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Excellently made horror
EdgeOfChaos- 07/20/2014 08:15 PM
- 1372 views
Introduction
Alyssa is a horror game made by Berri that takes place in Alyssa's mansion. The story begins when Alyssa wakes up for a picnic, and instead of a picnic gets a bunch of demons trying to kill her.
There are 3 possible endings depending on how well you play. As of this review, one ending is unavailable (though you can get right up to it.)
Graphics
This is excellently done to say the least. Everything fits here (or mostly everything).
It's quite nice how the house looks normal at the beginning, and then the maker turns it imposing by the lighting changes, fog, and the little things that get added after the lights go out.
An example of a little thing that contributes is walking along a path, and see blood appear on the wall behind you while you walk. Quite a neat effect. Also things like furniture that begins to move after you get an item, demons appearing, circles of power, etc.
The objects all fit in with the haunted theme. The books you can read are about magic, spirits, demons, etc. Other interactables that are neat are: blue fire that you can use in 2 ways, eerie diaries you can read, a bookshelf with an evil plant in it (though, did this REALLY need to one-shot you?)
The only thing that didn't fit in for me was the picture of the main demon. It seemed quite silly to me, and made me not really able to take the main villain seriously.
Characters
There are three "good" characters: Alyssa, William, and Eleana.
Alyssa is the controllable character. She's 12 years old and lives with her rich parents. I can't really say more without giving away the story, so read the spoiler on only if you want to know.
William and Eleana are the cook and the maid for the family.
Story
We first know something is up when we go into the kitchen and see blood splattered all over the floor.
We go up to the parents room, but when we try to go in, no one responds; after a few seconds, we get an ominous response from a demon, which prompts Alyssa to rush in. The demon tells us that we have until midnight to break the curse, or Alyssa will die.
*past this point are spoilers about things you have to do to beat the game*
The other possible ending is if you allow the tombstone demon to catch you. You die and are given an ending message.
Gameplay
The gameplay functions smoothly enough to make it a good game, however there are problems.
Most of the play is based on finding hints, items, etc. throughout the house and solving the mystery. For example, you can interact with books and read some of them - and some of them are too high for you to reach alone.
The enemies are quite forgiving with their damage and won't kill you too easily which is nice!
A note on damage: you have five HP. Being hit by enemies will take one, doing stupid things will generally take one, and there are some things that 1-shot you. Interacting with the family portrait will heal you and save your game (this is important to know, there is no prior indication of this.)
Some of the gameplay felt strange. For example, if you enter your parents room, you re-arm the two hallway traps, which then cannot be passed ever again. Also, after using Sacred Fire, the torch re-appears on the sofa in the library.
The key to run is "Shift", which is pretty typical. But shift ALSO skips dialog, so if you run and then talk to someone, you'll miss it all. Pressing shift too often (in order to skip some text) also activates StickyKeys which is annoying (and bugged the game on one occasion).
A large problem with the gameplay is that monsters move during dialog. If you go to talk to the Knight statue, expect that the reapers will line up to hit you after the dialog ends (or, on some occasions during the dialog.) This is quite annoying and can kill you if the enemies block you into a corner during the dialog.
The clues for where to go next seemed a bit thick at times, so the game didn't come off as hard to me (except when I unintentionally played it without save/heal). If all else fails, wandering around will solve move riddles. It could be the correct level of difficulty for some people though!
Also, the game freezes up before you get the good ending, which is somewhat annoying.
If you see this screen, you are probably frozen.
Summary
This is a very well made game. Quite fun to play and, for a short game, has a fair bit of replay value because of the multiple endings.
I have my complaints with it, and those do bring it down 1/2 star, but I would still play it again!
(I would like to see the final ending sometime though...)
Alyssa is a horror game made by Berri that takes place in Alyssa's mansion. The story begins when Alyssa wakes up for a picnic, and instead of a picnic gets a bunch of demons trying to kill her.
There are 3 possible endings depending on how well you play. As of this review, one ending is unavailable (though you can get right up to it.)
Graphics
This is excellently done to say the least. Everything fits here (or mostly everything).
It's quite nice how the house looks normal at the beginning, and then the maker turns it imposing by the lighting changes, fog, and the little things that get added after the lights go out.
An example of a little thing that contributes is walking along a path, and see blood appear on the wall behind you while you walk. Quite a neat effect. Also things like furniture that begins to move after you get an item, demons appearing, circles of power, etc.
