D1896

It's like the phrase "all style, no substance" on steroids. Outstanding, 1000/10 visuals but gameplay that's as fun as getting a lobotomy.

I initially thought that the game needed to be played from start to finish in one sitting since it has no save functions, but seems like there is a way to circumvent that. I gave it a thumbs down since I was fed up with the game after clearing it, but I changed my mind to give it a plus since I feel that the efforts put in to this game needs to be evaluated more than my feelings. But I still wouldn't recommend this game to others. It's way too difficult and unfriendly for what it could have been, to be an awesome game loved by many. ---- I love the game, I really do. Intriguing, explorative, stylish. It's just that there are SO many frustrating points (mostly combat and maneuvering) while playing the game, which makes it a non-recommend to others. If you love to torture yourself, go for it. Most of the game's time is consumed by you falling off a cliff or getting hit by enemy projectiles from the clunky controls or solving enigmatic puzzles that have barely no clues. But I like solving these types of puzzles, so it comes down to preference. Love the artstyle, music and atmosphere but the game play and the suffering I had to go through outweighs those positive sides.

I think this genuinely might be the hardest game I've played. It is so unforgiving and doesn't care to accommodate you as a player at much at all. It's also janky and weird to control--akin to an NES game. In a way I love how uncompromising it is, but some sections are just poorly designed. IE unreactable boss attacks, the maze, etc. However, the vast majority of the game succeeds at what it set out to. Especially when considering that it's a solo dev project by Arkhouse. The best parts are that: 1. The story and dialogue are intriguing and well realized. (Albeit with some typos) 2. The graphics are beautiful. A mixture of photoshop and sprites to create gothic atmosphere. 3. The soundtrack never becomes tiresome. It's a fitting and melancholic solo piano album. 4. Most gameplay sections have interesting thematic ideas that keep the experience fresh throughout the entire runtime. You won't see one idea repeated too much. It's a game that frustrated me and challenged me to no end. It has issues, yet still I respect it immensely. There's something special about its game design approach and how alien it is from everything else coming out now.

poggers

D1896 is absolutely one of the worst games I've ever played and I played some bad ones, okay now let’s talk about the story. A young woman named Alice wakes up in a crypt after wandering around she meets a man named Igor that tells her she is expected by the queen known as Mary Dracula, but in order to get to her Alice must fight hordes of monsters. Alright then the likes, the enemies and bosses are both good and really, really bad, the good is that each one has their own unique looks that are quite interesting and creative, especially this monster that’s made out of fingers that is really creepy and gross in all the right ways. The character Alice is the only character I like as she was quite sassy and interesting, especially near the end when she's just as frustrated as I was about this game, it's just a shame that she's in such a terrible game. The graphics are okayish I liked the characters and monster designs and the black and white style to the whole game, it kind of makes it look like you're playing an old monster movie. The levels were okay a little diverse that kept the game from being not completely boring to look at. The music was good plenty of nice tracks to listen …

This game does not go down easy. It is often quite frustrating, but in my experience that frustration was always followed by big satisfaction. It is also gorgeous and super interesting