Sterling Shroud

Very neat horror game. The general atmosphere is very well done, the game does a good job of building tension and builds a sense of urgency. The puzzles are well designed. They reward the player for exploring their available options and paying attention. Never felt completely lost at any point, though I did have to backtrack a few times. The game is roughly an hour long if you complete it fully. For only $3, it's an easy recommend!

[h1] i am a free snake [/h1]

Sterling Shroud is an atmospheric pixel graphics horror survival game on a small 9 x 9 map grid. The aim is to search the dark woods for clues to find items and places which may lead to rescue or escape, while being alert to pervading sense of evil... I don't usually play such games, as I don't enjoy jump scares, gore, or chases. But this game is much more nuanced - for the most part danger is suggested by a small sound, a momentary glimpse of something, or a textual description of a foul smell or of a growing sense of unease. Once again I am amazed by how evocative a game can be when using simple low resolution (and mainly monochrome) pixel graphics, coupled with an excellent narrative and design. The game is played in two distinct phases. The first is mainly exploration; the second is to discover and navigate a path to (hopefully) safety. As I found to my cost, there is no save function or autosave facility; stopping the game before its completion (with one of two endings & achievements) means starting again right from the beginning. I feel that this is understandable; the sense of atmosphere and mystery is maintained better if the game is played straight through to a conclusion. Ignore my play time completely as I restarted the game twice, and also left it running when I had to do other things. I also got repeatedly stuck in the second phase of the game until I was rescued by Salvor's very helpful guide.