The Big Hollow: 1982

I want to say that while I am not recommending this, I DID ENJOY THE GAME!!!!! I did not purchase the game, but if I had, I would not request a refund or feel my money was wasted. In fact, I look forward to the sequel. That being said- I could not recommend this to another person. It feels bad saying that as I was sent this game in a PR package and I was genuinely very excited for it. But I feel my points are valid, and able to be fixed in what seemed to be a teased sequel. I believe in this dev and I would be honored to participate again if presented the opportunity. The strengths lie in the artistic design, the actual case itself being interesting and engaging, the music is very good, the way each new section of evidence is paired with a new detail that opens a new door to the narrative and I was truly invested in the characters and the fates of the women involved. The faults of this game lie entirely in the actual "detecting" that has to be done. I think the way evidence is laid out is fine, I think the detail of evidence you get is fine, and again I like the pacing it's revealed at. Unfortunately this game repeatedly pulls a BBC sherlock moment and will simply not tell you things, and then chide you as if it's your fault you didn't mind link with the dev to figure out what was going on. There are two major pieces of evidence at the end of the game, one that was entirely hidden from the player (that I explicitly wanted to explore because i noticed myself, then when the game didn't let me log it into evidence or make any note of, i naturally assumed must be irrelevant, only for the game to act like I had frivolously overlooked a key detail later) and [spoiler] one that is the twist of a major piece of evidence being false based on "odd behavior" that ends up being the very NORMAL idea that a child would mimic the language of his father and "weirdness" in the interrogation that i was unable to ever pick up on myself as it was only ever presented to me in plain text. (not even a suspicious voice line!) As well as pretty much all the reasoning behind that bit of evidence was flimsy at best and baseless at worst [/spoiler] which the game also acted like I somehow should have pulled from thin air. Other reviews are very critical of the game's hand holding, this is something I didn't particularly mind, until the points where the game, after very specifically not allowing me to make "incorrect" deductions (usually just me finding something out one step sooner than I was meant to) suddenly left me on my own and, again, chided me for following the threads it had forced me down for the first 2 hours. My second biggest issue with the game, and the thing that is the main reason I can't recommend it, is how frustrating the supporting evidence system is. It will ask me for two things, and I will find one, and then be totally lost on what the second item I need is, only for it to be another part of the exact same evidence (ex: The first one i click is "this guy was here at this time" and the game insists I also need to select the lead that came before the evidence such as "this guy might have been here". Why am i selecting the less important evidence and not just the solid proof?). The game does not tell you you need two pieces of the same evidence, and it doesn't always play out this way- sometimes you DO need two entirely different supporting points. Other times there are two different versions of evidence for the two supports you need, but only specific ones work. There is no indication of the combination the game is looking for so often I'd spend 20 minutes just clicking everything until I finally find the answer because I am left entirely at a loss at what is needed from me. (which again was often something I had already figured out, but just came to in a slightly different order than the dev intended, which was upsetting every single time it happened) All the rest- the bait and switch ending, the frustrating way you have to go in a specific order- all are forgivable to me. But making the game impossible to progress unless you can figure out exactly what the dev wants with absolutely no wiggle room regularly stalled and frustrated me, to the point where maybe only 70% of the time playing was genuinely fun. Again, I DID overall enjoy it, (70% is majority of the time!). I loved the style, I loved the actual mystery presented, I liked the main character and the concept a lot. I AM looking forward to a sequel. I really hope the dev learns from the criticism and can deliver a game that reaches the 10/10 I know from playing this one that they are capable of!

A unique and thought-provoking game. I particularly liked the contrast between it looking and playing like a cosy game while being so dark in subject matter. The game could definitely be finished in 3-4 hours, but I found myself taking my time or leaving it on in the background because I enjoyed the style and atmosphere - particularly the music. Ooft! It’s tough at times. I found some of the questions a bit vague, so like others, I ended up trying every possible answer just to get through, which took up a lot of time and became frustrating. A round of hints following an unsuccessful attempt would be appreciated, rather than spending so much time running through every possible category when you don’t have a clue! It’s probably a positive thing, though, that it’s not a super easy or obvious game. It makes a good effort to convey complex crime. On the whole, I’d really like to see more of this dark crime/cosy genre.

Highly recommend for mystery game lovers! Warning that it has a pretty dark tone (even for a murder game), including [spoiler] sex work, child abuse, and drug use [/spoiler]. I did get frustrated on a fair amount of the questions, where I could argue that two answers were equally likely, but the game is looking for one and makes you feel stupid for not choosing the other one. I think if a hint system were eventually added, it would make the game less frustrating. But overall I really enjoyed the art, looking through evidence, and the way the plot slowly grows deeper! I would like a sequel!

Answers are rather intuitive to find, it never feels unfair. It does leave you wanting for more, both because you get invested and because it's rather short.

I enjoyed my time with The Big Hollow: 1982, especially as I had been looking forward to it since trying the demo a few months back. I really like the mechanic of examining photos, trying to find reasoning from collected evidence, and the slow reveal of more and more to work with. I really loved the art direction (it sort of reminded me of Adam Tots style) and the overall brevity of the game, as nothing felt overexplained or lingered for too long. There were a few points I had difficulty with, and ended up frustratedly dragging each piece of evidence from every category possible to try and solve a puzzle. When it finally did match, I was sometimes confused by the connection, though this may have been a me thing. It was a bit annoying to have the first connection right, but not the second, leading to them reexplaining it each time and making it take longer to find the correct second connection. The final theory was tough, too, but it made sense once explained. I'm aware this is a sort of prequel game to a larger project the dev is working on, which I will definitely keep an eye out for. Overall, I do suggest this little investigative gem - it's a fun venture with compelling characters and a dev who isn't afraid to dig into the rough, realistic side of detective games.

This is an "interesting" game, a very promising but not fully polished entry in the genre of detectives games. The long story short is that it's a definite "recommended" because despite being short, it's absolutely worth playing as it is right now. If you're interested in detective games, novels or films... You should check it out. For a more detailed look... Let's start with the positives. First, for a game you spend entirely in front of a corkboard the art and writing are good enough to keep you immersed. I'm not a fan of the 'partial voiceover' style that was chosen, but simply turning off the voices was a quick enough fix. For the rest, the dialog always felt exactly like the story is, you're a trainee detective being led through an old case by a more experienced mentor. Every character, from protagonist to victims and suspects, feel very real. That kind of immersion makes or break a detective game and this passes with flying colors. The game is about the famous FBI's Behavioral Analysis Unit, so if you've ever seen an episode of Criminal Minds or Mindhunter you'll feel right at home. I'd even say that it qualifies as playing on "easy mode" sometimes because it's about solving a case with a peculiar manner of thinking that isn't always intuitive, using psychology and victimology to interpret physical evidence rather than just following the breadcrumbs. This approach is very much the differentiating factor with other games of the genre. There was more than one case when the physical evidence seemed to point one way when "the profile" pointed another... Which led us to reexamine the evidence to find the story that matched both. Those small "haha" moments alone made it worth playing the game. One thing to note is that the game doesn't pull its punches when it comes to the gruesome nature of the case. It's grim and realistic. Despite the visual experience being limited to a couple of pictures, prepare for some hefty trigger warnings throughout. Part of the deal as far as the BAU is concerned. On the negative side, the game can be somewhat inconsistent with the demands of its mechanics. The investigation happens in a very step-by-step manner, and I can guarantee you will have the frustrating experience of understanding things miles ahead of time without being able to draw that conclusion until perhaps an hour later. As for the evidence you're asked to provide, sometimes you are afforded exactly zero leeway in making assumptions, while in other cases your mentor goes "oh but that part is so obvious it's background" and you have to make a logical leap. While none of those methods is "wrong" to play, the inconsistency can be frustrating when it leads you to look for the wrong kind of evidence for a while. That problem is compounded by the lack of a hint system. Fortunately, it's a short enough game that getting stuck a couple of times isn't a deal breaker. Overall, while not being a milestone of the genre, it's an interesting and a very promising game. There's a lot to like and a lot to learn in there and we'll definitely be following what comes next from the devs.

Solid little detective game. There were a few obtuse solutions along the way that I think were maybe a little unclear but most of the solutions made sense and were fun to figure out. Definitely worth the asking price if you like these investigation type games.

This is a fun short little game. At times I found the semantics frustrating or the questions unclear but ultimately navigated through them. It was interesting and I’m curious how I am supposed to interpret the ending. Thats a plus to me though. Criminal Minds like.

Interesting game that dares stray from the cloze puzzle formula that seems to be the go-to for detective games these days. I could've done without the lecture at the end, though. Or the sequel bait. Rating: ★★★☆☆

I love a game that puts your investigative skills to the test - especially one with atmosphere and mystery a-plenty, set against a beautiful art direction.