Reviews - kdog8520

Although a tremendously great mod with so many ups, I do feel there were a few downs as well. Since there are too many things to say that are good such as custom textures, Penumbra feel, etc. - I won't describe them all.

The downs, however, were that the puzzles in the mod were very difficult at times for no good reason and that the monsters didn't feel like an actual monster but, more of a runaway train coming towards you in a tunnel;

The puzzle problem is due to the part where this mod does not hold your hand at all which can be a good thing, but isn't always a good thing. There were pretty much no clues at all on how to actually progress besides look around and figure it out for yourself which, again, isn't always bad. It is however when looking around doesn't always pop up with anything because it'll be trial and error. For starters, there was no clue - to my knowledge - of the fact I was supposed to know to throw a rock, and only the rock, to break a pipe with gas in order to open a door; This is an example of just looking around is not helpful. I was also very confused on the part with the green laser that blew you up and you had to get the oil because I couldn't find the bar that you used to break open the cabinet at first. It didn't glow and I couldn't use my hammer which made me think I was supposed to find a key instead. Why couldn't I used the hammer, it's glass!

The secondary thing to my disliking were the monsters - the few times there were monsters was when they spawned right next to a door in front of you and you just have to run away; hiding wouldn't be an option because they've already seen you. This happens with Travis, the man writing the papers, AND the one in the library section. There were no feelings of suspense with hiding or having the enemies just patrol but, still be able to get past without them detecting you like in the original Amnesia and Penumbra series. The monsters felt like a one track mind with even less A.I. movement than Penumbra.

Furthermore on downs:

There were some bugs such as opening the library with the key card and then leaving the level only to have it be shut when I came back inside. I got stuck in that library - I don't even know how it happened since it was open, I went inside, and next time I look it's shut so I was very confused. There were also so many crashes which are expected with a mod of this proportion so it's understandable yet still not forgiven. I had to press load game every time because pressing continue would just crash the mod.

Another small problem is that I felt like there was very little character development - I only got four lines out of the voice in my head and I didn't even remember Travis' name when he asked to give him another chance at the endings.

One thing I'm not counting, however, is frame rate issues, This is because it has the very likely possibility to be my own poop computer even though it runs a game like Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs perfectly fine.

So overall, this was a fantastically made mod with a lot of work done into it. I do feel bad giving it a seven but, I didn't feel any natural suspense besides the beginning, the endings felt extremely abrupt, There were constant crashes (sometimes even when just trying to enter a new level) the game had major problems with not lending a hand with puzzles, there was very little character development, I felt Deja Vu in a LOT of locations (meaning it looked similar and boring [eg. copy and paste room layouts]), The monsters were cool looking, though had a boring A.I. which was sometimes broken and exploited against (eg. using the computer in the library to stand on top of and the enemy couldn't see me) and I felt the lighting before being given the flashlight should be increased just a tad bit more.

Besides all these downs, the custom textures, custom music, new enemy models, and the whole Penumbra feel really makes this mod a good one to play as long as your willing to get frustrated at times.

Thank you BGProductions for taking the time to make such a cool mod and for letting me partake in the voice acting of it.

Phenomenon - a custom story that has the potential to be quite marvelous but, is evidently pushed down by some of its awful key aspects.

Throughout the entirety of the mod I decided to write a list of all of the things that I liked; as well as all of the things that became a nuisance. I want this review to be one that is looked at for how good the mod is but, also as a gateway for criticism into what could be improved in the authors next horror show. Let me first start off with things that I liked the most as these subjects should mostly stay the same as for I have the least to talk about with these.

I extremely liked the custom assets and the Hollywood-esque feel to the mod. It was something entirely new to the same old amnesia world and it gave a breath of fresh air for long tern Amnesia players like myself.

I also enjoyed some of the custom sounds that were added into the game such as riding the bicycle or the camera sounds as it surveyed the backyard. May I also point out at this time that I loved the way the camera was done and if there was more of that in the game as a strategic play style then I would be thrilled.

Now although these may not be entirely all that much in a list but, considering it's a lot to add to the game it is extremely impressing.

The bad, however seems to out way the good in many spots:

First things first is that darkness does not equal scary; all it equals is annoyance and displeasure for the player. I've had to turn my gamma up many times because it was so dark during the night time scenes that I just couldn't see anything at all. Maybe if the player had the opportunity to turn the lights overhead on and off then it may be different but, there seems to be only three light switches in the entire game and they're for three relatively pointless rooms.

The monster was also beyond not scary. It was basically the penumbra monster and nothing too new to encounter. The shadow man entity scared me more than anything, especially when he is encountered for the second time in the laundry room. Other than that the suitor is used about three times but, disappears off into the darkness of the caves.

Another thing that was in the annoyance range was the awful quality control for the map levels. In the actual amnesia game, walls and fog are used for a reason so that everything doesn't have to render in all at once nor does it have to bog down the player's game with all the stuff to see. adding this into the game will make everyone's experience so much better. Although the skyline is cool, quality is more important than beauty.

Probably the last thing that annoyed me was also defiantly the most, and that was the flashlight goose-chase-with-no-hints puzzle. I wandered around for around an hour before I gave up and looked into the level editor of Amnesia to figure out what to do. The use of the crowbar is in the most out of the way spot that I was completely surprised it was even in the same room as the place you find it! Unless somebody was using that crowbar on EVERYTHING then nobody was going to find it. Now I may have missed a hint that the crowbar was to be used there but, boy did it frustrate me to have to take a peak into the level editor to figure out what to do. Although that was the one time I used the editor, It most certainly wasn't the last time I got lost for it seemed everything was a puzzle with no hints. Find the phone... Where? Escape the monster... but, don't go outside and try and get away. Instead go upstairs and to the rooftop so you can kill the monster there. I just always felt confused.

In conclusion: This mod had the makings and care it needed by an author who really tried with custom assets, sounds, and music to prove it but, it was all the little annoying things such as ridiculous puzzles, annoying darkness with little to no batteries, and the constant confusion that really pushed my crazy meter over the edge.

For my first SOMA mod ever played it was delightfully enchanting. Slight things I could critique about but, overall it was a nice change from the amnesia mods.

This custom story wasn't too bad when it comes to the bare bones but, for something new and exciting there wasn't much meat on the once juicy bone.

Voice acting was interesting but, it seemed wasted on only notes. Also the voices weren't the best in acting either. The first guy playing the protagonist wasn't terrible but, the long pauses of the doctor made him seem like he shouldn't probably be a doctor in the first place.

The story itself was a little boring for while it did leave me intrigued on what happened to your son, the ending made me wish for a more fulfilling meal. I also didn't like how the mother left the protagonist for the son killing himself? A little over the top maybe? I don't know, I'm not married.

The level design was interesting but, made little entertainment later on in the story although the door with the statues guarding it made by lips drip with interest of what lied beyond. I was disappointed to see it didn't have a bigger part to the story in whole.

I did like the whole "walk the same hall" idea of the custom story but, it got tiresome as nothing exciting started to happen except for monsters that appeared who caused scurrying around corners and nothing more.

Ending music was spot on and the scary music of the levels made me scared to take another step through a door.

Although I say all these negatives, this custom story kept me entertained where as I played through the whole thing. That is quite rare for many custom stories I play as they are either too difficult or boring.

I have to rate this custom story a 6/10 and although that may be too harsh, I usually compare people to my custom stories and whether or not this is their first, second, or third one.