Sense - 不祥的预感: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story

Sense - 不祥的预感: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story
N/A
Metacritic
84
Steam
75.632
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$19.99
Release date
25 August 2020
Developers
Steam reviews score
Total
84 (444 votes)

A 2.5D horror game inspired by Clock Tower and Fatal Frame, mixing cyberpunk with traditional Cantonese folklore. With careful attention to pacing, atmosphere and storytelling, Sense hopes to return the horror genre to its roots by celebrating visceral horror and the slow, fearful creep of dread.

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Sense - 不祥的预感: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows 7
  • Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo E5200
  • Memory: 2 GB RAM
  • Graphics: GeForce 240 GT or Radeon HD 6570 – 1024 MB (1 GB+)
  • DirectX: Version 9.0c
  • Storage: 5 GB available space

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
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Doomlord
Doomlord

Now this game's title is a little misleading. Depending on how you interpret it you might get a completely wrong idea on what to expect which can hamper your enjoyment so I'll clear that up first.

If you go into this expecting cyberghosts, digital consciousness and other such things that usually come with the cyberpunk territory you're not gonna get them. This is a supernatural ghost story that happens to take place in a cyber dystopia. The cyberpunk is there, but it's not the game's main focus.

I'm not gonna bother with the whole censorship fiasco that happened last year. That's every other Steam review out there. On to the actual game.

STORY

I'll spare you a summary. The store page description does a good job at explaining the gist of it. What I will say is that the story is pretty good, but you'll have to do a fair bit of reading to get the whole picture (which you'll have do anyway because some notes contain keys to solving puzzles). Make sure to also do the side story that unlocks after beating the game once. It's short and sweet and sheds a bit more light on things.

One thing to keep in mind is that the game has two endings. In order to get the true/good ending you'll have to beat it 3 times. It's not a huge deal since the only real things that change are your ability to save everywhere and one extra ghost that's entirely optional, but you still have to do it.

muh grafix

The visuals are nothing mindblowing, but they get the job done. I like the character designs and the world is the proper kind of futuristic sh*thole that I expect from my cyberpunk media. I'm not exactly the biggest fan of the style of animation the game uses, but I've played other games that use it so I can live with it.

The atmosphere is definitely on point, though. I don't know what it is about being stuck in abandoned locations while neon lights shine everywhere around you, but sh*t like this speaks to me on a spiritual level. There are a couple of locations that made me stop what I was doing and stay there for a while just enjoying the sights and sounds. That's a HUGE plus in my books.

AUDIO

You'll spend most of the time listening to ambiance which is something I quite enjoy in my spooky vidya. The few music tracks that do play on occasion are pretty good too and fit the setting. I quite enjoyed the sounds the ghosts make. Most of the voice acting is also pretty good except for Mei. Some of her lines are delivered well, but others are hilariously bad.

GAMEPLAY

The game is pretty flawed, but for a first attempt by a small studio I can't fault it too much. We can't all make masterpieces on our first try, but what's here is solid and it's clear to me they put a lot of love into it.

Gameplay wise it's similar to the original Clock Tower minus the point and click controls. You'll be exploring, solving puzzles, avoiding ghosts and exorcising them later on. You can also take ghost photos like in Fatal Frame which are pretty cool, but they are just collectibles.

The first time you play you'll be able to save anywhere you want, NG+ leaves you with auto saves and Betamax tapes that are limited and can be used to save in specific locations like in classic Resident Evil, NG++ removes the auto saves so you're stuck only with the tapes which is how the game was originally from what I understand, but apparently people whined about it and it was changed.

The issue here is that after you beat the game once you'll know exactly what to do (it gets even easier if you have the habit of taking notes like I do) so limiting your saving options is utterly pointless because you already know when you should bother to save and there's more than enough tapes lying around.

It would've been cool if, for example, the extra ghost I mentioned at the beginning was present for the entirety of NG++ to add some extra tension, but maybe they'll implement more NG+ changes in future titles (as of me writing this a sequel just released out of nowhere a short while ago).

The game's biggest flaw is that it introduces neat mechanics but never really does anything with them. For example early on you'll get to hide in a closet so a ghost can move past you. You have to play a small and easy mini-game so you aren't found out. But this is the one and only time you really have to do it. You can just run past every other ghost that chases you with zero trouble. Combat is introduced halfway into the game, but it's only utilized in a few specific spots. You'll still be exorcising ghosts the old fashioned way 80% of the time.

Despite some jank they are cool ideas that I really wish were utilized more instead of being a one and done deal for the most part, but like I said at the start it's their first game so I'm willing to cut them some slack. Hopefully the devs focus on having less, but better implemented mechanics in their future games.

The core gameplay is still solid if you're a Clock Tower fan, the puzzles are neat and I enjoyed learning about the ghosts' pasts so I can exorcise them properly. There is some backtracking involved, but I didn't find it too tedious. The game isn't particularly long and on repeat playthroughs you can just speedrun it because you'll you know what to do.

Also UNLOCKABLE COSTUMES THAT ARE NOT PAID DLC 10/10

TL;DR

A solid first attempt for a small studio that happens to combine 2 of my 3 all-time favorite things in fiction: horror and cyberpunk (even if the latter isn't a heavy focus). The title can be a bit misleading and the game itself is quite flawed, but it's an overall good time. Not sure if it's worth the full price, but on a sale I definitely recommend it.

EpIsaace
EpIsaace

Very fun and interesting story, If you enjoy horror, puzzle, and story driven games this one is definitely up your ally.

Decay Dragon
Decay Dragon

Giving this game a recommendation purely out of the fact the devs and publisher gave a big beautiful middle finger to the sjw's and refused censorship! My hat goes off to you all! As for the game itself, had quite a good time with it, fairly well made mistery type game, there are some flaws here and there when it comes to figuring what you need to do at some points but none of it is as bad as you'd think, as long as you explore all you see

Ouroboros
Ouroboros

I'm gonna be straight up here, this game isn't very good. it has nothing to do with the skimpy cloths or proportions (hey, I love big boobs too!) but it's not very hard, it's not very fun, and the cyberpunk elements are wasted.

NOT VERY HARD
The puzzles in this game are obvious and basically handed to you on a silver platter. There is generally only one solution, and if you have two neurons to rub together you should be able to muddle through. Generally, you need an single item, you are flat out told to use it in a dialog box if you have it, and you are done. There was exactly one puzzle that I though was clever, the hair cutting combination lock puzzle. Fights are basically non existent, and the ones that are there are simple (I beat the final boss before they could get an attack off).

NOT VERY FUN
This game is barely scary, maybe a bit disturbing with some of the comic book style cut-scenes. Enemies are not scary because they are rare and, when present, are either easy or impossible to dodge. There is little game-play beyond what boils down to repeated, easy fetch quests. The story is muddy and obtuse: I found myself getting confused several times due to similar names; also, it wasn't until about halfway into the game that I realized "Seattle" had been renamed "Neo Hong Kong" which was not touched on in any of the games copious Journal information, that made a number of things deeply confusing. One you get past that, the story isn't bad, but not great either. Also, the controls on this game are pretty shaky: moving your character feels like sliding a paper doll across a background, which makes sense because the game looks and feels like a jumped-up Newgrounds porn game if I am being brutally honest.

THE CYBERPUNK ELEMENTS ARE WASTED
This is the part that I disliked the most. There is zero reason why this story couldn't have been set in 1990 or 2000. Outside of the lead-up to the apartment complex, there is basically zero elements of anything cyberpunk related. The main characters cybereyes have no use in game and are barely a plot point. The fact that the main character is apparently a net runner is mild window dressing at best. Hell, some potentially interesting ideas are just throw away lines: a mega corp that bad because reasons, some sort of forth world war brewing, America might have been conquered but who knows. Basically, the only "Cyberpunk" trapping that showed up was a decaying, culture melting pot of the intro and some serious sleaze; not bad, but pretty much gone in 10 minutes. This is especially galling because the fact is had supposed Cyberpunk elements was the main reason I bought it! What is it with Cyberpunk games being disappointing lately?

