Recent reviews by DapperMuffin

As an experience it's interesting, it's unique and there are few games that use their visuals as both a worldbuilding tool much less as a mechanic in the game itself, what comes to mind is a single chapter of the The Unfinished Swan (TUS). Because of that I'd like to compare the two since it will help with my point.

To start us off, let's use story, one has a fully fleshed out story, with characters, different chapters and more emotional moments to count, the latter (this game) supposedly heavily relies on mystery, but summed up without spoilers can honestly be told within 2~3 sentences. It feels quite unfinished, and frankly feels like a more like a tech demo, which I am hoping it is, since while I am comparing it to a game, is how I am reviewing it for.

How about mechanics? The entire premise of the game is based completely around a single tool (with upgrades, of which one is basically better than all the rest). There's basically nothing to interact with, and it feels like I'm walking in a scene of my own creation. Other than minor platforming (which is understandable considering the niche the game is in - for game reviewers, indie explorers, a partner of sorts to introduce games to) there's little else to say. TUS has more than one mechanic, and that's all that you need to know at the moment with chapters changing and adding to the mechanics so as not to bore you.

Soundwise? Decent but incredibly jarring soundtrack. There are portions of the game that out of nowhere would change the soundtrack, which feels like it's putting you in a false sense of security, or foreshadowing something that will happen later, but there was no callback to the music, immensely frustrating. The effects feel quite similar to basically any other horror game that I've heard with lots of misophonic (random environmental sounds) that don't always have much to do with the context or game. TUS has full music soundtrack, and a world that feels more alive with decent sound design.

Even just comparing one or two of these criteria with TUS is so telling of how shallow the game is. I wish it leaned more into the mystery (allowing us to solve or know more about the story and lore) or exploration where it's not just a single super linear path with slightly open areas, or horror wherein they actually do something more than the typical they touch you you die. There's so much promise to something like this. That said I don't want to continue bashing something that is quite an innovative and interesting experience, but with all honesty, that's basically it - an experience. I feel that as a gamer that this isn't a game, contrary to what the top review says about it. It's one thing to be able to compare something like this to a fully fleshed out AAA title, it's another thing entirely to compare it to something within its own tier (indie) which has quite legitimately tons of massive hits.

Now can I recommend this game to anyone? Yes - with caveats. So buy this game and play if
* You're an experienced gamer that just wants something completely new to break up the monotony.
* You want to support the designer and developer of this game, and hope they can come up with something better, because you know they can be better than this
* You're a game reviewer / streamer / youtuber as it makes for a decent video.
* For your significant other, who has the skills of a potato, and you want to wean them into video games
* You believe in art for art's sake and games as an artform rather than a pasttime.

For everyone else, there's literally millions of other games.

Unpacking is a story game that doesn't have any story, at least not in the traditional sense. It sounds like a paradox because when you think of stories you'd normally think to the wordiness of games, events, story cues, maybe the various character arcs, but none of those really exist here.

You play as a girl that goes through life 'unpacking', and that alone tells the entire story. There is no narrator, no characters that exist as you see them, and the only time the game ever really says anything to you is through the scrapbook. The story relies on the music, the memories and objects you've pulled out of the boxes. It's a deeply nostalgic feeling even for someone like me who hasn't needed to move as much. Every single item that you pull from the box tells a story, and one that grows slowly with the same pace as the character, and despite it not being your story, you'd see and understand.

You go from a young girl that's still studying, with all the books and toys and fluffy animals keeping you company. To sharing a dorm (with terrible dormmates yuck), that refuse to wash their own dishes, not once even being considerate to each other. To falling in and out of love, coming to terms with it when going home, and even finding another love and starting a family.

If I said that this is all coming from a game where you literally pick up and place objects, and that, that was the entire gameplay, you'd think I'm insane (although I definitely am in some ways or another lulw). But this is definitely a lesson to all other devs to lessen or even outright remove a lot of the wordiness in favor of a more diegetic approach that allows the player to understand the story through sheer context alone.

