Wytches Vol. 1 – 7 Years Later

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 09/02/2022
Posted in: Comics, Image. Leave a comment

The saying, “You get what you wish for” is taken literally in this series. Wytches takes place in a suburban town in New Hampshire. The entire comic is a back and forth from the past to the present slowly catching us up to the present and is done very well. You follow a family of three (a couple and their teenage daughter, Sailor) as they try to leave behind a traumatic witness of murder that Sailor experienced as a younger girl.

The entire series is well paced and I never got bored or felt it was too slow. There’s always something happening, and with the constant switch between timelines, the story makes you think and connect the dots in your head as you read along. This constant treat feeding to your brain makes you continue reading and want to see what happens next. The father, Charlie, is a children’s book author and the mother has recently suffered a car accident that made her a paraplegic. Charlie moved the family away to start a new life, but Sailor’s past haunts her as kids from her school ask her if she murdered that girl.

The story is constantly feeding you suspicious characters and possible answers. You latch onto one and try to figure out who is responsible for a “pledge” not being completed in the past and wonder how this family is connected to it all. The story starts out with how pledges work for the Wytches. You ask anything you want and to get it granted you “pledge” your offspring. A pledge was never fulfilled and the entire story leaves a guessing game as to how this family is part of all this and it’s brilliantly done.

The art in this series is really good. I loved the watercolor look to everything and the constant darkness that loomed in every panel. You always felt uneasy reading this series. There are no happy moments here and if there are it’s a farce. The final two issues reveal a bunch of plot twists that really surprised me and there are a few elements of surprise that aren’t from previous leads. Some of them just come out of nowhere and it made me want to read more. I flew through this whole volume in less than an hour and wished it was longer. My only grip would be that some plot points are really confusing and it takes too long for them to be explained or some are only partially explained leaving some things a little too open-ended until the very end. Despite that, the entire volume wraps up nicely and it feels like a solid adventure and horror story. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves horror comics.

Batman: The Man Who Laughs – 17 Years Later

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 09/02/2022
Posted in: Comics, dc. Leave a comment

My saga goes ever onward to catch up on Batman starting from Year One. The Man Who Laughs is a one-shit that’s a direct sequel to Year One which shows us Batman’s first run-in with The Joker. Not just Batman but Gotham and Gordan as a whole as well. We also get mentions of Red Hood again. Batman is a little bit more skilled in this comic and doesn’t get hurt quite as often. The introduction to The Joker is perfect. It shows how much he just loves chaos and no one understands his motive.

The art direction in this one is fantastic. With every shot of Joker looking perfectly twisted and insane. Joker’s goal is to poison all of Gotham and turn them into Joker’s and create an army. Batman’s trying to work with Gordon to figure out what Joker’s goal is. He originally just threatens Bruce Wayne and another rich guy, but it’s all distractions of course and he never keeps his word. The comic is ultimate chaos. It really just shows us that Batman will have his hands full with this one and is the first real threat to him and Gotham on a large scale. Joker murders without remorse and so do his goons.

There aren’t any direct references to Year One outside of continuity with the introduction to the first major villain for Batman. We do get a surprise at the end that shows us the first time something very iconic was introduced to the storyline. I don’t want to spoil what it is. The pace of the comic itself is great with storytelling being told during action or event sequences. Batman’s inner dialog, and Gordon’s, explain a lot while things are happening which keeps things going. There aren’t any strange plot twists with this being a one-shot, but it’s done very well and it’s a great part of Joker’s comic timeline that’s a must-read.

Overall, The Man Who Laughs is iconic and is a must-read for any Batman fan. Even if you are a fan of just the movies and want to learn about how Batman first came across The Joker then this is it. Now, don’t go into this expecting Joker’s origin story. That’s not what this is at all. This is just the moment when the two meet for the first time and how that all goes down.

