STAY

One of the few reviews I've ever written. The beginning of this game is amazing, and unlike a few people on here, I actually like Quinn. Being in the seemingly hopeless situation that he is in, wouldn't you be depressed and anxious as well? Anyway, I'll break this game down into a few categories: 1) Story: 4/5 Story itself seems interesting enough. There are about 20ish chapters in the game, and I'm up to chapter 18. You are basically helping Quinn escape a rundown house by finding clues along the way and gaining his trust to do so. Losing that trust of course has consequences (as witnessed by the bad endings. That "Violent" tag really carries here). 2) Choice Mechanic: 3/5 This is where I started having my doubts about the game. Some of the choices you make through interaction with Quinn made since to me (being careful before you go down a dark hallway, etc.) and some others made NO SENSE AT ALL. It almost seemed like the game punishes you for being careful and doing the right thing. Quinn at times doesn't seem to understand that we are trying to help him! So frustrating. Oh yeah, another mechanic in this game refers to the title itself: "STAY". Basically means that when you leave the game, you are leaving Quinn himself. Leave for a long time, and he loses all faith in you and wants nothing to do with you. I get this mechanic, but it's annoying for people like myself who don't have much free time with work, responsibilites etc. (Although i am typing this long review out...oops). Moving on. 3) Puzzles: 1.5/5 Oh boy, so many things to say on this one. Some of the puzzles you have to do which aid in Quinn's escape include things like breaking down a wall by choosing specific bricks, moving chess pieces to correct spaces on a board, you get the idea. Let's talk about puzzles in general. I personally think that you should be able to have ALL the clues available to solve the puzzle in the game itself, wouldn't you? Well no, not here. You literally have to Google search some of the puzzles in order to figure them out. One example is that if you are not multi-lingual (like at least 4 languages), you will NOT be able to figure out one of the puzzles on your own. I'm dead serious. That is absolutely horrible game design and is my main issue with this game. If you have to Google search the game's puzzles, then what is the point of playing the puzzles at all?? Some of the puzzles are indeed great and were lots of fun to solve. It's just a shame that my experience was ruined by the awful puzzles that i had to do as well. 4) Overall Assessment: 3/5 I'll mention some other stuff here: Soundtrack is great, art style is fantastic, Quinn's a good character, and I don't regret playing this game. STAY is a game that can be improved, maybe even have a remake with better puzzles and better choice design. The potential is there, and I am still grateful to the developers for the experience. However, the way the game is now, i cannot recommend this to anyone who wants a good adventure/puzzle experience.

A great idea which could have lead to several great experiences, but gets so frustrating and annoying. The start of the game it feelt awesome the art of the game is truly amazing i have to give them that. But the more you play you realize you are just babysitting an edgy and depressed adult which makes most of the time no sense whatso ever. Most of the puzzles are extremly poorly done, that gives you almost no clue on how to complete them. So unless you want to guess for litterally hours (or find a guide) then skip this game. Some of the puzzles that made sense was really great though and fun to complete. But the worst part of this game, is having to redo the chapters HOLY GOD. If you make a wrong decision that kills the main character you have to start the whole chapter over which sometimes lead to you having to do the entire puzzle over again. Or wait and listen to the dialouge which can several minutes until you get to the point where you took the wrong decision. If you have alot of patience, and love extreme puzzles then sure go for it. Or else then skip this, its more frustrating to play then anything else

