[code]Curator page here-->[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37670120/] DaRevieweD #136 [/url]<-- [i]New review every Weekend[/i][/code]
[h1]"Roses Are Red, Violets Are Blue…”[/h1]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2607843688
[u] Here's The Thing:[/u]
You’re Dr. Paul- a parapsychologist sent by the mayor to investigate what the fate of writer, Sophia Red. Arriving on site, thousands of paper sheets flutter in the wind and a voice burrows into his subconscious. He must discover the truth and not be swayed by the words which become increasingly volatile~
[h1][+] PROS;[/h1]
[b]:) PENNED-UP EMOTIONS~[/b]
A walking-sim? Yes, but also a dynamic audiobook where Sophia herself narrates her less than fortunate borderline perilous story. The objective is to get her to recount as much as possible, thereby triggering new areas and unlocking repressed memories. Where the floaty words permeate, that’s where the story is to be progressed.
But it won’t be cut and dry; there are riddles to crack for the more… traumatic recollections. And in time, dark creatures emerge- during which light is your sole means of defense a.k.a. [b]Alan Wake[/b] style! Even exploration is a puzzler, for some subtle detail or path only bare themselves after you follow the steps to the letter.
Sophia’s life is scattered across 6 chapters, with 25-35 minutes’ worth of discovering your way in each. Just like a book, there’s but one ending open to interpretation and for you to come to terms with~
[b]TIPS:[/b]
1) Some encounters are a losing fight!
[b]:) FOR THE RECORD- IT WAS LOVELY![/b]
The music sets off very mellow and magical, as if to spark awe while you peer behind the rosy-tinted glass. But matures to be ever more sentimental, your eyes red-rimmed pushing the tears back during Debussy’s Clair de Lune. Before finally- and it’s true, classical pieces really do go well with a soul’s decline into madness.
When the tracks fall on deaf ears, other startling and staying sounds take over. While they did make me miserably annoyed, it was Sophia’s unbearable reality after all. Finally, the narrator- who’s a little like [b]Rachael MacFarlane,[/b] was phenomenal and practically a one-woman show, convincing but detached enough to bring out her character’s pain~
[b]:) IF THESE WALLS COULD- THEY’D SCREAM PAGES AGO.[/b]
There is a prominent overcast and hazy filter to what you see throughout [b]Revenge of Sophia Red (ROS)[/b]. Which had me drowsy, weary as I imagine Sophia would be… What got to me, however were the suspended letters, words and sentences lingering in mid-air. Which substituted for people without any discernible features, structures without rigidity of material and text without contractions.
Periodically, they’d jumble up and at times packed together so as to not mean anything. It’s a lot to take in, and when words are absent- other things appear in excess, swarm at or around you so their presence is truly made known. Set pieces are so vastly unique yet similar with the anchor being her house. Hellish and wondrous simultaneously… I shudder to think of what her works are actually about when she already has such a prosaic and imaginative signature~
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2607840171
[b]:) A LOT IS WRITING ON THIS…[/b]
The plot is just as much a biography as it is a memoir, for it comes off absolutely personal despite being “fictitious”. It wasn’t “expertly” written or anything, but rather like your deepest, darkest diary. It has the giddy, joyful resounding slice-of-life bits. And then the gets turned upside down in one fell swoop… Followed by long spells of sorrow, disappointment and lashing out at everything. Very realistic when you think about it and heartbreaking the more you do.
I was gravely concerned for this character, but as the lines and foreshadowing kept dropping, you could hazard a guess it’s headed nowhere good so you compel yourself to assume a brave face. At the same time, notes lying around the house that reflect on fonder events signal that maybe hope isn’t lost… To Sophia, every word has weight and of value to her. It’s how her life was built, then subsequently destroyed~
[b]:) LET IT STEW & STIR.[/b]
You know if a horror game uses a Hitchcock quote in the opening credit, then it’d be remiss of players to underestimate it! The title subverts all your attention to it being all about Sophia, but is really an allegory for the rawest, ugliest and hoariest human emotion. As scathing as it was being in her shoes- it was nothing compared to when they fit perfectly!
The horror rests in drowning you in hyperrealism; with as much impeccable visuals and effects as possible ripped out of a tempting dream but then you’re thrusted into darker, concrete truths. So much so that you never know what to make of anything next. Just sit there and hope you can stomach them.
ROS is identical in that regard to [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/DeadeGuard98/recommended/258520] The Vanishing of Ethan Carter[/url] that try as you might or desperately long to flip to the last page to get a sneak peek of what happened, you can’t… The fact each chapter has their own wallowing theme similar to the stages of grief is of no assurance either~
[h1][-] CONS;[/h1]
[b]:( SEEING RED…[/b]
The out-of-focus filter makes for a poignant statement to Sophia’s character but when it meshes with the several trippy sequences, it can be a little nausea-inducing. But I think what had me zone out was when the background of black; be them walls, floors and blur effects blended so well with the dark.
So much that it obscured my path, stifling navigation. With there being no method of calibrating the gamma or contrast, I had to hug the walls to feel my way out, struggling more than I should have~
[b]:( WHY I AUTHOR BE MAD![/b]
Quite a few, appreciated collection of puzzles in there! Which would’ve been fully peaches had there not been a disproportionate handing of clues. For instance, there’s one where literal guidelines had to be displayed to lead you to a certain volume of water.
But none whatsoever, when you had to arrange items in an unspecified order. Not just that, for some- arriving at the correct solutions do not yield much indication or validation that the puzzle has concluded, lest you count audible cues but can still be interacted with. The fact that the person you control doesn’t do anything besides being an avatar, also dampened the flow and impact of the narrative~
[h1]BUGS:[/h1]
x Legs sometimes have a will all their own; crossing each other.
x Gets on top of objects readily.
x Could read a note from behind a wall.
[h1]NITPICKS:[/h1]
~ Threats confined to an area; leaving it has them pop in and out.
~ Opening/closing doors feels off; sometimes stutter.
~ Saves only work by chapters.
~ Too unrestrained with startling noises & boo moments.
[h1]"-Once All’s Been Read, Then Just Say Adieu!!"[/h1]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2607843056
[u]Last Words?[/u]
ROS’ grief-filled account is authentically upsetting! Overwhelms by numbing your senses with heart aching depictions. Equal measures bewitching & haunting; it’s sure to leave a mark, you have my word~
If you like a page-turning account of mental illness in the vein of [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/DeadeGuard98/recommended/1296290/] What Happened[/url] but without the sappiness. Then joined at the hip with unreal, misty scenery such as those of [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/DeadeGuard98/recommended/391720/] Layers of Fear.[/url] If you love to experience an interactive autobiography with severely-anguished chapters… Go ahead and give ROS a read~
[h1]8.6 / 10[/h1]
[code]Bouquets of freshly cut roses and handwritten thank you notes to [b]SleepyCreepyStudio[/b] for the key![/code]
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