It Lurks! A Noir Horror RPG.

[b]My Playtime:[/b] 1.3h (finished the game) [h1]Intro[/h1] [b]It Lurks![/b] is a short turn-based [i]RPG Maker[/i] game with QTE elements. It features scripted combat and autosaves to make exploration easier with a bit of resource management in between. [b]Pros:[/b] - Scripted combat - Interactable objects can be identified easily - Option to toggle QTE on and off [b]Cons:[/b] - It's hard to move precisely since you need to hold down the arrow keys for a while before you can move - QTE is useless if an enemy uses a skill - A lot of objects are obscured by the wall [b]Specs[/b] Intel Core i5-9300H 2.40GHz, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 [h1]Should you buy this game?[/h1] [b]No.[/b] [i]The game is mediocre, but I don't think it's fun to walk around with how the movement works and the QTE needs some work.[/i] [hr][/hr] [h1]In-Depth Review[/h1] [h3]Visuals[/h3] I can't remember the asset pack name, but I do recognize that the game uses a commercially sold asset pack. It's not a bad thing, though. The mapping itself is good enough for a game of this price, although I don't like how the game obscures the objects on the south side with a wall. The wall will only be transparent once your character moves closer to it, making it easy to miss some objects. [h3]Story[/h3] [b]It Lurks![/b] is one of those games that tells most of its story at the beginning and the end. You'll get a premise and be introduced to some mysteries at the beginning, which will be cleared at the end. It doesn't clear everything, though - there is a plot that is not explained after the ending. That being said, it's not something vital that must be explained, and the game still wraps its horror premise well at the end. [h3]The Game[/h3] [b]Gameplay[/b] The game takes place in a house where you need to explore everything to find clues and figure out what happened. Some objects can be interacted with to pick up some items, which might or might not be the key items needed to unlock other areas. The gameplay will continue like this until the end, with some scripted enemies placed here and there. You can only move once you hold down the arrow key for a while. Movement feels stiff as a result, especially since you often need to make smaller moves to find interactable objects in a narrow area. [b]Combat[/b] There is no random encounter - all enemies are scripted. Combat works like other turn-based [i]RPG Maker[/i] games where you can use an attack or skill, with the addition of a gun that you can use with the expense of bullets. Bullets and MP are limited - there is no healing spot, and the only way to replenish them is to either pick up the bullets or use some MP restorative items that can be found in the house. Luckily, I found them to be plenty as long as you don't overuse them. That being said, some fights might give you trouble if you refrain from using either skills or items. You need to figure out when is the best time to use your skills or guns, and decide which one that is best in your situation. As I said before, bullets and MP are limited, so you can't use too many of them. [b]QTE[/b] There is QTE in combat. QTE is always done in the same form of pressing the Z button once a circle is small enough to fit the target, which is available when either you or the enemy is attacking. Perfecting the QTE when the enemy is attacking will reduce your damage while doing it when you are attacking will increase your damage. I found the QTE to be off. There seems to be some sort of delay, probably caused by the animation and/or sound that is still running when the circle is getting smaller, making it hard to figure out the timing properly. Moreover, I found that the QTE that shows up when an enemy is using a skill is useless since the damage will always be delivered before the perfect timing passed. Luckily, you can always turn it off in the setting if you don't like it, although I'm not sure how the perfect damage will be calculated that way. Strangely, the game has a crit in a crit; perfecting a QTE will give you a crit, but you also have a chance to get another crit that will deal way more damage than usual. I find it weird since games that rely on QTEs like this usually have crit associated with perfecting the QTE, giving you constant damage if you manage to always perfect it, but it seems that you still can rely on RNG in this game. [b]Length and Difficulty[/b] Steam says that I finished it in 1.3h, and the in-game clock says that I finished it at 00:40:40. I did reset some fights since I was being stingy with resources and got some unlucky hits. Despite the limited resources, I ended up with a lot of extra resources after finishing the game. The game isn't hard. The QTE might be challenging to perfect due to the delay and distraction, but you only need to do it a few times in a battle to win. Moreover, it can be turned off in the setting if you want. [h1]Conclusion[/h1] [b]It Lurks![/b] is one of those mediocre [i]RPG Maker[/i] games. To be honest, it was tough to rate this one, but I ended up not recommending it because of how QTE and movement work. Exploration was fun since most objects in each room are interactable, but the stiff movement ruins the experience sometimes. Moreover, although the story is wrapped up nicely, its short playtime makes me feel empty after I finished it; it doesn't leave a lasting impression on me. [quote]This game was reviewed with a key provided by the developer for free through Curator Connect.[/quote] [quote]Follow our curator page: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/]IndieGems[/url] if you like and want to see more reviews like this one.[/quote]

