Side Alley

I just finished this game, and I am not quite sure what to think. Side Alley is a cross between a visual novel and a point-and-click adventure about a guy named Dave. He goes to work, interacts with his coworkers, and goes home. On occasion, he stops for a drink after work. His life is routine until, in a moment, it goes off the rails. Odd things occur, strange entities show up, and nothing quite makes sense. Although Side Alley is described as a “horror visual novel,” I would not categorize it as such. It is a dark and creepy story that has some gross moments and some unsettling dialog choices. It creates a sense of dread and anxiety, but I did not find it to be frightening at all. The supernatural elements are fairly mild. Most of the game takes place in the office building where Dave works, with an occasional foray to an external location. The individual scenes are compact and access to new areas is controlled by the story. There are some inventory items to find and quite a bit of dialog to branch through. There are a few rather tricky puzzle-like exercises. For the most part, the story leads you from one task to another and gives you clues as to where to go next. The s…

[b] Nimavoha does it again! [/b] Psycholog was one of my favorite games I played in 2025. It had this incredible vibe that just spoke to me, and I'm happy to say Back Alley keeps that up! While Side Alley keeps much of what I loved, the art style, the writing, the tone, the game feels much more linear than its predecessor. In their previous game, you made choices that affected the story. Those choices weren't always clear, and the right choices to the good ending were very strict, but there was a joy in replaying trying to solve that puzzle. Side Alley is a longer EXP than Psycholog. I'd wager about double the size? So I am glad I don't have to run through this many times over making arbitrary decisions hoping to change my fate. This one is a more run and done game. If you are a completionist, there are only like 5 missable achievements and 2 are blatant choices you make at the end. There are 3 challenges in the game that caused some friction. The first one is a dexterity challenge with tight timing, and the time to reset was a little long. The 2nd is a fun puzzle to solve, what sours it are the 2 missable achievements centered around it. The final one was fine. The title sort…

Amazing game, beautiful story and artwork.

A slow burn masterpiece, it defies expectations and has a very clear but meandering story. Honestly, surprised at the style, story and that it is able to point at the obvious without yellow paint or handholding. For the price it is certainly worth it, even if it is not your thing... this is the kind of game that deserves supporting.

Neat little horror experience, focused more on the feeling of dread of something just a bit beyond our comprehension rather than cheap jumpscares. Art style and soundtrack deserve a special mention too! Highly recommend it.

loved the art and atmosphere and gameplay structure, hope we can keep getting more games like this in the future. story can be all over the place at times but it ties together nicely in the end, worth a play for fans of weird vibes