The objects all fit in with the haunted theme. The books you can read are about magic, spirits, demons, etc. Other interactables that are neat are: blue fire that you can use in 2 ways, eerie diaries you can read, a bookshelf with an evil plant in it (though, did this REALLY need to one-shot you?)
The only thing that didn't fit in for me was the picture of the main demon. It seemed quite silly to me, and made me not really able to take the main villain seriously.
Characters
There are three "good" characters: Alyssa, William, and Eleana.
Alyssa is the controllable character. She's 12 years old and lives with her rich parents. I can't really say more without giving away the story, so read the spoiler on only if you want to know.
Alyssa died from the flu (if I remember right). William, however, wasn't willing to let her die and summoned a demon into her body who acts like the real girl.
William and Eleana are the cook and the maid for the family.
Story
We first know something is up when we go into the kitchen and see blood splattered all over the floor.
We go up to the parents room, but when we try to go in, no one responds; after a few seconds, we get an ominous response from a demon, which prompts Alyssa to rush in. The demon tells us that we have until midnight to break the curse, or Alyssa will die.
*past this point are spoilers about things you have to do to beat the game*
After exiting, the house is full of demonic things. In the main hall, there are two reapers patrolling who will hurt us if we touch them. There are two flames guarding one door, and a statue guarding the kitchen.
When we return to our room, there is an... odd obstacle there.
"Why is there a tree in my bedroom?"
Eventually we burn the tree, make the statue move, and find William. After avoiding a demon who wants to attack her, we are able to put out the fire in the main hall.
"You have such a cute face, you have such fair skin, Alyssa" - dialog
We get the key to the guest room and find Eleana.
*Warning: major plot spoilers beyond this point*
When we return to our room, there is an... odd obstacle there.
"Why is there a tree in my bedroom?"
Eventually we burn the tree, make the statue move, and find William. After avoiding a demon who wants to attack her, we are able to put out the fire in the main hall.
"You have such a cute face, you have such fair skin, Alyssa" - dialog
We get the key to the guest room and find Eleana.
*Warning: major plot spoilers beyond this point*
There are two sequences from here:
1: If you read the letter on the ground, it turns out Alyssa IS a demon. Eleana kills her.
2: If you don't read the letter, Eleana joins you. The ending here is unknown due to a bug.
1: If you read the letter on the ground, it turns out Alyssa IS a demon. Eleana kills her.
2: If you don't read the letter, Eleana joins you. The ending here is unknown due to a bug.
The other possible ending is if you allow the tombstone demon to catch you. You die and are given an ending message.
Gameplay
The gameplay functions smoothly enough to make it a good game, however there are problems.
Most of the play is based on finding hints, items, etc. throughout the house and solving the mystery. For example, you can interact with books and read some of them - and some of them are too high for you to reach alone.
The enemies are quite forgiving with their damage and won't kill you too easily which is nice!
A note on damage: you have five HP. Being hit by enemies will take one, doing stupid things will generally take one, and there are some things that 1-shot you. Interacting with the family portrait will heal you and save your game (this is important to know, there is no prior indication of this.)
Some of the gameplay felt strange. For example, if you enter your parents room, you re-arm the two hallway traps, which then cannot be passed ever again. Also, after using Sacred Fire, the torch re-appears on the sofa in the library.
The key to run is "Shift", which is pretty typical. But shift ALSO skips dialog, so if you run and then talk to someone, you'll miss it all. Pressing shift too often (in order to skip some text) also activates StickyKeys which is annoying (and bugged the game on one occasion).
A large problem with the gameplay is that monsters move during dialog. If you go to talk to the Knight statue, expect that the reapers will line up to hit you after the dialog ends (or, on some occasions during the dialog.) This is quite annoying and can kill you if the enemies block you into a corner during the dialog.
The clues for where to go next seemed a bit thick at times, so the game didn't come off as hard to me (except when I unintentionally played it without save/heal). If all else fails, wandering around will solve move riddles. It could be the correct level of difficulty for some people though!
Also, the game freezes up before you get the good ending, which is somewhat annoying.
If you see this screen, you are probably frozen.
Summary
This is a very well made game. Quite fun to play and, for a short game, has a fair bit of replay value because of the multiple endings.
I have my complaints with it, and those do bring it down 1/2 star, but I would still play it again!
(I would like to see the final ending sometime though...)
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CloseThank you for taking the time to review our game! Your input is incredibly helpful for us re-designing the game and remaking it. I hope that the remake will be a pleasant experience as well!
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