The Visitor is a game created by SnowOwl using RPG Maker VX Ace. The Visitor is a horror / mystery game.


Story:

You have inherited your uncle's mansion located in a remote area. The circumstances surrounding your uncle's death and why he left the mansion to you are at the forefront of the mysterious nature of the story. Shortly after moving to the mansion you start to explore.

The story is actually very appealing. The dialogue between the family members, the notes you find throughout your adventure, and even the paintings on the wall seem to all add a bit to the lore of the game. I think there are good roots here and the content that has been created could certainly be explored more.

The narration at the start of the game and throughout by the "story teller" seems a little unnecessary at it seems that we are being told a children's story. I thought the dialogue between the family members to be strong enough to explain what happened.


Graphics:

Very appealing graphics here. Good parrallax mapping and fog effects give the game a certain feel. The way the title screen and the menu are laid out are also very appealing. I couldn't find too many faults in this area and I think you have created the kind of visuals that you intended.


Sound:

The sound is semi decent. The background sound certainly gives you the feel of being in a scary or mysterious place. I just think there could have been more variety.


Gameplay:

The core of the game is exploration. You need to find items and know where to use them ino order to progress the story. Most of it is pretty simple (Until you get to the lamp puzzle near the end, which is very good by the way.) Finding things was appealing in a sort of manner, but I sort of felt like something was lacking. I mean you had these awesome paintings on the wall and never used them. I just thought there was a couple of missed opportunities to expand on what you already included in your core game. More puzzles and a bit more variety would have been welcome.


Overall:

The Visitor is a nice, short exploration game mixed in with a felling of mystery. I always had a feeling of wanting to solve the mystery. I wish it had a bit more content and perhaps SnowOwl will expand on it in the future (Seeing how it was first made in the time limit for the contest.) I think for those who are looking for something interesting and short this game delivers. It is well packaged and well delivered. A rating of 3.5 / 5.