Phantasma

Hello
and welcome to the review of.... Phantasma!
I played the game because the screens looked somewhat familiar... and then I learned that the game is inspired by a youtube web series, El Origen De Los Shadow (The Origin of The Shadow, a probable reference to the theories of Jung). I admit I just saw it but never actually watched it, it's not necessary to see it to appreciate this game fully (from what I noticed these are side characters, and the protagonists of the series are mentioned/seen briefly in the game), in any case here's the plot:

A girl haunted by her mother's past mistakes named Samantha Bishop, tells the story of her abusive relationship between her and her boyfriend, Sabastion Filax. As well as the story of her recovering from it, this show tells the story of her past, present, and her future.

The game can be seen as a sort of visual noveì: we play as Rachel, a young woman that lives with her boyfriend Christopher has some bad (supernatural?) visions after playing a videogame. But is this fantasy or reality? Her life takes a dark turn, but time is running out and she has to do something...
But this is also a walking simulator, because each day she has to go somewhere to perform tasks that will advance the story. And I admit that the story is very intriguing and the player will be probably curious to see what happens next, because it's a mysterious dark horrorific adventure.


Yes, despite the cartoonish look, this adventure is creepy and dark!

Anyway soon some problems will be apparent: first is that the game uses some really good and unique custom art (pictures and cutscenes drawn in the style of the web series) and some not so good custom sprites (the sprite of Christopher wasn't cut well and has a black line over his head visible when he walks).

Also mapping is... ok! I mean there are some really huge rooms (like the bedroom that is an unreasonable huge empty space, I can understand that maybe the first floor and other maps are strange just to enforce the sense of weirdness of the atmosphere, but some maps could have been much better) but the problem is also the city: whie Rtps are used pretty well, most locations aren't accesible and not because the character refuse to go or because the door is closed... but because there is an empty black space instead of the access that blocks every interaction.

Another problem is that there is no indication of where you have to go, I mean that it's often matter of trying and re-trying to find the place where you can progress the plot, but it's not always easy, for example see the library (that's another large, empty map, a strange library considering there are just a couple of bookcase cabinets and absolutely no human being there) that isn't indicated by any kind of sign. And the bizarre thing is that the hospital, despite the lack of interactions with the environment or characters (well there are just two), is instead a very good map!


I find difficult to relax due to the crazy layout of this house (considering that both the hospital and rest of the city look perfectly normal)!!!

And then last big problem is that most task can be completed only if you are in the EXACT tile: you can sit on a couch at the hospital only if you go on the only tile that lets you do that, despite the fact that there are at least four couches and each one is made of two tiles! Also map transition is only on one single tile, and there is also one in front of the house where you will get a line of dialogue *each time you step on it*. Another case is during the first dinner, when you can dine as many time ad you want but story will advance only if you leave. Sigh! And speaking about the house I had to figure out how to enter the garage, since there was absolutely no indication at all.

It's a pity that there are so many little imprecisions, because the story was intriguing and interesting even if it's totally linear. Game has two endings and these depends on a single choice, nothing else matters. I mean even getting the bottle of aspirins and having the cabinet locked is useless, because if you do NOT take them in the end the protagonist will have them on her anyway eading to the same outcome! The game has also a (rather long) combat encounter, I desperately tried to win but there was no use, and considering that there are just two different endings (the Bad one and the True one) I guess there is no way to win, even of the combat may drag for a lot of time (if it is really impossible, I'd have made the opponent impossibly strong and lethal so that the whole combat would have lasted just a couple of turns no matter what!).
So what's the purpouse of these pointless scenes?

And it's a pity that there are all these small issues, because a little more polishing would have done wonders. I mean, I liked the story, the paranoid Rachel and the oblivious, naive Christopher. I also liked the original music, and I don't mind the use of Rtps, but unfortunately all these bits I mentioned before detract from an otherwise enjoyable experience.


What are these numbers? Uhm probably the total amount of hitpoints, since he's pretty much impossible to beat!

Final Verdict
Despite the many flaws I enjoyed the game, I mean the story is short and simple, but it goes in crescendo and becomes more and more intriguing and creepy! It also raises a lot of question that made me hope for a sequel (and making me interested in the web series). I forgot to mention that you can save anywhere from the menu, even if there are diaries scattered around that can be used to save, making the menu totally useless (since there is not even need to check the inventory, the only item, the aspirin, does not appear there and we will have it even if we do not take it), but this is nothing compared to the rest of the unfortunately numerous small defects that may unnerve the player.
Or maybe I'm being too harsh here (since I found no game breaking bugs, the writing was pretty good and the story was captivating) ? Well try it and tell me!