Dead Format

Please, add achievements. It'll sell more copies of this amazing game, I don't make the rules. I just want to start off with saying that I was blown away by this game! I just saw a few teaser shots and that's how I recommend going into it, like I did, rather blind. The mechanics are very forgiving. It is also VERY Resident Evil-coded with its limited inventory, stash, combining and inspecting items. That familiarity really helps to just get into the story. It also has well-placed hiding spots, items, not reliant on one mechanic or jump-scares. Its a well-built horror game which is honestly a breath of fresh air. But the analog aesthetic...The Atmosphere and "set design" should be studied. Breathtaking with every new locale and unlocked sub-area. Awesome and inspiring and I can't overstate it. What really solidified this game into heart though, is all the references to movies and in the incredibly subtle and tasteful way it was done. From "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari", to "Alien", (I don't want to spoil them all) but when they hit me with "The Holy Mountain" reference, it really solidified this as a special game to me. Cant recommend it enough

This game is so close to a complete homerun, but it's held back from being truly great by a really bad design choice to include a pretty lame stalker enemy with braindead AI. If I was grading it purely on the presentation alone, this is an easy 10 out of 10. The visual style of each tape is impeccable and perfectly replicates the horror genre each one is going for. Some of the visuals in the silent film in particular are among the best I've seen in any indie horror game. I found the puzzles to be interesting enough in changing up the gameplay as well. Gunplay is fairly simple but doesn't feel clunky and has some satisfying feedback. I was just so sorely disappointed by the choice to have the stalker enemy from the later tape come into all of the other tapes just to annoy you and force you to hide every 30 seconds while you also have to constantly backtrack to these areas as you find key items in the other tapes infuriating. It would have been better if there were just specific sequences, kind of like what's done in the ship sequence, where you are being hunted while the rest of the time you can spend taking in the incredible environments and fighting the enemies unique to their tape. It kills pretty much all of the atmosphere and dread once this enemy appears because it's just a constant cycle of hide under a table, walk for 30 to 40 seconds and try to get near another hiding spot or find the next key item, then get back into the hiding spot as the stalker enemy comes out of the wall and runs immediately to your position. I no longer felt immersed in these worlds and just felt exhaustion at repeating the same steps over and over for a few hours. The final sequence was also quite disappointing along with the ending which left a lot to be desired. There is a secret ending that you can get, but it doesn't change what happens, you only get to see some additional behind the scenes footage and bloopers. Overall, I do recommend the game to diehard horror genre fans just because it is clear from the game's visuals and the awesome live action footage when you put the tapes in that a lot of love and care went into its presentation. I can't in good conscience leave a negative review, but I only recommend it with the caveat that once you encounter the stalker, it becomes a chore to do anything in the game and I had barely any fun playing it other than when I was in the small sections where the stalker wasn't present. If it had only been reversed and there were just a few select stalker sections and the rest of the time you are killing enemies and doing puzzles, this would probably be one of my most favorite indie horror games ever. That being said, I hope this developer makes another game and continues to improve on their craft because they are definitely onto something here and are so close to making a stand out title.

really REALLY wanted to enjoy the game and was hyped with the demo but the full game is just too difficult, and repetitive. enemy's respawn every time you change the tape or die so you run out of ammo really fast, you can take three hits before you die but with no auto save you have to run all the way back home take the tape out (respawning enemies) and then you can save. back tracking is fine but with this it takes to long and nothing is really hinted at or explained. the vulture lady absolutely grinded the game to a halt, cant kill it and it just knows where you are at anytime and can kill you in two hits. really wanted to love this game but the negatives out weight the positive.

True and honest: A long time, there was no game that made me sit with open mouth in front of my computer simply being fascinated of what I see. "Dead Format" made was this for me. + When I watched the trailer, I thought that it is mostly FMV sequences that I see, made in VHS aesthetics. I couldn't beliebe my eyes when I realized that these are in-game graphics. I couldn't stop pressing F12 to make screenshots to show my friends - and always mentioned: "It looks even better in motion!" + putting in a video cassette watching a movie and then be in that movie is simply awesome. The moment I realized I can open the appartements door to become part of a black and white movie, an alien story and an italien giallo was amazing + When I got a gun (there are more than one, but I failed to achieve the violin because I discovered it too late), I thought that this will be, at least a bit, an ego shooter. And it became so, offering me some possibilities to fight my enemies in the sewer. And it felt great + The puzzles were fairly done and could be solved, if you are familiar with some games of that kind or maybe escape room games. But in one instance, I had to ask my girlfriend to take a look over my shoulder. She solved it in no time, with me trying 45 minutes to solve a three digit riddle ^^ What fascinated me was the story of a missing brother in the tapes and some secret organizations. But there's one point the negative reviews are right with, in my opinion, and that is the ending. No spoilers here, but it indeed feels unsatisfying after a game that was a masterpiece in every aspect before. What I don't agree with is the opinion about the stalker enemy - for me, this was a clear USP, with me hiding under tables and sneaking around, which gave me the opportunity to enjoy the graphics even more, which clearly are one of the best I've seen on computers in my whole life. If this developer continues to make a game like this or even a second instalment that drags me further into the storyline of the first, I would buy it instantly, because - again my honest opinion - the dev behind "Dead Format" is a true and inspiring artist!