Batman and the Mad Monk – 15 Years Later

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 09/02/2022
Posted in: Comics, dc. Leave a comment

Continuing the Year One saga, Mad Monk is the sequel to Monster Men. Batman is still a noob, Gordon is still struggling between accepting Batman and giving in to GCPD’s want of arresting him on charges, Julie Madison is still struggling to tame Bruce and discover his secret, and a new villain is introduced. Dala and the Mad Monk. We also get a glimpse and mention of Red Hood too!

While we get a direct connection to Year One with Monster Men, Mad Monk is less so. While Superman and The Flash are mentioned as “the superhero uprising” that’s starting, Batman still isn’t very good at his job. He doesn’t have a Lucius Fox yet, his tech is primitive, and he gets hurt a lot in this one. Julie Madison and Norman Madison are still struggling with their battles. Norman’s mental health declines through the series and Dala is trying to recruit people for the Mad Monk’s ritual. This series is much better than Monster Men. The action is mixed up more, a lot more is happening, and it seems to move at a faster pace. We already know who all of these new characters are so the series is focused on moving forward with them.

I can’t stress enough how well the struggle with Batman’s internal resolve is here. He wants to be Batman, but he still doesn’t know if it’s doing any good or more harm. We get to see his Batmobile, which looks a lot like Tim Burton’s 1989 Batmobile, and some of his tech has been upgraded. We get to see his explosive gel, Batarangs, grappling hook, and his continued reliance on the gas grenades. It’s cool to see Batman in this early form before he had everything ironed out. There still aren’t any plot twists here, but the conclusion is very satisfying and the peace steps on the gas hard during the 4th issue. I felt like we got a great ending to Madison’s timeline and we’re set up with Batman being more bitter and angry than ever before.

While the rest of the Dark Moon Rising story arc doesn’t really continue the Year One story, I am going to go ahead and move on. I do have to say that I don’t particularly care for the art in this series. It feels very 90s mixed with early 2000s comic art. Like it couldn’t pick a lane. Most of the character’s close-ups are pretty bad and outside of stylistic scenes in darkness, the panels just look really plain and boring. I loved the panels where Batman was fighting or trapped, or anything else, but those talking scenes in bars, on the street, and in rooms, are just plain not great. Thankfully there are fewer of those there than in Monster Men, and we even get the iconic Batman face covering shot again from Year One!

Batman and the Monster Men – 16 Years Later

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 08/31/2022
Posted in: Comics, dc. Leave a comment

I continue my journey of reading every Batman comic from Year One and up next is Matt Wagner’s Dark Moon Rising arc. This and Mad Monk are to be read back to back, and it also follows directly from Year One.

I have to say that this series starts out way too slow. There’s so much pre-amble and plot development of just panel after panel of people talking. There’s little action in the first few issues here. I did appreciate the connections to Year One such as Gordon’s “World’s Greatest Dad” mug and his internal battle with trying to accept Batman and referencing Batman saving his baby in Year One. I also like how vulnerable Batman is here. He’s essentially a superhero noob.

While the dialog is a bit dry and dull at times, and there are some weird anatomical shots that look off, the overall art direction continues off of Year One with a dark and dirty Gotham that is unforgiving. Batman’s shots in the shadows are just cool here. Continuity wise we only have two main villains here. The Roman and Dr. Hugo Strange who is reintroduced for the Year One timeline. We also get to see Bruce’s first true love, Julie Madison, and her father Norman Madison who is in deep with The Roman financially.

The battle between Bruce being Batman and balancing out his personal life really shows here. Despite how much Julie cares for him it’s not enough to pull him away from being Batman and we start seeing the internal struggle early on. People question his motives, and whether or not his existence is making crime worse in Gotham and encouraging these insane people to come out of the woodwork. I really like this a lot as it adds realism to the series.

As the series goes on we do get to finally see the Monster Men who are awesome looking, but there are no surprise plot twists here. This is mostly world-building which I really don’t mind and it helps continue the insanity of Year One and helps continue the thought process of Batman’s moral existence. I would have liked to see more action in this series during the first three issues, and just have it more balanced out, but what’s here is good and well worth a read. While the connections to Year One are subtle and sparse the overall world-building and continuity are great.

