Strenga
Games
I am sure every eight year old
has had monsters in the closet or under the bed.
We all know the way to deal with them is to just
ignore them. Except when they are real and you
can’t.
This is a little top down
isometric point and click number that apparently
hails from down my way. A bit of horror, some
pixelly exploring, some puzzles to solve and some
monsters to overcome. And a little bad language.
It has very linear progression,
but costs very little, and it gave me a few hours
of enjoyment. I got the bad end, which was rather
bad indeed for those concerned, especially when
compared to the good end, which was much more
positive. The end is based on the limited choices
you make throughout the game, and you can watch
the other on YouTube if you don’t want to try
again.
There is no spoken word,
dialogue being in speech bubbles, with a little
animated pop up head of the character who is
speaking. Occasionally there is a voiceover – no
little pop-up, just words on the screen. There is
some stylised ambient sound, and other noises and
music, so it isn’t a silent escapade.
It is point and click
simplicity for adventure players. Left click
interact, right click look. Moving the mouse to
the top of screen produces the inventory ribbon,
where you can examine, combine and use a limited
number of items. The save game and option menu is
up there as well. Save at will, which is useful
given you can be eaten by a monster or two. Not
often, but they are about, so take note of the
clues and proceed accordingly. If you do end up as
a meal, the game will return you to an earlier
point.
The game world will also be
familiar to anyone who has played a game with this
type of perspective. The characters look a tad
manga, particularly in their pop up speaking mode,
and each separate screen can be big or small,
depending on the environment. The cockpit of the
plane for instance is much smaller than the
carpark of the hotel. I think this approach
generally works well to provide a further third
dimension, and it does so here.
Apparently there is a
convoluted Easter Egg sequence, and many
references to games within the horror genre. I
only know because I visited the Steam
forum/forums/fora?? but it was worth the visit. I
finished the game but only got 20 of 33
achievements so there is clearly some more
exploring or engaging to do.
It clocked in at just under 3
hours, although I reckon at least 30 minutes of
that was spent backtracking up and down the plane
– even when you think you have an objective, there
is a lot of to and fro. But as I said it cost me
next to nothing, did what it did more than
adequately, and importantly delivered some
entertainment.
