[code]Curator page here-->[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37670120/] DaRevieweD #139 [/url]<-- [i]New review every Weekend[/i][/code]
[h1]"A Hairy Situation-"[/h1]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2617694172
[u] Here's The Thing:[/u]
You are an innocent bystander- at least you hope you are, dragged into Alisha’s nightmare and her warped version of a school. Who was she? Why is she doing this?? What is the lesson behind all this!!? Well, try not to get shot first and ask questions later once her anger has been quelled~
[h1][+] PROS;[/h1]
[b]:) GAMEPLAY~[/b]
The goal is a blur most of the time which adds to the numbing feeling of meandering in a dream. But it is a walking simulator with some exploration and puzzles, alongside survival horror elements where you have to avoid a malignant spirit or two. Scattered around are key items and bloodied notes that shed light on what actually happened to Alisha!
While it may be a short experience, it is paced extremely well with segments that appease most ghosts… and fans. There is no combat per se; but running, hopping around and trying not get your life literally snuffed out already gives you an edge over threats. I’d say about a half an hour experience that gets better as time passes~
[b]TIPS:[/b]
1) Best played while sleepy and trying to pull an all-nighter.
[b]:) ATMOSPHERE[/b]
Don’t let the easy on the eyes, anime-like visuals spoil your scared mood because you’ll find that they actually add to the disgust. Most of what you’ll see is the interior of a high school but something is amiss. It starts off innocent enough with full blown desks, chairs and peers chattering about their teen drama. But once that first sign of trouble occurs- things will never be the same again.
From knocked over furniture, cleared out rooms to trails of blood. The environments gradually give way to precarious and ruinous states… The violence gets raised in stakes yet deadened more and more. There’s a disquieting melody that approaches closer and you could’ve sworn you saw something hover past by~
[b]:) MEANING[/b]
The story isn’t anything new and most likely one you’ve seen and heard of, hopefully from games and movies. But that don’t pad the blow or shock factor as to why school bullying still occurs! In fact, if anything it tries to [b]Untangle[/b] one of infinitely plausible reasons that one could be a target for harassment…
Which often are uncalled for and don’t make even any sense, but come at the most unprecedented of times. And I got to tell you- being able to save your progress from just about anywhere, even when hiding in lockers is absolutely poetic and nuanced. Seeing as that's where the haven is for those that got bullied.
This is also where its plenty unconventionally scripted jumpscares work in its favor. And I’m not even mad- not at all. Like the victim, I felt backed into literal corners fearing for my life and had to cower away even though the danger had already long subsided… That’s what redeemed the whole experience; the emulation and swapping of domineering positions~
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2617697828
[h1][-] CONS;[/h1]
[b]:( DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH[/b]
With those in mind, I feel it dire to now discuss how it came off unpolished. I’m basically referring to the plentiful bugs that I listed below; which I am sure many did not even notice since progression was not halted despite not entirely fulfilling the objectives of collecting objects.
The stealth was also a whammy because the supposedly malevolent and rancorous spirit didn’t quite feel as such until in planned moments. With the open exploration segments revealing their blind spots and limited range of detection even in well-lit areas~
[b]:( HOT & THEN COLD[/b]
There were a bunch of inconsistencies as well. For instance, some health items show how the exact number of health to restore and others just a vague descriptor. And another on the availability of hiding spots like under the teachers’ desks which I did not use once. But that is beside the point; of which a few more than fit the bill to be locations to lose Alisha, but nope turned out to be ordinary desks… Then the enemy saw me through a closed door!
The voiced dialogue dips in and out intermittently too, alternating between simply automatic text boxes and other times with narration. Or when there are cutscenes interspersed around but very short that might as well serve no purpose besides being fetching to witness. Which aren’t fatal problems per se, but do display hesitance on the developer’s part~
[b]:( NOT TRYING TO BE A BULLY, BUT…[/b]
Last but not least, the rest of the reasons after this which range from less than pleasant bugs to annoyingly game-breaking ones then others that I went and pontificated at length. But are just as valid because they either take away from wholly immersing the player or could subject to being misread and we wouldn’t want that!
So, to reiterate, [b]Untangle[/b] isn’t an abysmal experience at all but just a misunderstood soul with frequent, nagging issues holding it back. I liked the “hope springs eternal” moral behind it and the awareness it sought to raise~
[h1]BUGS: GRADE D+[/h1]
x Could fall through environment many times; some I asked for and others unexpected
x Ghost glitches out mid-chase; running in place and I have to help sort it out.
x Cutscene kept replaying for that one chapter whenever I reload.
x Getting hurt, eventually killed in and through the locker.
X Possible to play projector without tape. With the screen showing only blue “no signal”… but still have the key dropped.
x Key item didn’t spawn so I wandered for almost an hour.
x One enemy didn’t have any warning music. Could be intentional.
x Prompts appearing for me to grab nothing. And other “pointless” features.
[h1]NITPICKS:[/h1]
~ Avoid looking at the store page description; as it pretty much spoiled everything. Feels redundant playing...
~ Takes no fire damage.
~ Some plot holes.
~ English; typos and extra articles for when there should be none.
~ Stealth is unbelievable.
~ Text auto scrolls too fast; better to make them manually prompted.
~ Jumpscares are aligned to the center of the screen.
[h1]"That Trips, Chokes But Manages to Untangle Itself~"[/h1]
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2617699949
[u]Last Words?[/u]
A survival horror that starts off well, gets rocky but only gets better. In need of more improvements judging from its various hiccups. But its highlighted issue wholly deserves some of your time~
If you like jumpscares- this is one of the very, rare few games where I did not mind getting pantsed… in the heart countless times! If you liked the cult favorite and sensational [url=https://steamcommunity.com/id/DeadeGuard98/recommended/691450/] Misao[/url] then this 1st-person version will keep you happy. It’s shorter, less impactful but its overall message is still valuable and one that needs to be heard~
[h1]C+ for...[/h1]
[h1][i]commendable[/i] effort but also… [i]criticized[/i] for the lack of being [i]self-critical![/i][/h1]
[code]Deeply grateful to [b]Indie Game Collective (IGC)[/b] for the key and opportunity. I look forward to more showcases~[/code]
[code]Don't forget to follow my curator [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37670120/] DaRevieweD[/url] for more games!![/code]
