Info about "I Know This Place..?"  chapter I (prologue):

Official game description:
We're making CHAPTER II
=======================
CHAPTER II page here.  
Follow and participate in the development **of Chapter II**with us! - in our public we invite you to participate in the chapter. You can place your items, voice characters, and more!  
Watch our short film-prequel
============================
Before starting the game, we recommend watching **our short prequel film** , which will tell the events BEFORE Chapter I.  
About the Game
==============
This is trans-media game universe in which nobody knows what comes next, not even us. Game chapters+Web-series and short films + visual novel (in our telegram public).  
It is all up to the players who will leave feedback and suggestions after completing each chapter.  
CHAPTER II page here!  
We will use the feedback from players to shape the direction of the next chapter. We hope that this unique approach will provide an engaging and thought-provoking experience for all participants, as everyone has the opportunity to contribute to the game. **You can come up with your own character, your own riddle, put something of your own into the game!**  
Immerse yourself in the mystical atmosphere of an eternal summer evening, with a nostalgic nod to the 80s and 90s Eastern Europe. Our inspiration comes from real objects found in our grandfathers' homes, which we have carefully recreated to transport you back in time.  
We will curate a selection of player-generated ideas to feature in the upcoming chapter. Moving forward, only paid subscribers will have the opportunity to contribute story influences and suggestions.  
However, for the first chapter, all those who have purchased it will be able to participate in this exciting creative endeavour by submitting their own photos or items or ideas for consideration.  
**Metaverse with short films**  
Watch our short film to lift the veil of mystery of this place.  
on Youtube:  
Our indie game was created by just three of us, and we took on the challenge of developing it in two languages. Our goal was to create puzzles that were out-of-the-box and a plot that was strong enough to keep players hooked. The plot is rich with details and hooks, and each player will have their own interpretation of the game.  
The protagonist of our story receives a letter from an old friend, inviting him to visit. Upon arrival at the familiar apartment, he realizes that everything has changed and time seems to have stopped there. As he explores the space, unable to find his friend, he begins to question whether he truly knows this place.  
With each new discovery, strange occurrences begin to unfold. This first-person game is set in Eastern Europe at the end of the last century, immersing players in its mysterious atmosphere and evoking nostalgic memories for some.  
This linear quest is filled with numerous mysteries that each player will interpret differently. After completing the first chapter, we invite every player to fill out a form describing their vision of the game and submitting options for further plots. Get ready for a journey into the unknown!  
The game **supports Xbox gamepad**.  
The game has an **autosave system**. In the pause menu we can see where you are now and some hints.  
_We thank everyone who helped us. And also the guys who sold us the assets. We thank EpicGames, RBL labs and our parents of course!_  
**We are open to cooperation with investors and partners.**  
Official game community :

Release date: Apr 20, 2023

Categories: First-Person Exploration, Puzzle Solving, Atmospheric Horror, Walking Simulator, Narrative Adventure, Investigative Gameplay, Environmental Storytelling