Very short review for a very short game. This is an uncertain recommend. The game has so much heart, and the concept is amazing, but the ending was just so abrupt and unfulfilling. So many loose threads and no real answers. I'm assuming that this is for a future title, but if not then I'm probably going to change this review in the future. The enemy variety was also very weak. There's only like 4 enemies in this game, and two of them are functionally the same with different health values. The other two are unique but one of them shows up everywhere giving a kind of filler feel. Ultimately I want this to succeed and see a sequel, but if it doesn't then this game will not be a recommended. I'll come back at some point if it's needed.

A flawed game with extreme amounts of charm chock full with references to different horror movies. If you ever watched Videodrome the plot will quickly become really familiar to you although the game mixes in elements from different horror films including The Thing, They Live, Invasion of the Body Snatchers and much more. But what is the game itself? It is a first-person puzzle adventure game with light classical survival horror elements. I say light because very quickly the game turns from you gathering ammo, health items to avoiding unkillable enemies. The first time you meet the unkillable enemy the game becomes extremelly tense and scary, having you hide around and making you paranoid over every single time you see a spawning point from which it can come out. The second and third times are equally as tense, the fourth -not so much. The main enemy of the game quickly overstays its welcome and becomes a tedious threat that you honestly wish could just ♥♥♥♥ off. Unfortunately, basically the later half of the game is spent on avoiding this one enemy with you funnily enough unlocking a more powerful weapon that you basically cannot use on anything. That being said, this was not enough to kill my enjoyment of the game, first of all - the art direction is on point with the very concept of the game itself being fascinating. It's straight up incredibly fun to go through those interesting locations inspired by different horror movie sets and solve puzzles on the way. The only complaint I have is that I wish there was more of it. There are three tapes you can go into in total, four if you include the last final level which is just a stealth section devoid of any puzzles, each being quite unique and the game forcing you to jump between them over and over again to progress in the game. The locations themselves change somewhat as you unlock new portions of them and uncover more varied locations inside of them, but with a fun concept such as that you wish the devs had more money and dev time to make more. For example, there is no real b-horror slasher level, something that would seem a completely obivous addition to a game themed after horror movies, the closest we get is a Giallo movie which really doesn't feel the same. The story itself is little more than a bunch of horror movie references stacked on top of each other, but that in itself is in line with the rest of the game which is a giant homage in itself. It has enough intrigue to keep you engaged and the little details scattered around are engaging enough to keep your attention. If you like horror games this is definitely recommended, the actual game turns into something of a simplified stealth game later on, but although it definitely overstays its welcome - the game doesn't last long enough for it to be seriously annoying. If anything, I recommend trying it out based on the concept itself.

Un juego survival horror en el que tus armas son una pistola hecha de carne que dispara dientes, un violín y un telefono, simplemente ZINE Se nota que en este juego hay mucho amor por el cine, está muy chulo.

Recommended for horror and sci-fi fans, and those familiar with video nasties. Gameplay is just difficult enough and Resident Evil lite, that it doesn't descend into walking simulator territory. All the references to my favourite films, especially those of David Cronenberg made me smile, although it was the Holy Mountain reference that wowed me most! The creators love for body horror, giallo and sc-fi really came across in the attention to detail in the various game environments and the films you watch in game. The game was also genuinely creepy. Fantastic time playing this game!

Alright, so this game looks promising on video. Let's break it down into good and bad. | Good | The actual idea behind the game and exploring various haunted tapes is amazing! I loved the stories behind the tapes and watching them before and after the level was always a treat. The effects in them are fun and really capture the older pulp-movie aesthetic. The general (world) design of the game is neat and some of the puzzles are really interesting, although a lot of them can boil down to either backtracking or simple swapping. The music and sound design is perfect , I loved the sound of the [spoiler]teeth gun[/spoiler]. | Bad | Alright, holy hell. The game is extremely repetitive and actively feels like it's trying to waste your time with some of the backtracking. You'll be walking through an area OVER and OVER and OVER again. It's especially bad once the [spoiler]vulture[/spoiler] comes into play and you have to slow walk / crouch everywhere to avoid it spawning and chasing you. Sure, you can stun it with the [spoiler]violin[/spoiler] you get later. But, all that does is extend the chase out when you can just run under a table and wait. The item crafting system it half baked (you can craft three items) and I found myself with way too many healing tapes, I probably should have just used them to brute force the backtracking. The worlds look so good, but when you *keep* backtracking through the same areas.. *you start to dislike them*. I played the first 2 hours while some friends watched and they even commented that it was getting stale. | SPOILERS | [spoiler]The story was neat! But that ending felt like the biggest nothing-burger of a final level. There's this awesome lighthouse you can travel to and it has a cool eye effect, I was really expecting some "Yellow King" type ending fight/puzzle or seeing a monumental secret! Instead, I walk into a video store and pick up a tape that's the game I'm playing and then get hit by the most boring jump scare in the world. Seriously, my actual reaction to this ending was "Are you ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ kidding me? That's it.". I don't mind a rough ending or one that has a twist associated, but the whole "ohh your playing the game and your the story being watched" kind of thing was handled in a way that was extremely boring.[/spoiler] | Final Thoughts | I think this game could have done better with; less backtracking for puzzles or shorter routes back and forth, a more robust item crafting system (or do away with it entirely), more enemies and or levels so your not just dealing with the [spoiler]vulture[/spoiler] 24/7. I think the ending should be completely redone, extend the [spoiler]lighthouse[/spoiler] section out and provide some more interesting environments to explore. I wouldn't even mind the current ending IF [spoiler]it wasn't the boring jumpscare[/spoiler] and you [spoiler]got to see the player character lure more people like the doppelganger brother[/spoiler]. Seriously, throw a bone and add another live action scene. Those were really cool!

It's not great, but the (short) FMV segments are really really cool.