We Are Not Alone

There are many games I played in my life. Many different genres, from big AAA to Indie games. What has always mattered to me most is the overall atmosphere of a game and a pleasant game flow. There are many amazing games out there which give the player interesting and unique experiences. But even many of these great games have sections/tasks/quests etc that I don't like as much as the rest of the game. When these sections/tasks are too long, too difficult or repeat to often, they can disrupt the overall game experience for me. "We Are Not Alone" is a game I enjoyed completely. I loved the story and the extremely good pacing: slow beginning with a steady building up of tension. It's a compact game (it took me about 5 hours for a playthrough while taking my time to examine everything) with no boring or repetitive parts. Although I had other things to do, I had to keep on playing, because I was excited to see how the story unfolds and what happens next. The 3D/2D mechanic felt fresh to me and added to the suspence by making me feel extremely vulnerable when having to put down the camera and going into 2D mode: I just wanted to take the camera again and be safe. But even though the game is set in the horror genre, it doesn't have any jumpscares or extremely graphic scenes. Furthermore "We are not alone" feels very well balanced to me in regard of the parts in the game where you have to take action (like avoiding enemies) and the more adventure-like parts (where you can take your time and look around). The action is not too much for an adventure game and always manageable. What I also really like about the game is that talking to other characters is just of the right amount. My first adventure game was Maniac Mansion on a Commodore 64, which I still love today and which introduced me to the genre in my childhood. Sadly I lost the fun of playing adventure games when more and more talking to other characters became involved in later games (I think it was mid to end 90s). Back then it seems every developer thought that putting in a massive amount of more or less "funny" conversation would be beneficial. To me, it was not beneficial. If I came to a new location in a game and saw that there were several NPCs standing around, waiting for me to talk to them (and the game wanted the player to use ALL the possible dialog options), conversation in adventure games became a chore. This got even worse when voice output/speech was introduced and was often non-skipable. This was the time when I lost my interest in adventure games. And I'm telling you all of that because I want to point out how much I enjoyed the conversation aspect of "We Are Not Alone". It never felt like: "Oh no, now I have to stop AGAIN and talk to someone for the next 15 minutes!" On the contrary: When there was a chance to talk to someone, I really wanted to talk to this persons to hear what they've got to say. It is amazing that this game was made by a solo developer, with others only involved in some parts like sound and voice acting. There are certain aspects of the game that could have been a bit more polished, if there would have been more manpower, money and time, but to me this is negligible when I like the overall gamingexperience, which I certainly did. While playing, I felt that the developer had really put much love and work into the game and I'm excited to see what he will be capable of in the future.

I hate long reviews, so short and sweet: I'm about four hours into it and doesn't feel like I'm near the end yet; which is pretty ripper, considering it is still peaking my intrigue. Gameplay mechanics are top notch for a point & click adventure. You're jumping from a third person to first person perspective often and it introduces different ways to handle puzzle and survival work. Voice acting is a nice touch, helps me keep focused on the game and not every character speaks with a cockney accent (unlike inside the ol' lemon spread) Puzzles are well thought out and when you click on a few of them, you don't feel stupid -- but you know some developer out there was really smug the day they implemented that idea Inclusive enough to think of certain aspects, phobias and fears for people; but not in a coddling way. I appreciates that. TLDR; It's a great point & click, horror, mystery game. It pays its dues to the genre and offers a lot of homages to the greats that came before it. If you appreciate island based monkeys, fandangos that are grim or dyslexic goblins - you're going to have a great time. If you don't understand any of that, you're far too young and need to play some classic point & click games -- starting with this one. Now, where's my Pepsi? I've got more mystery to solve in this..

We Are Not Alone is a really great blend of first person and third person with a stationary view. The story is rich with character development and mystery and the atmosphere maintains an uneasiness that perfectly encapsulates being isolated in a concrete bunker with just a small number of strangers. It's very natural and believable, something early sci-fi horror movies like Alien did really well and that isn't often captured by modern games and movies. We 100% recommend playing this game. And do be sure to read The Evergreen Goosetastrophe on the shelf in the storage room. It's a delightful epic, the likes of which you've never seen!

