Pink Noise

I *want* to like this, really I do. I admit to not understanding why Unity and FMOD are part of a visual novel game with no choice in the first five "acts" of gameplay. These acts are short, involve no clear branching paths, and a pacman game that does not seem to have the same tracking fidelity as the original (meaning it is easier). By the time the VHS had abruptly ended three scenes in, and I was in Eva's room, I experienced a gamebreaking bug. The game forces you to highlight and read what's on screen, and after selecting her VHS tapes, nothing worked. No clicks. I tried different Steam compatibilities, using my desktop -- nada. So that was it. I think so far this is a very superficial story, good ambiance but no real investment, and if it is mirroring Italian cinematic horror devices, it still needs a bit more depth. Maybe I will come back when it is finished.

I was one of the Kickstarter backers. An unfortunate and unexpected issue meant that the team never received the funds we provided. Despite this, the team was transparent, honest, and generous to the backers. They kept us updated and fulfilled the rewards even though they were operating at a loss and the situation derailed their initial plans. I have trust, confidence, and respect for them and am optimistic that they will do their best to complete the game. I'm writing this having finished my first play-through of episode one. I was hooked! The art and animation are captivating to look at and expressive. The music is spooky and the atmosphere is sleepy but suspenseful. The story pulled me in and I can't wait to see what's in store. I also have some feedback for the team on the gameplay. I played on Steam Deck since I have a Macbook and a Mac version wasn't available. The game is playable on the Steam Deck, but not perfect. Selecting options (either choices or to click on items) on the screen using the D-pad or the thumbstick wouldn't work and sometimes would freeze. I would try to use the touchscreen or the trackpad, but that wouldn't work either. I would save my game and reload …

Visually, this game punches above its price tag, the art is really really good. Where I think it falls a little short is the writing - the narration doesn't always match the voiced lines (which are perfectly fine, just not exceptional) or the tone of the scene (e.g. a character might be in the middle of a tense action or horror moment, but the prose would go on and on, which can really break tension). The music does a great job at enhancing the mood without being distracting. With only, what, 10-20% of the game available in EA, I can already see what feels like a few meaningful different paths, and quite a few scenes one can miss, which makes it feel like it's going to be pretty replayable. For QOL features, I would looove some kind of decision tree, or flow chart, or at the very least chapter select, so I don't have to save-scum or replay the entire game when I want to try out different paths. The skip feature could be a little better too, right now it gets un-toggled sometimes when I hit certain animations or "inspect all the objects" scenes. But overall, looks promising and plan on playing the full release! (Even if I am bad at Pac-Man, apparently...)

I recommend! Pink Noise reminds me of Stranger Things x The Quarry x LiS but with a unique art stye. It has horror elements, the tone is refreshing, music is nice, and the pacing isn't too slow or fast. Looking forward to more episodes

LOVE the art style and excited to see where the story goes!

A really great game so far, I love the art style and the general plot idea. Can't wait for the further updates.