If imitation is the most sincere form of flattery, then [b]The Exit 8[/b] has sure been praised [i]a lot[/i] over the past two years. It feels like every other ([i]other[/i]) week we get another one of these [b]SUPEr SpO0kY SP0t THe DiFFeREnCE[/b] games, where -[i]other than the location[/i]- they're more or less completely identical to each other. Obviously, [i]I must not mind it that much[/i], since I keep buying 'em; and in THIS lovely little Steam sale, [b]I got two new ones![/b] [b]Medical Layers[/b], which takes place in a hospital; and [b]Distorted Hallways[/b], which takes place at a public school. Other than that, [i]they look like the same game. [b]coolio. [/b] [/i] I'll review the other one eventually, [b]but let's talk Medical Layers. [i]Are you ready for your checkup? [/i] [/b]
If you've played any of these anomaly games before, then you should feel right at home here; as it just follows the playbook [i]down to the letter.[/i] [b]You are a lowly [i](insert occupation here!)[/i] trapped in an endless hallway loop at a [i](insert totally original location here!)[/i]. Spot the anomalies! If you don't see anything wrong, [i]go to the right! [/i] BUT if you DO see something wrong, [i]go to the left! [/i] You have to survive [i](insert oddly specific number here!)[/i] floors of this madness to win! [i](insert exclamation!) [/i] [/b]. [spoiler](thank you for playing Exit 8 Mad Libs. hope you had fun!).[/spoiler] But this one is [i]different[/i]. In fact, this place is [i]like an onion[/i], because [b]this hospital has l a y e r s . . .[/b] uhm, [i]in other words[/i], there's slightly more you have to look around now. Unlike in [b]Exit 8[/b], which took things [i]so simply[/i] that the entire game took place in [b]a single hallway[/b], [b]Medical Layers[/b] has [i]several[/i] rooms -[i]one hallway included[/i]- you search, including a waiting area and an operating room; and while I [i]do[/i] enjoy having the extra scenery, [b]it comes with a cost[/b]. Call me [i]stupid[/i], that I have the mind capacity of [i]a bag of chips[/i], or [b]call me an ambulance[/b], but [b]I can't [i]keep track of all this stuff [/i], man. [/b] There's six rooms on each floor, which means that you have to memorize [b]all six rooms[/b], and scour them [i]top to bottom[/i] for clues, [b]every single time[/b]. It's not at the level of absurdity that is [b]Bump in the Night[/b] [spoiler](as much as I liked that game, exploring a three story house for anomalies is insane)[/spoiler], but [i]still[/i]; [b]remember the saying that [i]less is more. [/i] [/b] The anomalies themselves aren't really helping matters, as they're either [b]freaking obvious[/b] [spoiler](a closet opens, and dozens of bloody body bags fall out!! completely normal!)[/spoiler] or as [b]inconsequential as you could get[/b] [spoiler](hey.. someone stole my pen!! HR??!)[/spoiler] with [i]basically [b]nothing in between.[/b] [/i] The game controls [i]just fine[/i], and it [i]can[/i] get pretty freaky at times, but eventually [i]I was just tired.[/i] Tired of losing my streak for something like [i]a missing sticky note,[/i] tired of the obnoxious scares [i]screaming in my face[/i], and tired because [b]I'm writing this at like 3:00 in the morning[/b]. [spoiler](gone wrong)[/spoiler] [b](not clickbait)[/b] [spoiler](the dead speak)[/spoiler] [b](like and subscribe)[/b] [spoiler](thx)[/spoiler]