Batman: Year One – 34 Years Later

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 08/29/2022
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I’m currently on my journey to finish a chronological Batman story, and where best to start than Year One? Issue #404 changed the entertainment world forever and helped pushed comic books into more serious adult territory. The days of the campy Adam West “Kapows!” and “Whams!” are gone. Comics needed to grow up and mature, and I for one don’t like comics from the Golden/Silver Age, and I can barely stand any from the Bronze Age. Frank Miller took it upon himself to change the world forever.

Frank Miller and team were taking the three most iconic DC characters at the time, Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman, and tried transforming their backstories and consolidating everything into a reboot for the new age. Batman’s was one of the only ones that stayed the same. Year One perfectly tells Batman’s origins in just four issues. Think about that for a second. You understand why Bruce wants to protect Gotham, why Detective Gordan is a good soul that becomes hardened from the City and brings in the first two villains into this new world. Dr. Hugo Strange and The Roman.

Year One made such an impact for a reason. It inspired all of the movies and games that came after. The dark and grungy city of Gotham. Endlessly tall buildings, dirt, grime, filth, and constantly dark somehow with no sunshine. Prostitution, drugs, sex, and gore. It’s all here for the world to see in the late 80s. This wasn’t a comic book for the kiddies anymore. The only other character that’s introduced into this new reboot is Catwoman and we get to see how she started out as Catwoman as well. This is so well written and the pacing is perfect. By the end of Year One, you are set up for literally any arc to come and that takes real skill and talent to do.

My only grip on the comic is the poor use of the font. The cursive can be really hard to read sometimes and of course, the art itself has aged. This was all hand drawn before digital art was really a thing so it looks rough in some shots. There are some iconic panels with Batman seen with just his silhouette and white eyes. I loved every shot of Gotham itself and there was a good amount of action and talking scenes. There’s the constant switching between Gordan and Batman and the scenes change so much that you don’t get bored. This is a page-turner for sure.

In the end, if you want to start reading Batman comics this is the perfect place to start. It’s when Batman got serious and when the comic industry got serious with their iconic characters. Even if you think you know Batman’s origins you don’t know it in this kind of detail.

Ys I Chronicles+ – 9 Years Later

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 08/28/2022
Posted in: PC Reviews, Steam Deck Unknown, Steam Deck Verification. Leave a comment

Publisher: XSEED

Developer: Falcom

Release Date: 02/14/2013


Available Exclusively On

Ys is a series I have barely dabbled in. I rarely finish JRPGs either due to their insane difficulty spikes, incessant grinding, or boring story and characters. Ys I is a game that’s older than I am. It’s also incredibly short because of this and due to the cryptic nature of games from the late 80s, I decided to play this game using a walkthrough guide. This is sadly one of those JRPGs that has a specific way to play or it becomes an incredibly hard game. There are so many things you can miss, but also encourages multiple play-throughs. For a game this old, I don’t see any reason to play it other than to complete the Ys series from the beginning. It is as basic as JRPGs come due to its age as well.

The story is pretty decent despite the short playtime. I actually enjoyed the characters as well. There isn’t a lot of talking that drags on forever. The game does get to the point with some short and sweet dialog. You play as series’ main protagonist Adol Christin who must collect the books of Ys to save the world from evil. It’s pretty typical, but I enjoyed the small little world they built around the books of Ys. They were interesting to read and I felt this was a world you could get sucked into if it were to progress (which surprise, it did). The art is amazing with beautiful backdrops. The music is also fantastic thanks to legendary composer Yuzo Koshiro. Lots of rock and beautiful orchestral music. The Chronicles+ version contains both the chiptune versions and the arranged versions.

