Incline Strangeland - new adventure game from Wormwood Studios

[MRY]

Thanks!

 

[Maxie]

took me ~3,5h plus some fucking around to do all the endings
tbh at the phone no puzzle I had to stand up and trot to and fro for a while angrily casting curses at english spelling being so arbitrary

 

[MRY]

English spelling is what happens when you get conquered too many times. :D

 

[KazikluBey]

Let me know if you continue having issues, and definitely let me know if you get ripped off.

Tried again today; Steam accepted my money now, and I even got access to the game. I just gave it a quick try on Linux and it seems to work flawlessly out of the box with no fudging required (just click play and Steam handles the rest).

 

[MRY]

Some Linux users are having an audio issue that Dualnames can fix with some libraries or something, so if you hit a snag, just holler.

 

[MRY]

https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197994403825/recommended/1369520/

My only complaint is the awful audio quality of Mark Yohalem's commentary when you have the commentary mode turned on. It sounds like he recorded it with the built in mic on a 20 year old laptop that was dunked in a toilet then thrown down some stairs. I have to wonder if they even listened to the audio before putting it into the game.

Amazing. (Dualnames was pissed at me because of the low quality of my mic... right as always!)

 

[agris]

MRY I can appreciate thrift, but a good sounding mic can be had easily for < $100, and if you use it for your telecons, others will appreciate being able to hear you more clearly.

 

[MRY]

The headset I have is supposedly a good one that I was sent for work-from-home purposes. (Though as I google it, it appears to be ~$40.)

 

[baud]

Finished it, even as someone who's not a big adventure game player, I really enjoyed it.
I'll play again with the commentary next week

Spoiler

I like how with the meat puzzle, it's automated after the first two mouths and same with the double click to exit the room

And I'm disappointed I didn't get the "died everywhere" achievement, I felt like I was dying in every room

 

[MRY]

Glad to hear it!

Spoiler

Drink the acid? Provoke the feral man? Stab self?

 

[Tigranes]

Oh fine, mr mry, keep making games or something, jesus

(Yes I am aware)

 

[baud]

Glad to hear it!

Spoiler

Drink the acid? Provoke the feral man? Stab self?

Spoiler

I missed the acid, thanks for the tip. And I only stabbed myself on the last screen, but I guess that might count?

 

[MRY]

Glad to hear it!

Spoiler

Drink the acid? Provoke the feral man? Stab self?

Spoiler

I missed the acid, thanks for the tip. And I only stabbed myself on the last screen, but I guess that might count?

I think I meant poison, not acid. I'm not sure if stabbing there does it. Dualnames would know.

 

[bertram_tung]

I bought it, can't play just yet but will play in the next week or two for sure. Very excited for this!

 

[MRY]

Look forward to your assessment!

 

[Darth Roxor]

https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197994403825/recommended/1369520/

My only complaint is the awful audio quality of Mark Yohalem's commentary when you have the commentary mode turned on. It sounds like he recorded it with the built in mic on a 20 year old laptop that was dunked in a toilet then thrown down some stairs. I have to wonder if they even listened to the audio before putting it into the game.

Amazing. (Dualnames was pissed at me because of the low quality of my mic... right as always!)

imagine actually listening to Yohalem going "aaaaayyyyynnnndddd... y'ow..." instead of reading through his deep lore in ten times the speed

 

[Sizzle]

Look forward to your assessment!

I convinced my boss to buy your game so I can review it for the news website I'm working for.

No idea when it'll be done, but I'm looking forward to playing it (and writing about it)! :D

 

[Maxie]

https://steamcommunity.com/profiles/76561197994403825/recommended/1369520/

My only complaint is the awful audio quality of Mark Yohalem's commentary when you have the commentary mode turned on. It sounds like he recorded it with the built in mic on a 20 year old laptop that was dunked in a toilet then thrown down some stairs. I have to wonder if they even listened to the audio before putting it into the game.

Amazing. (Dualnames was pissed at me because of the low quality of my mic... right as always!)

imagine actually listening to Yohalem going "aaaaayyyyynnnndddd... y'ow..." instead of reading through his deep lore in ten times the speed

ive paid money so this man can escape the tragedy of the legal trade and devote himself to inappropriately saying 'yo' in various audio video recordings

 

[Darkozric]

Finished it, it was pretty meh as I expected. I gave it a 2/5 in my review on GOG.

 

[Jermu]

I enjoyed Primordia more but still definitely worth the price 3.5/5

Needed to use hint system only once with the

Spoiler

phone number I still dont get it what the gypsy guy said about the future versus what the real answer was

 

[MRY]

It’s homonyms for numbers.

 

[MRY]

Finished it, it was pretty meh as I expected. I gave it a 2/5 in my review on GOG.

Sorry to hear it. Not sure why you would inflict a bad game on yourself. I hope at least you didn't pay for it in money on top of in suffering and wasted time.

 

[OndrejSc]

Is Wormwood a wordplay on male erection?

 

[MRY]

Nope. Vic just loves absinthe and Westwood Studios.

 

[WallaceChambers]

Played through the game and it was generally very good, possibly great, but with this kind of allegorical fiction I usually need repeat viewings to make a proper judgement. It reminded me of other psychological horror games where the setting is a reflection of the protagonist's mind like Silent Hill 2 and Detention. Although, those games tended to leave more unsaid and Strangeland is very talky. All the characters speaking in terse, cryptic, riddles was probably the aspect I'm most mixed on. On one hand, it's distinct, it bolsters the bizarre atmosphere of Strangeland and much of the dialogue is rather engrossing (a lot of quotable lines throughout). On the other hand, it posed somewhat of a barrier for me in terms of emotionally connecting with the material. I'm leaning toward it being an overall net benefit, though. In the latter half of the game the characters begin speaking more plainly and it more or less worked out that the first half intrigued me and the second half moved me.

Puzzle wise, I breezed through basically all of them, never used the telephone hints, only ever got "stuck" twice for about 5~10 minutes. I don't think it's the case that the lateral thinking required is any less than Primordia. It's just that Strangeland is a relatively small game space and more immediately open than Primordia. For my taste in adventure games, this didn't bother me at all. I can get equal enjoyment from how a puzzle makes me think as I can from how hard it makes me think. So to that effect, aligning my brain with Strangeland's nightmare logic and deepening my understanding of the game's setting/protagonist's mind by working these problems out was a rewarding experience. Even if there was rarely the big "eureka!" moment of tougher puzzles. There's also a good variety of them.

I can definitely see this being a divisive game. Of course many people will have their valid criticisms, same for anything. But with a story like this many also will just dismiss it as pretentious and unknowable. Which is a shame because you rarely see a psychological horror story of this sort with such an unwaveringly hopeful redemption message. It's definitely not the case for the game's I mentioned previously, and a welcome surprise.

In any case, I enjoyed it. Gonna give it another run soon and maybe a commentary run afterward.