Dan
Dan

I support Expression of Speech, Art and unchained Creativity. Games and Movies need to be free of insane political ideologies, to be the best they can. Stories need to be told the way they come to the Creator, and not policed by some woke nutjob on Twitter.

The devs of this game refused to cave in to the demands to censor parts of the game. This is why I bought it.

Turns out it's a pretty good scifi-horror-adventure game with an pretty large breasted protagonist.

But how dare she have such big breasts, right?!
"All women should be depicted like either a 10 year old boy, a gorilla or a hippo. Everything else is misogyny!"

The Woke want to colonize our games. I say they should go and COLON-ize themselves.

American Meow Meow
American Meow Meow

Surprisingly good!!! because of SJW bullshit I thought this game was like 20+ game, but no it's a horror puzzle game that actually fun to play and story is interesting.

For the down side, combat system is boring should make it more challenging, character should have more voice line or fully voiced and more Cyberpunk element should better for me it feel less that it should.

Battousai
Battousai

The audio track is what hooked me on the game love it, the game itself is not bad for what it is, also want to support developers who stand up to cyber bullying from the thought police.

Serulia (利昂娜) Jords
Serulia (利昂娜) Jords

bought this because the devs stood up against censorship

agrimes
agrimes

This is a rather strange game. The protagonist starts out as a rather simple cyborg chick who thinks she's living in a glitzy cyberpunk world but is suddenly yanked into a haunted apartment building that seems to have been yanked out of time and space and memory from the city around it and needs to grow into a warrior priestess / spiritualist to survive. As such, the game has a rather unique message in that it asserts that even in a glitzy hedonistic future, spirituality and respect for one's ancestors still has an important place. On the other hand, I haven't seen any ghosts recently so I'm not sure if the message holds in general, but it does open the door for a broader franchise if not genre.

Technically, the game is a bit unimpressive, felt like a mobile title. The restriction to linear left right movement felt really constraining, especially after having played the classic Lucas Arts titles such as Maniac Mansion which has some thematic linkages, where the player had a fair amount of freedom to move forward and backwards. Maybe future titles in the series will be more ambitious.

majora1930
majora1930

I bought this game to support the devs, then played it until I beat it once. This game is more of an old school horror game. No jump scares, but the environment and artwork instills a fear that kinda looms over your head while you play. The puzzles are easy in some cases, some are real noodle scratchers. Overall though I had a good time. Gonna get around to NG+ and the side story sometime soon. Good job telling the flats on Twitter to get over it. The game has extremely mild fanservice, and a few fun easter eggs. If you're still not sure if you wanna buy it after reading this, just scoop it up on sale.

Maki90
Maki90

I saw videos of the developers and publishers Suzaku and Top Hat Studios under fire over the Nintendo Life tweet that showed Mei and her Sister and Mei was shown to be busty and curvy. I supported the game after Top Hat Studios refused to bow down to the outrage. I ended up buying the game soon there after and after my first playthrough. I can definitely say that this little title will be one of my favorite games this year. I love it.

The Artstyle hooked me, but the survival horror mystery kept me playing all the way to the end. I really enjoyed exploring and figuring out the secrets of this haunted apartment complex through Mei's eyes. It's a great homage to titles such-as Clocktower, Fatal Frame, and even Fear Effect. There was a lot of nice easter eggs throughout even cameos from characters that you encounter.

The story I really enjoyed and I got a great sense of what Mei was going through trying to survive in this apartment all the way to the end. Even the ghosts that you encountered and put to rest had good backstories. Like Cyberpunk 2077, the Apartment complex that Mei was traversing through acts as it's own character in the story and there was plenty of mysteries to learn and discover especially the chinese folklore throughout.

As a fan of fanservice there was plenty but it was never pornographic as what many of the detractors and outrage mobs on twitter kept saying. It was just the characters throughout had stylized proportions that actually makes sense in the cyberpunk Hong Kong that Sense takes place in. I really did like that they didn't utilize jump scares, but very creepy, haunting, and distrubing imagery throughout. Especially the numerous game over scenes we're very creepy. a Major plus for that.

Overall I'm glad I heard about this game from the channels that covered the hoopla, and this is definitely a favorite of mine for 2021. I will definitely try to 100 percent this and nail all the achievements. Great job to SUZAKU and Top Hat Studios for making a solid title and not standing down to the outrage mobs on Twitter.

Chrono
Chrono

The game is nice, but it's kiiiiind of bad.

It's bad in that indie, low-budget "we just didn't have the money to do it right" way.
Walk animations are janky, fight mechanics are awkward, etc.

However, the game definitely makes up for it with its theme and details. In short, it includes *a lot* of asian mythology and religion. All of that is quite fun to experience, especially as an outsider. As far as I can tell, things seem to be done correctly. There's also a really nice Junji Ito reference in there.
The cutscenes are also really well-drawn, and so are the individual character models.

All-in-all, it's a recommend and I'll probably get the sequel, if they end up making one.

MasTea
MasTea

Only thing keeping people sane in this game is the massive tits

IuchiSundance
IuchiSundance

As a long time fan of the cyberpunk genre, and man of culture, I wholeheartedly endorse this game and all of its creator endeavors.

Mono
Mono

Pretty girls and spooky games always mesh well together.

Johnnygto
Johnnygto

so i found out about this game from yellowflash2 on youtube and planed on giving it a try. as a warning this game will not hold your hand but when i do solve a puzzle its awesome

D1398342003 (Numbers)
D1398342003 (N…

I bought this when I heard the dev refused to reduce the size of Mei's breasts. I've since completed the game in totality a few times, and I've found it to be quite enjoyable. The alternate costumes are pretty neat too.

Mei starts as a frightened girl and grows tougher over the course of her adventure, saving and defeating stronger, more dangerous ghosts and monsters as she makes her way through the game. By the time she reaches the end, she's... well, I won't spoil the ending.

Learning what angers the ghosts can allow you to avoid them chasing after you, which you might not realize when you first play through the game. There's enough health items to cover a mistake or two for each ghost.

Some cons are Mei's walking and running animations are a little strange, but they grow on you. After the first bit of the game they stopped bothering me at all. Another is the insta-death options, most have a hint that they're dangerous, but some aren't clearly lethal before you pick them. not many, but a couple.

Some nice to haves would be a fastforward for all cutscenes, at least in NG+.It would be helpful if there was a 'hint' button that would just have Mei repeat the last objective, suggest the room I need to go to, or suggest I go to a room I haven't been to. I forgot to finish floor 2 before going to floor 3, and I thought the game had bugged out. I reset the game, losing my progress, and only realized after reloading. It would have been very helpful if I knew the general direction I should be looking in.

I had a pretty annoying bug that I think only happens if you use a PS4 controller on PC, running through DS4Windows. Sense would switch between thinking it was a PS4 and XBox controller somewhat randomly. The biggest issue with this is that A maps to X and B maps to O, and A/O is accept, B/X is cancel. So when it would switch the confirm/cancel buttons would reverse. The onscreen prompt would switch to show XO or AB, but it was still annoying and got me hit by a ghost once or twice.

HD-[5thTX.A] Pvt. Bloovolcano
HD-[5thTX.A] P…

For a 2.5D game, it is quite creepy. I find the idea of a cyberpunk horror game. The mix of cyber tech and asian folklore/spirituality is cool. Id reccomend this game for anyone who likes story and world building. The art and music is nice too.

MagicMango
MagicMango

I bought this game to support creative freedom, and stayed for the thiccness.

No, but in all seriousness, this is an entertaining game. Well done for staying true to your desires and not surrendering to the cancel culture, Top hat Studios and Suzaku.

ArterialSpray1066
ArterialSpray1066

What the game is: A 6 or so hour long indie puzzle adventure game with occasional very limited QTE style sequences and simple action scenes.

