This post contains some spoilers. They are mostly at the end of the review and I try to keep them somewhat vague but I feel they are necessary to accurately portray my experiences.

The demo is a good length for one and rather simple. However, I would much rather the approach it took with choosing one aspect of the game and focusing on it(albeit in a very vague way) than attempting to stretch the focus too thin. I think the demo acts as a good introduction in general and it made me want to see what else there is.

Having seen the Trailer before playing the demo, I was pleased to see some aspects of the trailer hinted at in the demo or given screen time as it helps solidify a finished product down the line.

As for the game itself:

Puzzles and General Gameplay:
Simplistic. This is fine for the most part. Although the last bit came out of nowhere and I can't say I was prepared for it. This is not bad however, considering what it entails. Well done really.

I am rather fond of Point and Click adventures and although I would have liked to see more options of what I could do with the items (even possible fail states) I was happy with the overall flow of the narrative and puzzles as introduced. They flowed together quite nicely and at no point did I feel the solutions didn't make sense.

My main issue puzzle-wise was that they required little deduction and more or less gave the answer to you as long as you follow where the plot has shown you, or just stare at enough things. However, with simple presentation and encouraged staring, this seemed a good compromise to avoid confusion. However, I would personally like to see more deductive uses of the items and information given later. For the time, the items are not usable or interact-able outside of their designated placement and while this prevents possible confusion and allows for a clearer narrative, it also makes the puzzles somewhat easy when the game prompts all the usages for each item on its own.

Some may have issues with the backtrack-triggered changes in the world but I think they're appropriate in general for the gameplay and considering the scope of the demo, they make sense. I generally don't mind games that are based in a small, but ever changing space as long as those changes flow well and the activation isn't tedious or requires too many steps when that isn't the main focus. This approach has limited results in longer form games, however.

Atmosphere_A:
-Visual
Atmosphere is an important aspect for me in any game and this one for the most part, does a good job keeping a visual tone. I would like to see more detailed environments in the released game but was happy to see some truly wonderful character designs. The sprites are beautiful. The environments are also lovely, if very simple, which I can understand. Based on the trailer though it looks like the environment will distinct itself better as time goes on. I can understand not wanting to overload an environment with distracting elements and for what was shone; I think the detail level is appropriate.
The emptiness of the world does add some to it but that aspect will only go so far in a longer experience and depending on what's given. What details that were given were welcome and some of them gave hints to the narrative in ways that encouraged the player to look at them. I was amused by how you could examine pretty much everything in the world.

The game isn't really scary but it does keep its creepy vibe pretty much all the way through. I'd like to see the game build itself up to something further in the horror genre without relying on jump scares. The ones that occur in the current build are barely in that description and I think that's great. There are some genuinely disturbing and unique designs, which are a great relief to see. So many horror games I've seen recently basically just tell you "Beware of slightly dismembered/emaciated dudes" and leave it at that. "Oh, also jump scares".

I actually kind of liked the few and far between approach to animation, in a way. When animation was used, it added well to the presentation and gave urgency and focus to a scene. That being said, I wouldn't push away either more frequent or more detailed sequences as long as there's consistency, they aren't too drawn out and it adds to the experience.

Atmosphere_B:
-Sound
This one was one of the issues I had in some places. While the music is good, well implemented in general and in most cases fitting. There are times (Mostly in when you first enter the house) where the music doesn't seem to fit the tone and is a bit too loud(Though the loudness seems to be an aspect of the current build since Liberty had the opposite issue) Perhaps a key change or simply lowering it in volume a bit would help unless the entrance area is meant to have a more cheery purpose or feeling attached to it for some unknown reason. Some parts of the song seem appropriate but without visual elements to give context to the more upbeat sections, they seem out of place in an otherwise unnerving and somewhat empty area. It sounds like I've entered the kindly shop keep's house in an RPG but looks like I’ve entered a house who’s residents left long ago.

The voices grew on me fairly quickly, while I was skeptical at first. They proved to be implemented nicely, if a bit inappropriate for some characters in my opinion. I would have liked to see more variation in the pitch or some editing to the sound for different situations or characters while keeping the overall idea but for the most part, the scroll pace and sounds were neat.

