41 people found this review helpful
1 person found this review funny
Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 9.8 hrs on record (9.7 hrs at review time)
Posted: Dec 3, 2014 @ 7:46am

A game that covers the spectrum.

I had read the reviews and wasn't expecting much, but when I saw the game on sale for less than 4 dollars I thought I would give it a go. I am glad I did.

Some aspects of this game are really great, others are awful.

The artwork is fabulous and it helps the game exude atmosphere. It reminded me of 'Evil Under the Sun' with a bit of 'Black Mirror 1' and 'Syberia' thrown in, but in the mountains. The hotel was a dream to explore as it is huge and would be a fantastic place to stay. I loved the short sections outside, with the snow falling. The artists did a fab job.

Difficulty is not too tough. I only needed to check a walkthrough once, when I couldn't fathom how to lure the owner out of his office.

Kaisa is certainly very cute.

The music is lovely for the most part, though a couple of horrendous rock pieces come in at odd moments and not just when entering the room of a particular character.

Gameplay is ok, with a clear changing cursor.

Now for the bad. The story is a real slow boiler, which is a good thing as it sets the scen beautifully and allows us to get to know the characters. However, when the main events finally happen, the story just ends. I had the most nonsensical ending to a game ever and though there are different endings none make a lot of sense, with an absolutely ridiculous twist at the end. So the game takes a good few hours to brew and then when something big finally happens, it ends. Crazy. It is like the developers suddenly lost interest to continue the plot.

The translation is poor, though understandable. Sometimes it appears that characters give a comnpletely different answer to the question being asked. The voicees being better than the inaccurate subtitles. It's crazy that the developers didn't get someone who can understand proper English to check the translation. The character voices range from ok (the main character, Kaisa, and Olga) to horrendously bad (Alec, for instance). Also the voices are obviously done with the actor not having a clue as to the context in which they are supposed to be said. A basic error.

So, I am going to recommend this title as parts of this game are very enjoyable indeed, though the ridiculously abrupt and silly ending ruins the experience in the end.
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