Education Reviews

I liked it! Short puzzle game with a cool atmosphere and an engaging story. Has a couple of tense moments (for me anyway) but nothing that gave me chest pains. If you've played other games by Tonguç then you know his style of story telling and will not be disappointed!

This was different from the other games I've played from this developer. Instead of the usual beautiful landscapes, you get a dilapidated old school building. The environment was creepy, but the repeating sound effect was so frequent that I just stopped paying any attention to it. I think I found everything there was to find, and the story was OK, maybe even a bit unexpected as you usually get the opposite point of view to a story like this. I didn't really like the ending as I had to check the discussions to find out what I was supposed to be doing. It was not at all in balance with the other parts of the game. The game is OK, but I really prefer the scenic ones with no jump scares.

Honestly this game had some promise but that fell flat on it's face about 10 minutes in when you had to resurrect a corpse to break a few planks of wood which were about 2 inches wide. Education is also incredibly short, do yourself a favour and skip the lesson. Check out my first impressions of Education here: https://youtu.be/pkvFUXOa3R8

Today was an exciting day. I spent it all in tense anticipation of experiencing the magic of Tonguc Bodur games come to life in a horror game. I adore a good horror game: Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Siren, Outlast, Cry of Fear, I love 'em all. I even dig more non-run-of-the-mill game styles in the horror genre, like Echo Night, DDLC, and Death Mark. Would Education make it onto this hallowed list? Let's find out! Education puts you in the role of Bart Blake, who was a very naughty boy when he was in school. You explore his abandoned school, learning about his past and the goofs and gaffes that caused the school to close. Most of the gameplay consists of exploration and unlocking doors while reading journal entries and newspaper articles, though there is the occasional puzzle. The puzzles can be a little moon logic-ky, but I don't mind this at all, because the puzzles in good horror games are pretty much the same way. The exploration is even decent. The maps look suitably dilapidated while not being over the top. I did repeatedly struggle to maneuver through some of the classrooms because the desks were close together (this, combined with Blake's constant running out of breath, leads me to think he has put on a bit of weight since his time at his alma mater), but other than that, the layout worked fine. I certainly never got lost. The ambient sounds and music were even a little spooky. I'm not going to put any spoilers in this review, but suffice it to say that the buildup in this game did not have much of a payoff. I always prefer psychological horror to jumpscares, but this game tried to do a little of both and succeeded at neither. But where this game really falls flat is in the writing. The school doesn't feel like a real school because Bart is the only thing anyone ever talks about. The student writing comes off as having been written by an alien who has only ever had contact with humans via watching The Butterfly Effect. Bart comes off as an American Pie character, but not especially evil, considering the universe's grudge against him many years after the fact. The only other real character in the game, a teacher, who is supposed to be the paragon of goodness and reasonableness, believes that poor eyesight leads to students disrupting class and is also the least observant person I've ever seen portrayed in a game. All in all, just about nothing in the game makes sense. To be fair, this game could be worse for $2.00. I think Tonguc Bodur probably spent more than that to buy the assets used in the game. It lasted me 0.7 hours, with me exploring nearly every nook and cranny, which per hour is cheaper than any of the rot at a theater near you. Oh, and the voice acting isn't atrocious. That helps. But, if you want to explore an interesting horror-ble school, might I recommend one of the following games: White Day, Silent Hill, DDLC, Death Mark, or Siren? Those all have schools that feel like real places and are actually scary.

Developed by Tonguç Bodur, Education is a short horror game set in a school. Graphicly competent, especially due to the use of assets, the game sees you walking around an abandoned school, trying to figure out your past errors and come to terms with it. With a simple plot and a even more simpler gameplay, the game is barely serviceable in what it sets out to do. Price wise is fairly cheap, even without a discount, but, for the same amount, there's better games to try out. Try it if you have nothing else to play in your backlog, otherwise, avoid it. Check my full playthrough on YT and judge for yourself: https://youtu.be/oc7lQgXb9oo And if you haven't already, Like and Subscribe

I probably wouldn't reccomend this game on the basis of how glitchy it is. HOWEVER it DOES have a vaguely coherant story which is more than most horror games I play! That's not to say it's a good one. It makes it seem so complicated when really it boils down to a pretty simple story thats easy to take the piss outta. Glitch wise it took about 10 mins for me to get stuck in the floor LMFAO. The ghost DId make me jump which was exciting but the manic flailing that followed literally sent me into hysterics. The atmosphere is alright ! Not that scary and feels like it's a pre-download but it's definitely something to explore. It is extremely short I will say. half an hour to forty mins literally. Alright for 80p but it's still a bit dissapointing. However this did allow for the comedic genius that was the chapter achievements. You would literally move two inches to the left and get a glaring NEXT CHAPTER come up so it felt a bit like getting hurtled through at the speed of sound. Again, this game is about 30 mins long and managed to pull out EIGHT DIFFERENT CHAPTERS. this was UNNECCISSARY but literally became my favourite part of the entire game.

