Grounded

Game Title: Grounded
Engine: RPG Maker VX Ace
Status at review: Complete

Background:
I'm not quite sure what it is about Grounded that caught my eye. Perhaps it was this status, not to mention my own interest in mystery games. Whatever the reason, of the entries submitted to All Hallows Eve 2013, I wanted to play/review this first.
I couldn't quite finish this game. I got as far as looking for the key to the east wing, though a few personal shenanigans (which I describe under "Playing the Game") caused something of a rage-quit.


Graphics:
The mapping seems more than competent, as it looks and feels like a real hospital. Though, the number of times I've been to a hospital are, thankfully, rather low. So I could be wrong on this point. Let's not leave out the lighting effect that add that certain special something to the creepy atmosphere the game wants.


Audio:
As is my want, I took a peek at the music directory before playing the game. The piece "Dark Piano Song - Night of Rain" was my favorite piece.
As for how music is used in-game, there was only one situation when I heard any background music at all. I'm not really a fan of this decision, but I can understand it if it was done for the sake of atmosphere. As for sounds effects, the footfalls that echo in the hallway grants it's own interestingly creepy value to it. I dunno. Maybe I don't play enough horror/atmospheric games?


Story:
The protagonist wakes up in a dark hospital room. The last thing she remembers is being chased by her knife-wielding stepfather. So, the question of how she got to this hospital in the first place, not to mention why nobody seems to be around, are poignant questions. Of course, one of the tasks is to navigate the hospital, and generally get out, but that proves it's own task.


Playing the game:
In this game, players find items in one area that are used in another. Sometimes in conjunction with other items. Which puts this in the "adventure" category more than listed category of "puzzle". But that's just my logic. Anyway, when items are no longer useful, attempting to use them again prompts the player to discard said item. Perhaps it would be more efficient if they were discarded after their usefulness is done, but this seems a minor thing.
I was a bit stuck on gathering items for a man who fell in the ICU. I eventually got all the items I needed, though.
So, I came across a madman that will give me a Game Over if he touches me. He's as fast as the player's running speed, so reacting quickly to his presence is key. I got, maybe, five Game Overs before I succeeded to find a hiding spot. It didn't make a heck of lot of sense, as he was little more than two or three tiles away from me, but he seemed to stop chasing me after a screen transition into an unmarked room. Though, considering the more realistic alternative of him inevitably catching up to the player, thus causing a Game Over, this is probably fine!
My next stumbling block with this game came right after this. I eventually found a paperclip, and had the odd notion that I could use it as a makeshift lock pick. Sadly, I didn't save that game, nor did I recall how to get the key that unlocked the room which had the paperclip in it. Did that make any sense?


General Observations:
Players can search/observe almost any object in the game. Some objects have a glow, and some don't. The objects that glow have something useful/important. The ones that have no glow usually provide little more than flavor text. Which is fine! However, there are times when non-glowing objects have important items in them. I don't mind it when optional things are hidden, but things that players need to advance the game? Seems kinda bad!
While spelling and grammatical errors appear every so often, they didn't bother me too much. However, as I am reviewing this game, I feel inclined to make mention of them.


Summary:
The game can certainly be frustrating with trying to find the stuff that you need. If one can surmount those annoyances, I'm pretty sure one can find a good time with this game.


BOTTOM LINE: 3/5


Side note on ratings (since there is/was/will be somewhat of a spate on what rating means what between each user):
1/5 -> Terrible. Forget about hitting an audience. The game is so bug-ridden, or otherwise unplayable, that what entertainment can be found in the game has a hard time coming to the surface.

2/5 -> Bad but playable. I had a poor experience with the game. When played by a player the game actually caters to, it would serve it's purpose.

3/5 -> Average. A solid experience, but snags somewhere along the line cause it to be held back from being "good".

4/5 -> Good. I enjoyed the experience, and have no qualms supporting it if was considered for a featured game (if it wasn't featured already).

5/5 -> Excellent. Among the paragons of gaming experiences, and instant feature material in my humble opinion (if it wasn't featured already).