As I said in my [b]Exit 8[/b] review last year, anomaly games are a little bit difficult to explain in terms of production value, because [i]they're just the same layout over and over again[/i] for like [b]two hours[/b]; and if you don't like what you saw [b]the first time[/b], chances are [i]you're not going to like it [b]the twentieth time. [/b] [/i] Still, as for what it is, [b]Medical Layers[/b] is competent. Every room has a respectable amount of detail; with the old beds and wheelchairs crowding the halls, tables covered in pill bottles and syringes take space in the operating rooms, and each cubicle has [i]not gonna lie[/i] [b]a pretty decent computer set up[/b] in the office area. It's not [i]amazing[/i] [spoiler](heck, Dementium: The Ward for the Nintendo DS still beats it by a fair margin)[/spoiler] and the developer already stated that most of the assets were premade on Unreal Engine, but it's still [i]pretty good[/i]; especially for a one man team! As for the scares, [b]they do be kinda scary![/b] It's mostly just generic zombie dudes, either covered in bloody bandages or missing limbs (or sometimes both), and they go all like [b]AAAAARRGGHGHH BLEEAAH[/b] and run at you and stuff. Nothing you haven't seen before, but the detailed models (which the creator may or may not have made) and freaky noises often [i]did[/i] get a jump out of me. However, [i]all these anomaly clone games are really making me appreciate[/i] the subtlety that is [b]Exit 8's horror.[/b] When that game wanted to get loud, [b]it was loud.[/b] When that game wanted to be [i]freakishly quiet[/i], [b]it did[/b]. And when the game wanted to do something around the middle, [b]it did, [i]and it was incredible. [/i] [/b] The security cameras suddenly turning on and filming you; [i]a pair of eyes peeking out of a slightly open door; [b]the missing and uneven tiles on the ceiling forming a face[/b] [/i]; those things are all simple at heart, but have stuck with me [b]more than any stupid zombie could.[/b] Also, [i]it's a bit odd[/i], wouldn't you say, that the default [b]perfect hospital room[/b] you're supposed to compare everything to [i]is already [b]covered in blood.[/b] [/i] like, [i]this place is so terribly managed that the halls and stuff being all clean[/i] [b] is considered an anomaly? [i]huh. [/i] [/b] It's also weird how [b]you can't actually die.[/b] One of the anomalies has this super spooky [spoiler]hooded dead dude[/spoiler] standing menacingly at the doorway, and I just ran STRAIGHT AT HIM, like I wanted to give him a [b]big hug[/b] [spoiler](hey, he looked like he needed one!)[/spoiler] and [b]nothing [i]freakin' [/i] happened.[/b] Another funny thing happened when I spotted a man ([b]I'll call him Billy[/b]) strapped to an operating table, [b]screaming[/b], and [i]struggling to get free[/i]; and I decided to take a quick selfie with him, but then [spoiler]Billy DID break free and started shaking me [/spoiler] and I somehow glitched and [i]fell through the ground[/i], but the game considered that a [b]win[/b], and [b]I ended up at the start; [i]one point ahead.[/i] [/b] And then [i]there are just your average bugs[/i], which are neither [b]funny or [i]fun. [/i] [/b] The seams of the walls don't line up as well as they should, so you're flash-banged with a [b]solid white box[/b] every single time you pass a doorway. The lighting never looks the way it should, [i]glitching into the walls[/i], and leaving some [i]very odd looking shadows[/i]. The game runs [b]very[/b] inconsistently, and [i]not once [b]did it reach the promised “60 FPS” I set it to [/b] [/i]. And [i]as far as I could tell[/i], [spoiler]the game never once had an anomaly in the bathroom OR the supply closet. You could've had like a janitor zombie, or a pooping zombie. IDK man.[/spoiler]
[b]Do you like The Exit 8?[/b] Answer [i]that[/i], and you'll essentially get your answer to if [b]Medical Layers is worth your time.[/b] Minus some technical differences and scares, [b]they're the exact same game.[/b] It's [i]yet another[/i] walking simulator where you go around spotting the difference in some creepy setting. If you already like the genre, [i]you'll probably like the game.[/i] But if you DON'T like it, or [i]have yet to even experience it[/i], [b]this game will not change your mind.[/b] [spoiler] (and I'm sure I'll more or less say the same exact thing about Distorted Hallways) [/spoiler] As for me, [i]it was alright,[/i] but not nearly as frightening as that time I got stuck in an MRI machine. [b]now THAT was some real scary stuff! [/b]