While the plot and gameplay are enjoyable, the unique camera view offers nothing new. You take on the character of Riley, a young girl whose sister went missing while working for a medical technology corporation. To find out what happened, you decide to apply as a test subject for their most recent development. Because this is an adventure game, you'll need to search for stuff around the area. There's an extremely useful function that allows you to highlight stuff. If you prefer an old-school approach and don't want any assistance, you can choose the hard difficulty or simply avoid pressing the highlight button. It's totally manageable without hints because the pointer changes as you hover over an interesting spot. Certain rooms lack highlights, but this is very rare. An item has two interactions: one for each mouse button. The right button is used to inspect something, whereas the left button is used for activities like talking, using, or picking up. However, because most things are not intended to be picked up or utilized, the left mouse button usually only provides an explanation for why something cannot be picked up. Hotspots should've been marked better. All hotspots have a "finger" icon that usually means use. However, I've noticed one "eye" icon later in the game, which means that there is a visual clue to mark hotspots that don't mean anything to the progress. Item management is not complicated. If you want to use an item, you just need to open the inventory and use it on the correct spot. In contrast to classics, when you could pick up anything that wasn't nailed down, this game only allows you to take up items when you need them. The inventory screen also shows your current task. Characters are voiced by solid voice actors. There are some issues because they do not speak at the same volume, but this should be simple to fix. Conversations can be heard, but your thoughts have no voice. Even if this makes sense, it's a shame not to include them because it always feels like something is missing. Especially because subtitles do not always match the voice (regular letters) and thought (italic). There are several thoughts that lack the italic font. On the other hand, you can skip sentences, which is always a convenient feature. So this poses a dilemma because we desire voices but skip slow or monotonous text in these games regardless. The game's unique feature is the use of two different camera points of view. You begin the game in the third person; the vision is static, and you examine the surroundings through a surveillance or your own camera. You can click on hotspots or floor to walk, but you can’t move the camera in any way. The first-person perspective is only available when you use your own personal portable camera. You have no say over which view to choose. Depending on the room or location, you can put the camera down on a table and switch to third-person view. However, most of the exploration will be done from the first person perspective. Certain situations require you to put the camera down before using an object, and you must grab the camera before leaving the room. The idea is interesting, but it doesn’t deliver unique mechanics. It doesn't take long until strange things start happening. You observe occurrences that no one else remembers, and a weird woman haunts the complex's hallways. It appears occasionally and kills you if you look at her. Fortunately, this happens only in certain locations and doesn't get in the way of adventure aspects. Also, you can save at any time. The game takes approximately 3-4 hours to complete. There are several missable achievements that entice you to replay the game. Unfortunately, some unlock despite not meeting the conditions, while others do not unlock at all.

This game is a great indie horror, thriller, and adventure! There were a few parts that started me and made my adrenaline rush, but no crazy in your face jump scares that'll give you heart attacks, which makes it a great laid back, yet intense horror. It has a great story to it that thickens throughout the game. The voice actors do a great job as well. I really like the switch from first person to third person. It gave me a Resident Evil/ Silent Hill vibe with the third person view, and a modern indie horror feel as well with the first person view! I love the environment and the intense music. It really immerses you into the game. I also like that there are multiple endings, which I still need to do! I like that you can explore and find different things. Definitely see what all the endings are about! For someone's first game and being that there is only one developer, you can tell he put a lot of hard work and heart into this :) Thank you to the developer, Andrew, for putting my voice in the game! I am recommending this to as many people as I can!

A quick mystery/thriller with an early 2000s feel, in the best way. Really enjoyed this story, following Riley as she signs up for an experiment her sister once joined, in hoped of finding her. But as with most mysteries, everything is not as it seems, and Riley has some detective work ahead of her. Something else is going on too... is it supernatural or what? This was a quick game with multiple endings and a few fun achievements. I am a casual gamer, so it's really good for someone like me. The developer is very present online and answers questions and takes bug reports to make the game better. Overall I really enjoyed it, I hope he gets some funding to make a second game. The voice actors were nice, and the music chosen fit really well. Though not quite as intense, it reminded me of the OG silent hill games a bit.

"We are not Alone" is a fantastic, fun story driven game. The game focuses on providing an immersive experience particularly through character building, unique camera mechanics, and well acted voice lines. There are not many challenging elements to the game, which makes it easy to focus on the gripping creative story. That being said, this is not a walking simulator, and the puzzles are fun and rewarding (as opposed to elaborate frustrating time-sinks compared to many other games). I would recommend this to anyone looking for a good mystery on a relaxing night.

[h1]It's a VERY slow burn at first, but once it gets going you can easily forgive the jank. Hesitant buy at full price, but a must-have on sale.[/h1] At first, when I was streaming this, I wasn't fully sold on the First Person/Adventure Game combo. And playing it, it was kinda rough. Then the pool puzzle. I read it and misunderstood the solution: [spoiler]Just follow the document and make sure you set the pressure at 17 :P[/spoiler]. So it took me a while of just feeling stuck and having only 106 minutes played...I seriously debated returning the game. It's not cheap. But, once I got past that puzzle, and the REAL meat of the game started to reveal itself, I really started to enjoy it. It's a bit pricey and a little janky for what it is, but it IS a fun game in the end, and I'm glad me and my chat decided to stick with it. I love supporting indie devs like this, and I'm really looking forward to the sequel!

I could write many words about We Are Not Alone, but I'm going to stick to a short format. [h2]Positives:[/h2] [h1]Narrative.[/h1] Narrative is amazing. I found myself completely absorbed in the story very quickly. If you enjoy story based horror, you'll like this. [h1]Puzzles[/h1] WANA is very puzzle based and takes inspiration from old adventure games. This means there are times that you will feel like an idiot once you solve it. [h1]Choices[/h1] This could have gone under narrative, but I felt it needed it's own section. There are multiple choices to be made in the game which may not affect the story's outcome, but rather how you feel about making them. [h1]Length[/h1] The games length is only about three hours, but it's perfect. The game doesn't outstay it's welcome and is reasonably paced. [h2] Negatives[/h2] [h1]Voice acting[/h1] It's not great, but it can be turned off. [h1]Music[/h1] It gets a little repetitive to the point where it's noticable. There's my short spoiler free review! I really enjoyed it and actually had it on my wishlist before fortunately receiving the product for free.

good game with an original plot, good puzzles: 7,5/10