Ys‘ main combat system is called the “bump” system in which you just walk into enemies and are dealt knockback damage if hit straight on. The idea is to hit them on the edge of their sprite kind of like speed jousting. It’s a weird system but keeps the pace of the game moving and I like that. Again, the game is really hard unless you quickly level and are constantly acquiring the best equipment. You can get some for free if you do things in a certain order or find a certain key for a certain chest. These are JRPG tropes that I absolutely hate because most of the time no one will know this without a guide or accidentally coming across it. Easter eggs and extra dialog are fine, but essential things to play are something that really irks me.

Due to the short length, you can easily hit the level cap in a few hours. The cap is 10 and you quickly acquire money and XP as you advance to more powerful enemies. For such a short game there is a large variety of them as well and their design is really cool. I always looked forward to seeing what was next. The dungeons are also varied such as a mine (which is dark), an ice floor with mirrors, a 20-floor tower that you must climb towards the end, forests, and other places. It’s crazy just how much unique content was crammed into a 4-5 hour game. One thing I was relieved by is if you keep up with the equipment and level up to maybe 4-5 before the first boss you can easily fight each boss with just a few hits. I know that sounds crazy, but there’s only so much balancing in a game this short. The final boss is notorious for being impossible to beat, and even with the best armor/weapons, level cap, and on Easy I still had to try nearly a dozen times to beat him. You also can only fight him with a specific weapon.

Overall, Ys I is a memorable JRPG if you play it the way it was supposed to be played. Many will get frustrated due to needing to constantly level up fast and always have the best weapons, and the weird boss difficulty spikes will turn many away. I only recommend this game if you’re a fan of the series or really want to start from the beginning like I am. It has fantastic art and music and is a well-contained and fun JRPG…if you play it right.

Lost Planet 3 – 9 Years Later

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 08/11/2022
Posted in: Microsoft Consoles, PC Reviews, PlayStation 3, Sony Consoles, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

Publisher: Capcom

Developer: Spark Unlimited

Release Date: 08/27/2013


Also Available On

The Lost Planet series is one of those sad ones you see on “worst of” or “what happened” YouTube videos. The first game is great if not repetitive. It was early in the HD era of gaming and showed off what the Xbox 360 could do. The second game took a serious dive and tried to be a Monster Hunter rip-off and the third game tries to blend both but doesn’t do it very well. The biggest strength in Lost Planet 3 is the continued story from the first game and it’s done quite well with story twists and surprises, but it’s dished out too slowly and the game in between is repetitive and slow.

You play as Jim Peyton. A man who is just using his rig to make some money to send back to Earth for his wife and baby. You are back on E.D.N. III and you are back to work for the NEVEC company just like in the first game, and the story starts out really slow. While you wait for that to pick up you get to learn the two main gameplay loops here. On foot shooting and your rig. The rig is a hulking mech that can’t really fight. It’s mostly used to trek across small areas to get to an objective and I honestly find this a waste of time. The whole trapesing across areas to get to somewhere isn’t done right. The areas are small, there’s zero exploration, and it just wastes time. You can eventually unlock fast traveling, but you can only fast travel at the opening of each area. The first 2/3 of the game starts each mission with you doing the same preamble of walking out of the base and then across the same areas dozens of times to get to the objective. When fast travel is unlocked it helps, but why wasn’t this an option from the start?

The rig can kind of fight, but it’s melee brawling with larger Akrid which are the planet’s native creatures you must kill. The same five-six enemies repeat throughout the entire game and it gets old quickly. There are a ton of repeated boss fights in the game and to mix things up (not really) you can fight them in the rig as well. This consists of timed blocks and then using your claw arm to and drill to get at their weak points which glow orange, a series staple. This orange stuff is the lifeblood of the planet and used as currency in-game and is sent back to Earth to solve the energy crisis. The mech itself is very clunky but in a bad way. It feels unresponsive and sluggish to move and the boss fights are never epic feeling or satisfying. The most irritating missions are the ones in which it turns into a drilling platform and you must defend it. These missions last for what seems like forever and you never have good enough weapons for the enemies at hand.

