The Survey

[h2]The Survey, amazing potential wasted by a missing understanding of what makes a game engaging[/h2] I really wanted to like The Survey, but it just falls flat. The first half was really great. The survey mechanic on the phone was genuinely interesting and built up the tension so well that I actually got goosebumps. Sadly, the second half throws everything that made the first half work out the window by almost completely abandoning that mechanic, even though the game is literally named after it. Instead, it devolves into walking around and hoping to trigger the next sequence. I do have to give credit to the hint mechanic, though. Even though I never had to use it, I think it's a really unique and thoughtful idea to help players who might get stuck. It probably wasn't a bad idea either, because the game is quite buggy. I had multiple crashes, and several jumpscares completely broke during my playthrough, which sadly hurt the atmosphere quite a bit. The story also wasn't all that engaging. It's close because I can definitely see why some people would enjoy it, but sadly it just lost me along the way. I can't really recommend it, even though I think others might have a better ex…

A really decent horror game with an interesting concept. The dark and unsettling storytelling definitely helps the game stand out at first. It’s heavily inspired by P.T., which is great, and the overall atmosphere builds a good feeling of dread. Unfortunately, the game is just pretty slow and tedious. Most of the time you are literally just walking around the house doing nothing, which completely kills the pacing. The horror elements also feel pretty weak, which makes it even worse. Honestly it could have been much shorter and the story would have been a lot better because of that

Had no idea when playing this was 10 years old. Not the worst indie horror game I've ever played. The story is interesting, but not very good. The worst aspect of this is the constant stretches of time where you are stuck listening to poorly delivered voiceover, or waiting to stumble upon a letter that has magically appeared in a corner somewhere. Just not enough worth it here to recommend.

Solid short horror game, especially considering it's the work of one dev. The story and the atmosphere are both interesting. However, I have to mention that the buttons in the main menu are barely visible, and it's pretty distracting. 👻

Terrible optimization, very slow movement, and I lost a lot of progress when I crashed. Wouldn't recommend.

A hidden gem. For me personally, The Survey does what I like about horror: it makes use of the atmosphere and sound.I felt sad learning the story of the family and how it ended up, and the whole presentation of a personal purgatory was pretty good.I believe that even today it succeeds in making you feel uncanny.