Hands up

Unfortunately, this game seemed pretty unplayable in its current state: -Zero tutorial outside of the X button on the wall that somehow means to open a door (but you have to be basically clipping into the door for it to work). -No clue which numbers on my keyboard lined up with the random items i picked up along the way (no explanation as to what the items even are/what they do). -No pause button in game? -Main menu has a red hand (which ended up being Start), an X (close game), and then a white hand tucked into the bottom right corner (a couple audio settings... but only 1 slider worked). -I interfaced with a couple enemies and they were relatively slow and almost on a rail system for patrols. Then, suddenly, one enemy just ran at me with zero response time to try and avoid the enemy. -At that point, I just quit the game and played something else. I love the aesthetic/art direction. I love the music. The concept of the enemies is unsettling (good thing). With some further testing/debugging/QoL updates, I think this game could be way better. Hopefully the developer is interested in pushing the game forward.

The strongest part of Hands Up is easily its PS1-inspired art style. The low-resolution visuals and harsh lighting give the game a constant sense of unease that modern horror games sometimes struggle to recreate. The controls can feel intentionally awkward at times, and the game doesn’t always give you a clear sense of direction, but that confusion honestly adds to the tension. Wandering through dark environments while trying to figure out what to do next made the experience feel more unsettling instead of frustrating. It’s a simple horror game mechanically, but the atmosphere carries it the entire way. [url=https://youtube.com/live/W1FS43JWB7g?t=1h4m43s]Gameplay[/url]