STAY is an emotional, story-rich, point and click, with quite a few unique elements. What really drew me to the title initially was the pixel graphics. I adore pixel graphics. Maybe it's a nod back to my childhood. Or the endearing way it makes Quinn appear as you are moving him through the story. I think it was a strong choice for the developing team to have done it in this way. As I moved through chapter one I noticed there are a few choices you can make as you answer Quinn. The answers vary in the amount from 2-3 selections to sometimes only have the 1. But mixed in these answers you can decide to be extremely helpful or sarcastic, rude or encouraging. One of the most unique elements to this game is the usage of time. As you move through, there's a time displayed on the bottom of the screen telling you your time with Quinn and your time away. Time never stops for Quinn the moment you start this game. You can turn the game off, walk away, and time still ticks on for him. He is still in this basement, waiting for your return, as you are his only hope for surviving this. For me, this created a sense of urgency to help him. Stay away for too long and you might not have a Quinn to come back to. Something to keep in mind, as you can tell the developing team intended this for a single playthrough, or in a few days worth of time. The total time spent is around 6 hours for a full run, depending on how well you do on the puzzle portions, as this is relative to each person. So let's talk about the puzzles. Each one is unique and with all puzzle games sprinkled in to give you a challenge. The first one in the game, with the lightbulb, might lull you into a false sense that the puzzles will be fairly simple to solve as you move through. They do become increasingly more difficult. One in particular in Chapter 11, is hands down, the most complicated. This seems to be the trend among those that had an early review copy. At the time of writing this review some of the elements of the puzzles may have changed, as I know they were still actively working on the game, so by the time of release there may be more hints they have provided, but just so you know... this one in particular you might be reaching for some help. I know I did. I think this is the only one in the game that definitely needs to provide a little more on how to come to the end result. Thankfully the developing team provided me with some more insight, otherwise I might still be trying to figure it out. This is the only one in the game that I think might be discouraging to players, especially if you are not as adept at puzzle gaming. But I do encourage you to reach out and look for hints, as the story is so great I would hate to see any players walk away, because this is where it starts to really become captivating. Another feature that is unique is the bond you can create with Quinn. Depending on your choices made throughout you will notice a meter appear letting you know which way yours and Quinn's relationship is heading. Are you becoming a trusted confidant to Quinn or just barely getting by so he can survive? All in all the way this game is presented I think they did everything right from a story-telling perspective. With 24 chapters and 7 different endings to acquire, there's plenty of reasons to play it again. Although the story itself hasn't changed much from each playthrough I have done, I did manage to learn more on my second playthrough changing my answers a little, even if it seemed to be the wrong one at the time. There's also some hidden ways to kill your protagonist. I encourage you to try those on a separate playthrough :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruVyF3wEb-c&t=260s

This is a text-based game full of code-breaker puzzles some of which don't make any sense. however, it is very addictive and well-written. You play as 'yourself' and a kidnapped guy, Quinn, contacts you via the PC he finds in the basement. You get a list of responses to answer his questions or help him around. Every choice you pick will affect how Quinn feels about you, he'd either trust you or not. The time you spend away from the game would count toward how he feels, he'd feel abandoned by you. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2951540119 The puzzles are good, but some of them I couldn't solve without a guide. You collect too many items throughout the game, however, of them I don't know if they are useful or not as the game has multiple endings. I didn't get the good nor the bad ending, I actually got the 4th alternative ending after playing for almost 7 hours trying to convince the guy not to do things that'd kill him. It is a very interesting game and has a high replayable value. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2952151850 I liked the soundtracks a lot, the pixel artwork is good, and the atmosphere is creepy, I was on edge the whole game not knowing what will happen next. The fun part is that you can see how his moods change, and you need to choose your words carefully to cheer him up at the right time. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2952152184 Pros: +Interesting story with multiple endings. +Excellent writing. +Good soundtracks. +Good pixel art. +Varieties of puzzles. +Reply value. +Steam achievements. Cons: -No manual save. If you enjoy text games with no voiceovers and multiple code-breaker puzzles, this game is for you. [quote]𝐹𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤𝑠 𝑐𝘩𝑒𝑐𝑘 𝑚𝑦 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑎𝑔𝑒 [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/32399565/]𝐹𝑒𝑒𝑛𝑎'𝑠 𝐶𝘩𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒[/url][/quote]

