oneway.exe: Module 1.0

TLDR: Very difficult puzzles, somewhat anticlimactic end. Still very cool and would recomend Spoiler free review: The game has three different styles of gameplay across seven (and a secret eighth) levels. For each level, the first part of the gameplay you are walking through a 3d landscape of a hotel, and will be chased by an entity. At the end of this, the you will select a character's room, and solve puzzles in a 3d room. Finally you will be transported back to a desktop simulator where you will be solving character-related malware puzzles. As you go through the different puzzles, you will collect pieces of the overall story which only become clear after playing multiple rooms. We found the puzzles suuuuper hard, we frequently got stuck. There is a hints guide in the discussions on steam which provided enough hints to get us unstuck on several parts. It tool a lot of work, and the feeling of getting though a puzzle is super satisfying. Some rooms i found creepier than other rooms. In the end, because you kind of piece together the story as you complete the rooms, I found the ending anticlimactic because it didn't share any information that hadn't already been shared, I found myself wanting there to be more. With that said, the game was still cool and a lot of love went into it, so I really do recommend it. You will not like this game if you dislike early internet LOLspeak dialogue, puzzles that stump you, some jumpscares/chase scenes, themes of violence on women, less linear gameplay, puzzles without obvious objectivies, or want to see a lot of gore. You WILL like this game if you enjoy piecing together information yourself, dont mind having to read through chats, files, and documents for information to solve puzzles, like a mix of kinds of gameplays, and like hidden lore.

pretty kewl

So oneway is a pretty decent horror game, one I do recommend but with some criticism that I hope the devs can grow from. I have a lot of thoughts, bear with me lmfaooo. Oneway is obviously heavy on puzzles, with the desktop segments in particular mostly relying on you searching through hundreds of lines of dialogue across two separate chat platforms - it's kind of a big ask, since not everything is relevant and there's a LOT to go through. The game does however make efforts to point you to where you need to look when it comes to searching through the chat. It's not all searching through dialogue though; some of the desktop puzzles have fairly unique mechanics, though they can appear to be a little esoteric if you aren't thinking outside the box sometimes. At times you're told exactly what the game expects from you, and sometimes you're left on your own. The room segments are a lot more straight forward (and imo, a lot more enjoyable). If the puzzles sound intimidating though, there's a great guide on steam that gives increasingly helpful hints on how to solve every puzzle, so if you ever get very stuck you can consult that to get your footing. The other thing you should be aware of is this is the first part of a series, so you won't get a total conclusion right off the bat. If the game is interesting to you, I recommend purchasing it and experiencing it now to support the devs in creating the next installment. It DID have a really rocky launch, but the devs have diligently fixed the game up, so you shouldn't have any issues. And even if you do, their checkpoint system is really good. The game has great art, and the in-fiction characters are all for the most part really interesting. Mikey's my favourite. Anita and Billie are really fun too. The music is good, and the game is generally able to create a good atmosphere with each room. I will say the desktop segments do not have the same atmosphere as the rooms, and you're either going to be ok with that or it's going to annoy you. I did enjoy the writing, however I do feel like it could have been cut down in parts. While I genuinely really hated the main trio and their interjections in the demo, I ended up coming around to them as characters. Mostly. EE pisses me off, CT I was able to warm up to, and SS is my new GOAT argue with the wall. I do think the game suffers from a bit of a lack of editing. The entirety of module 1.0 seems dedicated to teaching you about the trio - their relationship dynamic and what happened to them. The problem is... about three rooms in, you kind of get it already. There are 7 rooms to visit in total, and it ended up seeming like information was repeated a lot. Maybe the repetition helps those a little slower on the uptake, but it just ended up making me feel a bit frustrated. At a certain point, nothing new was really being revealed. I understand repitition as a narrative device, but if that was the intention, it didn't really hit the right way for me. Even the ending sequence didn't really offer anything new - it mostly just served to confirm what you should have already figured out, and then inform you that a sequel is planned. Which wouldn't be as bad if we hadn't spent 10 hours on a single plot point. As much as I would hate to cut characters, it just felt like maybe you didn't need all 7 rooms. I understand that each room was more or less dedicated to an individual facet of the trio's relationship, but dragging it out in such a way feels a bit sluggish, especially since there isn't really a huge payoff. Some miscellaneous stuff - before, there were promotional images on the steam page that suggested more visual novel-esque interactions, and a gif animation of anita creeping through a doorway. These have since been removed (though you see the visual novel images appear very briefly at the start of the game), but I hope to see them expanded on in the sequel. I had also kind of gotten it in my head that each chase sequence would be customised after the characters room that you just completed, but it was just Ophelia every time... I just think it would have been cool if each character had a turn chasing you. Maybe I was looking forward to Mikey chasing me, is that a crime. But that would have been a ton of extra work, so I get it. Anyway, I'm looking forward to the next installment. I'm really interested to see how the devs plan on building to a satisfying conclusion, and I hope to see the return of all the in-fiction characters too, it would be a shame to not use them again. My suggestion would be to not linger so much on one plot point and be more willing to move the story forward. The devs very obviously care about their creation, and it makes me want to care too, so I wish them the best - and while I do have a lot of opinions on the game, I think they are onto something really cool. And hey, if the devs ever need some extra cash, you should make a dating sim type game with the fiction characters LMFAO I'd play it. I just really like them it'd be cool to spend more time with them. Hope EE gets beat up in the second game.

ophie my beloved

This is such a beautiful, well done game. Two devs worked themselves to the bone to provide such a look into eras of horror and gaming! The game is so lore-rich!! I played the game over many times and there are still many and little treats and lore dumps in small details even!! I recommend this heavily. This has been an incredible experience. Devs deserve all the love and support you can give this game! The characters are very well written and very interactive! The lore goes deep... and i mean DEEP. Try it out for yourself!

I don't think I've ever been this invested in a horror game.

i love this game and i can,t wait for more

I'm terrible at games like this but I was so invested in the story that there was no way I wasn't gonna finish it. Thank god for the hint guide! I love love love the art and characters in this game, so many fun scares. I particularly love Billie's room, the spooky dress-up game is SO much fun. Also, I really didn't expect such poly vibes from Trio8??? I don't know if it's canon but my heart is in it all the same, I love them. I played this on the Steam Deck, and later in the game, it would lag a lot when I'd open up Fantome. I assume it was from loading all the chat logs at once. Not a big deal to me personally, but I could see it giving some people a hard time.

its good enough, not worth $20. The game asks too much out of you for what you get from it and a lot of the hidden lore is gatekept, by the developers own admission.

You'll find something to love about this game if you grew up consuming internet horror media. Without getting into spoilers, the deeper character stories of the game's fictional developers was surprisingly gripping. Very much hope we get to see where this story goes next... Two quick notes: 1. Don't be too proud to turn to a guide if you need one. The puzzle difficulty varies wildly, and isn't necessarily linear. 2. Don't be scared off by early reviews warning about the game being bugged or broken. It apparently had a rough initial launch, but it's been fixed since then.