty dark elements ([spoiler]pedophilia, rape, sex trafficking[/spoiler]) just as a warning. The game's achievements are also filled with puns, which adds another layer of enjoyment to the experience! As a VN fan, this game can do quite a bit of improving on that aspect. The game only offers one save slot and that will be automatically overridden if you begin a new game. There is no skip feature of any kind. While I read VNs, it is nice to be able to skip read-only text. The plus side is that this game is short. Now, my biggest issue usually is grammar errors. As a VN, it relies heavily on text (even for one with FMV aspects). If a sentence reads wrong then it throws off the player. There are quite a few grammar errors (I made a discussion post listing just some of the ones I found) plus some punctuation errors. However, I understand that this is due to the game being translated and proofread by the devs themselves. There is no window option for the game, which is a shame. I understand that the dev does have future plans to include this. There is also no volume control in-game. Sometimes, reading the text can be a bit weird as some screens contain more than one character's dialogue. Overall, I really enjoyed this crazy horror game de. I do not recommend this game for the faint of heart and those who don't like blood or gore. But, I do definitely recommend this game for horror fans that are looking for a short VN!

This is an hidden gem. If you like visual novels and slashers, I highly reccomend it. The only thing a bit lame about it imo is that you only have one save slot. For example, let's say you get at the end of the game but you're missing and item for one of the endings, you will have to start over again to pick the item up. A skip button for the text you already read would be nice too, but it isn't much of a problem considering you can just spam enter and escape to skip the animations.

Amusing slasher. With tennis puns. Scene with apples is hilarious. Game is actually best described by the devs themselves: "Think of Carrie as if Carrie had a conjoined twin and loved to play tennis."