Scottside

Till now I love this game! I'm curious to see how the story continues and I'm looking forward to playing the next episodes.

For starters, I couldn't argue with the price and I like to support an indi dev. After completing the first and ONLY episode available at the time of writing this review... I'm happy I took up the game. VERY early access... the writing is simplistic, grammar is awkward and spelling occasionally off, but it kinda adds to the appeal (for now). Maybe English is not the dev's native language. The "dev" describes this episode as a prologue and hints that early funds will go towards further development of the episodes, artwork and storyline. I think it works as it is... the graphics are placeholders (I hope) and critical for delivering the storyline --- emphasis on the character's expressions that help to convey mood and mystery. The "feel" of the narrative so far reminds me of 'Stranger Things'. Overall, it's a ripper of a first episode -- glimpses of the characters leave you wanting to know more of their story, and I'm very curious to know how "deep" the main storyline will venture? I believe I will enjoy the unfolding tale... but I'm a little worried that it will lose traction before it gets going. SO... yes, I recommend it in the hope that it generates enough interest and fundi…

So I played this on stream and I have to say that the story is absolutely delightful and the characters are just incredible and oh, so well written. I genuinely loved every interaction and I am so eager for more of this experience. Although there may be the odd typo or grammatical error here and there - they remove absolutely nothing from the experience and it is constantly engaging and immersive. The world is just really well rounded and the setup is wonderful. Also - I ADORE and LOVE and WOULD DIE for Stinky! Seriously though - I am so excited to see how this will progress. Thank you to the team who made it for a genuinely fantastic experience. Side note - I did some improv VA for the characters and it was honestly just so much fun because of the solid writing of them. So truly: well done.

Scottside is taking a lot of flak for having used AI To create the game and I think that's a little harsh. I get where people are coming from and their hated of AI but this is a very small team doing their best to bring their vision to life and it wasn't a completely terrible experience. What puts me off though, is that this is an unfinished episodic game. Now I hope the episodes aren't going to be separately charged for DLC and are going to be free DLC because I hate being sold what is in essence a Demo of a full release - but the story wasn't bad, 4 real paths for you to choose. Not a bad first effort.

Given that the game is made by a single developer, that's good. We'll keep waiting

Играл в демо, прошёл первый эпизод, позже попробую поискать другие сюжетные руты, однозначно жду продолжение. Очень приятное открытие среди сюжетных инди-игр. Нелинейная визуальная новелла, причём действительно нелинейная, насколько можно судить по первому эпизоду. Надеюсь, в продолжении мои выборы продолжат иметь такое же значение. Scottside быстро погружает в атмосферу заснеженного провинциального городка, под спокойной поверхностью которого скрывается что-то явно тревожное. Сочетание альтернативных 1980-х, ретровейва, киберпанка и подростковой мистики работает отлично. Игра взяла в себя лучшее от атмосферы Stranger Things. Особенно понравились персонажи. Они ощущаются живыми, имеют свои характеры и не всегда ведут себя предсказуемо. Приятно и легко читать диалоги. QTE и другие интерактивные элементы разбавляют геймплей и иммерсивно погружают в происходящее: мы играем с собакой, кидая ей палку; раздвигаем ветви в дремучем лесу. Пока доступен только первый эпизод, но он уже успевает представить мир, зацепить несколькими загадками и закончиться на сильной интриге. Видно, сколько личного труда вложено в проект. Буду ждать продолжения и надеюсь, что автор доведёт историю до кон…