Lifestream - A Haunting Text Adventure

A text-based interactive adventure with many twists and turns of events, this game didn't fail to make me gasp and startle in some of the scenes. The story starts when John Holton, a young man whose father has disappeared and he wanted to investigate his disappearance. Sounds normal right? The twist is, John's father is a Catholic priest named Randolph, an old man who you can make either nice or grumpy depends on your choices. Since John's father is a priest, the young man couldn't get help from anyone, not even the police. So he decided to search for his father alone. You'll be taken to the past and present as you progress into the story to learn more about the disappearance, You'll play as both John and Randolph to discover even a deeper and darker secret and a real twist by the end of the game. The atmosphere and music worked wonderfully with the story which was written beautifully. I liked the map, although you can't fast travel in it, the navigation and how it was designed made moving around easy. Each location was described nicely and had many things to interact with. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1320678643 While the story started slow, it was a great foundation for what comes next as everything starts to make sense. This game requires a lot of reading, you can't skip anything, even the notes you find scattered around, they work as clues for the puzzles you encounter. Those puzzles vary from hard to easy, and each one has done creatively. I liked the one with the woman, child and man voices which leads you to the right path, it was an amazing and creepy puzzle. While this game is older than Shady Brook, I found the characters design here more appealing, and the design of the house was nicely done. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1308676043 Although the game not entirely connected to the other games by the same developer, I liked the mention of the other characters in the other games, makes it feel like it is the same universe. You can learn more about each character from the codex on the official website, but I encourage you not to do so before finishing the game as it gives huge spoilers of the characters. And of course, we can't deny that the pointing system is a good feature of the game. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1320770120 Pros: +Nice artwork, characters design looks good, especially Randolph and his son. +Interesting dark and creepy story. +Good music and atmosphere. +Very well-written story. +Good map (no fast travel feature). +Gamebook style. +Detective theme. +Choices matters. +Interesting characters and tons of creepy ones too. +Points system. +Good challenging and creative puzzles. +Steam achievements. Cons: -No option for voice-overs. (Would be nice if the character say a word or two, not the whole paragraph) -Lots of backtracking. Again, this game is not for everyone, this is a novel game which requires long hours of reading and exploring- I love that and wish for more games of this genre. I do recommend it to people who love to read like me! You can't miss this dark adventure! [i]Other Reviews: [url=https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198071375554/recommended/545850]Shady Brook Review[/url] [url=https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198071375554/recommended/597120]The Filmmaker Review[/url] [url=https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198071375554/recommended/833990/]Stonewall Penitentiary Review[/url] [url=https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561198071375554/recommended/1092800?snr=1_5_9__402]Summit of the Wolf[/url] [/i] [quote]𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑐𝘩𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑚𝑦 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒 [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/32399565/]𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑛𝑎'𝑠 𝐶𝘩𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒[/url][/quote]

I am surprised that there are so few reviews for this VG text hybrid adventure game (mostly visual novel). For achievement hunters it’s a really good game to get 100% on and in one playthrough! I am used to other type of VNs on steam which requires tons of playthroughs to get every weird combination for achievements, thankfully not here. If you look at the achievements first they are very easy to figure out in game, for a couple you do have to find in game clues first before triggering said activity to be able to get them. I haven’t played the original lifestream, but this ended up being really engaging with not only the story but with traditional aspects of point n click adventure gaming re using items in inventory and reading journal/items you pick up for clues. Also in remembering when you are moving to different places what is at each place, so you can go back to it later (there is a map which helps but it’s not a transporter map.) There are two different modes of play – easy and normal. So you can have the option of help -objectives, hints and even a tutorial or none at all which should please everyone. There is even a w/t which the devs have posted in forum if you get stuck at any part. It does take a while to get used to how everything works and while most things you get the hang of things quickly, using inventory items is a bit awkward. Sometimes I didn’t think I could use an item only to realise I wasn’t at the exact text page it wanted me to be at. If you only like straight text games and hate adventure games then I would suggest you try the demo for this which I saw at the publisher’s website as it may just surprise you! Now I am used to the interface, I much prefer this style of game compared to straight VNs and being an adventure player I enjoy the journal/inventory side and trying to get max points like old school type adventure games. Thankfully you don’t have to get max points for achievement purposes! I think I picked this game up in a bundle but at such a low price I’d have been very happy paying full price, with trading cards, achievements, good engaging story, decent length, I am happy to recommend this game. Can’t wait for Shady brook to be greenlighted as I’ll be buying that.

I wasn't completely sure what to expect when I picked up this game, having never really played a text adventure of any kind before. But, now that I've completed it, I can safely say that pciking it up was a very smart move. If you're not used to this type of game then it might take you a few moments to get used to the controls and especially the navigation, but after 10 minutes or so, you'll be whizzing around the place without any issue at all. It's very intuitive and very simple, and there is a map screen if you suddenly find yourself a little lost. Graphically, the game is beautiful. The interface, the icons, the in-game images, all look very nice and professional. In terms of sound, the game presents a perfect mix of peaceful, melancholic and dramatic background music, all inserted at just the right moments, as well as enough sound effects to make sure you're always satisfied that things are being selected correctly, and that things are generally getting done the way they should be. Storywise, the game is excellent. It's a mystery at heart, incorporating themes of loss, desire, heartache, faith, religion, and the never ending search for peace and happiness. I was gripped right up until the very end, and this being a text adventure, where story is paramount, I'd say that is a very big plus. The only negative thing to say about this game, for me personally, is when it comes to the overall game design. I had to consult a walkthrough on 3 occassions, simply because I just would never have thought to do a certain thing, and on another occasion just because I forgot that I could access a certain area because I hadn't been there since the very start. This is a trivial complaint though, and something that practically all adventure games suffer from, so I don't hold it against the game at all. So, if you like a good mystery, and a good character driven yarn, all wrapped in a great looking, and sounding, package, I definitely, without a doubt, recommend you pickup LIfestream. It took me just over 5 hours to complete, and so for the price, I'd say it's a real bargain. :)

