Horrorvale is a phenomenal game and not just a love letter to the horror genre but instead /The/ Love Letter to the horror genre. The game is chock full of references and when you start to think they're missing a big entry or sub-genre of horror, whammo there it is. The game does not miss in terms horror even though the game as a whole is not very scary. Horror games, creepypastas, horror movies, horror literature.. It is all there. That all said the game definitely has some original ideas that should not be glanced over.

The game itself in the way it plays takes heavy inspiration from old JRPGS like Mother, Earthbound, and the Final Fantasy series. A completely loaded cast of characters allowing you to customize the way you play, the only issue is you can't properly use them in all the ways you want to due to the sheer amount but it definitely adds replayability to the game. I'd also say story wise the game feels like a classic JRPG for sure and I won't say anymore so you can find out why for yourself!

The game starts as a light hearted adventure to find your pup who ran off but by the end you're gonna be fighting tears as your heart strings are being ripped to shreds. The game does a great job at expanding who each of the side characters are as well with their second quests, and don't worry, you'll cry your eyes out at some of the side quests too.

Gameplay wise Horrorvale does a great job at not overwhelming you with puzzles or combat and balances both extremely well. Balances them well in terms of not overloading you with too much of one type I should say. One of the problems with Horrorvale currently is balancing, some fights were hellish especially near the mid game, while some were incredibly boring especially late game due to some broken equipment. That said the Dev has said he is focusing on balancing but figured he'd let those who want to break the game do so for now.

I'd be remiss not to mention the audio as a whole in the game and that is somehow an understatement. The music is fantastic from beginning to end, no not fantastic but eargasmic. I couldn't help but hum along to the songs as I played, they stick in your head and dig into your brain; there is no escape. But I intentionally said audio not just music, while the game isn't scary it does a great job of creating atmosphere through the ambiance to make you feel very unnerved and on edge. Not to mention the audio for each and every little interaction and each characters unique "voice".

Now a problem that Horrorvale is facing is plenty of bugs and no I don't just mean creepy crawlies although there are a lot of those as well. The Devs are well aware of all the bugs being found and are working on fixing them as they pop up but that obviously takes time especially since they work outside of Horrorvale as well. They are a dedicated bunch and I have no doubt that these bugs will all be fixed with time, we have just gotta be patient. Luckily none of the bugs make the game unplayable so just save often and on different slots.

Horrorvale is proof that phenomenal games can be made using RPGmaker, you just have to care and put in effort which these Devs definitely have. I couldn't recommend this game more, it truly is a masterpiece and easily makes it in my top 10 games of all time at worst. Once all the bugs are fixed up and balancing is balanced, I'd probably give this game a 9.7/10 after the 53 hours it took to 100% it and I have no idea as to what they could do to make it better. If you are considering it, please support these amazing devs so they can give us more!

Horrorvale is a phenomenal game and not just a love letter to the horror genre but instead /The/ Love Letter to the horror genre. The game is chock full of references and when you start to think they're missing a big entry or sub-genre of horror, whammo there it is. The game does not miss in terms horror even though the game as a whole is not very scary. Horror games, creepypastas, horror movies, horror literature.. It is all there. That all said the game definitely has some original ideas that should not be glanced over. The game itself in the way it plays takes heavy inspiration from old JRPGS like Mother, Earthbound, and the Final Fantasy series. A completely loaded cast of characters allowing you to customize the way you play, the only issue is you can't properly use them in all the ways you want to due to the sheer amount but it definitely adds replayability to the game. I'd also say story wise the game feels like a classic JRPG for sure and I won't say anymore so you can find out why for yourself! The game starts as a light hearted adventure to find your pup who ran off but by the end you're gonna be fighting tears as your heart strings are being ripped to shreds. The game does a great job at expanding who each of the side characters are as well with their second quests, and don't worry, you'll cry your eyes out at some of the side quests too. Gameplay wise Horrorvale does a great job at not overwhelming you with puzzles or combat and balances both extremely well. Balances them well in terms of not overloading you with too much of one type I should say. One of the problems with Horrorvale currently is balancing, some fights were hellish especially near the mid game, while some were incredibly boring especially late game due to some broken equipment. That said the Dev has said he is focusing on balancing but figured he'd let those who want to break the game do so for now. I'd be remiss not to mention the audio as a whole in the game and that is somehow an understatement. The music is fantastic from beginning to end, no not fantastic but eargasmic. I couldn't help but hum along to the songs as I played, they stick in your head and dig into your brain; there is no escape. But I intentionally said audio not just music, while the game isn't scary it does a great job of creating atmosphere through the ambiance to make you feel very unnerved and on edge. Not to mention the audio for each and every little interaction and each characters unique "voice". Now a problem that Horrorvale is facing is plenty of bugs and no I don't just mean creepy crawlies although there are a lot of those as well. The Devs are well aware of all the bugs being found and are working on fixing them as they pop up but that obviously takes time especially since they work outside of Horrorvale as well. They are a dedicated bunch and I have no doubt that these bugs will all be fixed with time, we have just gotta be patient. Luckily none of the bugs make the game unplayable so just save often and on different slots. Horrorvale is proof that phenomenal games can be made using RPGmaker, you just have to care and put in effort which these Devs definitely have. I couldn't recommend this game more, it truly is a masterpiece and easily makes it in my top 10 games of all time at worst. Once all the bugs are fixed up and balancing is balanced, I'd probably give this game a 9.7/10 after the 53 hours it took to 100% it and I have no idea as to what they could do to make it better. If you are considering it, please support these amazing devs so they can give us more!