Recent reviews by CAJJI

Lorelei and the Laser Eyes is often described as a puzzle game, and while that is true, it's not how I would describe it.

To me, the game is a uniquely interactive narrative experience unlike any other I've seen. Narrative games are special in that the audience can interact with them, adding an extra level of immersion. This game has taken that philosophy and pushed it to its deepest level. It is truly a work of art and a masterpiece.

It's hard to put into words what makes it so special, as it's not as simple as "this game has branching dialogue choices", which it does not. I think the easiest way I can put it is that it takes seemingly pretentious ideas, such as "art is a reflection of the viewer", or "a piece of art is better left unexplained" and turns them into logical truths. It proves these ideas to you as if they were your own, and it does so beautifully.

Every piece of the game, from the puzzles to the interconnected narrative, are meticulously crafted in such a way that even the simplest of things have immense meaning that change as you progress through the game. By the end of it, you'll have an entirely new perspective on every single word you've read previously.

While I would recommend it as a puzzle game, because that is the majority of the gameplay, it's truly defining feature is the story it tells and how masterfully woven it is.

I hope that this game is recognized in history as a piece of media that helped to define and push the idea of what is possible in interactive storytelling. It seems like that was the goal of the developers, and all I can say is that they are geniuses. One of a kind, even.

SOUNDELTA!!

I strongly disagree with the negative reviews this game received on release. I will say, at the start of the game I somewhat understood their concerns. The level design can be a bit strange and there's a lot of flashbacks that can seem overwhelming at first, but even those aspects aren't nearly as bad as people made them out to be.

After you get the hang of how the game works and what the designers had in mind, you start wanting MORE flashbacks to reveal the deeper story they've created, and while the level design does have some pointless dead ends at the start, it refocuses itself quickly by adding rewarding collectibles and such like they have in their other games. The game is not short or lacking in passion or effort. It truly feels like a game that they expected to be well received, because you can feel the effort they invested into making it a worthwhile experience.

The game feels like a combination of what they achieved with Amnesia: TDD and SOMA. It has the horrific torturous world of Amnesia, combined with the philosophical morality and storytelling of SOMA. Admittedly, it doesn't surpass either in their respective regards, but it feels like a nice middle ground. Definitely a step forward from the Frictional Games team and their unique design experience - even if it won't be taking SOMA's place as my favourite narrative horror game.

If you enjoy the extremely substantial storytelling and physics-based gameplay that Frictional Games is best at, then you will like this game. Personally, I felt the story in this game was extremely powerful in retrospect, and I had a lot of fun with MOST of the puzzles. Some puzzles I had to look up solutions for because they were just a bit too unclear, but the ones that I did solve felt rewarding. I rarely, if ever, felt that the puzzles interrupted the horror like some reviewers claim.

When I look at the cover art and see Tasi's expression, I perceive it entirely different than I did before playing the game. At first all I saw was fear, but now I see so much more. Determination, heartbreak, sorrow, purpose, sacrifice, perseverance, fighting hopelessness, and so many other complex emotions conveyed through one masterful artwork. It makes me feel strong mixed emotions unlike any other game.

This game is absolutely infuriating. I thought it was a "git gud" type of game, but it's not. You will experience constant annoyance - dying to the (unfortunately) unsatisfying movement system or enemies pulling unavoidable surprise attacks. I literally had an enemy fall from the sky (entirely by random chance) and insta-kill me with no possible chance to avoid it, and you get punished in multiple ways per death. Surprisingly, the worst consequence to dying is having to retrace your path through the tedious map with the, again, unsatisfying movement system.

I really, really wanted to like this game, I gave it several chances over several hours, but it's just not worth it. There's barely any satisfaction to be had, but there's constant, CONSTANT frustration and disappointment. It's not a matter of skill, it's a matter of patience, and since there doesn't seem to be any sort of worthwhile reward for your patience, it's just not worth playing... not to mention, it simultaneously discourages patience by having a time limit mechanic. Cool in concept, unbearable in practice.

Try it out if you want, but I'm done. It's just not fun.

Great game with a very fun base concept. If you enjoy multi-tasking and physics-based mechanics games, I'm sure Calm Down, Stalin.
HOWEVER, the game often times feels rushed. Once you reach a point where your desk is completely filled with items, you question how often the gameplay was tested. I sincerely like this game, but there are some simple "bugs" that are nearly game breaking.


Currently I think this game would be hugely benefitted by:

-Restraining the objects from passing a certain points on the desk's axis.
If I throw an object too far down the table, I may not be able to reach that object for the remainder of the round. If I knock my phone out of my hand with my other hand (that's another bug by the way), it can also fall BELOW the table. Why not restrain it if it's never supposed to be there?

-Fixing the phone's recall leap.
It landed on the button 4 times in a row when I was starting off. Other times it just gets stuck. In this case I'd consider removing the physics aspect of this and just making it dash back into receiver if it can't be fixed otherwise.

-Creating more space for objects.
Unless the grabbing can be tweaked to work more precisely, it's too frustrating trying to grab objects that are cluttered in the small space you have. The punching bag for example, introduces another task without it DIRECTLY getting in the way of others, which is good. The small space also makes it much easier to accidentally knock objects out of reach. Maybe throw in a shelf?