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: N/A
  - Story completion: N/A
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The game is a prologue chapter with short playtimes reported. The 15-minute and 1.5-hour quotes show variation, while 'under an hour' is a direct statement about typical completion. Story/campaign completion is identical to game completion since the game is just a prologue. Session length is implied to be a single sitting (the game is very short). No evidence exists for endgame content.
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes:
  - Meditative Walker (buy)
    - Motivation: Immersion in story and atmosphere
    - Playstyle: Explores at a slow pace, solves puzzles for narrative progression, and prioritises introspection over action.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: story-driven gamer; walking sim enthusiast
    - Reference games: What Remains of Edith Finch; The Vanishing of Ethan Carter
  - Nostalgic Quest Seeker (buy)
    - Motivation: Nostalgia for classic adventure games
    - Playstyle: Solves puzzles methodically, appreciates old-school design and narrative charm.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: old-school player; point-and-click fan
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Excellent atmosphere and immersion (weight 0.97): A large number of reviews emphasize the game's outstanding atmosphere, describing it as atmospheric, mysterious, haunting, nostalgic, and immersive. The combination of visual detail, sound design, lighting, and setting consistently engages players and makes them feel truly present in the game world.
- Engaging puzzles and exploration (weight 0.59): Players appreciate the puzzles for being logical, solvable, and organically tied to the story. The exploration of details, easter eggs, and environmental storytelling is highlighted as rewarding, with many items being meaningful and puzzles requiring thoughtful interaction.
- Nostalgic Soviet apartment setting (weight 0.58): Many reviews highlight the detailed, nostalgic Soviet apartment environment, mentioning items like carpets, vinyl records, tube TVs, and faded wallpaper. This authentic post-Soviet setting is praised for creating a warm, eerie, and immersive atmosphere that captures the spirit of the era.
- Unique and ambitious concept (weight 0.54): The game is described as having a creative, bold, and unusual concept that stands out from other games. Players find the story-driven approach, player influence on story, and the blend of post-Soviet nostalgia with mysticism to be refreshing and original.
- Intriguing story and mysteries (weight 0.54): Players frequently mention that the game's story is mysterious, unpredictable, and thought-provoking, with a strong narrative that hooks players from the start. The blend of sci-fi, mysticism, Russian folklore, and detective elements creates an engaging experience that leaves players wanting more.
- Strong developer community engagement (weight 0.39): Players highlight the developers' active participation in the community, including usage of feedback forms, voting systems for story ideas, and presence on Telegram. This approach fosters a sense of involvement and support for the project's development.
- High-quality graphics and visuals (weight 0.33): Many reviews praise the game's beautiful, detailed graphics and visual style. The art direction, lighting, and environmental details are frequently cited as top-notch, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere and nostalgic feel.
- Eagerness for next chapters (weight 0.32): A recurring theme is players expressing anticipation for Chapter 2 or future episodes, indicating that the game successfully hooks players and builds interest in the ongoing story.
- Excellent sound design and voice acting (weight 0.3): Reviews commend the high-quality voice acting and thoughtful sound design. The audio elements effectively create unease, presence, and immersion, with ambient music and sound effects enhancing the game's mysterious and nostalgic atmosphere.
- Replayability with achievements (weight 0.23): Several reviews mention that the game has high replayability, with achievements encouraging multiple playthroughs. New dialogue, interactions, or surprises on subsequent runs add depth and motivate players to explore more thoroughly.
- Chekhov's guns and meaningful details (weight 0.21): Players appreciate that almost every item in the game is important, with setup for later payoffs (Chekhov's guns). This attention to detail adds depth and rewards careful exploration.
- Interesting prequel films and lore (weight 0.18): Some reviews mention that the short films accompanying the game are interesting and add depth to the lore. They are seen as a creative way to expand the story and world-building.

Common complaints:
- Extremely short playtime (weight 0.71): The game's first chapter is very short, ranging from 10 to 40 minutes, with many players reporting completion times around 15-20 minutes. This brevity leaves players feeling that the content is insufficient and that the chapter ends abruptly, especially when immersion begins.
- Unclear and confusing story (weight 0.41): The narrative is described as confusing and unclear from the start, with players unsure of motivations, events, and genre (mysticism vs. fantasy). The story offers no answers, only questions, and fails to engage players meaningfully.
- Clunky controls and bugs (weight 0.32): Reviewers report clunky and terrible controls, including inconvenient interactions with kitchen cabinets, door opening mechanics that are inconsistent, and bugs such as items falling through the floor. Overall polish is lacking.
- Lack of gameplay mechanics (weight 0.3): The game is described as having minimal gameplay, primarily consisting of walking around a tiny apartment with few interactive objects. Puzzles are illogical, too easy or trivial, and there is a lack of meaningful puzzles and interactivity.
- High price for low content (weight 0.21): Many reviewers criticize the price (around 110-125 rubles) as too high given the extremely short length and limited gameplay. The value proposition is poor, with some explicitly recommending to skip this chapter and buy the next one instead.
- Separate chapters as cash grab (weight 0.18): Players express frustration that each chapter is sold as a separate game on Steam rather than DLC, perceiving this as a money-making scheme (cash grab). This practice is seen as off-putting and ridiculous.
- Feels like a demo or incomplete (weight 0.18): The first chapter is widely perceived as a demo or micro-demo due to its short length, limited content, and abrupt ending. Many reviewers note the game feels unfinished and incomplete, with no real conclusion.
- Developer unprofessionalism (weight 0.16): Negative reports about the developer contacting reviewers to remove negative feedback, possible harassment from the developer's acquaintances on YouTube, and concerns that development of chapter 2 hasn't started despite promises.
- Confusing genre and setting (weight 0.15): The game's genre is unclear (mysticism? fantasy?) and its setting – a chaotic mess of Soviet items – adds to the confusion. The narrative feels like a stream of consciousness without a solid framework.
- Limited Steam integration (weight 0.13): Steam features are poorly implemented: no game counter, achievements not reflected on profile, and the game did not close properly (remaining in tray for 20 hours), leading to denied refunds.

