![]() Then, the accompaniment of the utter silence of space makes the perfect atmosphere for what could have been. No matter what I was doing, there was always a feeling of eerie dread in the background. If there was one thing that was able to creep me out, it was the sound design. ![]() The Lovecraft of it all gave the only concrete structure in a mass of ever-changing landscapes and plotlines. These elements were what melded the most original part of the game. ![]() The dreaming ones, for those who don’t know, is a staple in Lovecraft lore. Witnessing these while hearing the mention of the dreaming ones was able to send a chill down my nerdy spine. To boot, the tentacles and corruption that plagued the station were very satisfying to look at. Every enemy looked vastly different, yet fitting to the scene each being fleshy or grotesque in some way. In addition, a lived-in space facility.Īlso, the monsters themselves looked pretty sweet. Each steel beam looked carefully placed, the lone coffee machine looked gorgeous and intricately modeled, the rooms I explored had an amazing composition I felt as if I was actually inside a space facility. Walking around Trailblazer Alpha was somehow the worst and best part of the journey. The artists behind the game deserve some praise. Every area I explored, even if they felt unauthentic, looked beautiful. While I could rant on about my grievances in Moons of Madness, let’s talk about what made it somewhat enjoyable. When I completed the game, I couldn’t tell if the story was just hypocritical or I was too bored to notice important events. If you read every paper and looked deeper past the general idea of the plot, the details surrounding it become very convoluted and strung together as the game progresses. The need to fit in with every horror setting basically led to the story becoming more and more entangled. Nothing feels original besides the fact that we’re on Mars. It constantly seemed as though I was replaying a portion of a game I’ve already played before. You’ve got access to a space station, a small cave where you use your super-powered hand to solve puzzles (you will not use these powers again by the way), a basement from your past, you eventually return back to the station (which will be overrun by plants), and a secret laboratory where you’ll spend a good chunk of time, finishing off with another cave. Moons of Madness is no stranger to this.Īllow me to give a quick rundown of environments in the game. As someone who has trotted through an excess of horror narratives and worlds, I’m pretty aware of the cliches. I was excited to finally explore the darker side of Mars but it wasn’t what I was greeted with for the remainder of the game. Naturally, I taunted the still monstrosity in front of me by crouching on the ground over and over, then strolled into the next phase of the game. I couldn’t tell if it was a bug or it wasn’t meant to catch me. Then I turned a corner and looked back… it was standing in place. ![]() I was so happy and ready to begin the game. When the first scary event finally occurred, I was too busy looking for the next switch to press to notice.Ī monster had formed and began to chase me. Gameplay mechanics are very present and in abundance but it felt like there was simply no reason for them. You can drive a Mars rover, make yourself a cup of coffee, and you have a fancy wristwatch that can manipulate the tech at your station. The entire first hour of the game follows this pattern.Īt this point, I had forgotten I was playing a horror game after turning on lights and rotating objects for so long. This is more like running back and forth doing busy work. “Puzzle” may not be the right word though, that implies challenge. You’ll be performing these meaningless puzzles over and over. This is what I thought the purpose of this exercise was. There is clearly a lot of detail put into making the station feel interactable.Ī task like leaving a locked room is a great way to welcome a player into a game’s general mechanics. #Moons of madness review full#The bedroom your in is full of objects to look at, read and use. First, you have to escape your locked room. Waking up, you’re instantly tasked with performing your janitorial duties. ![]() Get ready because you’ll be spending a lot of time here. Trailblazer Alpha is where you’ve been stationed on Mars. Or is it? Moons of Madness has a lot of potential, but is ultimately squandered by its overall organization. This is just the beginning of a spiral into insanity. Unnatural things monsters, tentacles, organisms. As you go about your daily chores, you start to see things you shouldn’t. You’re an unimportant low-level engineer working on a research outpost. Moons of Madness is a Lovecraftian-horror game developed by Rock Pocket Games. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |