The Fabled Woods

NEGATIVE🟥 🟧 🟨 🟩 🟦 🟪POSITIVE [h1]#tinygamereview[/h1] [code] you are on a path in the woods. at the end of that path is a cabin. inside that cabin is an upsettingly-unsatisfying story [/code] 🟧 [b]INTERESTING BUT POINTLESS[/b] 🟧 [hr][/hr] 🎮 🟧[b]Gameplay:[/b] walk; pick thing up; open door; repeat 📖 🟨[b]Narrative:[/b] eventually has some connecting thread that seems like it'd be interesting, but goes nowhere 🔊 🟧[b]Audio:[/b] voices sound AI-generated 🖼️ 🟨[b]Visuals:[/b] elements of the environment look pretty great, but the lighting is awful and some of the text is difficult to read because of how the game's engine(?) works (or doesn't) [hr][/hr] [h1]#readme[/h1] My premiere #horrorshorts #freeplay, and oof. [i]The Fabled Woods[/i] has the trappings of an interesting narrative walking simulator, but the narrative falls short and leaves threads a-hangin'. [spoiler]The drowned child?[/spoiler] Seems to only exist to give another character "dimension," but that exact same dimension is established through what looks to be the only valuable insight gained from trying to read the random items you can pick up - making it a pointless detail (either way). [spoiler]The axe?[/spoiler] Never comes up again, but appears to somehow warrant symbolic reference toward the end. Symbolic of [i]what[/i] is anyone's guess. [spoiler]The forensic archaeologist's death?[/spoiler] Unsure exactly why it happened. [spoiler]The experiments? The nature of the beast? What actually happened to the campers?[/spoiler] Y'know, just, like, yeah. It feels like there were a ton of little details [i]intentionally[/i] left out, but there were very few details to actually explore or return to. The "memory" mechanic seems like it could've had some usefulness in revealing more of those details, but it only ever moves the story forward [i]exactly when prompted[/i] and not at all outside of the story-on-rails. With a couple of tiny, inconsequential exceptions, anything that's there to find will be found before you reach the ending [spoiler]- including the illusion that there might be a second ending -[/spoiler]. And there's a lot that just isn't [i]there[/i] to find. I beat it in under an hour and a half (during which time I was confused more than I care to admit, and even got stuck in the environment a few times). My live audience fell asleep. [h1]#memorycard[/h1] [b]What stood out:[/b] 📌pretty sure these voices match what I can use with the AI in Articulate 360 [b]Who it's for:[/b] 🎁not a streaming audience, that's for sure [hr][/hr] [h1][b]Curator: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/42137521/] Nostalginauts[/url][/b][/h1]