What it does well: Drip feeding you information about the characters (ghosts) in a way which builds tension, helps solve the puzzles, and keeps you interested. Indeed the little side plots, which in turn feed into the main plot, are the best part of the story. Rarely do the puzzles require "moon logic" but they do often require backtracking or collecting multiple items even though one would seem to be enough.

What it does not so well:
The "Cyberpunk" of the story is mostly set dressing and book ending, and really doesn't impact the "ghost story" part of the game beyond views outside the windows. Its not a problem, but its clear it might be for some people. The action scenes can be a bit clumsy (this really isn't built to be an action game). The voice acting is basically non existent, and with it being so minimal they might have been better going with none at all. Also while I understand newgame+ unlocking more content is somewhat thematic here, and a staple of inventory horror games, its never something which makes me jump for joy, no matter how much I enjoyed the first time.

Enjoyed it more than I expected from the trailer.
I would recommend but you will have to be patient and willing to read all the journals to get the most out of the game. But its also a slightly janky indie title, so dont expect a perfect polished masterpiece with the best writting and responsive controlls and .... best everything,you have ever experienced.

BitBlaster
BitBlaster

I first heard about this game because of the controversy about the physique of the female characters, and the publisher and developers response. What I saw from trailers and such intrigued me enough to buy the game. I am very happy with my purchase thus far.

I think they nailed what you would expect a cyberpunk horror game to look like. I am also very happy to report that the game doesn't rely on cheap jumpscares to startle you. I feel like I haven't experienced enough of the story to comment much, but so far it has added a lot to the creepiness of the game. Point and click adventure games have a reputation for having ridiculous solutions, but this has been pretty reasonable so far without giving solutions away. I also think the sound design does a good job of adding to the ambiance of the game.

I am grateful that this game came to my attention and I have very much enjoyed my time with it thus far. However, it is disappointing that the developers and publisher had to endure death threats and harassment for an aesthetic choice.

Ankrov
Ankrov

Brought it because I anti-censorship person when it is not direct offensive (like prejudice) to someone or a group. The game is not great in therms of game play is pretty Awkward but the art have charm and have a good atmosphere! What is super important for a horror game. The history so far looks interesting and the ghosts are fu*** annoying!

W Y K Y D T R O N
W Y K Y D T R O N

I bought this game because I support the developers "no censorship" policy. I usually do pretty extensive research about the games I buy, but I thought "nah, I can sling them some cash out of respect."

As the game goes, it's pretty good. Very basic, you go left or you go right, you find items and information which you then use to solve puzzles and progress; basic point n' click stuff minus the pointing.

Gameplay is probably too basic for my tastes. You don't manually combine or use the items from your inventory, it just progresses automatically if you possess the right items. This is good in a sense, as it eliminates the "Use item on everything" formula, but it does streamline the experience to simplicity.

There is a fair amount of backtracking early on which is a touch tedious. Items that you've examined earlier only become available for pick up once the puzzle they're required for has been discovered, meaning you'll be revisiting earlier areas to grab stuff you should've been able to pick up 10 minutes ago.

Music is minimal but does it's job; it sets the tone and maintains it well. End theme over the credits is pretty nice but none of it is particularly "cyberpunk-y", which leads to my main criticism of the game: The almost total lack of cyberpunk elements.

In the intro, you're shown a pretty cool cyberpunk world; sexualised, adverts everywhere, cybernetic limbs, all that good stuff, but once you get into the main gameplay area (an old apartment building) all the cyberpunk elements disappear. There's no scanning or hacking mechanics, no technology at all actually. Our main character has cybernetic eyes but they don't factor into the gameplay at all. The cyberpunk part honestly feels a little tacked on and unnecessary, it doesn't enhance or inform the gameplay or story in any way; a missed opportunity.

Story is solid, taking inspiration from Taoist mythology (or so I assume, I know absolutely nothing about it). Trapped spirits, exorcisms, figuring out why the spirits are stuck. You uncover backstories for all the spirits and while not super well developed, they are all perfectly adequate. There's little bits of world building and lore as well, which is always nice and it isn't overly heavy on the notes which a lot of indie horror games can be.

The horror aspects are quite mild, no real jump scares, a couple of basic chase sequences. Enemy design is varied but they all function the same way. You press space for a very basic attack which is only used a handful of times. There's nothing overly horrific or gory in the game which is actually not a bad thing because again, indie horror games can lean too heavily on that sort of thing. I would have liked it to be a bit more disturbing and unsettling though.

Character designs are great. I love big boobs, I won't apologise. There's cool costumes to unlock, mostly on New Game+ which I played through so I could see them. They're great. Very revealing and heavy on the fanservice which is welcome because the protagonist is hot. Bravo.

Overall, for a small team this is a solid game. There's room for improvement of course, it's very basic in almost all of it's elements, but what it does set out to do it does well. I'd like to see a heavier emphasis on the adventure game elements in future; inventory puzzles, combining items, all that stuff. If the developer stays in the cyberpunk setting they should really lean into that, make it a core part of the gameplay. I'd like to see stuff like the hiding mechanics utilised more and a greater variety of enemies with different behaviours.

I will be keeping an eye out for more games from Suzaku.

MadApples
MadApples

Much like the recent people, I saw a post about this on the birds nest, and to support such upstanding people, I bought it.

Then out of curiosity, I hit play.

Im not a fan of spooky games.

Im not a fan of puzzle games.

But after 15 hours, scouring the internet for locations of the Shinrei Shashin on my NG+, getting all the costumes, and finishing it again to get the NG++ ending, I can with great certainty say.

Im a fan of this game.

Its nothing spectacular, it has some janky mechanics (hitting spirits with your taomu, mainly), but the art style and the plot are things that can keep you engaged.

In short, if you want to waste your time playing an engaging lite horror puzzle game, get this game. #NoRegrets

VeTaL
VeTaL

I am a simple man. I see devs who stands against sjw twitter cancel culture BS I stand with them.

Not my type of games but i'll give it a try.

Areant
Areant

This game wound up on my radar for the same reason as most other people. It checked off a lot of the right boxes, so I decided to give it a shot. Overall, I'd give it a solid 6/10 (meaning above average, not F+).

The overall atmosphere is great. I wish the dev had figured out a way to integrate more of the cyberpunk theme into the game, but I wouldn't know how. Music is minimal, but perfect for this game. The art style is great, though Mei's animations could really use some work.

The gameplay itself is basic, but satisfactory. It's a 2d adventure game. Find puzzles, find stuff to solve puzzles. I'm okay with the fact that you can't just go through, pick up everything that isn't nailed down, and have the solution before you even find the puzzle (seriously, who picks up a rubber mat 'just in case'). I like that you are left to figure out most of the story on your own (through reading journal entries with minimal exposition in game).

The some replayability through NG+(+), collectable costumes, and photo hunting. I'm just starting my ng+ playthrough, so I can't say just how much will change.

Overall, I'd say that if cyberpunk, horror, and adventure games check your boxes, Sense is definitely worth a shot (doubly so if you find it on sale). I look forward to seeing what Suzaku does in the future.

Werchino
Werchino

False advertising.
Baited into thinking this would indeed be a game with cyberpunk aesthetics and character designs with some futuristic themes like in the prologue only to find out that just the first 10 minutes of the game are like that and everything else is inside an abandoned building stuck with 1940's technology.

Don't lie to your customers like that.

patyos
patyos

Fun and spooky survival horror puzzle game. Similar to old school 2D side scrolling horror games. Music does a great job in setting the immersion and atmosphere. Inventory and gameplay is streamlined so that if you possess the right items it automatically combines and tells you what you can use in that location which eliminates the "Use item on everything" formula that these types of survival horror puzzle games tend to have. Instead you spend more time trying solve puzzles and progress with the information you obtain in journals or around the rooms.

