Look Outside

Came for the visitor, stayed for Lyle.

So, there is a theme to this game as well as an important message. Looks can be deceiving, for better or for worse, but if you always start off by giving someone the benefit of the doubt, both parties are likely to reach a mutually beneficial conclusion. I've made so many friends in this game by just trying to understand something I didn't understand before, and I think there's a lot to be gained from the experience. Look Outside embodies this premise to the extreme, so you're going to have to turn off all your expectations and just feel. As with real life, you can never tell by appearances who is friend or foe, so go exercise that instinct with this game.

I beat Look Outside last night. I think it's excellent, and it's so full of clever ideas that I think junior RPG devs should really take a close look at it First, it's a bottle game. The whole thing takes place in one apartment building. Immediately gives the game a contained framework for everything that's going to happen that plays right into the (fantastic) story that's unfolding around you. There are five floors, and access to each is unlocked as the player explores. Each floor has several rooms, and these rooms have been mutated so that there's a wide range of "biomes" within the apartment. These rooms are like mini-dungeons, with their own unique monsters, items, and sometimes puzzle gimmicks to figure out. There's a room that's overgrown with plants, a room that is full of frozen blocks, a room that's flooded, a room that's populated by sentient paintings, a room full of teeth, a room of taxidermy creations. These aren't single screen rooms, they're elaborate but not exhausting layouts. The story, which entails a mysterious force outside that transforms anything that perceives it, leads to creative monsters and equally creative party members. There's about 12 recruitable party members, and they are all unique in interesting ways. Each one has a unique way of talking (not in the Chrono Cross way, in a Chrono Trigger way) so they build character every time they talk. They bring their uniqueness into battle, with each member usually having a mechanic specific to them. My final party consisted of the main character Sam (who learns abilities by playing video games), Joel (8 year old teeth monster who gains max HP by landing the killing blow on enemies), Dan (video game streamer who switches between calm (healing) and irate (damage) modes, and gains bonuses based on his current viewers), and Morton (a junk seller with a large vocabulary that I hooked up with a book of spells). That junk seller was more of a character than Amarant from FFIX was. I followed a guide for the "good" ending, and I left a ton of meat on this bone. Several rooms I just never explored because I got filtered by the first encounter and I didn't need what was inside. Areas called "Rat Hell" and "Meat Hell" that I didn't discover or didn't explore. Bosses I walked around. Party members I never saw, and companion quests I never triggered. I got an S rank at the end, but it's really interesting to know that I could play this again and have a different enough experience that it wouldn't be a waste of time I’m really glad I pushed through the first few hours where I didn’t know anything and everything was scary.

A genuinely unique take on the apocalypse trope with both nuance and heart. One of the things I adore about this game is the autonomy you get. Where you go and what you do, who you speak with, trust, or attack are almost all completely up to your own choice, and all of your choices, or even lack thereof, lead to consequences in your run. And often these outcomes are a tradeoff between bad and good, rather than being simply one or the other. Hours of consistently fun gameplay combined with a large world of heartfelt and terrifying stories to unravel, amazing art and soundtrack and quality mechanics make this game worth every penny and more. I highly reccomend :)

One of the most fun 16bit RPG game I have ever played. I absolutely loved it. Horror is one of my favorite themes in any media, and this game does it so well. I'm not going to go full einstein mode and break down every aspect, nook & cranny of this game... But I do recommend it. Hopefully it snowballs and picks up more and more in popularity so they could make a sequel (I want to know WHAT HAPPENS NEXT and what the next big plans are for the protagonist). Well made!!! I also advice any newbies or anyone interested in picking it up to fully utilize the save functions if they want to knock down achievements left and right and not mindlessly play like I did (lol).

A game with the Lovecraftian tag that actually deserves it! This is real cosmic horror at its finest, and I absolutely loved every minute of it. It often seems like the majority of games with this tag were made by people who have never actually read any Lovecraft and truly believe that including monsters with tentacles and vaguely oceanic origins is all it takes to make something "Lovecraftian." In reality, that's not even scratching the surface of the deeper themes of his work; the true horror is so much darker and more terrifying than monsters. This game actually dives into the fear of the unknown, existential dread, being altered by forces you have no control over or understanding of, as well as questioning your sanity, your sense of self, and what humanity truly means in the face of eldritch phenomena. It really is brilliantly written while also being a lot of fun to play. I was a little hesitant when I saw it was an RPG Maker game as I've seen a decent amount of low-effort slop hastily thrown together and sold as a game using it. This one is definitely a standout though, easily one of the best games ever made with that engine. The art is so stylized and unique while perfectly fitting the story being told. The sound design is excellent as well. I enjoyed the combat as someone who grew up on old-school JRPGs, but there is a bit of a learning curve to it, so expect to die from time to time even when you're pretty confident you've worked out a good team strategy (save often). Overall, this is a great-looking, fun game and an excellent example of true cosmic horror. Highly recommended!

What a weird game. This has such stunning and detailed pixel art, yet most of the time there isn't something pleasing to look at with that well made art. (Hellen is an exception) I like the "Final True Ending" A lot and it's easily my favorite. Getting all the endings in this game seems very tedious and I would not put myself to do them. I got failed ritual and no going back, im happy with leaving that there. I recommend explorer mode, every time. The manual saving is going to save you frustration, so much of it. I kind of don't like the weapon breaking system even though I get it's realistic, and im glad there wasn't that for armors. I don't like the rng factor of getting teammates. The dialogue is really nice, that wasn't something I expected. Worth the grab :>

one of the best turn-based RPGs - and maybe RPGs in general - that I've played in the last 10 years. it's also an incredibly effective lovecraftian horror story on top of that. everything here feels extremely thoughtful, and was clearly crafted by someone who had a [b]vision[/b]. the game's structure is such that you have 15 in-game days to do as much as you can to progress and survive. there's also a surprising amount of content, some of which is only accessible after a certain amount of time has passed. because of these two factors, runs can end up feeling drastically different from one another depending on your choices and priorities (and your RNG). for $9.99 full price, the dollars-to-entertainment ratio is absurd. if you enjoy RPGs, and you pass this up, you are supremely dumb. inversely, if you ♥♥♥♥ with this game, we're automatically best friends.

One of the best games I've ever played, and at about two-thirds the price of a Perilous Warp its practically a steal. If you like rpgs, cosmic horror and quirky characters (with a bit of survival horror thrown in there for good measure) then do yourself a favor and try this amazing game for yourself.

Easily one of the best RPGs I've ever played. A great setting, really fun characters, fantastic writing, an awesome music score and a very interesting narrative that you have to piece together instead of it being laid out in front of you. I don't want to go into detail because I feel this game is best experienced blind if at all possible. At least one playthrough, you're probably going to need a guide to find the many, many, many secrets and extra stuff you will most certainly miss. There's a few weak spots in the game (One 'warzone' comes to mind) but it kept me super engaged from start to finish despite this. For two playthroughs! Don't let the fact it's an RPG Maker game scare you off. This game is full of charm and heart, and I wholeheartedly recommend it.