Recent reviews by Gross

Look, the game is good and heartwrenching at times, but what makes it top tier for me is the "Hidden Mode" and all the additions it brings. You'll know the one when you see it. More devs need to bring back "this mode".

Oates managed to adapt his formula in a much less brutal but equally compelling way. In No Delivery, penalties were too high and your resources were always thin. In this game you can somewhat snowball into a competent party if you play your cards right. The way the mystery and the local businesses' atmosphere unfolds is just masterful. The conclussion may not be very revealing, but boy what a trip it is to get there. I really hope this release makes people eager to try out the rest of the dev's creations, they will find a very unique brand.

I, like many, got to know Ice's games for Lily's Well, but much of the her dessign essence comes from I Cannot Drown, and her love for the obscurity in exploration. This game strikes a very entertaining balance between head scratching, dread and freeform exploration towards getting the Ten Keys. The way the story and themes are conveyed is very mysterious, and it seems to tempt you into revealing more under its surface.

Definitely a fun time for RPG Makeresque Horror fans.

The conjoined vision of these two writers bring forth a lovely bleak world, whose nature slowly unfolds more nightmarisly. This really reminds me of that alleged cancelled Silent Hill title whose focus was going to be fear of sunlight. I thought for a while that it would be impossible to do a horror story centered around bright colors if it was not set in some horrifying netherworld, but I was wrong. A regular sunny city can too become just as sophocating thanks to what this game brings.

I would have personally loved more extended bad endings, but I guess their abruptness is part of the point.

I bought this game knowing from the start it wouldn't be for me and, duh, it wasn't. I just have some low-key respect for the developer and the need to support her creative vision, which is highly strong. This isn't another one of those cheaply put together RPG maker games with tons of jumpscares and instant kills. This is more about the anxiety of what your choices might lead to and what does it say about yourself. However I think there are many people out there who will resonate strongly with it, or strongly reject it... and I feel this game is for both of them.

Merely writing this to boost its positive reviews so that hopefully more people get it, because a game like this barely reaching 30 reviews (at the time of writing) is unfair. Best of luck with what the future may bring to the devs here.

Edit: After playing through its five endings, I still don't know what to think of this game. I guess "thought-provoking" defines it better, even though it only provokes feelings I'd rather silence. There is definitely an audience for this, one bigger than it seems, so my recommendation still holds.

As of 2021, within two months of its final update, I find myself greatly surprised by Yai Gameworks spirit in general and Red Haze. Duskgolem, depicting a great knack for showmanship, enjoys engaging with its niche audience in many different ways, and loves making each individual experience unique and even exclusive at times.

This pholosophy is better seen in Red Haze, an apparently generic RPG horror game that doesn't mind holding back a lot until you're really engaged with it. The more endings you get, the more the game plays a masterful dance of streamlining boring events and making chill events difficult or tense. The element of permadeath and what "continue coins" that disappear permanently from the game after being picked up, Surprise encounters that are triggered on rare ocassions each run, and some game overs being but the tip of a thread to yet more discoveries.

These are just some examples to what makes Red Haze a truly special game that really grows on you the more you play it, the more you explore it. Even if its tone can be a bit overly angsty at times, the honesty, bluntness and passion with which it delivers itself will be something you'll draw charisma from. A game I truly recommend despite its traditionally unfair design at times. But that it's appropiately on it for the show.

A charming little game that is sold by how minimalist it is gameplay wise and how well the aesthetic pumps it all up. It's way way less puzzly than it seemed at first, it's more of a linear exploration game than anything else. My favourite bit has to be the intro tho.

Think of it as a "What if Minecraft was a metroidvania"

Sinner es una obra que da un giro bastante interesante a esta oleada de Souls like clónicos. Uno de los problemas que han tenido estos era cómo sus recursos eran finitos y siempre existía ese miedo a perder las almas, así que solo unos pocos se atrevían a experimentar con sus enemigos y armas. Sinner, al ser un juego puro Boss Rush sin capa de RPG y con objetos que se recuperan tras cada pelea, te da total libertad para que intentes muchas estrategias... y los jefes se prestan para ello.

Cada jefe tiene fases y debilidades muy diversas, y se convierten en combates tensos donde siempre te estás arriesgando a explotarlos pagando con tu vida. Pero lo mejor es que, conforme venzas a cada jefe, este posará una maldición sobre ti que reduce permanentemente tus capacidades (ya sea tu capacidad de curarte, de defenderte y un largo etcétera) por lo que añade un componente estratégico a qué amenazas aplacar primero que diversifica la experiencia del jugador de una forma que solo un Boss Rush habría podido enfocar.

The Painscreek Killings es una aventura de investigación en un pueblo en proceso de despoblación. El pueblo abandonado está enteramente a tu disposición para ser explorado, y no hay ningún marcador de objetivo para guiarte. La paranoia de que todo lo que esté ante ti sea una pista vital se apodera pronto de ti y estarás echándole fotos a todo lo que encuentres a modo de recordatorio. Además, el diseño del juego siempre contiene pistas que apuntan hacia mínimo otros dos lugares, formando esta red de diseño que realmente personaliza el progreso de cada uno a través de este pueblo maldito. Los extensos diarios de los personajes en sus momentos más íntimos hacen que este juego tan silencioso y de estética genérica se convierta en una emocionante historia que se desarrolla enteramente en tu cabeza conforme caminas de un lugar a otro y ansías ver su siguiente desenlace. Muy recomendado

Un juego de RPG maker con mucho encanto en su estructura basada en bucles temporales. Las situaciones y los mundos son muy coloridos y con una estética muy suya, sin obviar los obvios indicios de la naturaleza amateur del juego. Aún así, si estás cansado de esos juegos RPG de horror con los mismos tilesets clónicos y jumpscares baratos de siempre, este juego es una buena alternativa que sigue acarreando ese espíritu tan juvenil que nos gustaba de ellos.