PlayerNoName

"Out of Sight" seemed to be very promising on first glance because it reminds me of games like "Little Nightmares" or "Among the Sleep", however, it just delievers an average story with mostly bland characters and comes up with a repetitive and often boring puzzle-gameplay with some escape sequences here and there. The forced perspective change (second person) never felt like a real feature to me, but more like a nuisance that I had to come over.

The game is fine overall, it is able to recreate the feel of classic RE (1,2,3, CV, Zero) in a really convincing manner. The reason why I still really can´t recommend this title is the save system. Look, classic RE titles are one of my favourite games of all time. But that doesn´t mean that I also want the dated save system back where ink ribbons are needed to save the progress. This kind of save system comes with so many downsides (it forces you to play longer sessions, all progress is lost if your device loses power by accident) and doesn´t add any tension to the gameplay. In Tormented Souls, I had to restart the whole game (!) because I simply didn´t know how many attacks the character could take in the beginning (how could I?), so my playstyle turned out to be too risky... Oldschool is a good thing, but please leave out the frustrating parts and just take the stuff that had been good back then. Be respectful with the player´s time and at least create some autosave spots.

Having played all the classic RE titles (1,2,3, CV etc.) and SH games back then, Post Trauma felt like coming home at first. Fixed camera angles, save rooms, creepy atmosphere, everything seemed to be there at first glance. The game starts very strong, catches your attention with interesting environments, good sound design & graphics and not too easy riddles (comparing them to the aforementioned classic titles). However, the more you play the more it loses its appeal. Combat is almost nonexistent and very clunky (you mostly progress through empty hallways, enemies are very rare in this game), story is mediocre and riddles get more and more tedious as you progress. Knowing that this in an indie title we can´t expect perfection as in an classic RE or SH game. But bad animations, terrible lipp synchronicity and texture loading problems don´t really help to create a satisfying experience. Riddle design in this game is quite good overall and feels very oldschool. Devs seem to understand that players aren´t complete morons and don´t have to be hold by the hand all the time - which really is a step in the right direction. You often have to memorize certain things in the environment or take notes on a piece of paper too progress. This is how gaming was back then in the late 90s. On the other hand, there were far too many riddles for my taste, with almost no survival gameplay in between. It just felt like riddle after riddle after riddle, with some cutscenes in between. Hardcore (classic) RE or SH fans might try it out. Others: Can´t really recommend this one.

Visage definitely is one of the best first person horror games that I have ever played. In contrast to many other horror games out there, Visage doesn´t come up with constant action and jump scare over jump scare. Instead, the developers of Visage managed to create an eerie atmosphere that just a few games were able to achieve before (such as: Alien Isolation, SOMA, Amnesia: The Dark Descent). The focus here mostly lies on exploration and storytelling, escaping from monsters therefore is not the main part of the game (although you still will have to do so). What makes this game so special is that you really feel like being part of a (good) horror movie. Even if the game uses a relatively small environment, there are so many ways to explore your surroundings, depending on the story part you´re in. Three (out of four) chapters are really done well; only one chapter is a letdown and plays more like Outlast 2 than anything else. Here, the game feels a little bit rushed. From a technical point of view, the game is really done well. However, one problem is that some character models and their animations can´t hold up to these beautiful environments that you will find in the main house. Moreover, not all areas that you will explore are as detailed as the main house. So the overall visual impression fluctuates between “photorealistic” and “nice”. But this is okay, after all we simply can´t expect a Triple A production here. Besides that, what counts in the end is the overall impression. And regarding gameplay, atmosphere and storytelling these guys do excel most of the Triple A titles out there. If there was “Visage 2” (or simply a story DLC), it would be a must buy for me. Please SUPPORT these devs so that we will get more excellent games like Visage.