SAVEN

A short, tense horror experience. While I played the game a little over a month ago, and had gotten it for the low low price of free, I will try my best not to let either of those things affect my review, so as to give the best feedback and help the dev improve. [hr][/hr] [h1] Atmosphere & Design [/h1] The atmosphere of the game and the sound design was top-notch. The atmosphere of the house was genuinely unsettling. The constant feeling that something is just around the corner, just beyond the area illuminated by the flashlight, really gets to you. And the sound of the unending rain beating on the windows adds to the unnerving feel. Having the majority of the jumpscares be "your mind playing tricks on you" instead of explicit jumpscares really adds to the atmosphere too. Overall, not much to say. Its just really solid. [hr][/hr] [h1] Pacing [/h1] While the pacing works just fine, I will say that it does get a little bumpy, especially in the last few days. On that note, I do feel like the secrets mess with the pacing in a negative way. I was easily able to find both of the secrets on the first day. If it would be possible, making some changes to the [spoiler] shapes puzzle would …

The atmosphere was great, it felt inspired by The Shining. After my first break, I was stuck on night 3 because I don't often play these games and still don't know what causes the monster to spawn. I plan to play more and figure it out. I liked being able to explore and find the story at my pace. The jump scares got me for all but one, but I don't often play games like this. I think a bit of polish on the monster would make his jump scares a lot better. If you like jump scares, this game is a fun play.

I have played multiple games from this dev, and this is my favorite of all of them. But even so, I almost didn't recommend for reasons I will get in to, which has less to do with the game as a package and more with bugs and design. So, the presentation is creepy and I loved the atmosphere. The phone message, the old house, the unsettling quiet. I think just the vibe of it is a really effective horror vibe. The mechanics of the game are basic but really in service to telling a story. It's a vehicle to get you to explore the house, and as you do and the days go by, you find out more and see more of the house. Not going to get into specifics of the story because it's relatively short, but suffice to say that the house is not normal. But for this mostly simple gameplay, I was also impressed with how striking some of the scenes were; flashbacks with figures mostly in silhouette, or the warm glow of burning papers in the house, just little touches that gave the game a lot of character to me. There are also multiple endings and I found the choice to be compelling and very well thought out. This feels more like a complete experience than some other indie horror games I have played and …

Discover the house's history, do some chores, open secret rooms, complete a puzzle, then a ritual. Nonexistent choice number 3-save the family and burn the house down. Both problems solved. Maybe. Above all, don't listen to noncorporeal voices. Good times. Not so much for Carl.

I don't want to be rude, I know it's a small game and the idea is good but the execution is lacking. It's basically a go there and click simulator. Instead of one thing to do at a time, a list of things to do would have greatly help this feeling. It really isn't a bad game it just lack something.

Played with my kid and had loads of fun. We had a good afternoon with it and I def suggest it if you like creepy movies and games. Read the notes. they are short and create the vibe that goes with the place.