Exsanguinate Reviews

https://youtu.be/bWi7E9PW8kk I had a blast playing this game. Kinda puzzle heavy. I do appreciate that the enemies do not insta-kill.

I like going into creepy houses with monsters in it armed only with a lantern. https://youtu.be/IKAh_cCcnQ0

Alright let's talk about this. I will say that I beat the whole game, first off. Did you ever play Pacify? The house may be from an asset pack that the Pacify devs also used. It's not exactly like it but it's very very close. Not that using an asset pack informs the quality of the game or anything, I just believe it's an asset pack. Moving onto the game itself. Story is pretty cliche. Spooky town and spooky house that you are investigating. Your buddy was going to meet you there and headed up there first so you have to go meet him after the fact. Surprise surprise, you get there and then find out that he is already dead. I DID NOT SEE THAT COMING. The game itself is mostly a puzzle game, with the player needing to find various items and plug them in to various holes or press buttons in a certain order to open secret hatches etc. Honestly the puzzles are the best part of the game. Some of them were honestly neat and I had fun running from room to room finding solutions for them. It's pretty satisfying when you solve the puzzles and are granted access to a new part of the house. That's where the problem starts. Some of these puzzles are a little bit tough to find the parts to and you have to search areas again and again which is made extremely difficult by the FOREVER PATROLLING ENEMY. You get about 10 minutes of gameplay before the enemy spawns in the house and you absolutely cannot get away from. She's just there for the rest of the time that you play this game. I really wish that I was kidding here but I'm not. You will get extremely friendly with the scissors hand lady. Oh and she will know exactly where you are if you sprint for even a split second. She will run from who knows where in the house directly to you. Her AI is so obnoxious that it really needs to be called out. So what does that mean for the player? It means that you have to find small items, solve puzzles and work your way through maze like areas all while being hunted for the entire game. It's just not fun. Some of the puzzles require you to stand perfectly still and solve a longer term puzzle, too! HOPE SHE DOESNT WALK IN BEHIND YOU WHILE YOU CANT MOVE TRYING TO SOLVE THE PUZZLE IN THE ROOM WITH NO EXIT. This is the most frustrating part of this game by far. She will just always be there. Puzzles that require focus and time are made frustrating because you can't ever just DO the puzzle. You constantly are being hunted and need to sometimes get LUCKY to have scissor hands lady not walk into your room. Either do puzzles or chases in horror. Don't do them both at the same time. Don't. tl;dr - Game is frustrating and upsetting. Probably pass this one. Want to watch what it's like to play this game? Guess you're in luck cause I did it if you want a real idea of how it runs. Spoilers, obviously: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMbXHJz1pq4

The ambient sounds are on par to give you an uneasy feeling when inside the house. There are no unnecessary jump scares but it does give you a sense of dread when faced the monsters. The only feedback I would give to the Dev after playing for about 30 minutes is: 1. When the player is damaged by a monster, there appears to be no healing option. As a result, the player has to continue with a continuous heart beat with a slight reddened screen. This can be annoying when you are trying to focus on the ambient sounds but they are drowned out by the heart beats. Either give the player a healing item pick-up or just resume normal health over time. 2. The woman with claws is a tad too fast for my liking & even with maximum stamina, I get caught & killed before I have time to hide. Maybe reduce her speed or at least give the player more warning of her presence so they can try to avoid her. 3. Intro scene of car driving is too long. Reduce to 3 different views & then cut to the vehicle pulling up to the house on the 4th scene. For the price, I would recommend this game but it could be better with a couple of tweaks. Gameplay Video in 2k: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxuhhCGGRWA

It's priced well for the length. There is no main menu options to make any modification. There are less then handful in game. I kept getting frame drops and stutters. Could be me, old PC. Good puzzles with backstories that ties to the main story. The time period of the game is perplexing. The game is set in a world with cars and electricity. The manor has electric lights (lamps), kitchen with refrigerator, a TV and candles spread out. The main character uses a lantern from the start. No flashlight Mr. investigator? Once I finished the game. I understood why there is no way of healing. But it only make sense at the very last. So during if a player is low on health up until the last puzzle it'll become confusing.