Edit: I just realized this is by the same developer as Mythos: The Beginning and the One Night trilogy. Dark Gaia's improved with each game, and while I like the other two and would love a follow-up to Mythos, I think this is the strongest of the set.
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This is *very* close to straight up being a Resident Evil demake, and I don't think that's a bad thing.
It follows the same concept---a biohazard thing has happened in a remote forested region---and there's branching paths, two protagonists to choose from, saveable side-characters, and a three-act structure.
Now, where it diverges is in the specifics of its gameplay. And I sort of like Derange's more than classic RE?
Derange is still an rpgmaker title, and boy can you feel that sometimes, but at the end of the day RE's gameplay didn't need 3D movement. That was icing on a still competent cake.
So in Derange, when an enemy goes in for a grab, you get a prompt to respond with a weapon, the game rolls a die, and on a success you pop the monster and get some breathing room. Moreso than in RE, weapons in Derange are *purely* defensive. You fire shots to avoid getting hit. Otherwise, you try to avoid enemies, jinking past them in the narrow corridors of the mansion.
There's no trying to nudge your aim at the last second and hoping for a headshot. If an enemy corners you, you spend resources to get uncornered. If you don't have those resources, you die.
At least one other review said that the game was too hard, and I don't know if it's been patched since the review or what, but I've been playing on normal mode and it's kind of easy?
Choice of starting characters might make a huge difference here, so I can't promise it'll be easy for all players, but as long as you don't try to Doom Marine your way through rooms, you should be fine.
Ultimately, if you haven't played classic RE (or the gamecube REmake, or Zero, or the recent 2 and 3 remakes), or if you hate that style of oldschool survival horror, or if you hate rpgmaker graphics, or if you hate obscure puzzles (there *is* a guide online, and you'll pretty much need it for the clock), this might not be a great choice for you.
However, if you like the idea of a slimmed down, slightly altered, original RE experience, this one is pretty good, and I definitely recommend it.
It's also got somewhat ludicrously good sound design. Everything from the atmospheric noises to the actual soundtrack is *way* better than I was prepared to expect, and it adds a ton to the immersion.
2nd Edit: Cleared the game. It's solidly fun, and nowhere near as difficult as some of the other reviews were making it out to be. I had piles of ammo to spare, and I was playing on normal difficulty. There also aren't *any* situations where ammo is required to progress. The end credits music is ear-hurting, and a couple of puzzles require absolute moon logic to solve them, but that's pretty much the only critique I have for the game.
