Once again we find ourselves looking over a one-off game shown off for Extra-Life. Designed to be a short atmospheric experience, I wasn't expecting a lot out of it, but I was wrong. What it is meant to do, it is a masterpiece at, and I am REALLY glad I walked into this gut-punch of an experience.
Story: A man sits has his table. It is old and worn, much like the cabin it resides in. Things are a bit neglected in this place, but that is not something he cares about. Right now, he sits at this table looking at a photo of him and his wife Serena. But something isn't right... her face is blurry as his memory of her. What happened? Where is she? Tonight, we take a trip through memory lane to figure these things out.
To explain anything more then that is to do this game an EXTREME disservice since it will live and die on the story alone for anyone who choses to experience it. What I can tell you is this is one of those stories that takes a slow burn and build up before hitting you in the gut at the end. I will explain no more... not because it is bad. Quite the opposite, and I refuse to give anything away. The only reason it's not a solid 9 in this category is it can be easy to miss details that will still leave this situation just as impactful, but muddy up the details.
8/10
Graphics: Honestly this game is absolutely gorgeous, but it's obvious right away that shortcuts were taken on the way to that. You will play the game from a first person perspective giving you complete freedom to look in any direction you like, suggesting a fully rendered 3D world, but the moment you move around, it jumps to the next location, giving away most of the game is more of a pre-rendered picture instead of an actual environment. The end result however still looks fantastic. It's just a shame how small the game world is. You basically have a handful of positions around the cabin that had to be pre-rendered, with a zoom and transitions between them.
You do not get much of a view of the outside world to compliment this as the windows are grimy as all hell, but I think that was by design of the game mood, not convenience, cause this game is also very gloomy. The place is rundown, and while there are definitely some funny things in the game (I highly recommend looking over the bookshelf and reading off some book names), overall its a gloomy poorly lit old rundown cabin, and it fits wonderfully to that atmosphere.
8/10
Sound: Sound, like the graphics, are also limited by the small piece of the world the game takes place in. You have very real sounding sound effects, but it's basically limited to the sounds of a ticking clock, shelves and cabinets opening and shutting, and the creaking floor as you move around the cabin. There is really little else that can make noise in game, settling in for the quiet of this old place.
Music, is also limited, used basically to note when the story progresses and for a final crescendo during the end credits. But at the same time I think this was the best way they could use it. In essence, the silence is your constant companion, being broken only when things progress and in a way that compliments the story. So yes, it's very limited, but once again, less is more this time around.
But I can't say the same about the voice work. The name of this game is monologue and this is the main way the game will tell you what is going on. As you navigate the cabin and investigate the artifacts of the lives lived here, the man we are playing as will comment as he tries to remember and grasp the details emerging from his head about it all. Some of it is funny. Some of it is wholesome. While yet more is dark and sinister and even a little scary from time to time. Hat's off to this voice actor and his work through the game. And yet, his voice is not the only one in this game, Sometimes, he will remember commends of his wife Serena... or even find notes that will be read in her voice. She too did an amazing job, the two of them carrying the plot of this game brilliantly.
9/10
Gameplay: And this is probably the weakest part of the game. At it's core, Serena is a point and click game which you will play from a first person perspective. All your interactions with the game will be controlled by the mouse with the cursor's form telling you what you can do. Depending on if you are zoomed in on an interesting item or not, moving that mouse will either tilt the camera with your mouse movements or move freely over the interesting area.
Sadly there really isn't much in the way of puzzles to go with this gameplay. Rather it's all about finding the right dialog to jog your memory of the what life was like in this little place. The entire game is more of a narrative experience where you find the pieces to move that story along, and it is a very short experience. There is no saving since it was designed to be played in a single sitting. You sit down, you play, and when you finish you get to think about what you just witnessed.
What is here supports the whole experience beautifully, but that's all it does. As far as gameplay goes, there just isn't much here.
5/10
Bugs: While a little rough around the edges (I have no other way to describe a game opting to display the title over the opening scene instead of having a real title screen/menu at all and quits as soon as the credits roll), it ran flawlessly. There are no bugs I could see in this game.
Score: A short title you can and likely will complete in an hour, Serena is very light on gameplay, but exceptionally rich in atmosphere and story. If anything, this is the kind of game that is more of an experience then a game, but is exceptionally good at that. And to that end, if it was a few bucks, it would even still be worth your time. As a free game, however, it is an amazing experience and if you like a touch of the gloom and a taste of genuine depression, you need to take some time with this game.
7/10
System Requirements:
- 1.6 Ghz processor
- 1 GB RAM
- Any GPU that supports Open GL 2.0 with 128 MB of VRAM
- 500 MB hard drive space
- Windows XP
System Specs:
- Ryzen 7 (5700X) 3.4 Ghz
- 32 GB RAM
- AMD Radeon RX 6650 XT (8 GB VRAM)
- Windows 11 (64 Bit)
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