1. bro1017

   10

   This game is amazing...-ly frightening. The game takes advantage of all the little details of human nature not usually included in video games, and by combining heavy breathing with dizziness and eerie creaks, I practically became the person in the game. In fact, some times I would hear something to the left, and I would look away from the monitor myself. And more than just being creepy is the realism of the game, although some things are designed unrealistically on purpose, it just makes you feel like you're going crazy. I must admit I was scared many times, and the subtle revealing of the plot as you advance gives you more understanding of the situation, yet makes you feel even more scared. It doesn't require much puzzle-solving, but its goal is to scare me stiff, and frictional games did an excellent job of that.… Expand

   • Helpful?

     31 of 31 users said yes
2. karmasleeper

   5

   The most intense and immersive game in recent memory. Throughout this entire game, terror and suspense had me edging constantly through the world, carefully managing my lantern and tinder supply, and apprehensively peering around corners into pitch black darkness hoping nothing was waiting for me ahead. That is, until I realized how easy it was to dodge monsters. The reason I only rate it a 5 is because once you figure out the enemy AI and once you understand how to conserve tinder boxes and lamp oil by not lighting every candle you come across, the challenge (and more importantly the terror and anxiety) largely evaporates. If you're cautious, it's super easy to avoid enemies without them ever seeing you even when the game punishes you for being in dark areas near monsters for too long as your sanity drains, vision blurs, and stealth level decreases. Monitoring your sanity does not require you to constantly light your lantern. All you need to is maneuver through natural light sources or light an out of the way candle to rest near. Monster AI and pathing seemed odd. Too often I would be spotted by a monster and forced to duck into a small room with no way out or no place to hide. All I had to do was crouch in a corner near the door. The monster would open the door or bash it in, stand in the door way for a few seconds, and then leave never actually entering the room. After a while, this got really old, and monsters felt more like an annoyance to sit through rather than a threat. Exiting the room into a narrow hallway or dead end with only one way out, the monster simply vanished, no where to be found. I even went so far as to look for trouble, finding no monsters. Monster appearences seemed to me to occur only after steps in a puzzle for a certain location were completed. For example, gaining an item needed to advance or unlocking a door would trigger an event which I would unfailingly avoid through the method described above. The only challenge left in the game were the puzzles themselves which were excellent. They required just enough thought that you felt accomplished solving them and they weren't so difficult as to feel tedious or mind numbing and forced. The pacing and placement of these puzzles was also excellent. The story was also engaging though the three endings leave a lot to be desired. Unlocking the different endings is as simple as reloading save to the final minutes of gameplay. Nothing you do throughout the game affects which ending you will receive - only what you do at the very very end of the game. If you're a horror game fanatic, you'll enjoy this game more than I did. Otherwise, it'll feel like a puzzle game with a half baked stealth mini game of avoiding monsters thrown in the break the flow.… Expand

   • Helpful?

     2 of 2 users said yes
3. neverbelow

   2

   This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I bought this game with because of all the acclaim it got and I figured, hey it's only 20 bucks for a great game. Wrong. Wrong. Where do I start? How about the really boring story. It seems they made the game and all the puzzles and then thought man, I need a reason to do all this. So uninteresting I've already checked somewhere in the water part. How are the creepy/scary qualities? It was creepy for all of 20 minutes. Then it was just stupid. Losing your sanity consists of a few more scratching sounds and a dumb filter put on the scree. Then sometimes the screen flashes and becomes a little more red while your lose control. Ah yes, control. The controls suck. Think Minecraft and you'd be nearly spot on. The only fun I started having with the game was running (which is more like fast walking) and jumping. Usually I tried to glitch the game and monsters. By the way, the monsters are not scary. Once again see Minecraft. Except sometimes they are invisible and can hurt you... but you can jump through them. Seriously don't be suckered like me by all these reviews. Compare this side by side to a serious game title (Dead Space) and it'll knock it out of the water. Lastly, I have a good graphics card and the settings are at the highest. Yeah, the graphics still suck. Is this company stuck in 2001? Thanks for reading. Summary: Unless you're 3 and have never played a half-decent video game before, don't waste your time. It's not fun, scary, creepy, a good story, or a cool experience.… Expand

   • Helpful?

     4 of 86 users said yes

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