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The Witch's House but with less deaths and with more jumpscares

NOTE: There might be spoilers, but I'll try to avoid them.
NOTE2: English is not my first (nor my second) language, so sorry for any mistakes I've probably made.

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Chivi-chivik played: Red Book: Discordia Tales

I'm still on a roll, and now I finished a horror game, the kind of game I don't tend to play... because I'm a scaredy cat.
This game takes inspiration from the classic The Witch's House and it transforms it into... something that is okay?

Let's start.
Gameplay
The creator says there are puzzles and yes, there are puzzles. The puzzles aren't too hard nor too easy, which is good because if you're paranoid about any monster that might come, you might have a harder time solving them.
Moving around the house isn't tiring: you have a running button, and the walking speed is just alright.
This game, as many other horror ones, have savepoints instead of giving you the freedom of saving wherever you want, which gives you a sense of Save point starvation... but there are enough save points, you just have to be sure to save as much as you can once in a while so you don't lose your progress to an evil spectre!

Graphics
I can see that the creator put effort into making the maps! The graphics aren't original, but they do know how to make maps! The lighting is also well-made, perfect for a horror ambient, and not letting us see what's beyond the character's nose (exaggerating, but it's still perfect for a horror game).

Music
As most horror games, the game uses ambience music and sounds instead of the common game music you'd put in a map. The creator has choosen good music (or and absence of it) to make you be more alert than ever. This applies to any sound that might be heard at any moment because of your actions!

Technical stuff and the like
Good stuff! The programming of events and the movement of every thing that might be following you goes well! There's always the weird movement that the stuff that follows you fast makes (in the chase scenes), but that can't be solved without heavy programming and lots of animation frames, so that can be ignored easily.

Story (Will contain spoilers)
Here's where I think the game failed.
I already knew the story was vague (because I read it in its gamepage), but the final explanation didn't deliver.
We start with a exposition on fairies and their world, which is books. And after than the main character is sucked into one that she found outside laying on the grass.
And after you beat all the puzzles and escaped every evil spectre... we leave the book. But like, very easily. That was already a bit disappointing, but when the main character explains the truth behind her teleportation... that's where I found it disappointing.

It felt too much like The Witch's House, but less impressive and less puzzling. It also felt rushed: I think the creator should've dropped better hints while playing so we could go figuring what's happening before the ending.
Anyway, the story would need some polishing and more development.

Scare Factor
This one's new! Here I'll talk about how good the scary part of the game is.
  • Atmosphere (Is there a constant feeling of fear and dread while playing?):Yes, there is. I was always alert to anything that might scare me, saving dozens of times every time I did little progress.


  • Jumpscares (Do the jumpscares scare you?):They did scare me, but only the ones that involve the typical creepy images that pop up without warning (or when there's a gameover). The other ones (aka, the ones that happen when something in the map moves/appears without warning) didn't, they just made me way more alert. (it isn't a bad think though!)


  • Fear after playing (Does the game scare you or puzzle you even after playing it/after finishing it?):Nah. I do like those horror games that make you think after playing them, or those ones that will never leave your mind or heart, but this is not one of those games. The ending was a huge turnoff for me.


Overall
If you want to have fun and be scared for a while, play this game! It has a great scary atmosphere and great graphics, but I hope you aren't as demanding as me when it comes to stories and endings.

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Chivi's out, and gives this game a rating of...

Posts

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Thanks for the review!
glad you enjoyed it. :)
me as the developer wasnt also happy about the ending LMAO
i just made it like that. so I can leave it to be more mysterious and self explanatory making it rushed. This review will help me improve on my upcoming game
again Thank you again Chivi-chivik! much appreciated.
^^^ You're welcome! :D Keep making games, you're on the right path!
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