Reviews - ElectricEye

First off, you have some really cool map designs. They were not without problems though. I like large maps, but these had some lag almost everywhere. I think there's simply too much stuff going on in them. It almost looks like the maps were overstuffed with items and effects just to avoid the common complaint of being too barren. The atmosphere was also good, although more so in the mansion than later.

The story made no sense at all. First I'm in a mansion with Japanese ghost girl scares, for some reason, then I'm at the Mandus processing plant being brutalized by manpigs - for some reason. I was actually pleased to see all the MFP assets, and manpigs themselves instead of Penumbra monsters for the thousandth time, but it didn't seem connected to the first half at all, let alone with the time period the game was set in. And please get someone to proofread notes and subtitles.

Almost every single puzzle is illogical in some way. The first one has you breaking into your own desk, and it only gets weirder from there. Oil dripping from a hole in the ceiling? That convoluted key code puzzle where I get the correct order of the wall paintings messaged to me (if you're gonna help me anyway, why not just message the code itself?). I can drag a car without leverage, but not climb over the hood? The main character often knows what must be done before he possibly could. He knows he must get the grate flower before knowing that it is important, and that he must break into the locksmith before even learning of the key...yeah, a car key used in a factory door. Or is it vice versa? Who knows? Nothing makes sense.

There are also not enough mementos. I'm going somewhere because it's the only place to go, or doing something because it's the only thing I can interact with - not because the story calls for it. The flashlight is the strangest thing of all. It casts insignificant light and fully drains or recharges in less than a minute? What's the point? I didn't use batteries once.

Kill it with fire.

Doesn't really work, does it? I'm being teleported from place to place, can't find much of a story, and with absolutely godawful voice acting. Some setpieces, such as Jefferson Street, are great, though often too barren. The custom music and sounds are also pretty good.

I see a lot of shady advertising here. No flying naked guys, no, but a lot of Penumbra dwarves appearing out of thin air, and other wheelchair scares. Sometimes they worked, sometimes not, and less often as the story progressed. Map system? There are regular notes with non-updatable maps drawn on them, hardly an original enough thought to boast as a "feature". The new HUD is pointless. Why is there even a "tubes of matches" box, when that never comes into play?

Battle system? Interesting in theory, but inferior to the already awful combat in Silent Hill. Sure, hiding in closets is a little stale, but you're still not indifferent to the Amnesia monster encounters. Even trying to run from one of these skating mummies would be more enjoyable than jiggling your mouse back and forth. There is some intensity in trying to locate an item as you are being Pearl Harbored the instant you walk through a door, but it has a very scripted feel to it, as you are relying on the stuff the mapmaker has preplaced for your use. The enemies also die too easily.

The fact that you remove all interactivity from chairs, etc. in areas where you want to force a chase scene (which equals all monster encounters after the first "boss") only enhances the feeling that you are being played by the game. I would have prefered a "weapon" to be more of a getaway aid than a monster killer, in the same way that you can stagger a grunt by throwing a barrel or something at him, but perhaps slightly more efficient.

I can appreciate the effort, I really can, it's just that the different ideas (and you certainly have some good scripting talent, no arguments there) form no coherent whole.

Well, at least 90% of the doors are not "jammed".

Since this mod is one third PukiePie-related, I'm going to rate it on a 1 to 6,7 scale. As such, it rates, well, fair. The storytelling is a joke. You definitely have creativity and scripting talent, but why do you waste it on trying to impress some screaming Youtube imbeciles?

Calling it RPG-ish is a stretch, although I can certainly appreciate the effort. What I hate is that the player is more or less forced to pick "bro" in order to get the one bonus that someone would be interested in checking out (really, who is gonna pick the worthless tinderboxes or extra crazy pills?). It's obvious that you spent all your time on the Puke and bro "characters", and then just threw in some boring bonus equipment for the rest.

Cool (no pun intended) and unusual concept, with an interesting backstory. What could have been stronger was an overarching conflict or purpose. I wasn't sure what my goal was - to keep warm, contact for help, "escape", or what? You basically solve puzzles and listen to tapes because they're there, not because you have a story-based reason to go somewhere (the ending could have been a more anchored goal, although it's hinted at in the notes). The puzzles were pretty good though. You're the only one I can think of who correctly identified the Amnesia hammer as a mallet, a tool which is extremely impractical for its typical use of breaking boards in this game. Glad to see something make sense for a change.

There's no real horror atmosphere, but that's probably not the intention either. It's more about the wilderness closing in on you, held at bay only by walls and windows - and those have collapsed. This is a concept I'm personally very interested in, and it works well here. As you run back and forth in the residence, you can never be sure another "wolf" has not broken through. Penumbra dogs of course look bad and move awkwardly, but that's not the mod creator's fault. What perhaps could have been better is the danger factor. Avoiding the enemies is very easy, to the point of being a non-issue unless you let yourself get trapped in a corner.

The warmth gimmick doesn't come into play much, though that doesn't really matter. At least I'm not hearing chattering teeth. The music is quite tedious. It's not BAD by any means, it's just that it's the same thing over and over and over and over. Well, at least I'm not hearing chattering teeth.

There's also the unfair jumping part. You're more likely to fall down (and trigger the darkness) because the camera unexpectedly jerks you around than because you actually miss the jump. Just thought I'd mention that, because there's quite a big difference between light and darkness.

Anyway, a really good conversion.