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Signalis (2022)
Instant classic
Many people skip past this game as it is in a very specific niche, just the fact that it has achieved (somewhat mainstream) popularity in survival horror on Steam is already a huge accomplishment. This is a major breakthrough for the devs and perfectly done considering it was only made by two people. It's best to go and play the game without checking anything because the more you learn about it the more it (kind of) takes away the mystery.
If you still want to read, this review doesn't contain any spoilers but does tell you the premise and describes elements of the game that may take away from the experience. I will try to describe in as much detail as I can without revealing anything that is considered a spoiler. Keep in mind some of this will be the actual description that may be a bit opinion based but mostly just describing and some will be my opinion on the game.
Now, focusing on the core elements of this game, everything is either excellent or done to a good degree. Excellent design, presentation, story and narrative, characters, worldbuilding and lore, gameplay music and ambiance, and almost everything else you could think of. It's a return to classic survival horror tropes while also keeping it fresh by adjusting some of the finer points to create its own category. A game that, yes, takes inspiration from masterpieces like Silent Hill 2 and early Resident evil games, but happens to be a breath of fresh air. A game that makes you actually think and creates such pure substance for tense situations and survival horror that it perfectly epitomises the genre while taking a step forward. While also maintaining a fabulously creative and believable story and world throughout, with great atmosphere and visual design so that you never get bored.
Characters are very unique and well designed, with very good links the the world of Signalis, but I also particularly like the main character and how they aren't your typical main 'guy who needs to get from A to B while fighting scary creatures'.
Yes, maybe the backtracking and solving puzzles may become boring for some people but I was amazed at how good the level design was and specifically how they managed to keep it short. This isn't a super long game by any means but it manages to have a good amount of runtime for, again, a game made by TWO people.
However this game is specific and not for everyone by any means some people may not even like the story and that is totally understandable. This isn't 'average' in almost any category, it's incredibly unique, which sets it apart from almost any game (In my opinion) but also could make it suffer in the eyes of some people as not everyone will like it, firstly for the deviation from normal horror, secondly, the unique story and the philosophical questions it raises may be out of interest for a lot of people.
Although you can't deny that this game is real horror, something about it that should be known is that it does contain some heavy topic (and philosophical ideas), and could affect certain types of people such as with anxiety or depression so I suggest that you do some type of research on how well you can handle this. This is just a small warning though.
I have included some of my opinion up until this point but have
mostly described this game.
Besides what I just said before there is nothing to worry about this is a fantastic game and experience, someone else reviewed this and said that it's really like a movie. They were right, it is an experience that some games can only hope to offer.
My opinion:
This is one of my favourite games and a fantastic idea that was also brilliantly executed, literally everything is stylistically selected and art-oriented to create a perfectly packaged from start to finish masterpiece of modern horror. Obviously nothing is perfect but I gave this a 10 based on my own opinion.
Go play this game, it is like nothing you have played before.
Maple County (2021)
Solid short game and playthrough, certainly a good idea
This is a good game. Not brilliant and can be lacking at times, but still an overall solid experience. I think the story here is the most important and strongest theme of the game. If you don't want spoilers, don't read the rest of this review. Just play the game and see what you think of it.
!SPOILER ALERT!
Also warning this is a bit of a long read.
I think it explores a new area of the Mandela catalogue and certainly introduces some new elements to the videos, and it goes beyond just point-and-click at one part. The climax of the game is pretty much in the middle, and has a good scare. The story is well-written and genuinely interesting.
However, while the (in my opinion) climax does not disappoint, the second jump scare where you play dead is not well executed and could be better. Now, I don't know all the developer's ideas and there could've been a problem with it, but it just could've been so much better. For example, let's say a moment where you saw a bit of the entity for a short bit, and while you expect a jump scare nothing happens, and then when nothing happens you'd get no warning and that's where the jump scare happens. Or just skip straight to not being warned at all that it will happen. I just found that part of the game a bit dull and clunky.
Also past the point of jump scares the game needs to be a bit more varied in introducing different characters but overall I really enjoyed the interlinking story lines from different POV. It was actually scary to think about some of the description and was effectively sustained throughout 99% of the game.
Although I will say that if the game focused on its strengths more then it would become even better. For example one of the best segments of the game was when you played as a child and the text 'MOM IS DEAD' and 'IT IS TRICKING YOU' appear. It's just that the game should focus more on sense of dread. Also in the same part is 'THE POLICE WON'T HELP YOU'. I think it would be really interesting if there was another storyline that focused on how the police are losing control and just how helpless we are against unknown entities.
Overall though, this is a game that has a great idea that was executed pretty well setting it apart from the mediocre analog horror that is everywhere today but has so much more potential, hope to see more from Thorne Baker as this is a really promising game.
Anyway that's just my view thanks for reading this to the end if you did!
Chlopi (2023)
Great animation and portrayal
My expectations were shattered. We left the cinema talking about it for a long time! Although the art style is beautiful, the way the characters and story is portrayed is also great. It's not easy adapting a 1,000 page novel series into a film, particularly when it has a lot to live up to. It really captures the mentality of people back then, especially in regards to the book. Some scenes show how crude and animalistic these people were. There are some things that are missed out but you can't expect everything with an adaptation. One of these is the way Jagna is more sensitive to nature, a bit more rebellious as well. However, i suspect this has to do with garnering at least a bit of empathy for her character as after all, if you can't sympathise with the main character of a movie, then it is harder for the character depth to be carried across. Some other things are how Hanka gained Boryn's trust with the money and how Jagna's mother really wanted to 'sell' her. I must say the design and costume are one of a kind, though. Overall some things are different from the original but they make it work really well to create a great Polish film. A masterpiece!