There is a little bit of backtracking that some people may find tedious for example "Items that you have examined earlier only become available for pick up once the puzzle they are required for has been discovered" meaning you'll be revisiting earlier areas to grab stuff you have may have already examined.

Story is solid, taking inspiration from Toaism which is "A philosophical tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes living in harmony with the Tao" Some things you will be seeing alot in the story is spirits, exorcisms, figuring out why the spirits are stuck in the mortal world as you uncover backstories for all the spirits it makes you even more interested in the world building and lore which is always nice.

Overall its an amazing indie horror game with an inspired cyberpunk anime art style.

chesaro
chesaro

I really wanted to like this game, but it is just not good enough, the animation feels weird, the music is not that good to heard it constantly, the narrative is just not good, there are a lot of thing that makes it a mediocre game... it is just sad, as it feels it only required more polish in every department (maybe the art is the most ok thing in the game)

Manky
Manky

The game overall is... alright.

The still designs, background art, characters and soundtrack are all absolutely amazing. But not so much in motion.

The gameplay itself feels like a mediocre 2000's point'n'click flash game. The base is solid but some design choices are bizarre (Having to complete the game 3 times to unlock another 5 seconds of still images to the last cutscenes, introducing one of the jankiest combat systems, and just really annoying backtracking).

The plot is interesting, but also really really vague at points.

All in all the game is definitely not fantastic, and for the end-product I find the undiscounted price a bit steep, but a playthough might be worthwhile if you'd enjoy a slightly spoopy ubrna siatic adventure with some eyecandy.

one two three here we gooo
one two three …

It could do with better animation, better audio and better resolution of the comic style panels they use as cutscenes. They evidently wanted to avoid the chinese taboo and used cyberpunk as a caveat, but most the game is spent in the apartment, without any breaks with very little cyberpunk. The game is okay at first, and as a person who isn't really into horror but okay with point and click, it's okay. The problem is the gameplay is poorly done and any combat is clunky. Below I'm presenting a few of my thoughts, along with some explanations of a few of them

-BGM at times is a out of place
-some sounds seem to persist throughout the entirety of floors
-many points where you can see something put it's just in text, it would be good if there was a graphic, the lack of them hurts the experience

At a few points, I thought I had something to do but didn't. A case being the salon on the first floor. I could of sworn I was missing something but watching others play through, it seems there was just little there.

I couldn't interact with certain things visualised in the game world, even if it wasn't necessary when I wanted to. For instance, the dummy in the doctors room which moves after you enter his bathroom (accompanied by sounds, which repeat every time you enter the bathroom).

Also a loud drill is a horrible scare. Oh, volume inbalances. Often times I couldn't hear voices, yet there are some sounds which are incredibly loud.

The general background of main character and side characters outside the primary game location seems to be of no relevance and actually ends up being detrimental. The question is, what does this make me think of the ending? Why do you need to even control another character before the ending? Some voiced dialogues along with graphics would do a world of good for all this, especially the ending. It would help separate it from the significant portion of the game.

Sometimes the game shows you there is something of interest, but you'd never know if the game didn't point it out by giving you an option to interact. This isn't organic. This is where showing a part of the room when you try to interact or a direct intervention by the character would come in handy. Something along these lines would vastly improve the player experience.

Monotonous. Half way through I simply got tired. Some puzzles slightly obscure. Such as a birth date being required to progress, but the hint is misleading, as you can presume the hint itself is what is required.

I got stuck on the doctors books for a long time, you're thrown a bunch of codes, but can't really use them. You begin trying to use them and then running around the floor for a long time rather lost. I witnessed this in other peoples playthroughs... Also what was really bad is when you have to sort the doctors books the image isn't there when you're given the options, and you're stuck going through the options.

This game didn't have a big budget and I didn't expect anything of the like, most my criticisms are not based on this fact. Of course the game could of done with a lot of polish, but I didn't really focus on the like. Fact is the low budget is very apparent. On the upside, I think a lot of the rooms in the apartment building are adequately filled and a lot of the art is good enough. The game looked awful at default graphics settings, when using max the clunky animations were immediately noticeable.

Anunnaki & Fitch
Anunnaki & Fitch

I wouldn't of heard about this game if not for the nontroversy, neither would I of brought it. It's a rough puzzler that had me checked out after the fetch quest.

I believe this game has gotten a lot of undeserved attention - for good and for bad.

So the game has you collect stuff to solve puzzles. However the main character needs to know what items to pick up - you can't just hoard stuff and use it on whatever. For instance, there is a plastic crate lying around, but you can't pick it up until you discover a window that you can't reach to climb through - so you have to back track, pick up the crate - climb through window.

This gets annoying if you are killed half way through a puzzle and need to go back on a save and you have to pick up items sequentially in order to resume where you left off.

This gets even more annoying because the game has this Resident Evil ink ribbon save system that it sort of encourages you to use, but doesn't enforce.

After doing the first building, I couldn't see myself playing any more of it. Constantly picking up keys to get from point A to get to point B, only to pick up more keys to access point C - I'm having horrible flashbacks of Dino Crisis

I learnt a valuable lesson: Don't buy games because of a controversy and don't boycott games because of a controversy.

ECO
ECO

The story is great but the the game play is rather hit and miss for me, with that all i have left to say is woke people are a sickness

MadZec
MadZec

To be honest I would never bought this game in general, because while I am fan of Cyberpunk style ever since Blade Runner, I am just not fan of point click adventure games.
I played a bit game it has really nice graphics and seems interesting story.
But main reason why I got game is because developers showed middle finger and refused to censor game.
I probably will not finish game but buy the game to show support to developers in this time when censoring crawls in all over.
Need to get one for a friend too....

Kelolon
Kelolon

The same reason as others. I bought it to support the developer. And i love big tiddy beautiful ladies anyway so it's a win win for me.

Desert Punk
Desert Punk

I'm here to support a developer that didn't bend the knee!

DivineSilverDingo
DivineSilverDingo

This game heavily reminds me of Detention, which is one of my all time favorite horror games. The heavy use of Taoist exorcism, the gameplay style, the old fashioned furniture and aesthetics, and the general tone of the game all made the game incredibly enjoyable for me. Another way it was like Detention was the unfair blowback it got from people who knew nothing about it (Detention due to its sequel) and it still being a well made game. I highly recommend this for anyone who likes horror games, and anyone who likes that Point-And-Click style.

Nicodemous52
Nicodemous52

The game is decent for what is it. If you like the adventure niche or you like the art on display, this one maybe worth picking up. I like many people was made aware of it and picked it up, mostly because of the controversy. And, the game itself does have some potential.

However, I've restarted 3 times and ran into three bugs that made progress impossible. The second one the developers say they've never heard of before, And on the first and third attempt it didn't happen so we'll set it aside. The other two times I ran into a known bug that not everybody seems effected by. But it does make progress impossible. Not sure if I'm just unlucky and ran into it twice, or if there is an issue with my set up.

And that brings me to the heart of the matter. What I did get to play was compelling enough that I want to finish the game. I'm not refunding it because I'm hoping the developers will fix the issue in a future patch. (they've not said for sure, but they've said they will maybe try to remove the thing that gets bugged, or perhaps find a fix)

So, the game can't be rightly recommended by me at this time. Unless you purely want to support the developers for their actions or their art. Or, if you want to roll the dice that you will not run into the infamous key cooling bug. But otherwise, if not for the bug, I'd probably recommend it, and will change my review accordingly if and when I 'm able to progress farther. I'd normally be feel pretty safe with a recommended here, as I do often review on initial impressions. But I just can't at this time.

Duncan213
Duncan213

It is a cleaver idea to put a cyberpunk spin to the 1960 Will Castle film "13 Ghosts" Funny thing about the 1960 original is that they came with back rounds for 5 or 6 of the ghosts but somewhat dropped the ball. I also like some of the refinces from turn of 21st Century games.

