In Sound Mind

[h2]Hey... it was pretty good. Here is a unfiltered review[/h2] I was pretty impressed with this one. After playing all of their previous titles at the end of last year, I didn't have high hopes, but when I saw great reviews, and it was short, I said, "ok, I'm gonna give it a go." The start was horrible... the performance, stuttering, lightning, and moving were really bad. There is no reason for a game to perform so weakly with the gear I was having. I had to lower my graphics settings, and even then, the FPS was pretty mediocre throughout the whole game. There were still stuttering, but not as often. I started the game 3 or 4 times, and I was really ready to abandon it after the first 5-10 minutes. But I pushed on and tried to give it at least 1 hour. Another thing is the gamma and lighting. I swear I had to almost set gamma to max to see anything on the OLED. The navigation and movement at the start feel very cheap, like we have no clue what we are doing, and eventually, you figure out how to glitch to reach the flashlight. The main building felt bad, bland and boring. There was no reason for a power-up system, upgrades and all that. Do I prefer reading notes and finding crumbs of papers instead in Outlast, with semi-side lore, or just mumbo jumbo... no. I really thought this was gonna be a buggy mess... but eventually it grew on me a bit. And that happened when I opened the first tape... and I saw... wait a minute, there is something here. The mechanics were unique, and the person around whom the tape was revolving was compelling and interesting. I actually enjoyed it that. Then you get back into the building, explore, and break stuff with the item you gained to advance... pretty bland. The music vinyl was clearly AI-generated, or someone was using way too much autotune. I am not a fan of open worlds, especially in this kind of game, and the 2nd tape was semi-open world. While the main villain of the map wasn't interesting as a person, its mechanics were pretty cool. The more I got into the game, the more I started to enjoy it, but I swear I got bored with the open world and all the collectables shenanigans. I liked the story, the lore of the tapes and the storyline that is connecting more and more. From different people's storylines to a unified story that revolves around all of them and involves everyone with causality and effects. The last tape is seriously like a whole game. I've played a game as long as that. This was massive. And while the mechanics weren't super revolutionary, I have to say I appreciate that every level had a different gameplay mechanic. The boss battle was... not as great as I had expected, especially with the starting musical part. It tried to encompass the whole story and the whole cast from the game in that ending, but I would have hoped they would have implemented them a bit better. Maybe actually appear in the section, to help you with a section of the puzzle/platforming/fight and deliver 2 or 3 lines. They felt tacked on rather than properly used. I would have hoped that the ending room would give more secrets to have a higher impact, to twist your mind... but unfortunately, the fight, the dummies, the whole mechanic, the whole outcome, the secrets in your room, felt that they underdelivered on a game that surprised me along the way. [h2] But in conclusion, I was pretty impressed and enjoyed the game. It started with a backlog-clearing mission, and I thought I had to struggle and force myself to play (which I did at the start), but it began to grow on me, and some of its ideas were really interesting, to the point that I actually enjoyed the game, lore, and story. That said, I hope they dial down the collectable grind. The FPS Mechanics were pretty weak, to the point that all I can say is that they were serviceable. The game features many unique and interesting mechanics. There is a lot to interact with in the world and puzzles to solve. It's pretty good, don't stop making games with interesting ideas. But less of the traditional grindy mechanics and gameplay. Please focus more on the presentation of its quirky uniqueness and world. This is way better than FPS bloat or back-and-forth mechanics.[/h2] [h3]Some bug reports I want to say and suggestions[/h3] - Please add manual saves or more save slots - I almost got softlocked close to the ending - Towards the end, when the water entered the basement, I got stuck or clipped or felt through the elevator. There was no way to get back. I thought it was a mechanic, but it wasn't. I phased from the elevator. - In the final battle, there was a moment when the flare was not clearing the darkness around a radio pole. - Try to fix your performance better (low FPS, stuttering, and weird mouse movement) - More brightness options (for OLED users) - Observation: I would have thought you would use the workshop/crafting bench more often - Less bloat, fewer collectables, more focused on the uniqueness aspect of the game.

[b]My score: 7/10[/b] [h2]Overview[/h2] Very similar to the hundreds of first person horror games on the market, but it has its own identity. First off, it's very self aware in regards to horror tropes and the tone is never super serious - a welcome change of pace for the genre. The game is also colorful and stylized enough to stand out amongst the overload of asset-flip horror games on Steam. The biggest downside for me is the inventory: all your weapons and equippable items are tied to the same circling menu and by the end of the game, when you have a lot of junk to circle through, it takes forever to equip what you need. Overall a fun and atmospheric experience. [h2]Key Points[/h2] [*][h3] DIFFICULTY:[/h3] Easy. You'll most likely never run out of ammo. Some collectibles are well hidden though. [*][h3] PRESENTATION:[/h3] The art direction is average/good. The OST contains songs by "The Living Tombstone". The voice acting is good. [*][h3] STORY:[/h3] It touches some dark themes, but for the most part it's your run-of-the-mill psychological horror with a pinch of paranormal. [*][h3] GAMEPLAY/GAMEPLAY LOOP:[/h3] You basically enter the psyche of your patients via audio recordings, and these are the main levels. Every level has a stalker enemy, each with different gimmicks. [*][h3] TECHNICAL POLISH:[/h3] Some of the collectibles will clip through the floor. Fortunately, if you're a completionist, you can reset and replay every stage whenever you want. [*][h3] MONEYxCONTENT VALUE:[/h3] Easy to get through and get all the achievements. Low replayability, but good enough qualities overall to justify buying it.

Великолепно, музыка 12/10, сюжет 10/10, радио чувак сильно понравился

enjoyable mystery game with excellent level design, each chapter requires different solution and gameplay so it never feels boring nor repetitive, kudos! the backstories are interesting and some are quite sad, combat is just so-so because it's not the focus of the game. overall a very good game, very recommended if you like mystery game!

游玩后我觉得它不算佳作或良作，但绝对称得上平作水平中的佼佼者！ 整体画质比较落后也无惊艳之处，但游戏中许多突出点弥补这项缺陷！刚玩时路会较绕考验心态等熟悉就好！ 提醒后来者此作最重要的物品是镜子，走段路就四周照下这让收集药丸很容易！森林关收集会话依靠电波显绿找附近斜坡！！！

Cozy and generally atmospheric. Lots of cool set pieces and scripted sequences.

A hidden gem. Really fun and immersive. A bit jank at times but still well worth a go