For anyone that truly wants to reminisce, or tell stories with a stream or even just if you want something that you can take at your own pace. Highly recommended - though I do wish they would legitimately allow you to place objects anywhere.

This game is quite literally as if you're taking literally all the drugs at the same time, with none of the downsides. I'm fairly certain the devs that had to make this game were doing exactly that, just so that you would have the same kind of experience.

I salute these devs for their tremendous sacrifice, in creating what is essentially AntiChamber Stanley Parable with a bit of Portal.

If you've ever played either of those games, stop reading this immediately, don't look up any playthroughs, and don't even look at any other media concerning this. Even if you have no idea what the games I said are, then you are definitely in for a treat. Shove this directly into your cart and straight up buy it. It is a fairly short game, but it is well worth every cent.

Despite what you see in the trailers, it is clearly trying to present itself as a very super and simple puzzler, but it is not that. It's simply trying not to spoil for your own good.

And for that, if you're still reading, stop and play this game. I assure you that this will be worth your while. Afterwards however, don't forget to fall into a massive depressive state, as there probably not be another gem like this for the next few years.

If however, you're still here as a stickler that so desperately wants to know what this game is about, keep reading, but I hope you understand that especially with the warnings that I have above, that this will irreversably affect you, and how you view the game.

Superliminal is puzzler with a deceptively simple set of mechanics, resizing objects, moving them around and cloning said objects. What separates this from the hundreds of other games that also employ some of these mechanics is the depth and creativity that each 'level' gives. With the exception of the tutorial levels, there never seems to be a point in time where the puzzles are 'copies' of previous puzzles. With that being said however, I do need to take note of their downsides, as the result of this kind of design results in the puzzles generally being difficult to solve, even if they do try to lead you through it, with incredibly effective use of sound, text, lighting to give you hints without outright telling you.

As for atmosphere, it is a masterclass and an example on how you could have something drastically simple, without incredible graphics, or an orchestra and still be effective. Music starts and stops, and partially how you know you're going the right way. Some parts of the game feel more like psychological horror than therapeautic puzzler and that's quite potent of a juxtaposition in a game like this.

Just finished the game (This will probably be the last revision)

Okay, just because a game has checkpoints(fast travel), healing and rollling does not a Dark Souls game make.

I understand that it is a massive oversimplification of what the gameplay elements are and sometimes I can understand it being used for some games, but specifically here the nuance is lost because what DS offers is more than that, and I'm fairly confident that DS players are more there for the amazing well crafted world, the handholding free adventure, the variety and depth of all equipment, the polished nature of moment to moment combat and gameplay and most of all is the community. The game is clearly inspired by DS to a degree, and includes a few references, the one especially at the end is more or less a frame perfect version of one of the most famous DS emotes.

If you're here for the aforementioned DS like traits I've listed, then this probably isn't the game for you. However, before you simply give up on the game and move on, what you'll find is it presents a completely different experience. So what is this game then? It's a: Rougelite(lite as you lose basically nothing when you die), Coop, Shooter. That rougelitelite (rll) is something to specifically note though, as that affects the overall polish of the game and restricts some things of the game as a whole.

It's good at:

• Being a rougelitelite, it's very good for replayability. Runs are can be distinct and unique, and everytime you play again you keep your character for future runs.
  
  
• It's a decent as a coop game, which is vastly different from it's decent as a game, there's a bit of a distinction there. There are relatively few decent games that are also coop, at least as of the past year or so.
  
  
• It gives you a decent variety of equipment with varying effects, mostly armor set bonuses that are decently strong, and a pretty decent variety of weapons that when found, scale to your current gear level, allowing you to actually swap gear occasionally (since the upgrade level of the gear you find is the same as the gear you currently have. Very nice, and a decent way to switch things up just in case you got bored of a particular weapon.
  
  
• Most enemies are varied enough, with different mechanics and weakpoints for each one. It occasionally falls flat because some enemies are way more cannon foddery and act more or less like distractions rather then feel like a threat. So this is neutral, but ill push it over to the positive side for good measure.
  
