CINERIS SOMNIA Reviews

A weird game that is horror maybe 1/8th of the time, and a relaxing, atmospheric, item finding/using game the rest of the time. It's like if one of those bad Roblox horror games were actually good. Thoroughly enjoyed.

Vibes and the atmosphere are good, but gameplay has too much backtracking, and is the most walking simulator game ive ever seen in my entire life. I wouldnt consider it horror, or even puzzle. Its sorta boring. And the animations are a bit poorly done since its their first 3d game. 5/10 imo. Not worth it if not in discount.

Perhaps it may not be your thing if slow-paced walking simulators don’t bring you much joy, but if this is something that doesn’t bother you, it is totally worth to take a look! It is not a difficult game and posses a very amazing dream-like atmosphere. The stories (chapters) are both sad and very touching, and for that it's nice to give it a chance. I particularly loved how Opelhia & Marie stories were told the most. The game OST is also fantastic. Truly a great work! I really loved it.

Honestly, if this game was a straight up walking-sim with no attempt at puzzle-solving I would have enjoyed it more. Unfortunately, the hospital section made me lost interest in this game. It would have been better if the map gave you a bit more guidance. Not to mention interacting with the game feels pretty bad. When I tried to pick up an item, the character kept observing a surrounding object till I stood in a very particular spot. Opening the menu and interacting with items, etc had such a strange control layout. I do not feel like searching through a hospital that looks the same wherever you go without decent direction. However, I do not want to discourage the developer with this review because they have an amazing artistic sense. The music and overall tranquility of this game are great. Establishing such a good atmosphere is key to making a memorable game. I would love to play something made by the same people if they brush up on their game design.

I'm going to recommend this game when it's ON SALE. I don't think I would have paid full price for this happily. I am a fan of that old haunting grounds, fatal frame, rule of rose ps2 art style. I'm fine with the whole clocktower defenseless running around helplessly trying to find my way out bit. BJD dolls and Lolita fashion are a wonderful compliment to horror games. But-- I didn't get replay value out of this. I don't want to go back and get all achievements. I'm not curious to uncover more of the story. I was confused as to what the connection between the characters was until I read the description about this being a "can we do it" game, which is fine. 3/4 main chapters have no sense of danger. The choice of having the tall man as your playable character does nothing for the atmosphere of the game. I would have felt at least more protective if we were playing an animal, another woman, maybe even a smaller man or child? It's not that men don't get attacked or anything like that but being a TALL man...taller than the doors...when everyone else comes up to either your belly button or chest...just doesn't fit the atmosphere. I think this could have been better with a rule of rose style of intro for each chapter. Story pages throughout each "chapter", turning the already dreamlike environment into a story, etc. Then the tall man could be some entity that promises to see your story through to the end? Anyways, the game has a good feel to it but just barely missed the mark for me...but for the 5 dollars I paid? Sure, I had enough fun.

This is a beautiful game... especially for it's time. Even by today's standards the story and the art hold up well. If you're looking for a game with a very interesting story... you've come to the right place. I really hope to see a continuation of this as well...

I read a comment of someone saying that it’s a walking sim. I didn’t believe them until I finished it. It is indeed. This game is such wasted potential because I enjoyed the castle section so much i hoped the rest of the game would be somewhat similar to that section.

I was a bit hesitant to buy this game at first (ended up grabbing it on sale), mostly because I saw a lot of people saying it was just walking and wandering around. Which isn't true at all, it gives you tasks and there's puzzles to solve as you go on so I dont really understand that part since it gives you objectives and a map to navigate. But honestly? I loved it from the first butterfly chapter ( Charlotte ) It’s seriously such a good game. The dream sequences and puzzle-solving were so fun, and the backtracking? Really not that bad. If you’ve ever played a survival horror game, it’s about the same—maybe even less. The map is easy to navigate, and the puzzles are generally really simple but satisfying. I know some people say the pacing is slow, but I can't see how else you'd pace it also considering the dreams are around 1-2 hrs long depending on how quick you can solve the puzzles etc. I feel like it's just right since it has more impact once you slowly figure out what happened to each girl in the dreams. Also—I bought this game partly because of that Cocteau Twins review, and I love Cocteau Twins, so like… how could I not?? Absolutely zero regrets. I think if you love atmospheric games it's worth trying.

I really wanted to like this game. It’s so pretty and atmospheric, and the soundtrack is hauntingly beautiful. But the gameplay is such a slog to get through. It’s basically a VERY slow walking sim where you spend most of your time going back and forth across huge locations, searching for items, all just to get a tiny piece of story. The story itself is somewhat intriguing, but the characters feel too hollow and doll-like. I’m usually pretty patient with walking sims, I had no problem with games like Dear Esther. Yet I couldn’t even finish this one. To make things worse, the camera movement gave me motion sickness, and after every 30 minutes of playing I had to take breaks.

I recommend this game only to those who enjoy SLOWWW-paced walking sims because this game makes you tediously go back and forth across huge maps searching for items to reveal parts of their stories. It doesn't really hint at where you should go either, you kinda just have to (slowly) walk aimlessly around each (massive) location in hopes to discover something. I did find some of the stories somewhat interesting so that kept me playing, I just wish it wasn't such a slog to go through. I must say though, the art is strikingly beautiful and atmospheric. The gothic and dolly aesthetics is what made me buy the game in the first place and the soundtrack is melancholic in a nostalgic way,, it's very beautiful. I really wanted to enjoy this game- looking forward to a good horror mystery but I think I won't be finishing it sadly.