Inside The Game TV’s Post

Transcript

Steve, we're taking a look here at Fear of the Spotlight. And this is from the Cozy Game Pals, which is actually just a duo of developers, and they've stepped into the arena in a very big way with their first debut hit. But we're jumping into this game. This is a horror survival kind of investigation game. It puts you into the shoes of two protagonists, and it's a bit of a cute love story that plays out across the game. But before we get into it too deeply, I am going to give this one an 8 out of 10. I think this is an absolute slam dunk for a debut from just the duo of developers. I think this is a great place to start, but how about yourself? You know what, Scott, since we had a little play through with the demo at Summer Game Fest, I've already noticed a few slight differences in this game. And I have to say we both completed the game and I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I'm actually giving us this one an 8.5. And I'm going to straight start off is the graphics are not high end graphics. They've gone for the retro. And the first thing I noticed that we know it's between this and the Summer Game Fest was when we first played it. How more fuzzy or pixelated the graphics looked? There's still a little bit like that, but they're a little bit more polished. And I also found out as well that if you're going to the settings in the graphics, you can actually make the graphics that a little bit more smoother if you found it a little bit too harsh on the eyes. Yeah, there is, there is a lot of filtering happening beyond the picture and it gets a little bit hard to look at. And I just like yourself, I turned it down. I forget what that was called, Polygon drift or something like that where it was some weird wiggly was happening to the visuals. But yeah, you had noted not certain if this game was black and white the first time we saw it because there was just so much happening visually. That seems to have changed since then. But what I found now in this finished product is that it all works really well. It looks quite retro, but retro in a kind of PlayStation Two way where it doesn't look like ancient. This is not the very prototyping of games or anything like that, But I think what happened was throughout development, they went well, Maybe some people get some eye issue, maybe some people won't like this, they'll be pushed away. And that's really such a shame because when it comes to the actual meat of the game, there's a lot to really enjoy here. I'm a big horror fan. But one of the things that was really interesting in this is the kind of investigation that happens and you have an ever present threat of danger, the spotlight if it were. But a lot of the gameplay is spent kind of avoiding that and moving from room to room and trying to solve this mystery of what happened in this this old school. So you begin this story and it's yourself, Vivian and Amy, and you get together and meet in the library for a seance and that's where some of the. Paranormal stuff of the past just really comes up and engulfs you and that's where the the the whole mystery and the whole adventure begins. But you're spending a lot of time running through and kind of taking inventory of what's in the rooms. There's a television, for example, but it's playing static. There's nothing on or a printer perhaps, but you're looking around for floppy disk to. So there's a lot of these multiple item kind of puzzles. And what I felt was really good about that was that it. Rewarded exploration and memory. So I'm a constantly a completionist. I'll run and check out every little aspect of the room and it felt like I was being rewarded for that. Somebody was making this game with that in mind. Yeah, the the I, I was totally agree with you there, Scott. They've put a lot of thought into this game of working out the puzzles to unlock the mystery as there is a bit of a back story as you will unravel as you work through different parts of the story. That there was a big fire a few years prior and a lot of students actually died in this fire at this school and it got rebuilt. So there is as you go, like you said, you go around, you find documents and little notes. There is a lot of stealth in as well in this because. Obviously you will get it looks like a person with a big like those projectors spotlights you get at the at dramas or the stage lighting. And if you get caught then it comes towards you and then takes your health away. But the interaction between Vivian and Amy are really liked. The voice acting. I think that's what pulls me into this story because it it did have me on the edge of the of the seat. It got me hurt and I loved the chemistry between the two. The balance between the narrative and the puzzle solving and then those frantic moments of escape, It was really paced well. And that was something that I appreciated because some of those puzzles can be quite frustrating until, until suddenly it clicks and you understand what's going on. And then once I got really frustrated with that, I found it was it was much more satisfying to get an escape scene, you know, shortly after you get into that gym. And that's probably my favorite area the whole game. And it was all because it was just absolutely dripping in atmosphere. And it spends the entire game of of running you through this gambit and making you fall in love with these characters and the setting. And it was really just a slam dunk for me all around. Yep, and I think what took me by surprise is when you played the first character that when you get the credits rolling and then you get little notes from the the people that made it, Christa and Brian, Then obviously he says you can restart the game again, but play as either Vivian. Sorry, Amy, you've plays Amy. So then you tell her from her perspective of at the beginning of the game when she disappears of what happened to her. Ohh. And I'm glad because after that first. Story of Vivian I wasn't quite ready to put the game down. Right now. That's true, my English teacher did say I needed more life experience for my college applications, but I doubt he meant breaking in and. My corruption skills are working. Come to the doctor if get down. I know. Is somebody there? No, it's just a security camera. Stayed down and out of the light.