![]() The object interaction is very fiddly, yet unresponsive at the same time - you have to have it JUST right or you can't interact with anything. Even the brightness slider when you first start the game? Again, it does nothing and there is no response from the control inputs - you have to fix that in-game once you somehow make it to the main menu. Some of the controls just don't work - for example the Frame Advance up/down on the D-pad when viewing the tapes does absolutely nothing. And I later learned from a walkthrough that the game had failed to spawn an object I needed, yet another glitch. This was in the bunker, for anyone interested. On one occasion I clipped through the scenery completely by accident and couldn't get back because I was now stuck - 35 minutes of play time wasted. The game is really riddled with glitches and graphics issues, including tearing and clipping. Some VERY basic first time instructions would have been nice. There are no hints whatsoever and you have to figure it out by chance, all while listening to the dog barking relentlessly until you somehow figure out what's going on. ![]() After the intro sequence you are more or less just dumped at the start of the game with no hints about the controls, how to interact with objects, nothing. There is virtually NO introduction on how to play this. Overall, this fairly short game (6 hours or so) has a few good moments, but I cannot say that the experience was really enjoyable or satisfying. As the game became something of a vexation towards the end, I simply don't feel like replaying it to see if I could have changed things for the better. I gather there are a couple of different endings, depending on decisions you take during the game and I think I got the "bad" ending. Finally, the concluding chapter seemed to drag on interminably and I just wanted it to end. Dialogue between you and Carver seems to trigger randomly so, one minute he's telling you to tell your dog to seek (and good luck finding your errant dog!) and the next it switches to a dead stag. You can get stuck in a portion of scenery, necessitating a reload. The time stamp on your saves is truncated, so you can't tell which is the latest. Occasionally, you will see an object that displays the manipulate icon, but you are unable to pick it up, until you've saved and reloaded. The save system doesn't appear to save everything so, on loading your save, you may find you're missing certain objects that will need to be hunted out again. ![]() Once you've left one region, you cannot return to an earlier section to explore the bits you've missed (like the locked door in the bunker), which was really frustrating. The locations are not mappable and just loop around in an unrealistic manner. ![]() ![]() The mechanism of using video tapes to manipulate reality felt very unintuitive and, after the initial novelty value, became rather boring. The "make-you-jump" moments are not over-used and should set your pulse racing. The creepy atmosphere is carefully stoked and a few scenarios, like the sawmill and electric rail car were memorable and felt quite Stephen King-like. Not up there with say Red Dead Redemption 2, but the woods, vehicles, derelict buildings and even your faithful dog are nicely rendered, as is the torchlight effect, on which you will have to rely for much of the game. My overall impression though, now having completed it, is one of disappointment. My expectations for this game were probably unrealistically high. ![]()
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