Robby the Rabbit plushie= Silent Hill 3

The 40s era Brownie Camra with odd markings= Fatal Frame

hunterr83
hunterr83

For the price, don't expect a AAA game, but you get good value. The story is interesting and, though some parts of the game were tedious, I kept playing because I wanted to see the rest of the story.

Maxolotl
Maxolotl

A big surprise, this one. I found out about Sense following the shitstorm on Twitter, and given a quick glance at the artstyle, I assumed it was just another softcore ecchi VN (the kind that wokescolds get mad about all the time). That is, until I glanced at the Steam page and saw that lovely "Survival Horror" tag. The devs even name-dropped Clock Tower and Fatal Frame as their primary influences, and that was all I needed to see to give this one the impulse-buy. Having finished my first playthrough, and with two more runs to go, I am absolutely satisfied with Sense.

The gameplay is your typical 2D point-and-click survival horror fare with some light combat here and there against the many ghosts you'll encounter throughout the apartment. Nothing too fancy about the gameplay here, but it's the atmosphere, aesthetics and the way the game spoonfeeds its lore to you that make it such an engrossing experience. It has all the hallmarks of classic horror games, for better and for worse- the only major complaint I have is the occasional backtracking and the way you're sometimes unable to pick up items you know you'll need until the game deems it necessary to do so. Other than that, though, this was a pleasant surprise. Some claim that Sense's devs were bluffing about the ire they received for the game's sexy art style to drum up free advertising- never mind the fact that Top Hat and Suzaku brought receipts for all the hate thrown their way- but these guys deserve the publicity and praise for standing by their product. Can't wait to see what they release next.

InfiniteOni
InfiniteOni

So much to love here. The art-style, music, setting, story! It's also simple to learn, which is like. Don't normally play games like this, but I decided to give it a shot. I'm glad I did!

almozayaf
almozayaf

Good but not Great

We all know why we all got this game, this is a good game but have many issues
I want to talk about the negative first because I personally think the positives overwhelm the negatives.

The control Suck in so many ways, the L3 run never work right and feel junky and the attack work as interactive not as attack, I didn't know that tell it was to late.
The good news is Sense not Dark Soul is so forgiven there so many HP items “jade bangle” and in you first new game can save any time any place as many times as you want.
The controlling has some good ideas, I think it do what it needs to do for 2D sidescroling game using controller.

The Characters in game animation are stiff (Not sure what I call it, but it look like slideshow more than an animation, remind me of flash games)

I hate most of the puzzles that need backtracking I feel most of the games was going back to the first floor over and over again, I hate when I see an Item and I know I will need it later but the MC won't take it tell she find out later she need it. first rule in games PICK UP EVERYTHING.

Because of all the backtracking, so many places that are scary feel not scary at all, and I lost in the floors a lot there no why to know what floor you in from the menu or anywhere else.

Now let's talk about what this game do good.

The art work is outstanding, I don't like the animation but the artwork itself is very good, even that most of the game in hunted house without any futuristic people around you, when you outside the hotel the characters design is outstanding I with more of the game was outside not in a god dame old house.

The story is good for what it is, and the characters are good, there was not many moments to know the characters that will, it is short game without that much of script.

I love the theme of the story ghost story in futuristic setting, when I saw the games tags as Cyberpunk and Horror I was thought of Science based Horror not religion!

And this game so heavy about the religion theme and the idea of whoever advance technology we got we must respect our past and our identity.

Who know religist cybepunk horror game will be good mix

I think the game is good and worth the time and money, but Top hat need to work on the Animation and Control and maybe better puzzles, but fun horror game over all.

Nacho Stiglitz
Nacho Stiglitz

Came here to vote with my wallet and stick it to the sjws, stayed for the classic gameplay and horror.

Seriously tho, this game is pretty fun, like and old point and click adventure games. You have to criss-cross the map for items you have to combine and use to unlock new locations. As like old point and click adventure games it can get quite confusing but is not as bad as a lot of the older point and click 90s games, but you can get lost sometimes.

The story is a real banger though. I had no idea what i was getting into starting this game and boy and i pleasantly surprised. Its got a far eastern take on ghost and the paranormal, based on Taoism, i think. Its a totally different approach to defeating ghosts cause its about appeasing their spirits and trying to help them move on. Them spirits are real handy in a fight against the evil ones.

Overall, this game is definitely worth a buy. Its indie, which i don't need to tell you why that helps the industry. Its a fresh take on the horror/ghost genre. Lastly, it pisses off the right people. Give it a try, i highly recommend.

P.S. communism will never work, you know who you are.

NanoFighter
NanoFighter

I really liked Sense. It really feels like you are playing an old school survival horror game. It is a mix between Resident Evil, Silent Hill and Fatal Frame. If you have played these games, I'm sure you will like Sense. I am going to be honest, this game is not for everyone. It appeals to a narrow audience. Gameplay is focused on exploration and puzzle solving. You fight some ghosts here and there but action is minimal. After you finish the game for the first time you unlock new game plus and new costumes. Let me tell you some of those costumes are really juicy. Fan service is amazing. Game's protagonist Mei is EXTRA THICK and that's a good thing in my book. Also, I want to share an amazing quote from the game "The professional complainers routinely harass the manga because of the over-the-top fan service and "impossible proportions" The Saddest part is, this loud minority never actually puts their money where their mouth is. Once they get their way, target destroyed, new target found, cycle continues" Apparently some crybabies attacked the developers because of impossible proportions in this game, they wanted this game to be censored. Developers said no however and did not listen to them. They earned my respect with this move. We need more developers like you guys. Please keep making games and never listen to these useless and worthless minority that doesn't even know a single thing about a videogame.

tacos
tacos

The atmosphere is great, and the visual blend of 2D characters in a 3D environment works well aesthetically. The dialogue and notes read very naturally, and are occasionally comedic or eccentric at fitting times. The controls are appropriately simple and easy to get comfortable with. If you invest yourself in the horror then you'll find yourself getting immersed pretty easily, making for a great story experience. The lore is easily this game's strongest point.

The game is a little rough around the edges though. Menu navigation is janky, UI elements sometimes appear offscreen, and the soundtrack (though minimal) unusually ranges from very decent to pretty lame.

The game's only serious flaw is how often it makes you wait to do things you know you already have to do (e.g. not letting the player pick up items they find until they've discovered the specific reason they need them). This is a common challenge when developing these kinds of escape room games, since you want to find the balance between reason/common-sense and an acceptable (and even fun) amount of backtracking through areas that would have already been mentally dismissed. Seeing a wok in an oven and ignoring it for the time being is acceptable (why would I want to carry a giant pan around if I don't need it right now?). Finding loose quarters and not letting the player pocket them until they find something to buy is just annoying and artificially adds to the play time. One of the most egregious examples of this in Sense is the thermometer. Upon entering a patio you find a place where a thermometer was once mounted, but you don't have a reason to find the thermometer so your character (Mei) doesn't even think to look around for it. You're free to look around the patio as the player but there's nothing else of interest. It isn't until a little later that you eventually realize why you would want the thermometer (and even then, it's only the player that notices and not Mei), but you have no idea where it is. Spoiler: it was actually on the patio the whole time but the game doesn't let Mei notice it's there until you, the player, realize you need it. Without knowing this, you'll likely scramble around the entire apartment building double-checking every room for the umpteenth time waiting for some thermometer trigger to happen. It's a total waste of time and I was just frustrated when I finally "found" the thermometer right back where I started. The cherry on top is that you still can't reach it without an item you passed earlier at least 5 times already that Mei refused to pick up until now. You'll also need to combine this with another item that, like the thermometer, the game doesn't even let you know exists until you now need it. This will happen a lot during your playthrough and you have to have a lot of patience to keep dealing with it.

