Em-A-Li

creepy, love it

Very interesting game that breaks the 4th wall in an interesting way. I really enjoyed it. Voice Actress nails it, too!

Ok, review time. I loved the art, really good job on the art. I loved the design for the computers, the floors, the bookshelves, just good design. The voice acting was great as well. Clear, well acted, good amount of lines, just good voice acting. Sound design in general was also great. Good, clear sounds that sounded like the item they were supposed to sound like. Like the lights, or the computer. Just good sound design. But I think there are some problems. As for the level design, not going to lie, I think it could use some work. Most of it consisted of invisible walls and black backgrounds. I know there isn't much you can do with rpg maker, and I do think with some funding you could use a better, more fleshed out or advanced platform/tool. Maybe some hallways instead of invisible walls(even though I thought it was cool that you had to find some of the paths), more props, more distinct/different characters and props that don't immediately flag it as an rpg maker game(nothing wrong with rpg maker, just inevitably all rpg maker games look the same or at least similar), or some things like that. I also thought the writing could use some work as well. Some of the lines don't really make sense and I noticed a couple typos(I don't know if that was intentional or not). Maybe get 1 or 2 more writers to bounce ideas off of and proof-read. The story was also kind of hard to follow. I still don't really know what it was REALLY about. I suggest adding some more backstory and/or more of that bouncing and proof-reading. All-in-all I think it was a great game, and I think with a budget the team could make some high quality stuff.

This is a game you can complete in one sit-down, but the saying “short and sweet,” exists for a reason and this game is among those examples. Amelea Michaela Morrow does great as the computer A.I. Em-A-Li, voicing some well written lines. This game is linear and that’s fine. You get a good story out of it with well a done creepy and scary atmosphere, some questions that are not directly answered and even more horrifying if you think on them long enough. At the time of this review, it’s 1.99$ normally, 79 cents on sale. I think it’s worth it on the regular price for the story, voice acting and experience you get.

Would recommending playing this in a dark room. Really well made for such a short game, the voice acting animation and plot are well polished. Without spoiling anything I'd like to say that this game has a very cool twist.

It took a while to get to playing this game, but now that I have, here I am! The game has a charming pixel-graphic aesthetic. The use of negative space in each of the maps lends itself to the oppressive and ominous atmosphere of the setting, and helps to focus the player on discovery. Each new room that opens up reveals a new piece of the story (which I will not be spoiling here), as well as new lines of fully voice acted dialogue. The voice acting particularly is very well done, and the subtle changes in tone, as well as the editing, are impressive. It's very uncommon to find voice acting in pixel games, especially pixel horror games, and certainly nothing quite as high quality as this. The game is very short - I finished it in about half an hour - but it's definitely worth a play-through. I'd like to see the developer make more games, and experiment a bit with character choice and hidden rooms (which there may have been - I just didn't find any for myself!). Overall: Em-A-Li is a high-quality, fully voice-acted pixel horror short, and comes well recommended if that sounds like something you're looking for. I'll be keeping an eye out for any further games released by this dev. Ah, and of course - thank you for the game! I had a lot of fun playing it. :D

Just finished up playing Em-A-Li, wanted to make sure I experienced the full game before I left a review (Approx. 40 min length). This game is great, I was very suprised about its quality for what seems to be such a small indie title. Positives: - Story, while possibly a little cliche and easy to expect, really delivers. I was captivated by the characters and the unravelling narrative, I wish I could forget the entire story just so I could have the satisfaction to play it again. - Music is pretty simple but effective, really sets the tone and atmosphere. When the music does change, damn did it have an effect. - Voice acting for Em-A-Li is fantastic, definitely hits all the right notes for an A.I. and her character. - Atmosphere is very unsettling and unnerving, adds hugely to the tension of the game. Negatives: - Probably the main one is the mechanics. This is less of a game and more of a walking simulator/narrative. Would have loved to see more actual gameplay rather than just moving from point A to point B for more dialogue. - Length. This game isn't very long (while that might have been good from a narrative perspective and keeping the flow/tension high). A sequel does exist however, so maybe that'll deliver on this front at least. All in all, a great game which I will recommend to my friends :)