Obsession

this was a really creative interpretation of the jam's theme, and a fun & well-made time to boot! :D

(since you asked for it, i'll follow the "one good thing, one bad thing" format for my review)

(SPOILERS)

i really like how the story is told; building from knowing that the main character's father left, to learning about the trips he'd take him with, about his hunting hobby, the secret door behid the fridge, the deformed animals on display, the notes talking about his experiments... until the "oh, shit" moment at the end when you find him haha. it all felt really natural, jumping from reveal to reveal at just the right times. maybe there could've been a bit more ambiguity with what his true intentions are, perhaps by making the notes less explicit on how he wants to improve his body? just to make the reveal in the final scene even more impactful. and both endings were a bit unsatisfying, i would've liked if there were a few more lines of narration rather than just one. but that's really about it, really solid storytelling overall!

it could be argued that the "low poly house" aesthetic is a bit overused in recent indie horror, but this game uses it extremely well by combining it with 2d artwork! i love how the minigames are depicted in this different style, since they're all memories from your childhood it really gives off a feeling of simplicity and wonder that's hard to capture. and the 2d and 3d blend in surprisingly well, i never doubted that everything i was seeing belonged in the same universe! love all the little touches too: how the fishing rod and line in the fishing minigame are 3d, how the animals and your father in the hunting minigame look like cutouts, how twisted the animals in the display minigame look (except greg, greg looks perfect), and how the final cutscene with your father is done, REALLY clever use of zoom ins and blocking to show just enough to look disgusting but just obscure enough to let your imagination run wild with how he looks like. overall praises all across the board with the visuals :> if i had to criticize anything, i think the minigame where you have to put the animals in the correct place was a little hard due to how equally deformed all of them look. greg is a perfect specimen, but i wouldn't have guessed what they look like if i hadn't just done trial and error lol. i think the names could've been clearer and/or the animals could've had less confusing anatomies.

really liked the gameplay too! the minigames were really fun and felt really fair and non-punishing if you made a mistake. adds a lot of variety too; it was fun not knowing what the game would ask me to do next haha. and how every minigame ties into your father's intentions more with each one was super clever! really makes the game a lot more memorable than if it was just walking around this house, so kudos on the creativity. although, like others have said the notes puzzle was a bit too hard and i ended up completing it by guessing (there was also one digit that was too far down and i couldn't see it, ik someone already said it but i experienced it too). i think maybe all the notes should've had digits assigned to them instead of just a few, and the order of these events should've been clearer. just to make it less confusing.

overall, this was a really creative and fun game, with excellent use of visuals and an intriguing story that's very well told! it has a few kinks and things that could be done better, but i'm glad i played it and i hope you keep making games and improving. congrats to all of you for making this one! <3

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