When I saw this game in Steam's recommendations for me, I was intrigued. Since it was free, I decided "why not" and added it to the list. Now that I've played it, I just might have more faith in Steam's recommendations. I have not played a horror game this good in a LONG time.
Story: Meet officer Brown. He is a cop for the town of Babels Hill Top, a major tourist attraction town. However that is not to say everything is always nice here, so the police are always on their toes. Tonight they received a call from the residence of the Ruggles family. Not much was said, but a panicked voice yelled about getting over there and everyone being dead. Half-expecting this to be a prank, they sent an officer to respond and investigate and Mr. Brown drew the short straw.
You will play in the role of the officer as he arrives on the scene, but suffice it to day, things are not as simple as they seem and it won't be long before you are taking a guided tour through a personal Hell made for the officer.
There really isn't much more to say about the story as this is only a prologue. Literally this is chapter 1 of what should be an amazing experience when it all comes out. And what is here is not bad, if very limited. But for now, we have to wait for more.
7/10
Graphics: This is arguably one of the best looking games I have played to date. You will play the game in a first person perspective starting with the moment Officer Brown has entered the Ruggles house, and this is one of those games that aims for photo-realism. And it aims very well. You will see every detail from the individual floorboards and their gloss reflecting in your flashlight to the corrosion and rot in some walls shaped like symbols. It all looks amazing and carries the atmosphere of the game brilliantly.
Sadly I can not say the same for characters you run into, as the models definitely hit the uncanny valley much harder then the world, but that only makes them that much more jarring and pushes the creepy factor of the game when they show up.
9/10
Sound: Much like the graphics, the sound in this game is spot on. For most of it, there is no music, leaving you to listen to your own footsteps, the creaking of the house, and your character talking to himself about his situation. Incidentally, that voice work I heard is in Japanese with subtitles. I had no idea there was an option, but hearing it in English via a youtube walk-through, this may have been the better choice anyway.
When you do get music, it is tends to be in tutorial videos and used to amplify the scarier sections, both adding to the tension and unease of the game in general. In short this is done with a master-touch the likes of which I have rarely seen in game or movie.
9/10
Gameplay: Unfortunately, the gameplay here is fairly limited, but concidering this a is a game meant to be played in one sitting and take about an hour, we should expect that. You will play as Officer Brown as you wander the house, facing off with his personal hell. The game is pretty linear,expecting you to handle a couple of puzzles on your way into madness, but if I had to be honest, this is not a game about gameplay so much as it is about the story, the hellish world, and scares it can offer on the way. And this is where the game shines.
At first, you will come across a general feel that something is wrong with this world with crosses and messages scribbled on the walls, but it slowly builds up as doors start to open and lock on their own, voices cry in places they should not be able to, and the world just degrades from the mundane to the unholy... and if you are a horror buff, you are going to absolutely love the ride!
7/10
Bugs: The only thing I can say was out of order in any sort for me was an occasional spelling error. Apparently this has been worked on over time based on the comment threads steam has for this game, but it is apparent this developer's first language is not English (or as they put it "Engilish"). Honestly I commend the attempt, even if I laughed before the game got started. But it is still something I have to point out as it will bother some more then it did me.
Overall: Short, sweet, and to the point, I absolutely loved this game and my time playing it. If anything it is too brief as it is absolutely enthralling. But it is labeled as Prologue for a reason as this is only the first part of a much bigger project. And as a free game, I can't recommend it enough.
My only regret is we still have to wait for more.
Score:
9/10
System Requirements:
- Intel Core i5 2500 or equivilant AMD processor
- 8 GB RAM
- Nvidia Geforce GTX 760 or AMD equivilant
- 7 GB hard drive space
- Windows 7/8.1/10 (64-bit only)
- Ryzen 7 (2700) 3.2 Ghz
- 16 GB RAM
- Nvidia Geforce 1660 (6GB VRAM)
- Windows 10 (64 Bit)
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