死亡边缘Edge of Death Reviews

Edge of death is one of the most refreshing things I've seen come out of the niche of super low-budget indie horror games in a while. If you've already found yourself looking through these types of games, I imagine you're not expecting the bleeding edge of survival horror gameplay, but rather something more in a B-movie vein that makes up for a lack of polish or innovative design with unique creative choices and a whole lot of heart, and Edge of Death has these things in droves. Will it scare you? Probably not, but by the time you've moved past the dingy hallways and cheap (but seemingly tongue-in-cheek) jump scares of the first 20min or so of gameplay, and you're talking to a whale while a lofi hip-hop beat that incorporates the same scream sound effect that was being used to startle you minutes before into a drop plays in the background, you'll realize that was never the point in the first place. Edge of Death is a horror game to be sure, but it is not a "scary" game, rather it's a game about scary things: death, grief, loss, and how often we are powerless in the face of these things. Is what it has to say about these things particularly novel or thought-provoking? Not necessarily, but what they do feel is incredibly human which is I think what I enjoyed about this game the most. From the writing, especially the ending which honestly had me a bit misty-eyed as it delivered its final thoughts, to the way it pulls from other horror gaming staples in a way that feels more like homage than mindless cribbing, and the unique graphic design choices in its cutscenes and manual (yes, it comes with a slickly designed game manual), all really made me feel the human touch behind the game itself, something I think often gets lost in even small-scale indie projects like this one. Now, I haven't had much to say about the gameplay because, honestly, there isn't much to say. It's mostly walking and encountering strange or disturbing things, only some of which can actually hurt you, with occasional combat. There is a pretty steady rhythm of maze sequence, surreal set piece, maze sequence, etc etc with a little bit of "find the item" thrown in here and there, but let's be real, this is the bread and butter of these sorts of games, and Edge of Death executes the formula well. There are a couple sequences that caused me a fair amount of frustration. The "Memory" level has you shooting at very bullet-spongey enemies who have no response to getting hit and simply vanish when they die, making it ambiguous whether you are hitting them at all with your very limited ammo supply (secret chicken power-up notwithstanding), and the monster in the "Gamma Experiment" sequence has very inconsistent sound cues that allow it to ambush you around corners in a way that is less tense than it is obnoxious. However, these sections are relatively short, and the immense amount of good will I had from the rest of the experience made me more than willing to grit my teeth through them just so I could see what was going to happen next. If you're the sort of person who comes to games like this to experience the creator's take on the genre formula, rather than the relative "quality" of the gameplay experience, then I think you'll really love this one. If you've ever sat and unironically enjoyed a Neil Breen film, I think you're the right sort of person for a game like this. I know I am, and I cannot wait to see what this developer comes out with next!

Genuinely liked the idea and atmosphere potential Edge of Death offers but the end result just makes you wish death comes sooner. Way too reliant on "jumpscares". I've seen scarier images appear on my toast in the morning. The sound design could be effective if it wasn't for the fact every sound plays at once and as loud as possible. The backtracking/loop.... ahem gameplay loop is fine I mean P.T. spawned a million copycats because of how good it was but Edge of Death forces you to collect keys to proceed on top of having to work out the correct progression pattern. Fingers crossed the developer revisits the idea and massively improves on it. For my First Impressions check out my video here: https://youtu.be/umD8WD5vhkQ

Visually the game is good however I feel like the execution of the game is pretty bad due to the fact the level layout based on what I played is just hallways with not much exploration to find keys and unlock doors along with store bought asset monsters that I have seen in other games and all they do is float at you with no walking animation. English translation is pretty bad and confusing and the thing that made me quit playing the game was when I entered a portal and it teleported me out of the map which meant I had to play the entire level all over again since this game has no checkpoints. https://youtu.be/v-GizXbHZ2Y

We're pretty much tasked with findin' keys to open doors to recover memories all while dodgin' creatures. I like the graphical style here but the gameplay loop leaves more to be desired. I also think the game could've used voice overs. It can be tough readin the dialogue while gettin chased lol. Middle thumb up. Gameplay Impressions: https://youtu.be/PC_Hl-U1hSc