Short, but sweet. A solid RPG experience with a unique setting for turn based RPG. You play as a detective who is asked to look into matters of a patron in his mansion. You find that the mansion is overrun with monsters. Overall, it's a fun game worth checking out, should take about 1-2 hours depending on your playstyle. I do intend to replay the game to see if there's anything I missed the first time around. If there is, I may update this review. Plus + Love the pre-rendered 3D graphics look. + Fun dialogue, but the horror aspects take itself quite seriously. Somewhat Evildead-ish in a way. + Lots of options for combat including melee attacks, gun fire, various items, and even spells in the form of bible verses which I thought was a nice touch. There's also a QTE mechanic for attack and defense. You just press a button when it lines up with the circle to get a bonus in def/atk. Not necessary to complete, but a nice added bit of interactivity, and the dev keeps it simple. No convoluted minigames like in Yiik. + Game encourages exploration of you environment. Make sure to look around for extra items, keys, and clues to puzzles like find out the key code for a certain door. Environment isn't big, but not too small either, so backtracking never feels annoying. + Works great on Steamdeck and other controllers. Had zero issues and played entirely handheld on my steamdeck. Minus - A bit short. I am glad it's not long, but a bit more would have been nice. Perhaps in the form of more random enemy counters, or perhaps add an extra difficulty mode or a new game+.

A short game, rather linear, but it has a very good atmosphere and very dramatic music and sound (though the thunder outside occasionally sounds like a jet engine). The graphics are really well done over the typical chibi-style RPG Maker stuff. Combat is tough but not complicated (just takes some practice with a simple Quick Time Event system for boosting damage you deal and reducing damage you take). But there's plenty of items for refreshing health, Spirit (used for skills like First-Aid), and most importantly, bullets. Other than one keypad combination lock, there's not any real puzzles, mostly keys to the rooms of the house and items that will be apparent (Fuse used on the Fusebox). A nice, cheap atmospheric thriller and short story with well-made sprites and tilesets if you want to support an indie developer.

this was pretty epic i killed zombies with bible verses but i need more

I purchased It Lurks the day it was released. It is a quick mystery RPG-type game. Although it was a fun spin on RPG's, it felt more like an episode than an actual full game. I hope I can put an earworm in the dev's ear to continue this potentially awesome "series" :). Thanks for the game.

Starts off okay, and then ends suddenly. A cheap, short RPGMaker horror-rpg. It has a nice start with exploration and lore and then it just gets stupid with a few battles and the game end.

I wouldn't consider it an RPG since there's no open world, i beat it a little drunk and stoned without dying once within 63 minutes. and 10 of the minutes were me afk to smoke a bowl. It had potential but half ass released it. I strongly do not recommend this unless you are bored

short but fun

I was looking for something reminiscent of Fear and Hunger and played for the first time today on stream. I liked the storytelling and pace of the gameplay, and found the combat system novel but intuitive enough. I was really getting into it when the credits began rolling after I realised was the final battle! I'd love the dev to pick up the story and give us a 'full' game! All in all, I'd certainly recommend this to anyone interested in rpgs and who's looking for something they can tackle in an hour or two. Good stuff.

I got stuck :( But the game is good.