[code]Curator page here-->[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37670120/] DaRevieweD #210 [/url]<-- [i]New review every week[/i][/code]
[h1]"WHILE IT MAY NOT HAVE A NAME…!!"[/h1]
[u] Here's The Thing:[/u]
Take on the role of “You”, one of two lighthouse keepers, and work toward getting that light back on! Or rather, that’s what the game would have had you do if your partner John did not spot a ship that inexplicably appeared from the fog. Overnight attempts to get in contact with the crew have either fallen on deaf ears or worse…! It’s up to you to find out~
[h1][u][+] PROS;[/u][/h1]
[h1]:) FLARING UP INTEREST IN THE INTRIGUING~[/h1]
There I was, just about ready to roll my eyes- since I rarely, if ever, check out the trailer before playing a game. It seemed to be yet another [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/DeadeGuard98/recommended/1254370/] No One Lives Under The Lighthouse (NOUL)[/url] replica… but I was wrong, kinda, so yay! It gradually makes way for a 1st-person survival horror to take its place! In fact, it's remarkably similar to [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/DeadeGuard98/recommended/304240/] Resident Evil[/url], except combat is entirely voluntary- and only if you can find the firearm stashed away somewhere!
What you’ll do for 85% (or as I’ve said, 100%) of the game is the survival bit; chuck bottles full of whiskey at enemies to intoxicate, I mean- stun or interrupt their actions, memorize locations in order to navigate a creaky ship without a map, solve a few decent intuitive puzzles, and don’t get cornered/whipped to death! Not gonna lie, I was fearing for my life as I was one big hapless and lost infant, what with being dogged around and I felt as though I didn’t have a moment to gather my mental faculties… but it’ll pass!
Two hours of sniveling, panting, and eurekas later, you’ll be greeted by two outcomes at the end of your voyage. One of them will be bad and the other good; not that it will matter once you see your result screen! Tell me, how do you beat a game and still get a “F” ranking, that’s what I want to know~
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2909884858
[h1]:) SEAS FOR OPPORTUNITY…[/h1]
I actually have a major row with the spotty visual style and too-itty-bitty pixels that looks as if a squid exploded all up in my face… But I’ll push through for now- because it is every bit as distinctive as it is obscured. Unless the gunk got to me too, I didn’t see a credits screen listing the assets used, hence that must mean original assets baby! Let’s see, there was the solitary and misunderstood lighthouse in the very beginning, a warm homely cabin, a giant water vessel surrounded by fog, mystique and who knows what else!?
Don’t even get me started on the insides of the beast, or a whole mess of stomach-churning darkness will spill out and envelope you, squeezy intestines for walls, and the creatures that lurk within… well somewhere. Also, don’t mistake the at first ambient sound design to be any indicator of mercifulness! Once you get on board, it’s “hello nautical mystery”, “welcome horrors from within the deep”, and a staple-sounding yet coaxing save room theme. But you already knew that~
[h1]:) LOVE IN THE CRAFT; GOING TO BE A GREAT ONE![/h1]
If you fancy a truly Lovecraftian plot that embarked as your stereotypically eerie seafaring plight, then you’ve come to be dead in the water at the right place! It’s only partially roused by NOUL, and more reminiscent of[url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/DeadeGuard98/recommended/2066300/] Endless Dogwatch[/url] actually. But I guess that little comparison doesn’t really help anyone- good, just how I intended it! Just know that the events, the predicaments, and the pitfalls were set into motion long before you got involved… or was it after? I’m all loaded with booze~
[h1]:) PEOPLE TENTACLE FOR HELP- UNLESS!?[/h1]
The scariest part of this game? It’d have to be the introduction segment where you trade off death by boredom to another unknown kind… I’m not so clear on the job description of a lighthouse keeper and whether it entails going off to the rescue of ships- I reckon it does, and that’s why I salute this individual who risks his life in the line of duty! If it were actually me, I think I would’ve been a deserter!
The horror doesn’t end there though, the ship itself is crawling with those mollusk-like beings out for your blood, or other nefarious purposes. The way they dash after you the moment their gaze comes upon you! Shaking them off takes real know-how, otherwise they could just as easily overpower and outnumber you…
Lastly, the ending itself leaves an affective afternote, for what is to become of the leftovers that are the now-mindless, but presumably were the previous crew? Won’t you be unleashing more suffering on whichever port it is you’d dastardly land? That, and God knows what else that you haven’t run into in the ship’s hold… since it's ever so colossal! There’s just as much known as there is unknown, that fact will keep me awake a few nights~
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2909883755
[h1][u][-] CONS;[/u][/h1]
[h1]:( ONE. DAMP. SQUID.[/h1]
This con eviscerates the game for its shallow combat, which I’m sure was the point. But when translated to a game, it transforms into a predefined experience with no wriggle room whatsoever for experimentation! There are many instances where you’re not rewarded for your ingenuity, with the most transparent being, the whiskey bottles; when tossed, they stop the squirmy creatures for what- 2 seconds? You can’t even pass through the enemies during this stun, and sometimes their interrupted attacks connect anyway!
It's only later on that you find out they’re supposed to be used alongside the flare gun for maximum lethal effect, but chances are you already drunk yourself to death… literally! You can’t douse multiple enemies with a single bottle even though they’re clumped together, AND you can’t line them up to take them down with a single flare. I get it, I’m expecting too much for $4 bucks. Heck, I’d even accept just being able to throw the bottles at their feet to make them slip, or lose their balance to give me time to escape!
[h1]:( THE PORT WHERE IT GETS OUT OF CONTROL-[/h1]
I touched on the visuals briefly, but it’s very blurry, even by pixel art/PS1 standards… more like a filter whose goal is to impede your vision! No settings to speak of, to even tone it down, or anything really- neither brightness nor sound, not even a tinge! The enemy animations are very restricted and for some reason, the damage dealt to you vary considerably~
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2909886556
[h1]BUGS:[/h1]
x An enemy stuck in the environment, I think? Or just a cool & menacing “bug”.
x Don’t hold “shift” after you leave an area- you’ll be trapped in invisible walls until you let go of it.
x Reloading to an earlier save after solving certain puzzles will cause them to not get reset (which made “speedrunner” achievement possible in 1 playthrough).
x Game randomly crashes 50% of the time… But only during launch; never during any other point.
[h1]NITPICKS:[/h1]
~ “Ending 2” could use more direction and context. You’re just expected to know what to do…
~ Some typos “sabatoge” and a few others I can’t recall.
~ No disclaimers as to what each difficulty poses to you!
~ Font style is a head-twister!
[h1]"IT STILL HAD ME NAME-STAY AROUND~"[/h1]
[u]Last Words?[/u]
For something with no name, sure is a notably familiar survival horror! An unexpected find not free of its stalls in appearances & performances… And yet it still triumphed in making a name for itself~
[h1]7.9 / 10[/h1]