I wanted to like this game. I didn't. The premise of the game (person is stuck and you're their only lifeline) is quite appealing, and made me purchase this game. While it's by no means bad, I can't recommend it. Let's go over specific points. [list] [*]PUZZLES They're rather hit or miss. Most aren't anything new (derivatives of Mastermind, Minesweeper, Captain Sonar), but they held my attention. Some are clever and intriguing, but I definitely needed community help on some of them. Creating puzzles isn't easy, making it not too obvious while also giving the player enough of a clue as to how it works is definitely a challenge. A mixed bag. [*]COMMUNICATION AND CHOICES This is where I found the game to be the most lacking. First off, reading what our hero has to say isn't very interesting. He types slowly, he rambles, and I frankly don't care about what he writes - all I'm waiting for is something actionable. He's a very fickle fellow who sometimes will snap at you if you give him down to earth advice, and will sometimes thank you for keeping him in line. He's a brat, basically. Furthermore, I feel as if my choices rarely matter, or aren't really practical. I was often put in a situation where my two response options didn't match what I wanted to actually say. For example, if someone were to ask me whether I should buy a shirt or not, the possible responses would be "No, it's too expensive" and "We should go to another store". Well, I wanted to say "Yes, buy it", what gives? There's a cognitive dissonance here, and it's quite frustrating. In some instances, I basically picked answers at random, as none of the seemed to make any sense to the conversation we were having. Basically, talking to our character is unpleasant and tedious. [*]ART DIRECTION You love it or hate it. I thought it was quite charming. It was certainly well executed. [*]NARRATIVE DISSONANCE We're often treated to cutscenes with perfect information about a character we shouldn't know about in our position. I felt like it took away from my position as a participant in this endeavor, as it made me more of a spectator. Furthermore, in many instances I felt like my exploration choices were too few, and there is an obvious moment where the character could've escaped his predicament... and yet chooses to go back into it without us being able to say otherwise. Finally, we're treated to a charming live cam of our protagonist.... who fails to realize that we can see him. It's also quite esoterical and new agey, which I'm not fond of at all, and I wasn't expecting it at all, but if you're into that sort of thing, you might enjoy it more. [*]MUSIC AND SOUND This section of the game is perhaps the best executed. The tracks are charming, the sound effects are just right, and they support the theme of our adventure. [*]MOOD AND RELATIONSHIP We're meant to establish a relationship with our protagonist, but the trust level and relationships we develop, as well as his mood "forces", don't seem to have any bearing on the rest of the narrative. They are esoteric, and other than the odd response where the character will act out in a certain way if the situation deteriorates to an abysmal point, they don't seem to have any effect. If they do, I didn't notice how, and it didn't emerge as I played. [/list] So, I can't recommend this game. The premise is great, the art and music are great, but I feel like it needed a bunch more playtesting and refinement before it went out, especially in the puzzle and making us care about our slow tedious typist of a protagonist.

Not normally one for reviews, as English isn't my natural language but I felt it's much needed to do this because it's new game and if it wasn't for random Steam store browsing I wouldn't know about it. In short, I do really recommend the game. In long, on the day I bought it, I played almost all way to the end (only had to go to bed when I got stuck on last puzzle) -- I felt it was really neat to be able to bond with Quinn, and that you are actually working together with him to help him to try calm down, and escape the misfortune situlation he's in. The fact the game is also in real-time, even if you're away from the game it will still "play out" and when you come back, Quinn actually reacts to that and I thought it was really neat touch. I was worried that it might be too strict if you happen to lead Quinn to death, but thankfully you can just re-try the said chapter without having to start over again, so I didn't feel too stressed about picking fatal choices (but at same time I still take my time doing choices, just I don't feel "stiff scared" to do it if that makes sense...) The pixel graphics are really good, I mean I migth be biased but in this game some of scenes look really amazing and I think it works very well with the game. The only few problems I had with the game is that: - Some of the puzzles are hard, and I feel I had to look up outside of game to figure what I need to do for the puzzle. Some of them I don't really get why it's *that* answer. There's one puzzle I felt that relies too much on trail and error just to get through. - I think the game could do with checkpoints before/after you finish the puzzle. Especially if Quinn die you'd have to re-do the puzzle. - Silimiar to above, there's no way to advance through the text quickly. Ideally it's best to go to settings and turn the text speed to fast to remedy this, but I do feel it could do with advance through text. It didn't really ruin the game for me though, I'm planning to play through the game few times so I'll have to see if the choices does actually differ the playthroughs but even if not, these choices wasn't really that easy and clear. I actually had to think about choices I'm going to make, which I do like. Also as deaf gamer I will have to say thank you to developers for making it playable for deaf/hard of hearing players, and that none of puzzles requires audio. I was able to follow the story really well and I didn't feel my progrress was stopped because I couldn't hear. I had to say that, because it's really important to me in story-driven game with puzzles involved. Well worth a playthrough or two if you've got money to spare and want to play something different.

