Ok y'all, I know I'm late to this party... but I am SO glad I am here! This game has sat on my wish list for years, silently begging for me to give it a chance... to experience the story is so desperately yearned to tell. It sat there, gaining dust as I slowly forgot about it while time stole the urgency to experience it for myself. Finally, the game was mine... but sadly not by my own choice. Thankfully, It was bought for me by a friend. Rescued from the list of titles I may never buy, that call my wish list their eternal home. Below is a bit of a breakdown of what I experienced with this title.

GRAPHICS:

So, the game right? Yeah... that. Anyways, Once I installed it and fired it up I was immediately taken with how beautiful it looked. Even after all this time it was breathtaking. For those of you who feel graphics are an extremely important ingredient in the making of a top tier title, well... I don't think you will be disappointed. The world felt real... and lonely... and really lonely... so alone. I never thought that despite the feeling it gave me, I couldn't help but appreciate the beauty it was portraying. A decrepit and weather beaten building never looked so good. Kudos to the developer for this aspect.

STORY:

Once I got over the graphics (which I never really got over to be completely honest) I was dropped into a story with no idea of what was happening or who my character was. You just wake up on a bed in a seemingly abandoned building. Everywhere I looked, in this world, I struggled to decipher books written in a language I didn't understand. I struggled to grasp my situation and the ruination of the world around me. Every area was familiar and yet alien... welcoming and hostile. It was a truly wonderful experience that had me dreaming up multiple theories to explain what I was seeing. I won't share those with you here, as I don't want to ruin your own experience with this game if you have yet to give it a chance. Needless to say, I was beginning to piece this together as time went on. Books, pictures, and the building itself began to reveal the past. It felt intrusive, exploring the places that people once lived, rifling through the only traces they left behind. It was like moving through a tomb.

GENRE:

I think that one of the reasons I didn't ever pick this game up was because I really had no idea what it was. Was it a walking simulator? A puzzle game? A horror game? I was very confused, looking through the store page. The actual answer is complex. It could be all of those things. Without giving too much of the game away, it sees you moving through both daytime (peaceful) areas, and then nighttime (nightmare) areas. Each portion is designed so that you have to use a combination of both to access certain locations and progress. Along the way, you will have to solve puzzles to find water and complete tasks necessary to move forward. It was reminiscent of Myst in several areas, although you were free to move wherever you want. The game is completely played in first person.

PUZZLES:

I went into this thinking I was a very clever girl. I moved through about 75% of the game with no problems at all. Constantly moving forward, no puzzle able to stand up to my mighty intellect! That was.... until I hit a wall. I wont give away the puzzle, but it saw me struggling to learn the language of the people that once lived here. Looking for clues and deciphering words on decorative signs in peoples dwellings. I finally managed (after several hours) to build a crude alphabet with the symbols I saw. At this point, my desk looked like a scratch paper graveyard. An entire stack of crumbled up paper with strange symbols scrawled upon each page (then crossed out several times and scrawled again) overflowed onto the floor. My office began to look like it had been lost in the throes of a mad woman, or an alchemist or sorcerer of sorts. The deed was done though... I could read what I needed to and I was able to progress. Then... feeling rather smug and pleased with myself, the game gave me a sucker punch right at the end that made me feel like an idiot. If you decide to play this game (and I hope you do) my advice to you is not to overthink things. You have been warned.

OK OK OK... I HEAR YOU... BUT WHAT DIDN'T YOU LIKE ABOUT IT?

There was not a lot to hate about this game. There was, however, this one thing. To some people it may not be a negative thing but to me... it was awful. The walk speed. OMG the walk speed is ridiculous. Yes, I understand why its so slow. The developer wants you to take in the beauty of the things they have created. They should be very proud of the visuals and I would probably want the same thing if I had developed it... but.... come on. This got to the height of frustration for me when, amidst the balled up scratch paper I decided that I had stumbled upon an epiphany of sorts. I knew what I needed to do and surely... SURELY... it was back towards the beginning of the game. So, with conviction and righteousness guiding my extremely slow steps, I valiantly backtracked to the first hallway and began, surely what was to be the most valuable and meaningful breakthrough of my time in the game! I was so pleased with myself. Until I realized that no... there was nothing here. I was an idiot. Then, my steps heavy and spoiled with sourness and disappointment, I set off on the long journey back to where I was... the walk of shame seeming to take an eternity.

Please, please, please, please, please, for the love of all things holy and pure in this world.... fix the walk speed.

SHOULD YOU BUY IT?

YES! It is definitely worth your money. I'm not sure if I will play it again. Perhaps I will have someone over at some point and have them play it... but I probably wont. That being said, it was definitely worth the price of admission to experience it for myself. Pick this up. I don't think you will be disappointed.