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Letter From Hell? ... It isn't jury duty, is it?

  • Chilly
  • 06/23/2016 04:49 PM
  • 2246 views
Letter From Hell was made for a week-long game development event, and I am happy to report that its brief duration is the only immediate give away that it didn't take too long to create.

Despite the dark title (I'm not going to explain what's so hellish about the letter: play to find out, amigo!), misty environments (it can be difficult to see where you're going in the forest, which adds to the mystique in my humble opinion), barren caverns (which provide just the right amount of exploration without inciting tedium--three cheers for the insta-dash feature!) and lifeless trees, Letter From Hell is not a horror game. Yes, it sure has some dark elements to its plot, but it has some pretty funny ones too, ranging from item names (casual mom clothes... ha!) to novelty enemy attacks (who knew that Cerberus could be just like any other dog?) to something storywise that I will not mention for the sake of avoiding spoilers.

Examining the game for any particular downsides, I would point out the necessary under-development that goes into practically any entry of most timed contests (unless we're talking one that's, say, a month or more long.) You're pretty specifically told what to get, what the purpose is and where to go, and there isn't much in the way of detour. Don't expect to go exploring towns, though there are places where you can buy supplies, and one in particular in which you can chat with folks who are sitting around (this produces emotional icons above our young character's head, ranging from lightbulbs to question marks.) There isn't much in terms of interaction to be found in Letter From Hell, though you do solve a boulder puzzle along the way. However, on the plus side, I'm happy to report that there's a lack of random battles (you can run away from most of them without much stress or strain, too.) I probably did all of 5-10 minutes of grinding, and once I got an attack that could hit all foes on screen, there was no difficulty to be had anymore.

Should you play Letter From Hell? If you have a half an hour and don't mind bats evading half of your attacks (one of your characters has a technique that hits with 100% certainty. Use it!), I say: why not? After all,
if you win, you get treated to some sweet ukulele/kazoo music. And a fit of comedic coughing, to boot!


Side Note: Chrono-style overworlds that feature your character as a small avatar on an encounter-free, overhead map sure are my favorites. Sure, you spend all of 10-20 seconds on the overworld, but I'm happy that it's there.

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When it came time to decide what was in the letter one of the ideas I had involved being selected for a tax audit. I felt it was too horrific and depressing to belong in any game so I settled for what happened.

I'm glad you enjoyed the game, thanks for the review!
CashmereCat
Self-proclaimed Puzzle Snob
11638
I really liked this review! Short but sweet. Like kisses from heaven.
Short and concise indeed. Thanks for the review, buddy! I'm glad you managed to enjoy the game.
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