It is a good game though. It honestly is probably best experienced on the Switch, even if just for the motion control sections, but there aren't many of them at all. It would be dumb to not recommend it to anyone who enjoys the escape room format, and especially if you like that dark, Chinese horror stuff. Play alone for best experience.

also I'm pretty sure there was a puzzle that actually requires you to be able to read chinese hanzi which is insane but I bruteforced it so it didn't matter anyways lol

CyberpunkGod
CyberpunkGod

First of all, this game is fantastic if you like cyberpunk and also horror games. It's an old school side scrolling horror game set in a cyberpunk world where you basically learn from your mistakes (and die) which is not a bad thing. The music is also great and the art is fantastic. I backed this game on Kickstarter for the console version and had to buy it again on PC to support the devs, they are the hero's we need.

MGX909
MGX909

Fun game. Reminds of old school point and click adventure games on PC. Support the developers!

Sevotius
Sevotius

Let me preface this review by saying two things:

1. I played this game for 11 hours and got every achievement. That means I went through THREE separate playthroughs (new game, new game+, new game++). I have seen EVERYTHING the game has to offer.
2. I became aware that there was a certain controversy attached to this game and that resulted in a lot of purchases, and positive reviews, to support the devs. I had no idea about any of this when I bought it. I enjoy both Cyberpunk and Asian horror, and since the game was on sale, I decided to buy it and check out something new. I admire their insistence to deliver their uncompromised and coherent artistic vision but I'm not here to make a political statement. I'm just reviewing a game on how I experienced it.

Let's start with some pros:
-I liked the general art style. Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story has a lot of deep and vibrant colors and the music is alright too.
-The devs are obviously huge fans of Asian horror and it's easy to see their inspirations. More to say on this on the "cons" section.
-It's a pretty run-of-the-mill adventure game with even the occasional wait time too. Actually, that's rarer than you'd think these days.
-The devs are super active in the forums and in patching so I'm confident that they're a very passionate and dedicated team. I'm certain that they will go on to create real gems in the future.

OK, now here come the cons:
-I don't understand why this game is "cyberpunk". That genre is all about the rule of corporations, the commodification of humanity, the breakdown of social order and how the average man or woman is crushed under the boot heel of greed, corruption and lust. I guess you COULD say that the whack body proportions of the female characters are KIND OF cyberpunk but I'd say you're reaching. The game has NOTHING to add to the cyberpunk conversation. 99% of the game is in a haunted apartment from the 1980s anyway (you get there AND stay there in the first ten minutes so it's not a spoiler) so it could literally have been a game set in that period and NOTHING would have changed.
-So many references to classic Japanese and Chinese horror! Whether it be the onryo, Kayako from the Grudge, the Yotsuya Kaidan, the Jiangshi, Kuchisake-onna, Hachishaku-sama, the Eye or whatever, I can see the devs tried to create an homage to their horror inspirations. Unfortunately, the game feels less like an homage and more like a sad attempt at recreation. There is NOTHING scary here since EVERYTHING is a cliché. I genuinely found the "scary" scenes to be more comical than anything and even during supposed "jump scares", I was unmoved.
-The "Neo Hong Kong" setting is extremely under utilized. I love HK. I've been there a good number of times and I've always been fascinated by how it's this chaotic melting pot between east and west and how it's a fiercely democratic and liberal city just barely holding off the pressures of tyranny. Hong Kong is completely missing from this game. When I entered its haunted apartments, I was hoping it was alluding to the infamous Chungking Mansions or Kowloon Walled City but alas, no. This could be set in any Chinatown anywhere, whether it be in Toronto or Bangkok.
-The story is just not very engaging. I read through every journal entry, figured out all the puzzles and really tried to get what this game was all about. My conclusion was that the story was just kinda dull.
-There are some clumsy attempts at "combat". I was genuinely gripped with fear during those moments because I was terrified I'd have to replay the section again if I died from the game's virtually non-existent fighting mechanics.
-Replaying the game's new game+ modes are so BORING. Usually, games reward new game+ with different character perspectives or stronger stats or unlocked secrets. Sense does the last thing but badly. Just some new mediocre outfits and one new haunted room that takes a MAXIMUM of five minutes to sort out. New Game++, the THIRD playthrough, has a 30-something second cutscene AT THE END. Unless you don't care about achievements, don't play the new game+ modes. Go out, run, eat new foods, help your community. Just anything, please.
-Lastly, what's up with the oversexualization of the female characters? Let me assure you that I'm no prude. I enjoy my hentai. Waifu is laifu, after all. I was mildly intrigued when I saw the extremely generous proportions of the female characters here but I was shocked to find that there are actually NO ecchi scenes! No fan service beyond seeing a stiffly animated character running around half naked. No secret cutscenes. No degenerate poo poo. This game couldn't even get the smut right!

If you're interested in Hong Kong and wanna experience a cyberpunk version of it, play Shadowrun: Hong Kong. If you want Hong Kong from the 80s (which this game is mostly set in), play A Summer's End: Hong Kong 1986. If you want an interesting take on Asian horror with multiple playthroughs that are ACTUALLY rewarding, play Tokyo Dark. All in all, Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is a supremely mediocre game. 4/10.

Astral
Astral

Streisand effect brought this game to my attention. Bought the game just to support these guys telling the SJW "virtue signalers" to pound sand. The game is worth buying for those that like adventure/story type games with some exploration mixed in. Not my particular cup of tea... but yea... stick in the eye of the SJW idiots. I hope these guys make enough to money to wave it in their faces with a big ole smirk!

chevelle_rr1
chevelle_rr1

Reminds me of a old school point and click with lots of throwbacks and references.

NeverFree
NeverFree

The combat sections feel very clunky and need some work.
The art style is really good.
It's a side scrolling game akin to the old point and click adventure games. There are a couple segments where it isn't entirely sure what the game wants.
When i unlocked the 6th floor elevator, it froze if i took it to the 4th floor a few times.

OvertPotato
OvertPotato

Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is a very good example of what a small team can accomplish when they have a specific vision and do everything they can to execute it to the utmost.
This game is not trying to be a Silent Hill clone like I believe some thought it would be it definitely fits more into the Adventure game genre along the lines of the Tell Tale Games Walking Dead trilogy where the player does give input and there are some action sequences but the game does lack much true consequence and therefore falls mainly on its' puzzles to give it the depth which it does have and the game utilizes every aspect of it from journals to backdrop items to visual storytelling to drive them which it does to degrees of good to sometimes great and in my case sticky in the instance of a single one in particular.
The overall atmosphere of Sense is very well done from the ambient sounds to background tracks and this is Sense's biggest strength and had me tense up to then end.
The story of Sense also brings a very interesting journey which was very much worth the ride and would recommend highly for most to experience even if they would not normally be interested in games labeled as horror.
In the titles entirety I would not call it a horror game it feels more like a strong thriller which is not a demerit toward it or the teams ideas it more falls to how the story, environmental design and gameplay mechanics begin to move over the course of the game.
The length is also appropriate for what the team went for it did not feel to last too long or be over before things got going.
All in all Sense is a totally worthy purchase at full price and would recommend all do because this team deserves the support as they have a ton of potential.
A note on the team and their recent events this game deserves support because they refuse to let others affect their ideas or the content that people want. Nothing in this game was ever meant to offend or to rile any particular group up they took artistic liberty to create a game they were proud to make and that should be commended and not condemned.

Liquid_Boss
Liquid_Boss

This is a bit conflicted. On the whole, this is a good game. However, THIS IS NOT A CYBERPUNK GAME (maybe overall, but not most of the time you're playing it).

[THE GOOD]

- Great art style, especially the comic-style cutscenes
- Most point and click stuff is reasonable and makes sense. Mei may not see something until she knows she's looking for it.
- Neat monsters/ghosts. The doll one is especially creepy
- Great soundtrack
- Atmospheric and immersive
- Bonus ghost story with a cool 2 meter tall ghost

[THE BAD]

- Title is super misleading. It's an Eastern ghost story with a cyberpunk framework. The only actual cyberpunk is at the beginning and end.
- Some code puzzles seem to be just wrong- with either the code in the wrong order or miswritten (written 03 instead of 30). These were mostly the only real hangups
- What little combat there is is pretty basic and terrible. It really shouldn't have been there. It's not a big detractor, since it's pretty minimal.