The game doesn't have much in the way of inappropriate sound effects, thankfully, but then again, not a whole lot seems to make sound. That which did make sound I had no issue with. Perhaps more active sound effects would be desirable like when items are used or acted upon but their lacking didn't remove from the experience too much for the demo. I would be aware of them for later though as sound is very important to horror experiences.

Story:
The story like most of the presentation is given procedurally and unfolds with and around the puzzle elements. I was drawn to new aspects as they were given to me in a generally seamless fashion.

The story so far is simple and rings with the possible stories of other games but I'm hoping it will bring something new to that narrative. The story mostly deals with one goal and several facets to reaching it, which, as an aspect of the characters, does add some depth, but the repetition may annoy some people. It didn't really bother me too much at the time. I do hope that most of the story spans a bit more however and isn't too Fetch-Questy moving forward. While playing the game, some of the dialogue was a bit drawn out and it made completing some of the tasks take longer than anticipated but I like to think that's an aspect of the quest giver.

So far the story is probably one of the weaker aspects but I don't think that will be the case for the full game. The demo seemed to focus on a very specific part of it and I'd like to see it in its expanded form before I make too many judgements.

What is there in the story makes sense and gives some good context as long as the narratives all flow together eventually should the finish game use the same story points.

Characters:
I did notice various nods to a historical/fabled figure, which is interesting, and I'm curious to see how that plays out and the reasons for his inclusion. Babyface and his connection is especially intriguing and I enjoyed the way his backstory was given. His design/actions makes me think of what would happen if a Splicer(Bioshock) ate Tweedle-Dumb and Tweedle-Dee.

The camera boy is adorable and likable... for some reason. Good job! You made a character with no further lines beyond "Pi..Picture?" be quite endearing. I wanted to give him stuff... and build some sort of relationship with him, however possibly meaningless. My silly thoughts aside, he was fine the way he was and served a purpose with a cute spin on it. I wonder though, does it remain cute?

The MC was as good as any random lady in her situation I suppose. I generally prefer more specifics to characters but eh, projection and all that. She's designed well and I have no gripes with her, really. I'm sensing a Silent Hill style plot and I'm ok with that. Depending on what you're going for, you may want to give her more traits though. Just stay away from the stock "girl" and "teenager/young adult" traits, please and thank you. We do not need another Heather Mason.

Other characters existed and I'm curious about their further involvement or what they imply to the story, especially one specific thing. However, without much else, I can only really treat them as plot devices.

Conclusion:
The game is coming along nicely. It reminds me very much of Dreaming Mary but I wouldn't say it's a bad thing. It certainly isn't Dreaming Mary and as a fan of the "creepy cute" genre of games, I am always happy to see more entries to it done well.

I'm not gonna give it a rating for now, as it is a demo but I look forward to the full release. I do agree with the other reviewers on the vagueness of the story and some of the atmosphere issues, but I can also appreciate it and have high hopes that the points made are simply stepping stones to a greater narrative. Overall, I think the demo is worth checking out despite its issues. I did encounter a couple further issues but they contain some spoilers as they deal with an event at the end of the game. The issues will be posted below.

Spoilers ahead!
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I'm not sure if it's just the build I played, as Liberty seemed to have less of an issue in her playthrough but the sequence at the end seemed to move much faster for me and it made it very difficult considering the key layout and narrow passage. If this is intended then difficulty succeeded but it seems a bit excessive. Although, it's possible I'm just not very coordinated. I found it very easy to overshoot or become stuck easily and given little to no leeway for error. Controller input would resolve this issue for me or slowing the sequence some but again, I just may be bad at it.

Also regarding the end sequence. As something that happens on occasion, chase sequences like this one are fine and I did enjoy the way this one was implemented even though it took me several tries to beat it. However, I would advise against using these sequences to end all "levels" of the game. I doubt this is your intention, but unless the being at the end plays a big and recurring part, it may become tiresome and the game would probably benefit from different post level instances.

End Spoilers

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