- Innovative and compelling first-person mystery gameplay
- Spooky atmosphere with rich story and characters
- Well-implemented strategic time management mechanic
- Authentic Irish folklore and historical setting
- Critical bugs and long loading times noted
- Highly recommended for deduction game fans
Emotions
Players are highly satisfied with the game's core detective gameplay, including logical and engaging puzzles, a brilliant clue-tracking system, and well-designed mindmaps. The game's unique aesthetic, rich Irish history, high-quality writing, voice acting, and immersive atmosphere also contribute significantly to player satisfaction. Many found the overall quality, depth, and refreshing take on the mystery genre to be outstanding.
Excitement stems from the game's overall high quality, captivating story, and engaging puzzles, leading many to consider it a 'game of the year' contender. The compelling nature of the gameplay makes players eager to discover more and compels them to play for extended periods. There's also significant excitement and hope for the game to gain more recognition within the indie community and for potential future content.
Frustration is primarily caused by technical issues such as hard crashes, lost progress due to inadequate autosave, and minor bugs that break immersion. Other sources include puzzles requiring overly precise mouse movements, time wasted on lore-only interactions, and particularly long loading times that disrupt the game's flow and player experience. The fiddly nature of the time mechanic combined with the save system also contributes to this emotion.
Players enjoy the game's exploration and mystery-solving aspects, particularly within its spooky, dark, and Irish-themed atmosphere. The fantastic and creepy vibes, combined with engaging characters, a clever story, and comforting elements like cozy fireplaces and rain sounds, enhance the overall enjoyment.
Relief is experienced when players discover that the time limit mechanic, initially perceived as potentially stressful or overwhelming, is not constraining, rushing, or a significant issue. Overcoming the initial anxiety associated with the ticking clock leads to a more relaxed and enjoyable gameplay experience.
Verdict
Mostly positive
Summary
Positive 96% · Negative 4%. Score: 4 / 100
Positives:
- Players consistently praise the game as unique, refreshing, and innovative, offering compelling gameplay and a strong sense of originality. The game's novelty, depth, and intelligence keep players hooked from start to finish.
- The game's spooky, gothic, and creepy atmosphere, often compared to Halloween vibes, is a major draw. It relies on evocative imagery for horror rather than cheap scares, enhancing immersion and appeal.
- The time management system is well-received, creating a sense of urgency and immersion without feeling overly restrictive or punishing. It is seen as a resource rather than a deterrent, ensuring players stay focused.
- The game features a fantastic, engaging story with well-developed, believable characters and excellent dialogue. Players appreciate the depth and intrigue of the cast, making the narrative a significant highlight.
- Players highly appreciate the game's deep integration of Irish folklore and history, noting its accuracy and accessibility. This thematic depth resonates strongly, especially with Irish players.
Negatives:
- Players reported hard crashes that lead to loss of progress and confusion, indicating a need for urgent bug fixes. Minor issues like map bugs and spelling errors also detract from polish.
- Players are experiencing frustratingly long loading screens between rooms, corridors, and cutscenes. This significantly disrupts the flow of the game and impacts the overall player experience.
- There is a strong demand for more language options, particularly Polish and Chinese, as the game's extensive text content makes language a significant barrier for non-English speakers.
- Specific puzzles requiring precise mouse movements, such as sigil drawing and lock combinations, are reported as frustrating and imprecise. The game could also benefit from clearer interaction constraints to prevent confusion.
- The autosave feature is not frequent enough, and the combination of the time mechanic with the save system is described as fiddly. This can lead to lost progress and player frustration.
Gameplay:
- The game offers a first-person horror-themed mystery experience centered on investigation, evidence collection, and suspect interviews. It provides a puzzle-solving structure with subtle guidance, encouraging players to think deeply to progress.
- A core mechanic involves time passing with each action, forcing players to prioritize tasks and make deliberate decisions. This system encourages strategic thinking about when and where to perform actions, rather than micro-managing resources.
- Players find the game challenging, as indicated by low achievement rates and the initial complexity of mechanics and characters. However, it rewards player knowledge as a form of meta-progression and allows for focused progression without excessive time pressure.
- Despite the time mechanic, players are advised to save often, primarily to mitigate potential bugs. This also allows players to experiment or revert decisions if they feel time was wasted, though developers suggest it's not strictly necessary for story completion.
Performance:
- Players reported encountering a few minor bugs during gameplay. These issues were generally not game-breaking and could often be resolved by reloading the game, suggesting they are not critical but do impact user experience.
- Players frequently noted that the loading times between new rooms and areas were excessively long. This significantly disrupts the game's flow and immersion, creating friction in the overall player experience.
- The game performs exceptionally well on the Steam Deck, offering a smooth and enjoyable portable gaming experience. This is a significant positive for players who prefer handheld gaming.
- The game automatically supports ultrawide 32:9 displays, which is a highly appreciated feature for players with such monitors. This indicates good optimization for various display setups.
Recommendations:
- Many players enthusiastically recommend the game, emphasizing its value and 'must-play' status for fans of mystery, quests, and point-and-click genres. It's considered a worthwhile experience.
- The game is consistently recommended for players who enjoy deductive reasoning and mystery games, often compared to titles like Return of the Obra Dinn, Curse of the Golden Idol, or Blue Prince. The demo is specifically suggested for these players.
- Players looking for a detective fantasy, especially with supernatural, mystical, or occult themes, will find the game appealing. It's also highlighted for those who appreciate authentic Irish accents, culture, and stories.
- Players are advised to experience the game without consulting solutions or walkthroughs to fully enjoy the mystery and challenge, suggesting that part of the game's appeal is the independent problem-solving.
Miscellaneous:
- Players are very impressed with the game, noting its potential to revitalize the quest genre and expressing a strong desire for more content from the developers, including potential DLC or similar titles. Many were drawn in by the art style and spooky vibe.
- One player suspects the game has significant hidden content that is revealed through multiple playthroughs, drawing a parallel to the game Blue Prince. This suggests a perceived depth and replayability.
- Some feedback mentions tangential details like a country reference or a press code, which offers very little constructive insight into gameplay or user experience. This feedback is low quality.
