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Recent reviews by jannay15

Showing 1-6 of 6 entries
2 people found this review helpful
13.3 hrs on record
This game finds itself in an awkward place/space of being too easy for adults puzzles-wise and not really suitable for/comprehensible to kids. It's too childish for grown-ups and too philosophical for children. I can't say the philosophy is that deep, it's just too dark for children. Some praise the voice actress, saying she conjures up nostalgical feelings. In my opinion, it was annoying to the nth degree. Delivering in a fixed, unchanging manner and almost devoid of emotion because of that. I wished there was nothing but music in this game. That kind of killed the appeal for me.
I do like puzzlers, I can absolutely enjoy very accessible ones but please don't treat me as if I was a child. It's either or. Or be extraordinarily original and bring it on then.
Beautiful graphics, cute design. This cuteness doesn't really marry well with the melancholical touch of the game. It could have been an interesting mix but it turned out to be a mismatch. One third in the game, and both cuteness and melancholy start to pall on you.
Posted September 17, 2023.
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9 people found this review helpful
2.2 hrs on record
To start off on a good note, this game is sui generis, kind of special treat for people in a particular mood - at least, that's what I gathered from reading other reviews.
On the less positive side, it might strike a chord with your heart if you're super depressed or in a state of soul searching, but on the whole, what springs to mind is a pedestrian performance - though, it is called the Beginner's Guide, after all. Might the case of caveat emptor.
Getting down to the actual gaming characteristics - it conjures up the image of a cross between an audiobook and a game walkthrough, where, instead of watching a video, you're actually guided through the game by a voice.
All the puzzles, well, in fact, the only puzzle, is an absolute cinch, but of course it is not supposed to be anything complex as you're being taken on an emotional journey down the gaming lane. You walk through a maze of feelings and moods and states represented by various structures and places. The graphics are nice, to pay the game its due, in their own style, some visual images are little short of breathtaking.
However, the whole experience feels like doing nothing but following the narrator's voice, who shows you, so to speak, the inner sanctum of a game maker through the world of his games - but it all feels like you've seen and read it before, like an attempt at going Freudian and then having an inevitable and rather expected psychological analysis volte face.
One could argue that there's good narration topped off with some epiphanies to this game - but it seemed just like one more story of this kind to me, I didn't feel involved - again, you can argue you're supposed to be a spectator only.
Not something down my alley - and I generally love the alternative type of games.
Could be a 2-hour killer, a bit soothing, no strain involved but I honestly can't find the reason why.
Posted January 4, 2017. Last edited January 4, 2017.
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3 people found this review helpful
0.8 hrs on record (0.8 hrs at review time)
This game gives you the initial wtf feeling - even after a couple of reviews you've read. Not even a game in the strict sense, just a short narrative speckled with some rather nondescript puzzles. Lots of gore, which you wouldn't really expect from a game "about a grandfather", rather emetic, too. If you find it in your heart to stomach it, the story comes to an incredibly poignant end. Narrator's voice, both aloof and on-the-endge , adds a lot to getting you engaged in the story.
Yes, it is a very much its own game, requires its own kind of gamer, artsy fartsy and off the wall. A kinky little rivulet, cosily lost on the planet of mainstream.
Posted October 28, 2016.
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8 people found this review helpful
1.1 hrs on record
Turned out to be quite a let-down. Got it in a bundle as a present for 1 buck - and even then it's not worth it. I played Fingerbones recently, which is basically the same genre, plot being in the same vein - a psycho in his apartment/bunker discoverng horrible things that came about, protagonist being the culprit. There are only two differences: Fingerbones was free, and I finished it. Apartment 666 claimed its pound of cent - but what with getting stuck in the rooms - in the fiirst case, a player has to be on a specific spot for the sesame of the door to open, second time, being stuck in the bedroom, I gave up - after exploring every nook and corner of the tiny area and trying to stand everywhere and on everything cept for the head cause the game won't let you do it.
Anyway, first you're stuck in the eternal loop of returning to you bedroom, then you're just stuck in your bedroom with nothing to do, there are some newpapers whose headlines you're supposed to read to suss out the villain, there are some unnerving sound effects and things like your tunnel vision kicking into gear for no apparent reason, which is nothing but irksome... An amateurish game, a bit scary for the first two minutes, way too bugged to deserve a like.
Posted October 26, 2016.
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1 person found this review helpful
0.6 hrs on record
More of an animated post-apocalyptic story than a real horror game, with some pretty easy on the brain codes to crack thrown in - as well as incestuous innuendoes to tickle the fancy of those aroused by it. It's very short, which might be put down as a definite upside. Ambient music, penumbrous bunker, whimpering coming from the cellar - it all creates an atmospere of suspension - but again, it's all just about reading some snippets of madman's ravings - though, that's exactly what one of the first notes lets you know. A time killer, with some potential of growing into something bigger, worth giving it a shot if you're a suspense/horror fan, for the sake of it being free at least.
Posted October 17, 2016.
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1 person found this review helpful
8.2 hrs on record
A classic survival horror game best played on cold winter evenings when imagination runs rampant and you feel like getting away to a tropical island - blue ocean, golden sand, abundance of drinks, Russian women coveting champaigne as a daunting quest. Well, minus pesky zombies attempting to grab and gnaw at you at every corner of the tropical paradise. Dead Island offers it all - scantily dressed and busty or virile and muscular protagonists as well as zombies (not so pleasant to look at, though, flabby/rangy and rather putrid) to be one of those relaxing slasher games that don't require much thought but instead entertain you with a variety of weapons like rusty pipes and nailed planks you can joyously swing at monsters - which can be improved, upgraded and changed for better stuff as the game moves along. Lots of quests, not too fast paced, this game is a good impetus to slay 'em all and finally go to that tropical paradise safe in the knowledge your holiday won't be curtailed by a bunch of indigenous zombies. Or will it?
Posted February 16, 2016.
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Showing 1-6 of 6 entries