Review for v0.2.2:
Let me be blunt: This whole game is a contradiction in itself.
It's dressed as a free roaming Unity game - but it really wants you to follow a very narrow linear path.
Certain objects can't be interacted with in a meaningful way until some point later the dev decides, that those objects are now suddenly important - after which they will never again be interactable - that whole thing is a cardinal sin in game design.
The game is so much set on rails, that it throws a hissy fit, when you go against the set sequencing, e. g.: You're in your dad's room at night. Suddenly, there's an ominous red light coming from the adjacent bedroom.
If - instead of going to the red-lit bedroom - you turn around and go to your bed to sleep, the game will just spawn you back at the beginning of the game.
The whole presentation feels like a beginner's first steps into Unity. (Free) asset flips, crudely imported DAZ models, cheap looking AI pics and bugs galore:
Alarms, that won't stop going off even after loading a prior save, loading saves that spawn you into an empty void, red screen borders that will stick with you until you reboot the game etc.
On top of that:
The characters are fresh out of a highschool play. I'm experiencing constant whiplash, when our "FBI" protagonist is constantly switching between being mildly suspicious (even though he should be "calling 911 immediately" suspicous) and being so gullible, that he would get ripped off by literal kindergarteners.
Or the "rebellious" daughter, who looks like a gender studies university student, but either behaves like she just hit the worst stretches of puberty ("Pfft, like, whatever. You're not my dad!") or is suddenly overly turned on by you snooping around ("You're such a bad boy." - Girl, I just lifted a glass case to check out a clock. Just wait until you see me jaywalking.).
BUT: The overarching mystery provides an interesting plot. And the dev has a knack for creating a certain atmosphere and tense little moments with just enough porn logic sprinkled in.
It's just a shame, that the whole Unity engine approach - at this point at least - is such a needless time sink. It might hamper development and doesn't add anything meaningful. The unrendered models and their stiff posing/animations are ugly and you have to paint by numbers regardless of your supposed freedom. So right now it seems to mainly be padding (I'm convinced, that that's also why the player seems to be walking in molasses).
Final thoughts:
Realistically, this shouldn't get more than 3 stars.
But to me it's more than the sum of its parts. The atmosphere and little "corrupting" interactions elevate it to a 4.
And since it's an early build by a proven dev, most of my gripes might just be temporary.
Let me be blunt: This whole game is a contradiction in itself.
It's dressed as a free roaming Unity game - but it really wants you to follow a very narrow linear path.
Certain objects can't be interacted with in a meaningful way until some point later the dev decides, that those objects are now suddenly important - after which they will never again be interactable - that whole thing is a cardinal sin in game design.
The game is so much set on rails, that it throws a hissy fit, when you go against the set sequencing, e. g.: You're in your dad's room at night. Suddenly, there's an ominous red light coming from the adjacent bedroom.
If - instead of going to the red-lit bedroom - you turn around and go to your bed to sleep, the game will just spawn you back at the beginning of the game.
The whole presentation feels like a beginner's first steps into Unity. (Free) asset flips, crudely imported DAZ models, cheap looking AI pics and bugs galore:
Alarms, that won't stop going off even after loading a prior save, loading saves that spawn you into an empty void, red screen borders that will stick with you until you reboot the game etc.
On top of that:
The characters are fresh out of a highschool play. I'm experiencing constant whiplash, when our "FBI" protagonist is constantly switching between being mildly suspicious (even though he should be "calling 911 immediately" suspicous) and being so gullible, that he would get ripped off by literal kindergarteners.
Or the "rebellious" daughter, who looks like a gender studies university student, but either behaves like she just hit the worst stretches of puberty ("Pfft, like, whatever. You're not my dad!") or is suddenly overly turned on by you snooping around ("You're such a bad boy." - Girl, I just lifted a glass case to check out a clock. Just wait until you see me jaywalking.).
BUT: The overarching mystery provides an interesting plot. And the dev has a knack for creating a certain atmosphere and tense little moments with just enough porn logic sprinkled in.
It's just a shame, that the whole Unity engine approach - at this point at least - is such a needless time sink. It might hamper development and doesn't add anything meaningful. The unrendered models and their stiff posing/animations are ugly and you have to paint by numbers regardless of your supposed freedom. So right now it seems to mainly be padding (I'm convinced, that that's also why the player seems to be walking in molasses).
Final thoughts:
Realistically, this shouldn't get more than 3 stars.
But to me it's more than the sum of its parts. The atmosphere and little "corrupting" interactions elevate it to a 4.
And since it's an early build by a proven dev, most of my gripes might just be temporary.