Gameplay feedback:
- First-person exploration puzzle game (weight 0.76): The game is consistently described as a first-person puzzle game focused on exploration, with point-and-click interactions, environmental storytelling, and logical puzzles woven into everyday settings.
- Short narrative prologue with episodic structure (weight 0.61): The game is a short prologue (under an hour) serving as the first chapter of a planned episodic transmedia project, with community-driven story development and player voting influencing future chapters.
- Soviet/post-Soviet atmosphere and setting (weight 0.58): The game is set in a nostalgic Soviet or post-Soviet apartment environment, with strong atmospheric details, cultural references, and a sense of disorientation and slow-paced exploration.
- Atmospheric and slow-paced gameplay (weight 0.43): The game features slow-paced exploration and puzzle-solving, building a sense of disorientation while emphasizing environmental storytelling, surrealism, and mysticism.
- Community-driven and achievement-focused (weight 0.31): The game includes community token rewards, player voting for story progression, and achievement hunting, with multiple playthroughs offering new content and player feedback being considered.
- Detective/mystery and narrative depth (weight 0.3): The game is described as a detective or mystery genre experience, with open-ended story interpretation, interactive storytelling, and environmental details that serve as Chekhov's guns for foreshadowing.
- Puzzles are logical and observational (weight 0.3): Puzzles are logical, observational, and integrated into the environment; players examine objects, learn clues, and solve small puzzles within a limited space like an apartment or escape room.
- Special entities and supernatural elements (weight 0.25): The narrative includes entities like a gnome, domovoi (Russian mythology), mysticism, surrealist elements, and sci-fi or SCP universe connections, adding a weird, folkloric atmosphere.

Performance notes:
- Performance issues on low-end hardware (weight 0.14): Multiple clusters indicate that the game struggles to run on laptops and lower-end PCs, even on low settings. While one cluster reports normal requirements, others highlight optimization problems and poor performance on weaker machines.
- Bugs and clunky controls (weight 0.11): Players report experiencing bugs, awkward controls, and a general feeling of clunkiness. These issues detract from the overall gameplay experience.
- Missing textures and visual glitches (weight 0.06): Some objects in the game lack textures, indicating missing assets or rendering problems that affect visual quality.
- Sound volume problems (weight 0.05): There are issues with the game's audio, specifically concerning volume levels, which may impact immersion or clarity.

