One of the best games I’ve ever played.
I experienced this game without any guides or the internet and would recommend anyone else to do the same.
I personally got this game on offer after seeing the sequel’s trailer. Whilst I played it simply out of interest for the art style I got a lot more out of it than just that.
This game wants you to piece together information you’ve found over time whilst experiencing the game’s events to figure out the story. When you feel like you have some ideas however these are often subverted, especially the obvious ones. However it will make sense the further you get into the game.
This causes some of the puzzles (later ones especially) to be quite abstract as some rely on your understanding of the events of the game and others how well you have picked up on small details such as in the environment, with other characters, or even in the UI and menus. This could be a negative for some as you will need to think hard for some of them but it was great for me personally.
There is some contrast between the first and second halves of the game:
The first intends to build the atmosphere and cleverly creates a fun sense of dread with the 360° camera view (which is a central feature of this game). You could be jumpscared by environment elements or simply by turning the camera. This, combined with the lack of knowledge of the world and some inexplicable events, creates a large fear of the unknown.
The second half is less focused on directly scaring you and more on telling the story. This can make it much more loaded on text and reading since there is much more time spent interacting with the other characters and going through your files (a collection of information you have discovered). For me this wasn’t a bad thing but for others it could be. The fear is instead in finding out the truth behind the events (and the ambiguity in others) however it’s very satisfying when there’s a rush of everything fitting together towards the end. This is why I believe this game is best experienced without any guides since you won’t get this satisfaction otherwise.
Only towards the end does each segment get quite long so you can get away with playing this for a short amount of time in a day for most of it (not that you’d want to after playing). You wouldn’t want to leave it so long however that you start forgetting information from the game, I personally played it over a month and a half so this was not the case for me.
The translation is also very good, I only caught a couple of small typos so this won’t impact your gameplay experience.
I have never written a review before but this game needs more attention, especially due to its lack of marketing and the number of Square Enix releases around that time.
I personally got this game on offer after seeing the sequel’s trailer. Whilst I played it simply out of interest for the art style I got a lot more out of it than just that.
This game wants you to piece together information you’ve found over time whilst experiencing the game’s events to figure out the story. When you feel like you have some ideas however these are often subverted, especially the obvious ones. However it will make sense the further you get into the game.
This causes some of the puzzles (later ones especially) to be quite abstract as some rely on your understanding of the events of the game and others how well you have picked up on small details such as in the environment, with other characters, or even in the UI and menus. This could be a negative for some as you will need to think hard for some of them but it was great for me personally.
There is some contrast between the first and second halves of the game:
The first intends to build the atmosphere and cleverly creates a fun sense of dread with the 360° camera view (which is a central feature of this game). You could be jumpscared by environment elements or simply by turning the camera. This, combined with the lack of knowledge of the world and some inexplicable events, creates a large fear of the unknown.
The second half is less focused on directly scaring you and more on telling the story. This can make it much more loaded on text and reading since there is much more time spent interacting with the other characters and going through your files (a collection of information you have discovered). For me this wasn’t a bad thing but for others it could be. The fear is instead in finding out the truth behind the events (and the ambiguity in others) however it’s very satisfying when there’s a rush of everything fitting together towards the end. This is why I believe this game is best experienced without any guides since you won’t get this satisfaction otherwise.
Only towards the end does each segment get quite long so you can get away with playing this for a short amount of time in a day for most of it (not that you’d want to after playing). You wouldn’t want to leave it so long however that you start forgetting information from the game, I personally played it over a month and a half so this was not the case for me.
The translation is also very good, I only caught a couple of small typos so this won’t impact your gameplay experience.
I have never written a review before but this game needs more attention, especially due to its lack of marketing and the number of Square Enix releases around that time.
Show more
Great game, bad ending
Amazing game, had me playing nonstop. Got it on sale for 5 bucks, totally worth.
WARNING: the ending - the ACTUAL ending - is honestly quite unsatisfactory.
But the gameplay and story - the journey - was much more worth than the destination. Cool plot twists as well.
WARNING: the ending - the ACTUAL ending - is honestly quite unsatisfactory.
But the gameplay and story - the journey - was much more worth than the destination. Cool plot twists as well.
Delightful
I got this to play through October in the middle of the night and it set the mood perfectly. I was apprehensive at the start of the game and thought it might be a bit cheesy but the story picks up quickly and hits hard. I’ve finished the entire game and the story still lingers on my mind. If you like story based games I would highly recommend.
Show more
Great Story and Music
Remember how superstitions were said to largely be a thing of the past due to limited communication technology? Remember the Oulja board and talk of possession? This game touches on mass hysteria and the psyche of the characters involved in the Seven Mysteries of Hojo. There’s a whole lot of reading, but it’s totally worth it. The twists and betrayals were pretty surprising, but it all gets tied together and the ending makes complete sense. I just wish there were more routes where you could use the curses more.
Show more
Good story and interactive experience
This game really optimised for the iOS devices. Use touch and vibrations, and the story is engaging as well. Please keep coming! Need more FILE23!