Alright. [i]Education[/i] is done and dusted. It’s been a while since I’ve played one of Tonguc’s games, but I’ve acquired a few between then and now, so no better time than the present to catch up on these titles. Education is definitely the most horror oriented of Tonguc’s games that I’ve played, which was a nice change of pace. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3146181645 It’s still a walking simulator with a couple puzzles and some minor exploration, but it’s also got a dark and oppressive atmosphere. I’ve seen people characterize this as an ugly game. This is false. It doesn’t however shy away from the grime of decay and neglect. One thing that separates Tonguc’s walking simulators from many others on Steam is that he takes a lot of pride in writing real stories that address real issues, and Education is no different. This one deals with life’s karmic repercussions for having been an unrepentant school bully. There were two minor jumpscares in the game, but otherwise, it’s all atmosphere and figuring out how to progress through this abandoned and decayed school where you had once been the rich kid bully, within which you now find yourself trapped. This game does feature some mildly graphic moments, but by my mind, if you like horror, these won't phase you, and even if you don't like horror, they're not beyond the pale. You should be fine. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3146181655 As far as audio is concerned, there is a splash of voice acting, but most of the audio tracks take the form of unnerving music and haunting sounds such as distant screams, doors opening and closing on their own, etc… I played this on the Steam Deck with Ultra settings, 60 FPS, and VSync, and it’s fully compatible with only one presumed Deck issue, which was a single hard crash. I did encounter one other bug, wherein an electrocution scene went into a perpetual loop. I had to restart the chapter to solve the issue. Fortunately, none of the chapters are long, do this wasn’t a big deal. It took me about 45 minutes to complete, and I considered it time well spent. It was an enjoyable experience. And for the two dollar base price, cost vs value is definitely there. I’d recommend checking this out if you enjoy lite horror and walking simulators. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3146181328 [code]If you found this review helpful and would be interested in supporting my Curator group, Robilar's Reviews, it would be appreciated. Cheers. https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32549618/[/code] [code]Also follow IndieGems for more reviews like this one. https://store.steampowered.com/curator/32732116-IndieGems/[/code]

I have played most of Tonguc Bodur's games and have enjoyed them as they have evolved from beautiful walking simulators with a story to games with added activities. The last few have had interesting elements of shooting enemies, evading death traps, parking vehicles, etc. Having said this, Education is not my favorite. Not a bad game, but not really what I was hoping for. It is short, very light on story, and incredibly dark (as in lack of lighting). I spent a lot of time managing flashlight batteries and trying to see in the darkness. Game mechanics are well put together ... solving a puzzle in one room leads to a key to open the next and there are a lot of locked doors, empty rooms, and hallways to explore. The dilapidated high school is crafted in much detail. The sound track is a bit creepy but without the music that has set the mood in his previous games. There is one escape scenario but it was not difficult to master in a few tries. I'd recommend Education to those who want a short, escape game. But, fans of Mr. Bodur's previous games may be a bit disappointed.

Now, I have played a fair amount of Tonguc' games to know his art of games in general. His attribute is 'Walking Simulators', just as this game is one as well. You shouldn't be playing this game expecting a huge horror game à la Resident Evil series. All his games include walking along the story and solving puzzles, with some little specials. Tonguc is normally specialised in Walking Simulators with beautiful landscapes and environments, so this 'ugly, gloomy' one is a new approach of his style. He experiments around with new assets and creates games accompanied by a fitting story. I have read some reviews here that this game isn't scary at all or that it doesn't have a story, while clearly there are notes in every room giving a share of the story. You are not playing a game with a story, you are playing a game accompanied by the story, if that makes sense. The character in this game, "Bart Blake", confronts with his own past at the place where he caused the most trouble towards the people around him. The notes give us hints on what kind of human he was and how he mentally and physically abused everyone around him. I think the devastated school is symbolic for the damage he has done in that place, also the confrontation at the end shouldn't be taken serious, it's rather a message that everything you do in life, it will return to you (=Karma). In fact I believe that this trip to his school never really happened, his mind makes him question and remember what he did, so it's like a mental guilt trip. Now to the parts I liked and disliked about this little game. It is true that this game won't give you a nice experience if you expect a full blood horror game. This game focuses rather on showing the terror that the character caused than being a horror game. It is a low budget game and the price of 2 bucks is to cover the costs. If you are easily bored by walking a lot in a game, then don't try this. + I liked the music, it went well with the atmosphere (5/5) + The collectibles don't play a role in the game, but they give you achievements to get 100% (for people who like to collect achievements) (4/5) + Some scenes are actually spooky, I was expecting jumpscares so I even lowered the volume in case something approaches. For some people this might be not sufficient, as they want to experience horror. But I dislike constant jumpscares, as I rather want to go through the game while being spooked out (by the atmosphere e.g.) (5/5) + The puzzles are meant to give some interaction, as people might be bored by just walking. Yes, they seem misplaced, because they don't go together with the other assets, but all the puzzles lead towards the unraveling of the story, giving you access to the next chapter. As I mentioned before, this game should be taken in a symbolic matter, not physically (3,5/5) - I was missing some movement control, such as ducking or jumping. There were things I wanted to jump over or places I wanted to to walk under, but unfortunately those elements weren't given (2/5) - I liked the game's look overall, but some assets were repeatedly used. The rooms looked often familiar. (2,5/5) I think this might be because Tonguc usually creates Walking Simulators in natural environments, such as snowy areas, mountains etc. where a repeated use of the same asset doesn't matter. But I believe if he continues making games in different styles, he will get the hang of it and they will be as good as his previous, calming games. In summary: 22 out of 30 points (73%) If you read through my points and you have no problem with the information given, you should try it out. And ~2€ won't really hurt anyone.

In general, [i]Tonguc Bodur[/i] develops walkim sims with beautiful scenery and relaxing music. [i]Education[/i], perhaps, is an experimental game where he decided to take a completely new direction. Instead of the lush outdoors we find ourselves in the dark, foreboding indoors. Also, story-wise the game is more explicit in the sense that you immediately understand that bullying is in the focal point. As opposed to his previous works [i]Education[/i] is rather short. Scattered notes in several classrooms tell you the background whilst you solve a couple of puzzles at the same time making sure your flashlight does not run out of batteries. I expected more from a playtime perspective but I found the game captivating, nonetheless. I give this one a thumbs-up and I hope Tonguc will expand upon the story.