Let’s get to the on-foot combat. The weapons here are completely useless. Only the shotgun and assault rifle is any good. The hunting rifle, bowcaster, and grenade launcher are mostly useless. They fire too slow as every single enemy moves fast and swarms you. They only became useful in the final chapter when you finally fight human enemies. The same few enemies repeat. Three small swarming enemy types, two larger giant dog-like creatures, one centipede-like creature that can use cover, and three boss types that repeat often. That’s it. The game relies on quick-time events when enemies get too close and especially in the rig. They all move fast and don’t benefit from long-range weapons or slow-shooting weapons. You need a lot of ammo to pelt at them to keep them off of you. There are upgrades and weapons to purchase, but you wind up not needing most of them for the other weapons because they are useless. You can also upgrade your rig, but outside of armor there really isn’t a reason to do much upgrading.

The entire game is also dull to look at. Sure it looks nice graphically, but artistically the entire game is just ice and snow. There’s no variation and it just looks boring. Even the base is boring to be in because it’s all ice and snow. I know this is a frozen planet, but there are usually other biomes on every planet type. Mix it up some. Outside of shooting Akrid you are pulling levers, turning knobs, and pressing buttons. There are some scripted events, but the few interior areas are drab and just as boring as the outside. The game has no soul and feels like a typical cookie-cutter shooter. It feels like it tries to be Dead Space 3 sometimes with odd horror music that doesn’t fit and the creatures that hide behind cover.

Overall, the game is just so underwhelming. It doesn’t have compelling shooting, the weapons suck, the rig is wasted by not having any weapons, and the areas repeat just like the bosses and enemy types. The story is the only thing worth sticking around for, but unless you’re a hardcore Lost Planet fan there’s no reason to play this. The story is for fans of the original game and newcomers won’t get the full impact of the twists in the story. The graphics look nice, and the voice acting is great, but the same repeated ice and snow levels for 10 hours get old really fast. Sadly, this series doesn’t end with a bang and there’s a reason why Capcom left it in the graveyard.

Trover Saves the Universe

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 07/31/2022
Posted in: Microsoft Consoles, Nintendo Consoles, PC Reviews, PlayStation 4, Sony Consoles, Steam Deck Unsupported, Steam Deck Verification, Switch, Xbox One. Leave a comment

Publisher: Squanch Games, Inc.

Developer: Squanch Games, Inc.

Release Date: 03/31/2019


Also Available On

Rick & Morty became an animation phenomeon due to its quirky humor, crazy art style, and memorable characters. A lot of people don’t like the show, which is fine, and a lot of people love it. I just want to preface this review by saying if you don’t like Rick & Morty you won’t like this game. It’s basically an interactive Rick & Morty episode with the same voice actors, but with original characters. It’s the same humor, but more vulgar and mature due to not needing to tone things down for cable TV.

You play as a Chairorpian. A floating person in a chair holding what looks like a PS4 controller. The center part shows Trover’s health and the button presses reflect yours in real life. This is mostly for playing in VR, but it’s still funny without. Your two dogs get stolen by an evil god thing and Trover is sent to you so you can control him to save the universe. The story is insane and crazy and while it makes sense it’s as simple as an animated TV episode. It’s nothing groundbreaking. The most entertaining part about the game is the dialog. Characters break the third and fourth wall constantly and call out typical video game tropes which is hilarious. You can stand near a character and they will drone on for several minutes longer with a new dialog. If you don’t do a certain action Trover will call you out on it knowing you’re supposed to do it. The writing never misses a beat and is spot on.

When it comes to gameplay this is where Trover kind of falters. It’s incredibly simple and basic and pretty boring. Trover has a lightsaber-looking sword and he has a simple basic and heavy attack, but the heavy attack has to be acquired later on. You also have a dodge roll button which also has to be acquired. It’s an obvious stretch for gameplay time and feels necessary. Enemies are “kiddie video game” territory in terms of ease. There’s zero challenge here. Some enemies need armor knocked off which you can do by throwing objects into them, but it’s still not a challenge. There aren’t any puzzles here either. The ones that could pass as one are super easy and require no thinking. There is some platforming, but this is marred by the weird camera angles due to your perspective. There are nodes that allow you to move around and you can hover higher up to get a bird’s eye view, but it still makes some platforming more difficult than it needs to be.

