cant leave a proper review as the game is not out but i have a few thoughts

[Chol]

I'll start off by saying I quite like the atmosphere! It's very gloomy and I'm a big fan of the winter color palette. I'm intrigued with the story and setting quite a bit, its really interesting! That being said though, I can't help but feel that it's got a trunk case full of jank and odd design choices. I love the drone idea but I cant really parse what its going to be used for if the demo only uses it one time at the beginning. Why do I need a specific item to open the hatch on the floor that's already used for a different door? Why is there an auditory sense of danger after fighting the first robot if no one else comes? Why is there a misleading new door that doesn't open?

In the second scenario, I really adore all the intractables and atmosphere, the written notes and all the memorabilia really help to sell that it's either a loose childlike recollection of events, or it's a dream. Most likely a dream. The apartment building feels oppressive and dirty with a really great feeling of unease the whole time, especially with the loud banging. But I think its a bit too loud and over the top for something that could take you anywhere from 3 to 10 minuets to leave the apartment. Something more subtle like a bang here and there I think could have worked better without being too repetitive or annoying. The stealth section is... interesting? I didn't have as much trouble as others seem to be having with it. The detection system seemed to work fine and I like how the robot will stay relatively close without being too annoying that you cant progress. It's a difficult line to walk. That being said though, the following sequence afterwards is frustratingly odd. Re-entering your apartment, I obviously thought that the robot was the one asking to come in, so I searched around the apartment and found a new room that didn't lead anywhere or contain any items. Then I checked the door camera, and there was no one there, so I open the door and walk around outside and cannot for the life of me understand why there's still an audio cue to open the door and "let mommy in". The reveal that its a tape deck playing it isn't surprising, but that you have to walk down the hallway, turn it off and go back into the apartment is surprising when the sequence just doesn't make very much sense. In short, the audio cue is incredibly misleading and it had me wandering in circles for much longer than I think intended.

I really really want to like this game, and I love its atmosphere and setting. But the design is so odd and clunky that it's hard to want to continue.

I wish the dev the best, this was an interesting experience with a cup of tea in the morning.

[Chol]

To add to this, I think this game could seriously benefit from much more subtlety in its horror. There's bits of genius here and there with scaring the player but it's just never quite paced correctly.