For only $3 this point&click adventure is surprisingly decent, the narrative is unique, the environment has a lot of detail, and it has about 90 minutes of content, which is more than I expected. I think the story had a good mystery, even if I didn't fully understand the concept, something about the dreams bridging reality. There are cool psychological effects in terms of narrative and scenery, overall I think the game was somewhat immersive, but it's not much of a horror experience. I had a few technical problems with the interface, I think the hotspots overall were pretty annoying, I often overlooked areas because the click detection was so narrow, and on top of it, some of the scene transitions were easy to mistake for background. Perhaps you should do some color coding next to the doors and pathways, it would remove a lot of unnecessary frustration. Another thing, if there is an object like a vending machine that is part of the puzzle, the character should comment on it, instead of just having the hotspots, it would highlight the importance of an object. The are several locations in the game where the character has nothing to say on the hotspot that requires an item, and because it's in pixel art, sometimes you have to use your imagination because again, the character didn't comment.
The puzzle gameplay was very basic, find a key, use the key on the door - nothing too interesting, I wish the story played a bigger part in the design of the puzzles. Also, the interactive areas would reset after you left the room, and it's not always clear if playing with the background has a purpose, but it does have a purpose in some locations. There is one area that requires some timing with WASD, I thought it was a bit junky with the visuals, I could not tell what was a platform, luckily it's a very short segment.
[h1] Pros: [/h1]
(+) I thought the game had a good concept for the narrative, while I was not invested in every conversation, at least the idea was different. To be fair, I think the psychological twists were enjoyable in terms of visuals and the interactions between the characters. I liked it, but I didn't love it, not sure why that is, maybe I wanted more suspense, it felt kinda safe if you know what I mean.
(+) As far as the aesthetic of the game, I thought the locations were pretty fun to explore, but obviously, I have some problems with the UI. I think there was a solid attempt to create an atmosphere with the soundtrack and how it was used, but it still feels like you could have done more, sometimes it feels like the area does not have enough sound design.
[h1] Feedback: [/h1]
[u] Hotspots/Pathways/Object detection [/u] - sometimes it's not clear where you can go to the next area, of the top of my head, the basement with the tapes, and the right path at the blue tower. The character should comment on all interactive areas, that way you know they are important. Also, I had issues just picking up objects and using them, the hotspots were just a bit too small.
[u] Scenery Reset [/u] - I find it strange that game resets the interactive objects that you already discovered. If I already found a hidden door, it should be the default when I come back. Also, you have all these useless objects that you can interact with, if they have no purpose, they should not reset. I also had one softlock, if you talk to the guy in the bar over and over, the game can freeze.
[b] Overall Thoughts: 7/10 [/b]
I thought the story was interesting, and overall it feels much better than your average $3 game in terms of visuals, but it needs to be more intuitive with hotspots and how it provides information. Again, the concept was compelling, but you probably could have done more with it, I wish the game was a little more intense. With a little more care, I think you could charge $10 for these, and I would not have a problem.
[code]Review by: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/31294838-Hidden-Gem-Discovery/ [/code]
