Neil Gaiman's first video game

[Scruffy]

Too bad Neil only knows how to write one story and he does it over and over.

7edgy14me

 

[evdk]

Too bad Neil only knows how to write one story and he does it over and over.

7edgy14me

It's not a particularly bad story, I just kind of can't read it any longer.

 

[Scruffy]

Too bad Neil only knows how to write one story and he does it over and over.

7edgy14me

It's not a particularly bad story, I just kind of can't read it any longer.

i wouldn't call it the same story though
i get it, the atmosphere and the pace and whatnot are always very similar, but not the story imo.

i mean, by those standards, lovecraft kept writing the same story over and over too

 

[PlanHex]

i mean, by those standards, lovecraft kept writing the same story over and over too

Are you saying he didn't?

 

[Scruffy]

i mean, by those standards, lovecraft kept writing the same story over and over too

Are you saying he didn't?

hmm that's not completely inaccurate, but i'd go more with

horrible thing happens
guy investigates
everyone around him tell him not to mess with thing that can reduce your head to a pulp
guy is way too clueless/cool for school, these are just superstitions
sure, they may be, but if you're investigating stuff that can squish your head like a melon, put on a helmet at least
nope.jpg
the obviously horrible thing happens, that thing that even the ultraretard of the village saw coming
investigating guy is now a believer/mentally insane/dead

 

[Bubbles]

They should just make a Chew adventure game and be done with it. And I always prefered Milligan's Shade to Gaiman's Sandman.

 

[tuluse]

Niel Gaiman eh, color me intrigued.

Please a point and click adventure game with 2d art. Please a point and click adventure game with 2d art. Please a point and click adventure game with 2d art.

Ugh that character art is bad.

The website is a piece of shit, fucking designers with too much time on their hands who just learned a new javascript command.

The tiers are pretty bad too. $10 is a nice low number to get in, but everything after that is worst kind of nickle and diming. $10 for desktop backgrounds, hooray.

 

[tuluse]

Ooooooooh.





EDIT: Wait a minute, isn't this the first time since Harlan Ellison that a famous writer has written a video game?

Sort of depends what you mean by famous writer. Paul Dini did the Arkham games.


And lets not forget R. A. Salvatore worked on Kingdoms of Amalur

 

[mibbles]

Just a heads up - it's out now. Currently downloading on Steam. I've no idea what to expect, but I hope it's good.

 

[Jaesun]

Give us a write up of it.

 

[mibbles]

What might one expect from Neil Gaiman's first foray to the world of games?

Certainly not a game like Wayward Manor. The premise seems promising enough: a sentient manor with a grudge towards its messy occupants. You are a ghost recently freed and tasked to rid the Manor of its residents. The gameplay, however, is disappointing as it is better suited for an iPad and a casual audience.

The puzzles are pretty simple, basically amounting to clicking different items to scare your targets. Enough scares (represened by green skulls) and you unlock the next level. There were a few puzzles that had me thinking for a moment. but that had more to do with my 38 °C fever than the game. Playing through the entire game took me about two hours. There's some optional objectives in each level, but for some reason you only find out about them after you've completed the level. A poor way of adding replay value. The puzzles do not get harder toward the end.

I'll probably play it again just to figure out all the extra puzzles for the achievements. There were a few that made me smile.

The story itself takes a nosedive after taking a backseat for most of the game as you focus on spooking the residents, which is a shame. I expected better from a storyteller like Gaiman. The main twist of the game was handled poorly, coming off as confusing, abrupt and a bit disappointing.

The graphics are quite rough for a PC game released in 2014, but surely the Codex doesn't care about that. I enjoyed the Psychonauts/The Cave vibe in the designs of the characters and levels.

An okay casual timewaster, would not advise on buying at full price. Had no expectations of the game, so I wasn't bitterly disappointed by inconceivably high hopes. Would probably be more harsh on the game's weaknesses if I wasn't sick.