[The Overall]

If you want a decent point and click (more like walk around and click) game, it's worth it. If you want a cyberpunk experience, play something else

Sleepies
Sleepies

Thank you Top Hat Studios for staying strong to keep the original game uncensored and paid respect to the game developers art directions. It's the most important value to make a successful game or IP such as GTA and Mortal Kombat. Nowadays too many game publishers are letting customers or profits to override everything, even their core business value and believe is for sold at a price.

For the game itself it's a unique experience with Asian horror and cyberpunk framework, very enjoyable to play with!

scrapking
scrapking

I like it but its very.. unfinished and clunky. fun sure but the combat is off, getting items is so weird and many things are misleading. its rathering boring and I like the story bits here and there but its very bs. needed a guide on the color door. it need more story in the actual cyber punk area but I still like the game.

Dziedzic™
Dziedzic™

I'm one of the many who picked up the game due to the pearl clutchers hating on games that have attractive female characters, I didn’t get far before writing this but I could see there's quality in the game and can recommend it for those who like horror and and almost point and click feel as you look for tools to solve puzzles trying not to be murdered by the monsters chasing you.

Update: I finished the game, it's pretty good if you ask me though don't be afraid to look up the guide as it's not always obvious how to move forward.

stupid sexy dionysus
stupid sexy dionysus

I bought this game out of spite, because several fans were very vocal about their distaste for the character designs. Maybe I'm inured to it, but it doesn't bother me a ton.

That being said, I still wasn't particularly impressed. 1) For being "cyberpunk ghost story," it feels like the cyberpunk wasn't very important. It was a ghost story that could've been set in a modern setting, easily. 2) The gameplay left a lot to be desired. It was frequently buggy (not game-breakingly, but having certain visuals assets or music carrying over where it was not required kind of breaks immersion.) I also got really tired of running around the same pathway 6 times. 3) The story didn't make much sense. There's one cutscene in particular that completely baffled me why it was there. The dialogue felt pretty hollow, for the most part, (like how the protag barely reacts to ghosts showing up on her camera.)

I liked the inclusion of Chinese folklore - you don't see that very often in media. And the Cyberpunk bits? I liked those more, and wish that the game focused more on that aspect.

In all, if I wanted to recommend a horror puzzle game to a friend, it would not be Sense. I hope Suzaku improves in their craft.

Magic
Magic

OVERALL
I cannot recommend this

What i enjoyed
the art and simple controls were great, the pacing was good most of the time.

What i disliked
Sallys box puzzle. the solution didn't make sense to me. why did we have to
minus 22 from 8? to get the proper number? i thought the last number was suppose to be the year. but we need to minus day from that for some reason!?

Chinese names

the choice at the very start of the game. it lead me to believe choices would be a aspect of the experience. instead it just sends you to the main menu. serving no purpose.

Sorry if this isn't true, but locked content for New game+. this is a negative for me because this isn't an experience that i feel is worth going though more than once. everything should have been accessible the first game.
adding to that,the missable secret events....why....why was this idea accepted...?
also adding the achievements of finishing the game more than once....

OTHER
bar girl (start of game) had repeated text

when you find the key making machine. it's an issue with the plot because it mentions going to room 206. if you don't see the reason you need to go there first. it doesn't make sense.

AigisABC
AigisABC

A fun horror game that doesn't take itself too seriously and has a really sincere focus on Cantonese folklore. My favorite parts of the game were the attention to detail that focused on culture, beliefs, traditions, and the lives of the people who lived in the broken down apartment building you find yourself trapped in. It was a fresh, unique take that ended up pulling me in and keeping me engaged even when I ran into problems. Besides this, the exploration, designs, sound, collectables, and enemies contributed to a positive experience.

I think that, while it was good, there were some frustrations. Often items could only be picked up when the situation calls for it, resulting in some frustrating backtracking that contributed little and had me grumbling "I knew I needed that, couldn't you have just given it to me?". Also, having to wait until NG++ to unlock the end was a bit much, and my third playthrough had me rushing and didn't feel very fun.

All in all, I recommend the game. What the game has to offer is a decent amount, and I had a good time.

JUDGE FUDGE
JUDGE FUDGE

Cyberpunk and ghosts sounds good, unfortunately its unbelievably boring and repetitive all you do is run around from room to room picking random crap up its not scary at all. Total waste of money.

Edenmaid
Edenmaid

Greetings to all, dear readers.
Here we go.
Pros:
+ Very distinct art style;
+ Discret show of boobas (let's get real here - hardly anyone hates them in games);
+ Futurism + Mystique + a bit of retro + detective + horror (very noice combination of themes) - a very smooth implemented mix of genres and topics I would say;
+ Story - it is intruiguing (nothing too surprising);
+ The ability to fight (at some point) does not makes the story any less horrific;

Cons
- (this one may be my personal misunderstanding) but one episodic appearance of another character seems unnecessary to the plot (remove her and hardly anything would have changed) - maybe it was used as an instrument to justify what happens with out heroine but it still looks utterly silly and/or clumsy;
- The world itself is not that fully detailed in terms of information - most of it comes in regards to the past.

No Need for Auir
No Need for Auir

People see massive chests and lose their shit. Meanwhile I play this game for the story and mechanics and genuinely had a good time. Not a great time, but it was at least fun enough coming from someone that's a sissy for horror.

Also, this is mature and heetai? Y'all don't know what the actual stuff is and this is coming from someone that's reviewed Mutiny!! with a straight face. I got this game over the controversy and man people love to complain. The character is fine, the setting actually makes sense and I actually grew fond of her design in general which is a rare thing.

However, that aside, I owe this game a fair and objective view which is easy enough because I'm not particularly interested in the mature stuff OF WHICH THERE WAS ALMOST NONE! There's just a bar scene and that's about it, everything else was regular people, though the clothing option is questionable.

Before I go further off-tangent, how good is this game? Ehhhh, I give it an A for aesthetic, but a D to F for everything else. Music is almost non-existent, the story is somewhat confusing and tangled, and what little voicelines there are are far too quiet. Unless you want to support the publisher (which I think you should do, but that's your choice), I don't see myself paying any money for this. Even five dollars is really pushing the line, but that is not to say that this is a bad game.

It suffers a lot of minor issues such as running being clunky, navigating and combat is jarring, and there are issues with using the options. I really enjoyed how unique of an experience this was and the atmosphere, it's a shame that there were too many small problems with playing it to make it a solid recommendation. Would love to see this get a sequel, however, because the little tale that is there could serve to make for an interesting experience.

Good on you Top Hat, I apologize that this is probably not going to be a top 5 or top 10 for me this year. It will remain as a charming title that'll stand out among all the other games that try to break the mold.

Dracology
Dracology

Look I'll be honest. Is this a perfect game? No. It's a bit buggy in places, its got a bit of jank to it, some of the game puzzle logic is straight out of the old point and click adventure games where you had to dig into a guide somewhere to figure out what the answer was only to find out the person who wrote the guide isn't sure how they figured out the answer either, it somewhat looks like it could have come out in 2000. Its.. its not exactly a AAA title.

But you can tell the developers were trying. You can tell they had a solid idea along with a story they really wanted to tell and they did their best to try and deliver their first game. It has a charm where you can tell that even if in the end it isn't the hight of spookiness they really worked a lot on the atmosphere and trying to tell a complicated and interesting tale just using journals and bits of information like you would find in a From Software title. And that's why I'm giving it a recommend. Because unlike a ton of titles I've played where it was clear someone was just trying to make a quick buck or trick someone out of some of their wallet I can tell the developers really were trying and actually do have some good ideas and talent there under the jank. I truly hope that they continue to try and refine things more in the sequel.