There are green babies you can collect to upgrade Trover’s health, but I didn’t bother much with this outside what was out in the open. The game is so easy the upgrades feel like an afterthought. I mostly enjoyed just exploring the weird worlds and listening to all the dialog. The game gets incredibly graphic, but I personally love this kind of stuff. Too many games are afraid to dive into this territory. It’s just gross, sexual, vulgar, and super weird which I can’t get enough of. The writing of the show is elevated a bit due to not needing to censor anything. Visually, the game is fairly tame outside of some cartoony gore, but the dialog goes off the rails.

The game can be finished in about 5 hours, maybe 6-8 if you collect all of the green babies. It doesn’t stay its welcome and has a satisfying ending. However, there’s zero replay value unless you want to go back in VR. The gameplay is so basic and dull that I wouldn’t even do that, to be honest. If it weren’t for the awesome writing and characters and striking visuals this would be a pretty basic and generic game at its core. The pacing is at least great and you get pushed along the story and always see something new. A single evening would suffice and it would be well worth your time.

Overall, Trover Saves the Universe is full of Rick & Morty humor cranked to 11, but offers simple childlike gameplay. If you hate the show you will hate this even more, but fans of the show must play this. The over-the-top writing that you never see or hear in video games is a breath of the fresh air and it’s never boring. Once you finish the game there’s no reason to come back, but the time spent is worth the price of entry.

JSAUX Upgraded Steam Deck Dock

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 07/30/2022
Posted in: Hardware, Linux, PC Reviews. Leave a comment

USB-C docks are fairly common and can be used with the Deck. However, the unique handheld console form factor of the Deck makes it awkward to prop it up on something. If you use an external monitor this isn’t a problem, but I want to tinker around in desktop mode on the Deck’s screen itself which is just fine. The dock also keeps the Deck up off the table and just makes it look nicer in your setup.

The dock itself is built with high-quality aluminum. It’s solid and has a bit of weight. My biggest fear was the cable that goes into the Deck itself. Thankfully is fairly thick and the point where it goes into the dock itself feels solid. It would take a massive tug to pull it out. I would have preferred a braided cable here. The end that goes into the Deck is bent at a 90-degree angle and is very solid and won’t go anywhere.

The ports themselves are tight as well and not loose. The three USB-A 3.0 ports are a nice touch. You can have a keyboard, mouse, and external drive. Any combo of USB accessories will not be limited with this dock. The HDMI port is a nice touch since it’s full size. I also like the addition of an ethernet port. It works well and has access and status lights. I would have preferred the ethernet port on the rear as well, but you can only fit so much back there. I also would have liked an additional USB-C port that may be on the opposite side of the ethernet port. Missed opportunities, but what’s here is fine.

The docking part itself has rubber pads to keep the Deck from moving around and is molded perfectly the to bottom. The actual dock itself has rubber pads on the bottom so a simple bump or shake won’t knock your Deck over. I was even able to hold the Deck while it was docked to use the controls for testing things and it wasn’t an issue. The dock is also light enough and small enough to fit into a bag. It’s a high-quality product and I also didn’t have issues displaying 60hz at 4K, but why you would want to do this with the Deck is beyond me. It can’t game in 4K. Maybe in desktop mode with YouTube videos? The option is there at least.

MADiSON

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 07/29/2022
Posted in: Microsoft Consoles, Nintendo Consoles, PC Reviews, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Sony Consoles, Steam Deck Unknown, Steam Deck Verification, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S. Leave a comment

Publisher: Bloodious Games

Developer: Bloodious Games

Release Date: 07/08/2022


Also Available On

Ever since P.T. was shown and canceled it set a new standard for survival horror games. Silent Hill has always been the gold standard to live up to and many games have since. MADiSON is one of the first games I’ve played in the style of P.T. to actually be good and pull off the scares and atmospheres. While not inherently as frightening as P.T. or other horror games it definitely gets across a dark and haunting atmosphere with plenty of scares.

