So when I first saw that Imaginary Friends was finished I wanted to play the game and review it. However, I'm thinking that after I've finished it, I will not be reviewing this game. I played this game with little to no background information, so nothing was hyped, but, to paraphrase, I really was not the biggest fan of the game, nor did I dislike it. I agree with a lot that argh has to say, and they make some really good points, so I will try not to repeat them. I think that overall this game wasn't my cup of tea.
Firstly, I do want to say that the art is very nice! I enjoyed all of the facial expressions and I think that the CGs were very beautiful. The maps were all well-made, I really enjoyed the doll house area as well! The music was very nice, it didn't get annoying or too repetitive. A few of the tracks really amped up the mood, which helped with immersion a lot. As for other stuff, I do have a bit to write here, spoilers of course will be in the hide boxes.
There was very little horror. I was really antsy at the beginning of the game because I expected to be scared by the mental/emotional stuff + the environment more with little to no jump scares as quoted in the description...
author=Game Description
The Game relies more on psychological horror rather than jump scares and gore.
You definitely don't need jump scares and gore to make a good horror game. But what I don't get here is why this game is listed/stated as a psychological horror. There was nothing that was going on emotionally/mentally with Hailey or anyone else that frightened me at all! I mean sure, I was definitely confused at some points, however, I will get to that later when I talk about the spoilers/endings.
I really feel like the Imaginary World has A LOT of missed opportunities story wise and horror wise. I really thought that you were going to build this world up as something sweet and innocent before dropping me down to something more terrifying and sinister. But like stated earlier, there isn't much horror other than the TV monsters, the occasional shadow people that are in some areas, or the doll with the hat. Which really, is a huge opportunity missed especially if you were going for psychological horror! You could've played on Hailey's loneliness in the first part, or even somehow messed with us using Oliver more.
For the characters, I liked Oliver. I thought it was interesting how he has changed over time. Hailey was okay, she was pretty dull though. She was funny in conversations/interactions with other characters, but never does she really react to any of the horrific things she sees like the dolls, or even the older version of Oliver which you really could've played up more. I wish we could've gotten to know her better as a character.
For the endings/spoilerish stuff...
I was so confused with the events surrounding Alex. So is this all in Hailey's head?? I have no idea because I really had no context other than the fact that she is somehow in the Imaginary World. Why is Oliver constantly trying to kill Hailey in the Imaginary World as the shadow boy? He brought her there, yeah? Why is there two manifestations of him? Younger and older? In one of the endings we talk to old Oliver but then we go right back to young Oliver in the room again. What the heck happened to the older Oliver?? (By the way, older Oliver is kinda cute.) And is he just gonna be stuck there in the Imaginary World forever again? I mean like, Hailey is going to forget him again, eventually right? Is he not going to pass on? Are old Oliver and young Oliver the same or two different things overall?? Does this mean that since young Oliver is stuck there that he'll become someone else's Imaginary Friend and the cycle repeats?? I have a lot of questions because I feel like I just bought a whole cake and only got a small slice.
Those are just my thoughts for now. I could probably write a lot more but I feel like I got most of the things that were stuck in my head out. Again, this just may not be my cup of tea. I hope you continue making games, mannytsu and good luck with any future projects! :)