Recommendations:
- Strong mixed reception overall (weight 0.93): Reviews are deeply polarized: many players strongly recommend the game for its atmosphere, nostalgia, and slow-paced style, while others strongly advise against buying it in its current incomplete state, citing lack of coherent story or content.
- Appeals to niche audience (weight 0.4): The game is recommended for players who enjoy slow-paced, atmospheric, and meditative experiences, fans of Soviet culture and 90s nostalgia, and those who like puzzle/detective games. It is not for action-seekers.
- Potential value for dedicated fans (weight 0.35): Despite mixed feedback, many players find the game worth supporting and look forward to future chapters, praising its unique atmosphere and experimental format.
- Do not buy in current state (weight 0.31): Several clusters strongly recommend against purchasing the game now, citing it is unfinished, risky, or a poor value. Some suggest spending money elsewhere or waiting for the full release.
- Buy second chapter directly (weight 0.18): Multiple clusters advise skipping the first chapter and buying the second chapter instead, as the first is considered incomplete or unsatisfying on its own.
- Watch short films first (weight 0.05): One cluster explicitly recommends watching two short films (10 and 8 minutes) before playing the game to enhance the experience.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Enjoyment (weight 0.11): Players derive enjoyment primarily from the game's atmospheric environment, which is praised for its detail and nostalgic feel. Engaging point-and-click puzzles, good graphics, and pleasant voice acting contribute to a relaxing and fun experience, despite some acknowledging the game's flaws.
- Disappointment (weight 0.1): Disappointment stems overwhelmingly from the game's extremely short length, which players feel lacks substance and feels like a demo. Many expected a longer, more engaging story and more gameplay content, with some criticizing the pricing and the slow progress of future chapters.
- Frustration (weight 0.08): Frustration arises from technical bugs (e.g., items falling through floors), clunky controls, and illogical puzzles that hinder progression. Players are also annoyed by the short duration, trivial achievements, and a lack of clear story guidance, compounded by a high perceived price for the content offered.
- Anticipation (weight 0.08): Anticipation is driven by players waiting for the sequel or subsequent chapters to continue the story. They express eagerness for more challenging content, deeper narrative exploration, and hope that the second chapter will be larger and more fulfilling.
- Curiosity (weight 0.06): Curiosity is sparked by the game's mysterious and ambiguous elements, including an unexpected connection to the SCP universe, unanswered questions, and elusive narrative threads. Players are intrigued by the experimental nature and desire to explore further to unravel the story's secrets.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.04): Nostalgia is evoked by the detailed 90s atmosphere, particularly the Soviet apartment setting with objects like grandmother's carpets and vinyl records. These elements trigger childhood memories and a sense of the past, making the experience feel personal and reminiscent.
- Intrigue (weight 0.04): Intrigue results from the unique puzzle design, mysterious atmosphere, and the importance of items in the game world. The post-Soviet style combined with folk components and an enigmatic story keeps players engaged and curious about the setting and plot.
- Excitement (weight 0.04): Excitement is fueled by the game's innovative voting mechanic that allows player influence on the story, breaking expectations. The developer's approach with short films and active community communication builds enthusiasm for future chapters and the evolving narrative.
- Hope (weight 0.04): Hope is expressed by players who wish for the project's continued development and success. They see potential in the developer's passion, the prequel film, and the high initial bar, hoping for funding and quality maintenance to expand the story and improve the game.
- Engagement (weight 0.03): Engagement is driven by a captivating plot and tension that hooks players from the start. Non-obvious puzzles and a story-driven experience keep them invested and focused on progressing through the narrative.
- Intrigued (weight 0.03): Intrigue stems from the intriguing premise of a post-Soviet setting combined with strange interior details and unusual inhabitants. The mysterious and unpredictable story atmosphere creates a strong pull for players to explore and understand the world.
- Confusion (weight 0.02): Confusion arises from an unclear and incoherent story, making it hard for players to understand the genre or narrative. The extremely short length and lack of content exacerbate this, leaving players uncertain about what to do to progress.
- Appreciation (weight 0.02): Appreciation is directed toward the game's atmosphere, voice acting, and quality of graphics and details, especially given the small indie team. Players also value the time travel story that remains rooted on Earth and the lack of frustrating puzzles.
- Interest (weight 0.02): Interest is piqued by the interactive story concept and the promise of future chapters. The mysterious, surreal atmosphere and potential for horror elements and user involvement keep players curious about what comes next.
- Optimism (weight 0.02): Optimism stems from the solid start provided by the first chapter, suggesting the project is likely to be completed. Active community engagement and developer interaction are seen as positive signs for the game's future and potential.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.02): Satisfaction comes from the game functioning as a proper introduction, with players enjoying exploring locations and solving puzzles. The voting and idea proposal system for future chapters, along with good tech support and developer communication, leave players pleased.
- Admiration (weight 0.02): Admiration is expressed for the developer's love and effort evident in the concept, story, graphics, and audio. The ambition of the developers, combined with detailed Soviet-style graphics and expansion through films and DLC, earns respect.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Surprise occurs because the chapter, despite being small, contains many achievements and delivers much more content than expected, such as a 20-minute walkthrough. Players are caught off guard by a unique story instead of a simple walking simulator.
- Immersion (weight 0.01): Immersion is achieved through sound design and environmental details that create a strong sense of being in a specific time and place. The detailed setting and atmosphere make players feel deeply connected to the game world.
- Anger (weight 0.01): Anger is directed at technical issues like the game not closing, which led to a refund denial. Players are also angry about the high percentage of positive reviews despite the game being considered terrible, and some feel harassed for posting negative reviews.}