  
• Hitting weakpoints and big red crit numbers make me feel goooooooood [clips.twitch.tv]

What's bad about the game? Well lots if you're holding it up to the standard that is DS, but on it's own so far, we can list

• The incredibly annoying control scheme, since 'attacking' without aiming is melee, meaning this game seems more like a film student finally discovering that a camera can zoom. Every single shot you need to take you need to aim down your sights. (This affects so much more of the game than you realize, especially since it literally forces you to tunnel vision just to attack)
  
  
• Attacks from bosses feel weirdly disjointed. Seeing as bosses now need the capability to be ranged. You'll understand the feeling if you ever play it.
  
  
• ♥♥♥♥ the moth. If you know then you really know.
  
  
• Most boss fights are more or less 3 attacks + a million trash mobs in the arena. Instead of having a boss fight where the emphasis is on the boss itself, the emphasis is placed on 'how fast can you clear the enemies before they overwhelm you'. Which is annoying, but also restricts some play styles (especially if solo)
  
  
• Quite a lot of the areas are so filled with cover to the point where it's more "Ugh there's so much running around to shoot enemies" vs "Oh nice there's cover here." Partially also because your run speed is basically someone's grandma's idea of hurrying up, it's as if the run is only minorly faster compared to that of the regular walk. This apparently eventually can be fixed 80% of the game in by putting things into perks - but that feels like a bandaid rather than a conscious choice.
  
  
• Rolling feels very clunky and heavy, (I would have expected this to be more polished considering it is one of the few ways you can avoid damage in the game)
  
  
• Coop play, especially near bosses means you can basically never revive an ally, and in some cases makes it so you can barely heal. So y'know, sit and wait for your friend to take it up the arse, or make some popcorn and start watching the movie. I've found out that there's basically a 'trait' for this now, which is partially a viable option, but feels more like a bandaid than anything.
  
  
• While there are a few secrets here and there, most often the entire area is basically large corridors with enemies spawning randomly throughout the area. So there is variety, just not in the overarching nature of it (but this is more a critique of rougelikes more than the game itself)
  
  
• Rot infection as a mechanic as a whole (coughing which interrupts EVERYTHING including reloads, rolls, revives etc etc.) It's as if you suddenly came down with an allergy to living. And if someone says just to buy more oilskins then it really turns the game into a drinking contest. Spoilers but despite what the comment says below, is not just on earth (first chapter)
  
  
• The people who complain about the difficulty are somewhat in the wrong, assuming they pick any difficulty higher than hard. If that is your first time, then you're going to get ♥♥♥♥♥♥ over, as those levels are more akin to the NG+ that DS has, that usually necessitate a higher level, so lower the difficulty if you have a hard time approaching it first :)

I would have honestly chosen a more neutral option with a 'neither recommend nor otherwise' stance, but I'd err more on the side of caution, and not recommend this game. Partially due to the issues I have with it, but also knowing that the average DS player would probably not enjoy it fully.

We'll be streaming nightmare on twitch [www.twitch.tv] with my buddy Ayce [www.twitch.tv] if you'd still like to see whether or not the game is worth. And how experience changes our view of the game.

Who's this for (WTF!!!): Storyfinders that want a bit of a simple puzzler, wrapped up in a nice blanket. Play for the puzzles and story, not the horror.

TL;DR: A nice puzzle platformer with a great story and atmosphere, with puzzles that are (intuitive?) but some parts have difficulty spikes leading to rare pacing issues.

My viewers recommended a bunch of horror games to me especially after how bad I felt Layers of Fear was, but knowing my own personality, and that I don’t get scared very easily (which isn’t very good streaming for most horror games…) I decided among the suggestions to go for a more story oriented rather than jumpscare and react kind of games, settling on this after seeing the trailer.

Little Nightmares is a story puzzle platformer with a very unsettling atmosphere.

Its art style is realistic but slightly off, with the entire environment easily understood, but there’s always just something that’s a bit off. This along with the constant movement of the screen (spoilers) leaves the player feeling uneasy, and even with your guard up, tends to make you unsettled. For this, I can applaud them, but fear is not exactly something I feel in this game.

