F-ing NICE.

At first I was led to believe this may be another minimalistic horror game of the Amnesia or even Dear Esther-esque variety, and I'll confess I was slightly disappointed when I was given a gun quite early in proceedings...leading to the realisation this was "just another" Half-Life 2 mod.

But oh, what a mod! While it inevitably shares a degree of the look and locations of ANY first-person shooter you care to mention (sewers, a warehouse, etc), it maintains a consistently "watery" thematic throughout, and a firm emphasis on atmosphere and storytelling over, say, extreme difficulty and loads of different weapons and enemies and all that other (often extraneous) nonsense.

Look, it's short, it's focused, it's fairly linear, but above all, it's FRICKING FREE. And even if the subsequent Acts turn out NOT to be free, I'll happily part with a small amount of cash to see what happens next...especially in light of the enigmatic cliff-hanger of an ending we're given, and all the other unanswered questions we're left to ponder, such as: why are there so many WOMEN in the island's sinister military-style operation? And what's with all the "infected" dudes wearing Star Trek uniforms? Was the island host to a nerd convention just before the mysterious events occurred?!

Looking forward to some juicy answers to these questions and more in Act II..!

(UPDATE: I see that Act II has indeed been released as a free product, albeit one that is still in Early Access. I might wait 'til it comes out of said status, but look forward to it when it does...)

Verdict: 8/10.

F-ing NICE. At first I was led to believe this may be another minimalistic horror game of the Amnesia or even Dear Esther-esque variety, and I'll confess I was slightly disappointed when I was given a gun quite early in proceedings...leading to the realisation this was "just another" Half-Life 2 mod. But oh, what a mod! While it inevitably shares a degree of the look and locations of ANY first-person shooter you care to mention (sewers, a warehouse, etc), it maintains a consistently "watery" thematic throughout, and a firm emphasis on atmosphere and storytelling over, say, extreme difficulty and loads of different weapons and enemies and all that other (often extraneous) nonsense. Look, it's short, it's focused, it's fairly linear, but above all, it's FRICKING FREE. And even if the subsequent Acts turn out NOT to be free, I'll happily part with a small amount of cash to see what happens next...especially in light of the enigmatic cliff-hanger of an ending we're given, and all the other unanswered questions we're left to ponder, such as: why are there so many WOMEN in the island's sinister military-style operation? And what's with all the "infected" dudes wearing Star Trek uniforms? Was the island host to a nerd convention just before the mysterious events occurred?! Looking forward to some juicy answers to these questions and more in Act II..! (UPDATE: I see that Act II has indeed been released as a free product, albeit one that is still in Early Access. I might wait 'til it comes out of said status, but look forward to it when it does...) Verdict: 8/10.