Review: Skinwalker

[charlesthehurst 691]

Disclaimer:  All opinions expressed herein are my own and reflect only my views of this game.  There also may be spoilers.

 

Created by:  SnowOwl

Can be found here: http://www.rpgmakervxace.net/topic/14388-skinwalker/

Estimated playtime: 15-20 minutes

 

 

Introduction:

Four friends from the same university go out camping together. But while gathering firewood, strange sounds can be heard from the forest.  After that, things get gradually worse.   - SnowOwl

 

This game is classed as horror.  I'm easily frightened, but Skinwalker intrigued me, to say the least.  Completely out of my mind, I decided to download and play this game.  I live in an area with plenty of Skinwalker myths, so I was intrigued to see it in this form of media.  

 

 

Game-play / Level Design:

This game lacks combat, relying on story telling, minor environmental interaction and scarce decisions to push the game toward an end (there were more than one).  Overall, game-play accomplished what it had to.  Game-play was simplistic, easy to understand and didn't detract from the experience.  In that same light, it also did not add to it either.  There were only a few things with which to interact other than NPCs and none of them particularly stood out.

Note: The fact that the Z key on the keyboard is the confirmation button is irregular and downright annoying.  The Enter key would have been more appropriate.

 

As for Level Design, there are only a few areas in which this game to actually explore.  None of them are expansive, but this serves well.  This game is rather short, and thus there is no need to have a huge map on which to move.  Everything is kept minimal, while still conveying where you are and where to go.  I was lost only once and only because it was not made apparent where I needed to go.

 

Game-play Score: 5/10  for ease of control, but lack of any outstanding feature or interaction

Level Design Score: 8/10 for environments that fit the intended minimalist feel and served purpose effectively

 

Story / Writing Mechanics:

This is the area the game suffers from the most.  Aside from minor grammar issues, the writing is somewhat bland.  There was no piece of text that ever made me feel particularly attached or involved in the story.  Additionally, the reason behind the Skinwalker's importance is never made clear enough in my opinion.  It, in my honest opinion, was there only for the sake of filling the horror monster role.

 

Additionally, character development is severely needed.  Much like most stock horror films, your given a hollow cast of characters who only serve as victims for the 'beast 'and vessels for the story.  You cannot feasibly become attached to these characters unless you were to sit and develop a back story yourself.  Otherwise, their generic horror 'fodder'.

 

My key suggestion would be to expand on the idea of this game, and extend the amount of time to play.  Good horror in my opinion takes a bit of time to build up.  An hour long expansion of this game would be more appealing, if character and story development were fleshed out more appropriately.

 

Story/Writing Score: 3/10  for a basic but promising story, that needs further revision and development

 

Resources Used (Audio, Visuals, Scripts):

This is the area Skinwalker stands out in.

 

As far as I can see, all graphics and audio are custom.  Graphically, the game has a very unique style.  Though I personally do not care for the style, artistically speaking it definitely is eye-catching.  The style is also very consistent, even with character graphics.  Visually this game stands out from other RPG Maker games I've encountered.

Note:  There are a few trees who are slightly brighter than the surrounding environment, as well as a single tree that sticks out during a certain scene.  Though consistent with style, I feel they were out of place in their respective environments.

 

Audio also has some outstanding qualities.  Mainly ambient sounds,  they definitely fit in perfectly with their environments.  With the exception of an iconic 'metallic' sound, the audio compliments each scene well.

 

Resources were used exceptionally well to convey a horror atmosphere, in light of the less-than-optimal writing.

 

Resources Score: 9/10   for resources the fit near perfectly with the game's theme, with minimal negligible discrepancies

 

Overall Experience:

Was I scared?  To some extent.  However, the writing did not serve well enough to really instill fear in me.  I will admit that the initial scenes around the tent area had my heart racing a bit.  What killed the experience for me was ironically the jump-scares.  They seemed forced and predictable.

 

Dark silhouette in the forest coming towards you?  Seen it, and seen it pulled off more effectively as well.  Ultimately, the one thing that ruined the horror vibe is a certain face that flashes on screen in a particular scene.  To be honest it looked like a Dia de los Muertos(Day of the Dead) skull, which made me giggle.  Not intended by the creator I'm sure.

 

Game-play Score: 5/10

Level Design Score: 8/10

Story/Writing Score: 3/10

Resources Score: 9/10 

Final Score: 6/10

 

Final thoughts

This games true weakness, in my eyes, is the inability to immerse the player in a horror atmosphere.  While not a terrible game, there are some improvements to be made.  Writing, specifically character development and the reason for the Skinwalker's appearance, need the most improvement.  Game-play could also be touched up.  Not a bad game, definitely worth a quick play.  Just not memorable enough to warrant a decent reaction from me.

[SnowOwl 23]

Enter also works as confirmation key, I just didn't list it because, well, I didn't think most people would use it.

Arrow keys and enter seems kinda clunky to use.

It's too bad you didn't think the story was very immersive, and at this point I probably won't be changing it.

I like the length of the game and and more would in my opinion just be filler.

I set out to make the game short, something you could play when you're bored one evening

or something along those lines.

I did what I could to make you care about the characters, without giving

too much useless information,

As for there not being much gameplay... The lack of it is intentional.

I was aiming more for a visual novel feel than a normal RPGMaker game type thingy.

Thanks for taking the time to write a review.

[charlesthehurst 691]

Going back, I see that Enter does in fact work... so disregard that lol

 

The fact that this game is short is obviously going to keep the details to a minimum.  It wasn't a terrible game by any means.  It definitely fit in with the horror theme, just not as much as I think it should have.  Had the characters been slightly more fleshed out (Celeste's story could definitely be a good hook) I might have felt more immersed.

 

I gave gameplay the score I did on the fact this was more visual novel.  It accomplished what it had to without being too flashy.  Since this is still a game it doesn't get any higher because it wasn't really gameplay.  Had there been a scene where I had to look for the key to the cabin or something like that, gameplay would be a bit more intriguing.