Nemoral

Hello!
this time I wanted to play a survival horror, and the title is Nemoral, a game made in Game Maker Studio by Darken, the author of Kryopolis that I reviewed last year.
I mention that other game because there are some similitudes, even if the setting is totally different (Kryopolis is post-apocalyptic, here it's a classic horror adventure). This game was made in just a month for the Twisted Fairy Tales 2018 event, and from the title of this review you can probably guess which faery tale inspired it... but I promised not so spoil much besides the plot.

In Nemoral we play as Pipa, a policewoman that is investigating the disappearance of some children together with ther partner Kyle. The game starts with a ritual of some cultists, and we learn that Pipa and Kyle were infiltrated among them. They go to a nearby mansion, looking for clues, but they are noticed by someone... soon Pipa is also separated by her partner, and the real, dark adventure begins!

Nemoral is a classic survival horror adventure set in a mansion, with some obvious references to Resident Evil: for example it's possible to save only in a couple of "safe rooms" (that are the only places where we can hear some music) interacting with the recording machines. Oh, but you have just one single slot to save, anyway it's not a problem since the game can be finished in 45 minutes, more or less.


WHAT is that thing? Looks like it just killed some guy! Shoot, Pipa, SHOOT!

The game is about collecting different keys to unlock different rooms (even if strangely I ended the game with one spare key... I wonder if I missed one room or there was just an extra key!) and managing resources: healing kits and bullets.
In fact, unlike the protagonist of Kryopolis, Pipa is armed with a pistol, you press Ctrl to aim/check bullets and Z to fire. Beside the arrows for movement, during the game the player will use A/S to switch between the inventory slots and X to use items. It's important to leave the selection on an empty slot if possible, otherwise next time you will collect something you will drop the content of that slot! Is this clunky? Uhm maybe, but I feel it's really appropriate for this kind of game.

Visually the game uses a familiar set of resources: the White Screw Shop, even if I think that some sprites, like for example the monsters, are custom. Mapping is good, the size of the rooms is pretty much perfect even if two rooms gave me problems: the library, because it's too dark, and the first encounter where the corridoors are so narrow that's hard avoiding the beast. But maybe it's because it's the first real opponent! I also found the outside area a bit too dark so I wasn't immediately able to recognize where I could walk and where I could not, anyway these are not errors, like the passability bugs found in the cellar/room near the kirchen. But it's nothing game-breaking at all.

Finally the music, that is using sparingly, but very well: the sound of Pipa's steps is unnerving, and the screams of the creatures are terryfing, even if after the first couple of encounters you'll become a skilled hunter. Luckily there is no shortage of bullets (especially at the top floor) but medikits are scarce, so be ready to dodge the opponents and place carefully aimed shots. It's not that hard, but I liked that.

Final Verdict
Nemoral is a stylish cool game: I liked the minimalist interface and the graphic style, the story is also interesting even if I'm pretty sure that due to the time constraints something was left out. The epilogue is for example a bit abrupt, and I expected at least a final dialogue, but no. Well, pity, because everything was pretty much perfect until that point, from the style of the menu, to the intro and gameplay.
In any case, considering the limit of time and the final result, I think this is a good game, worthy of a sequel or even just a second part. Nice style and great atmosphere, well done!