The platforming is very simple and easy to grasp making this a great pick up and play immediately without having to spend quite a lot of time learning the controls, the movement, if a tad bit floaty and the lack of camera makes some jumps a bit hard to judge. It does at times feel a bit of a nuisance, as there is a specific puzzle Mild Spoiler [clips.twitch.tv] that basically had me trapped for 10 or so minutes, this, along with one of the last ‘run’ scenes are the kind of pacing issues that I feel go badly in horror games, as it takes you out of the experience very quickly. However with those as exceptions, most of the puzzles are very well crafted and intuitive, it requires basically no handholding at all because of its amazing game design, with usual and subtle hints that make you feel clever more so than following around a ‘quest’ or pointer.

Since this is more of a one of kind of game, with little replayability, it’s better to not talk much at all about the story, though one thing to note is the heavy emphasis on themes. Spirited Away fans, please pick this game up. I swear it’s worth it for the references alone.

There is also a point in the game if you have basically any pattern recognition, that you can very very easily predict what will happen, but that does not do anything to soften the blow at all. It’s that kind of building up of characters, that don’t even speak, impressive.

(6/10) Decent as a game, mediocre for the genre, redeemed only by lack of jumpscare and decent atmosphere

TL:DR I'd rate this a 4/10 at best. Good for a quick laugh, but definitely not scary whatsoever. A good horror game should leave you with that unsettling feeling long after you've closed it. This definitely does not.
Explanation below...

I'd also like to preface this by saying that I don't usually even play horror games, and this is my first horror game in a while...

For my halloween stream I was told that Layers of Fear was an actual scary game, that I would basically be screaming into the mic and it was the perfect game to play for spooky time. I double checked with steam reviews to see if that was in any way correct, but that notion was completely wrong, and to prove it, I can even have some clips ie https://www.twitch.tv/dappermuffin_/clip/CrispyCourteousAntelopeJebaited-P4B-0cSEbsFQ4FUW?filter=clips&range=30d&sort=time where I didn't even flinch, nor even barely react.

Anyways. The atmosphere is unsettling at BEST, but every single attempt at a jump scare (much less actual scare) was more often met with laughter rather than actual surprise, much less fear. The cheesy jumpscares where objects just fall down, or things vibrate because 'reasons' or when paintings change slightly just don't do it for me man. I don't play it up for the camera, and I'm not sure why there are streamers scared by this game.

I'm not trying to rag on anyone at all, as we all have different fears and such, but rather, I'm curious to why people rate this game so highly? Am I missing something.

You very very quickly get used to the nature of the game, the non euclidian space you inhabit, the constantly changing rooms and objects. Those are meant to throw you off your guard, as you're more focused on the entirety of the world and game around you, it's supposed to mimic the feeling of insanity and dementia, but it rarely feels that way. Sound design doesn't help much either, as the music usually cuts out foreshadowing a super predictable jumpscare. That also saying, they constantly reuse the same jumpscares over and over, I understand in a horror game, that you can't have every jumpscare be unique, but the one major example that I have is the "Wife scare" seen above in the clip which is used 4 times, and in the exact same way every time.

But at the end of the day, having a magic painting that generates food enough to solve world hunger, the police trying to come in after me for said painting, my massive non-euclidian mansion that I basically pay no rent for, the ghosts which I have a love hate relationship with, and my daughter Haley, who needs to be taught that the walls aren't canvas is not too bad.

Video for context https://youtu.be/4AfK_NQ6ltY Obviously very spoilery

If you get all the way this far, does anyone have any recommendations for an actual scary game?

My friend who gave me the game told me I can speak to the game's manager through this review.

I demand to see the manager!!!!!!!11!!111one!!12

To tell them that my face hurts from smiling way too much zulul

me scared

I love me a good puzzle

Baba Is You brings the puzzle genre and flips it on it's head, making the all the levels as easy or as hard as you can make them. If you want to wrack your head it's pretty easy.

It's ok