It's been awhile since i've written a review and its also been awhile since I've actually enjoyed a story-driven game as I find them really hard to get into. This review contains a few spoilers. This game, wow this game aha...unique Its really good! You're incharge of helping Quinn a depressed and anxious therapist who's been kidnapped and trapped in desperate need of help, your required to find him salvation and keep him sane, where every second counts.. Literally! STAY plays out in real-time, meaning that every minute spent away from the game is a minute Quinn is left alone. Drop out of conversations or leave Quinn to fend for himself for too long and there may be consequences. I closed my game and went to bed, came back 12 hours later and there was Quinn, depressed and anxious about where I went and why I left him alone for so long. It actually makes me feel empathy for closing the game! Every little thing I say to Quinn makes a difference and once your bond and trust grows he will listen to you. Quinn is on edge, and so every response matters. Your trust between eachother can make him share his findings and deepest thoughts. Fail, and his emotions may work against you. But you must be careful because you can lead him into his death. For example I managed to get him on the roof of the house where he's anxious because he can't see anything. Quinn I say, don't worry about it! This can be your once chance of freedom and dont look back! Getting his motivation and hopes up he thanks me for everything, for keeping him sane and not letting him hurt himself.. "I'll talk to you when I get out of here. I owe you my life, bye" I smile! I saved Quinn!.. Right? No! He's falling, He didn't see the traphole, he's falling! (I literally screamed NO! when this happened as it was the first time I got him in a bad situation that got him killed...) oh god what have I done..I just made him so happy and confident he found his passage out but really I got him killed. Anyways its just, this game brings many feelings that actually make you feel like this man, Quinn who's trapped and needs your help is relying on you, even when your not there talking to him, he's waiting staring at that screen hoping, just hoping you reply again. The artstyle in this game is phenominal, normally im iffy when it comes to playing pixelated games. Not because they're "bad graphics" or anything, its more of just preference and the feel. But many times this game shows players how beautiful it is when coming across items or the little cutscenes coming across new things/puzzles. 24 chapters, seven endings and dozens of replayability trying to see what you can do with Quinn, how the different ways you can drive him to end his own life.. The puzzles arn't too crazy, I'm about half way through the game and I've only been stuck once on chapter 11. But the community was great and helped me along. Hope this helps you decide you want this game! Its only 10 dollars and ♥♥♥♥.. I've already enjoyed it more than triple A $80 games.

A lot of the puzzles make no sense and don't even give you a hint, which is SUPER frustrating as you can get stuck on one puzzle for hours. The deal breaker for me was in chapter 22, you are giving the main character advice in a tense situation and it is insta-kill after insta-kill without so much as a warning. But it gets worse: then it reloads at the *beginning* of the chapter. I went through the beginning of chapter 22 six times to get back to this advice-giving part, and if I said one thing wrong (and again it gives you no hints as to what is right or wrong, so you have to just keep trying different combinations of lines), boom insta-kill. At that point, I said f this. If you have absolutely all the time in the world and enjoy dying randomly with no rhyme or reason as to why, then go ahead and buy this game. If you are a normal person that is not clairvoyant, save your money as this game will just aggravate you.

It's not that I disliked this game. On the whole, I really enjoyed it! I'm a huge fan of games like this, especially the Dangan Ronpa and Zero Escape series, and any game where "you" as a player are involved is likely to catch my attention. However, I have a couple of bones to pick with this game. Firstly, that mirror maze puzzle in chapter 19 was insufferable. I had to guess my way through it even with the help of the filled dots that told you how close you were getting to the exit. Even if the game had a mini map to help you keep track of where you'd been, like in Mystery Dungeon games, that would have made it a bit less of a nightmare! The ruler/map puzzle was also very infuriating. Secondly, the dialogue choices. I found myself getting frustrated when I made a choice that seemed sensible but it made Quinn mad with me anyway, especially when that led me directly into a dead end. It seemed like he was being contrary just to be contrary at some points. However, the pixel art style, the bond/trust mechanic, the soundtrack, and the overall idea were great. I just wish that some of the puzzles and the STAY mechanic were a little more forgiving! So overall, I couldn't say I'd outright recommend this game. BUT if you have the patience and enjoy difficult puzzles, it may just be worthwhile for you.

This game has totally tied me up. The first time I played STAY, I was a little bit confused about the story. But I felt with Quinn. Sometimes I got crazy about him. Didn't understand why he is so down. But the longer I played the game the more I wanted to help Quinn getting out of the house. The puzzles where not that hard besides the wall puzzle and the mirror maze. Yes the wall puzzle drives me crazy but that's how puzzles should like. I don't get it why poeple write bad reviews because of this. I am very grateful to Appnormal's team for this game! I'll play it till I got all ends! <3