Department 14 Reviews

I tried this game tonight and it's bugged before checkpoints, you have to restart all over again because not a lot of checkpoints available, and bugged just before the next checkpoint (elevator number 2)

I am really stuck! After the ball thrown to open the door. I have no idea where to go from there!!

Edit - I'm changing my review from negative to positive, because the dev made some good changes to issues I had with the game, listed below. The stamina bar is much better now, and it appears the glitches have been fixed that stopped you from progressing in the game. I can now comfortably recommend. Thank you to the developer for a very rapid response and fix to these issues; the game has a lot of potential. I don't think I'll make it past [spoiler]the wandering monster because there's really no way to avoid him, as soon as I see him (and sometimes even before I see him) he starts chasing me and you can't escape it at all. I've tried maybe 50 times now.[/spoiler] So hopefully there's not much more gameplay beyond that section. Original review below: Very difficult game, but not in the way you're thinking. You get to a new area, and find an object you think you're supposed to interact with. You press the button, and... nothing. You press it again, nothing. Okay, it looks like a piece of the object is missing, so you better go search for an hour looking for the missing piece that will let you interact with the object. Only thing is, there is no missing piece. You can't interact with the object because it's glitched. I had to restart the game five times before I figured out that sometimes the game just won't let you progress no matter what. Combine that with very few checkpoints, obtuse puzzles, and a horrible stamina bar that lasts two seconds (even though the map is a mile long and you'll be running back and forth), and it doesn't make for a very fun time. I would like to make some suggestions: 1.) The stamina bar needs to be fixed. Either decrease the size of the map, or increase the stamina bar. 2.) The movement of the character himself is a little janky. He feels slow, uncoordinated. The game has tons of potential, I did really like the creepier parts of it. It's just the glitches and slow walking everywhere on huge maps that were issues for me.

I like this game. It's a mystery puzzle sort of deal. I haven't ran into any scares yet. The atmosphere is nice and I think it could do with a bit of voice overs. I'm intrigued enough to keep goin'. Very solid effort from Menge Studio here. Sample gameplay: https://youtu.be/p2N-7lKCUb8

There is an unsolvable slide puzzle in the game due to two pieces being in the wrong positions. Despite players reporting this issue in the discussion forums, the developer has not responded or fixed the bug, blocking progression. This is like a Rubik's Cube with one corner having the wrong color configuration--randomizing this corner piece's colors means many players won't have a solvable puzzle. The 'solution' itself is randomized. Puzzle games require carefully designed solvable layouts, not random piece placement. It's disappointing as the game seems good otherwise, but this major flaw ruins the experience. I would recommend the game if the developer fixes this issue.