The game starts out really solid but also has foreshadowing of the game’s main weakness. You start out in a dark room with just a TV on and your dad pounding on a door. You need to use the TV as a flashlight by spinning it around and finding a handle to a cupboard on the wall to get a hammer. You get to crawl your way into the rest of the house which acts as the main area you will be solving puzzles. Madison is all about puzzle solving as that’s all you do. The first half of the game can be solved fairly easily. It’s the same affair of examining everything you can and finding that one thing you can pick up and can use on something you remembered it would go to. A lot of finding and matching at the beginning. In between, there is the main gameplay mechanics which involved a Polaroid camera. A Camera Obscura isn’t unusual in horror games. The entire Fatal Frame series is based around one, but here it’s used to advance the story. There are Polaroids laying around objects you can photograph. When you do you can shake the photo to expose it. While most photos don’t need this some need to be exposed to show a number for a combination lock.

I have to give the developers credit for the great layout of the house. This is a huge issue with a lot of horror games. Many require tons of backtracking through the same area and they grow as you unlock new areas. The house in Madison is well laid out with lots of landmarks to memorize where certain things are. I knew the main starting point with the “ritual area” was past the dining room. The basement was in the main hallway etc. The house is laid out like all horror games should be laid out. Make it memorable with easy landmarks because you trek through the house probably hundreds of times. Most of the rooms hold puzzle areas or transport you to new areas to solve puzzles. You also have an 8-item inventory limit and need to trek to your safe often to store and pick up items. Outside of occasional scripted events, not much happens in the house outside of sounds. There is one scene in a water-filled basement that was probably the scariest in the whole game. The developers really used audio to spook the crap out of you and draw out many fears people would have. Creepy static on radios with unclear voices is haunting.

When you’re wandering around the house nothing happens in between puzzles. Just a lot of squeaking doors, wind blowing, slamming doors, etc. There’s Luca’s breathing that gets annoying as his deep sighs repeat often, but the house itself is just haunting. The sterile lighting, the ultra-realistic look to the house, and the head bobbing. If you played the P.T. demo you know what I’m talking about. This is the new-age horror style that needs to get perfected and Madison definitely sets a new bar. Here’s where things take a bit of a dive. Halfway through when you get to the infamous candle puzzle area in the church many players may turn the game off. You must find four different candles in two different time periods and match those colors that are associated with religious imagery. You also have to navigate through four different mazes and if that candle’s image isn’t there you have to backtrack, go back to the other time period, navigate the same maze again, then repeat this three more times. The one thing the game doesn’t tell you is that if you listen to the confessional too early a ghost stalks you and can kill you if you don’t place the candle down before he shows up. Thankfully he only exists in one time period. I was able to place the first three candles before doing the last one, but many players won’t know this.

Then there’s the clock face puzzle. You must match clock faces that are shown on five different walls but the correct faces are spread out around the house. It’s a lot of memorization and backtracking. And then there’s the Blue Knees ghost puzzle that was incredibly frustrating at the very end. None of this spoils the story, but the last half of the game will really try players’ patience. The game got so much right up until this point and it felt like filler to stretch a 2-hour game into 5. Horror game developers please listen. You don’t need insanely mind-bending puzzles to be a good game. I know this is a trope, but please stop it. No one liked them 25 years ago and no one likes them now. We play horror games for the atmosphere, scares, and intense scenes, not puzzles.

In the end, the story itself is open to self-interpretation. It’s not obvious or clear when the credits roll about what happens to Madison or Luca, but what is obvious are the possible reasons why the ending occurred the way it did. Props to the developers for making an open-ending without being cryptic or making no sense. The visuals are excellent and the production values are up there, but those later half puzzles really bring the game down quite a bit. If you can push past them you’re in for a treat with this being one of the best horror games in recent years.