Forbidden Solitaire

It's really quirky, and I like the premise. However, I really regret that I can't endorse this game on account of what a linear grind it is. When I booted up, I was excited to dive into the "OS" and click around in it, but it's really only a veneer and nothing about it is immersive or makes it really feel like you're on a 90's PC. It's just a launcher to open the "CD ROM" and that's it. Most of the desktop icons just exit the game and open in an external website on your own default browser. The IM app that your sibling uses to communicate with you just spams you with their messages. You can't interact with them in any way, nor can you even drag the windows around. This is just one pre-staged solitaire round after another. Even the shop is linear and devoid of player creativity. Just spend all your money to buy all the items. Occasionally you won't have enough to buy everything in the shop, but eventually you acquire everything. Grind, grind, grind, grind some more until you finish all the grinding, and then it's over. Don't make any meaningful decisions along the way, just do all the stuff and eventually you'll be mercifully done. The quirky premise and artwork pulled me along using nostalgia as bait, but the grind was stressfully tedious and ultimately very unsatisfying throughout. Even though I finished over the course of 2 days, it felt like an unnecessarily long ordeal. I wish I would have enjoyed this dive into the 90's even half as much as I hoped I would, but the execution fell on its face. Since it's really just a linear experience anyway, I would have been a lot more satisfied and less annoyed watching a heavily abridged YouTube video of a run-through and called it good.

Possibly one of the best art directions this year. So immersive that if someone didn't tell me, I would have thought all these 3D renders really came from an authentic 90s PC 3D game. The gameplay and story are good too but this art got me good.

I like Solitaire. This is a fine Solitaire game. I got it on sale. I was pretty pumped. The story is fine. The art is fantastic and it does a great job of creating the atmosphere of a 90s computer game on a beige PC tower. If you're wondering what a CD-ROM drive used to sound like, this game's got it down exactly. I really enjoyed the gameplay. It's all about the combos which can be modified with the Jokers which add a bit more strategic options to an otherwise majority "luck based" Solitaire game, which has been a natural problem since the conception of Solitaire. My only beef with this game is that you can either restart your run from the beginning on normal difficulty, or a much harder New Game+ which doesn't allow for mistakes (and like I said, Solitaire is highly "luck based"), so I've just abruptly stopped playing despite how fun I thought the first playthrough was. I wish there were other modes that offered more incentive to play infinitely because it's really not that satisfying to go through for a second time. But hey, if you want a retro inspired, cheesy creepypasta story, SOLITAIRE game, I'd say it's worth it. I've blown more than $15 in one go at the arcade many, many, many times, so a single four-hour Solitaire campaign isn't so bad if you're a total Solitaire-head like me? Yeah...

A solid game that really nails it's aesthetic to a truly believable level, soundtrack is BANGIN and the game looks great. However, the elephant in the room is that this game has some very similar themes to Inscrpytion, but doesn't execute them nearly as well. I'd say buy on sale, but it doesn't need to be a deep discount.

I had never played Solitaire before and decided to let myself be tempted by Forbidden Solitaire since I love horror and since I enjoyed Home Safety Hotline (also because the aesthetic reminded me of Goosebumps). This game is so fun and deliciously spooky! The difficulty curve is also perfectly balanced on the first run (you unlock a Hard mode upon completion). Also when you finish it you get a fascinating artbook that explains how the whole development of the game took place in detail. Read everything from end to end. Thanks to both Grey Alien Games and Night Signal for this gem!

Captures early 90's well. Could be a little longer but worth the price.

The first solitaire game I've ever bought. I picked it up to support the developer after learning about his life story, and I wasn't expecting to get hooked. I ended up enjoying it from start to finish! Highly recommended!