Wow. What can i say. I didn`t expect that much from the game, but it totally flashed me. This game is a text adventure where you have to solve puzzles in order to continue. The interface is great and i also enjoy the music in the background. The tutorial is short and there are no enerving long explanations. It`s all pretty simple. But i definitely like the mechanichs. Well, i haven`t played long now, but i`m already excited to continue.

I suck at completing games, it happens very rarely. I suck even worse at writing reviews (I write them even more rarely). However, this game's story was captivating enough to keep me interested enough to complete it in two days AND to write a review. The review may suck, but the game didn't.

Ah, the classic text adventure. At first, I wasn't sure what to make of this, but at under $3 I decided to take the plunge. Having played the original point-n-click LifeStream - which I loved - from over 10 years ago by the same developer, I kind of felt that the developer was taking a step backwards releasing it as a text adventure. Within a few minutes of playing, however, my concerns vanished. The interface is solid and no worries about trying to type in the correct actions because you don't have to worry about that since you click on the options you want to do. From a purist standpoint, I think it lacks some of the creativity that came with playing a classic text adventure because you only have the choices that are laid out before you. You can't try something weird to see if the parser comes back with a witty response, for example. That can be a blessing or a curse, but the benefit is that the game does move forward at a pretty good pace. No need to worry about being stuck at a spot for hours or days. The story will suck you in and keep you going. Overall I have to give it a thumbs up and recommendation. It's a steal at $3, the graphics look good, the interface is smooth, great sound. Defintely a relaxing, yet intriguing experience. The only con I have with it - assuming I didn't miss some hotkey, is that I wish you could quick jump around the map.

I really enjoyed this game. It has a well structured story which is engaging and exciting. There's a few twists in the storyline and at no point did I feel bored. The puzzles are not too difficult but challenging enough even on the easy level. It reminded me of a HOG without the hidden objects as there were times when you have to combine items to make them useful and the puzzles felt similar. Tere are no moving animations in the game and there is quite a lot of text to read. I was worried a little bit about this at the beginning but you soon get used to it and it in no way distracts from the enjoyment. You should be able to complete the game within 7 hours to 100%. I did miss one achievement right at the end of the game and was thinking I would have to play through all over again. I left a message on the discussions board and the developer contacted me with a save game just before the achievement. Now that is service for you. This would be my only criticism of the game is that once you complete the game you can't restart the game at certain points to mop up any achievements if you are interested in that. Some other games of this type let you start at the beginning of a chapter for example. I would highly recommend this game to adventure game lovers and Hidden Object game lovers.

I originally played an early release version of this game and reviewed it for the Just Adventure website. The review is still available even though the site is not actively posting content. I just finished replaying Lifestream in order to get the Steam achievements (which were not present when I played through the first time). The second time through, I am just as impressed. Unimatrix uses the Storycentric engine as a framework for their text adventures (Lifestream, Shady Brook, The Filmmaker). It is an intuitive interface that presents an illustrated text adventure in a highly interactive way. There is a map, inventory, puzzles, and dialog. It is a great way to experience a visual novel with activities. The story is very well written and alternates between the viewpoint of a father and son, with their worlds coming together in a conclusion that I did not see coming. There are no voice overs (which I think is a good thing) and the sound track adds to the 'you are there' feeling with sound effects and some mood inspiring music. It is a classic tale of good versus evil and humans attempting to find immortality. I found it engaging and a great alternative to reading a book. Most achievements are story based but do require you to pay attention, read and follow clues, and explore all of your options. There is also a scoring system that tracks your progress as you play. The game automatically saves on exit so you will never lose progress. The only down side is that a missed achievement is likely to require a second play through, from the beginning. If you have play more than one Unimatrix game, you will start to see references and character cross-overs between them (which I think is quite fun). All and all, Lifestream is rewarding way to spend a few hours of your day.

[h1]GUI-driven text adventure starts slow but good value for the money[/h1] Positives: + GUI-driven text adventure like the mid 90's + Very nice artwork (it's not HD, but it's in a style more like the 90's adventures) + Detailed story + About 8 hours of game play + Cost only a few bucks, even less if on discount Negatives: - Takes an hour to start getting into the plot (I almost gave up), you do much day-to-day priestly stuff without a clear plot hook - Some aspects of the characters backgounds are confusing at start Neutrals: -/+ The GUI means that you can only chose from certain actions, unlike a true text adventure where you can type anything into the parser (this makes it less frustrating to play but you miss some of the fun) -/+ You play as either a (presumably Catholic) priest or his son (who his incognito and claims to be his nephew) -/+ Some of the storyline choices you have to do are a bit far-fetched (which is why this style of game works better for fantasy worlds than a real-life setting) -/+ A few timed puzzles (not sure if it affects the final outcome) -/+ Much of the dialog choices don't seem to affect the final outcome -/+ Apparently a remake of a game from 2003

Like a well done paperback mystery novel. Very comfortable.