13 Points on Lone Survivor - Jasper Byrne - 2012 [PC]

1. This game is worth starting but not really worth finishing.

2. The standout quality of this is sound design, which is simply as good as it gets. The sound effects almost feel like a natural extension of the music, which is excellent in its own right.

3. The art style, I am not in love with. It is just sort of a pixely blur. It works well enough but something about it just looks like you have resolution on your monitor set incorrectly.

4. The atmosphere--see number 3--is enticing at first. Very immersive. This isn't really scary exactly but there is a menacing quality that is both foreboding and alluring.

5. Gameplay is a survival horror boiled down to 2D. While the giants of this genre are rotting away into AAA action games, it is nice to see an indie dev do something that stays true to what people love about survival horror.

6. 2D survival horror works fine. The third D is overrated in gaming.

7. Number 5 is why I really, really wanted to like this game and why it's been on my to-play list for years. Unfortunately, this works only as a proof of concept. See number 6.

8. Once you absorb the atmosphere, the gameplay starts to wear thin. There is nothing wrong w/ it inherently but the whole thing seems to lack polish. You are backtracking all over the place. You have to rest and go through the same little clip scenes over and over. There is a mild puzzle solving element but it's just like, "You need to cook? Find a pot, I guess."

9. Yes, backtracking and an overall slower pace are hallmarks of survivor horror and I just praised this game for being a true survivor horror game. What can I say? This game is both good and bad. It's a paradox.

10. *the sound of minds blowing*

11. There are multiple endings. Multiple endings are overrated in gaming.

12. Like, seriously, are you so full of yourself that you think your game is worth playing like five times over and over? Sorry, I got things to do.

13. In all honestly, I didn't finish this thing even once. I played a couple hours one day and was just bored to death after picking it up a second day for another hour. Tried again on a third day and still bored, I set down my trusty Steam controller and thought, yep, that's all I'm ever playing of this game for the rest of my life and I feel good about it. I will totally buy a sequel or preferably a new IP in a similar style if the developer makes one though. This game shows promise but its ultimately unfulfilled.