And yes. The main character has some big assets. There are a lot of characters in the early bits that clearly are endowed in abundance. The game doesn't really lean into this at all, its just an asethetical choice and honestly kind of a refreshing one given how.... boring designs have gotten in the current "everything must be realistic and appeal to everyone" design by committee world that gaming has become.

Gorbain
Gorbain

Is a nice game Decent story, engaging with nice vibe. Moderately easy to loose yourself or where to go. At times action packed , attention to details is required in order to understand the story and what to do next!

Hobocop
Hobocop

It's okay, I'd have liked more urban scenes in the cyberpunk setting and less Stumbling around the same corridors for 4-5 hours being slightly frustrated. Maybe more 'safe' city interlude scenes as part of a larger game. Wait until it's on sale but it's a solid romp if you're looking for a simple spooky house game.

Dante Wrath
Dante Wrath

I really tried to like this game, but unfortunately it’s just… not very good.
It looks great visually, but that’s about the only good thing I have to say about it.

My first major complaint is that it’s basically just a very generic horror game, set in a world with a cyberpunk aesthetic; it doesn’t really utilize or make use of the cyberpunk setting in any meaningful way, other than just how the characters and locations look.
I think this is a major let down, I can see so much potential for the inherent transhumanism of cyberpunk to make possible all manner of truly unique and special horror concepts, so the fact that this is effectively just a run-of-the-mill ‘trapped in a mysterious, haunted location’ game is really disappointing.

I also haven't found it particularly engaging; the horror aspects aren’t particularly scary, most of the ‘puzzles’ solve themselves after you collect the right items.
The only thing it really has going for it is a bit of intrigue in discovering the narrative, but then I question why make this as a game instead of something like a comic.

Even that isn’t my main reason for leaving a negative review though, the fact is that it’s also extremely tedious to play; it’s going for the Resident Evil ‘collect objects, use them in puzzles around the map’ thing… except they’ve opted for two things that just ruin the fun.
The first thing is relatively minor; sometimes you have to interact with things more than once to find an item (e.g. you’ll interact with a statue and it’ll describe the statue, then you need to interact with it again to find that there’s a key hidden under it). It’s annoying, but once you know it’s not a big deal.
On the other hand, the second thing is a deal breaker in my eyes; you can’t pick up an item until you’ve found where it’s used. You could argue this is maybe more realistic than picking up every item you find for no reason, but mechanically what it means is a frankly unreasonable amount of backtracking.

There was a point just over an hour in where I almost gave up; in order to set up a shrine I had to place an item, exit the room to grab another item, return and place it, exit back two rooms to grab another item, return to place it, exit the room AGAIN to grab a final items before I could finally return and complete the puzzle.
Then after all that, I exited the room and got a game over because an enemy decided to spawn ‘on top’ of the exit I just came through (which I’m fairly certain was a bug, as the second time through the enemy was in the hall until I built the shrine, which seemed to banish it).

That second issue is, as I said, already a deal breaker on it’s own… but the fact it sometimes combines with the first is actually kind of ridiculous.
You might interact with something multiple times and be given no indication there is an item hidden at this location, but after you need that item you suddenly unlock a second interaction where you can discover it.
So this means that you regularly need to backtrack across the entire map, interacting with every single object/location again until you find what you need.

Overall I’m just very disappointed; again the game looks great and because of the weird controversy surrounding it, I really wanted to be able to leave a positive review.
Unfortunately though, I can’t justify leaving a positive review for those reasons when I really don’t think the game is very good.

Yuri Apholos
Yuri Apholos

Why are all the female sprites so out of proportion? I mean, it's NOT EVEN sexy, it's just shameful. I don't play it in front of some people because it really makes me feel ashamed. Are the devs, by any chance, 14 years-old boys that get excited with unreal-manga-anime-girls?

Joroel
Joroel

Love the visuals and the scare build up is great. Takes me back to games I played as a kid in the 90s.

夜露死苦
夜露死苦

HUGE PERSONALITY
HUGE PLOT

better than cyberpunk2077

danielshadow
danielshadow

pretty good for an indie. super creepy atm

TacticalOpossum
TacticalOpossum

I wish there was a neutral review option. The devs earned that for themselves as they stuck to their vision and design in face of the usual outraged puritans.

Positives: Cyberpunk settings always earn a freebie point from me, going further though the concept is really great blending malfunctioning cyber-eyes with seeing ghosts creates a unique setting for the game. I love it! The art design is great, and the soundtrack is simple but provides a nice ambience to the game. Voice acting is present but minimal; I'm guessing that full voice acting was beyond their budget.

Negatives: Animations are a bit janky, and while they worked well for the ghost I encountered it looks very weird with Mei. The holo-stripper at the start is hilarious. Sadly the most important aspect of the game - the game-play - sucks. In order to complete the first haunted section (and presumably this holds true to the other floors of the building) you have to do everything in a specific order. For example: examining a painting reveals some wire. Mei says something to the effect of "this might be useful" but you can't pick it up until you've searched two other locations in the correct order, and only then Mei will take the wire to hook an item out of her reach. The dodge mechanic gets no introduction so it's not clear if you're to hold or just press the button. I pressed the button and instantly got a cut-scene where her jade bangle shatters. So I presume it's hold the button until you've fully dodged. When I went back to try and see if I was right but just got an instant game over instead... Not exactly great for learning the mechanics when you have to go through the level again.

To the devs. Don't get disheartened as you were really close to getting something great, but just fell short. All it needs is a bit of refinement of the mechanics. First let players pick up items we don't have a use for yet, and explanations of important actions (how the dodge works). As much as I love the style and setting, I honestly can't recommend it due to the game-play.

HyperDebtRay
HyperDebtRay

A point and click adventure game with elements of cyberpunk and asian supernatural phenomena underlying the overall style of the game. Although everything is very well done, the animations are a bit janky with a few puzzles that are obscure to solve.

The best parts of the game are of course the well-endowed main character and NPC's that the developers went ahead with, we men and women of culture greatly respect that decision and many of us in turn bought this game for that reason.

Sure, there is quite a bit of back tracking but at least they bounce.

ShakingZealot
ShakingZealot

I initially heard of Sense due to a twitter debate on whether the women in this game are depicted appropriately or not and the devs stance on artistic freedom ultimately made me buy the game. As a result I wasn't too invested in the product itself and didn't expect much when I first started playing it with a friend of mine. However, it only took a the game an hour or so to fully grab our attention with a mixture of a rather unique setting, a quite bizarre artstyle and the generally unpredictle nature low budget games often have. As a Westener I was especially intigued by the Cantonese folklore that dealt with exorcism and demonology which felt very authentic to me even though I'm certainly no expert on that.

Generally speaking Sense is a puzzle exploration game with horror elements and the occasional "dieal and error" sequence. Most of the gameplay conists of "find object A in the groundlevel of the haunted house to open door C on floor 2" which could be boring if it wasn't for the genuinely creepy athmosphere, excellent environmental stoytelling and well done, hand drawn cut sequences. The game is quite subtly and elegantly structured into smaller individual "chapters" which ususally consist of a mostly self contained narrative, game area and "questline". These chapters are losely connected which each other through the main storyline. Protaginst Mei is ususally introduced to some form of creepy entity which serves as an antagonist until she manages to pacify them via making a ritual offering. In order to find out what offering will work for the entity she's currently facing she needs to learn more about the past of the lost souls. This is usually done by searching their former living quarters in order to find the items and clues necessary to perform a succesful ritual. Simple puzzles, quicktime events and minigames are sprinkled in between exploring the haunted mansion though none of them really stand out in a very positive or negative way.

All of this is done in a very linear fashion and there is little room for experimentation other than interacting with certain objects in different sequences or chosing which rooms to explore first. Even thought this strict linearity allows for great storytelling in terms of gameplay it can often be a chore. Many objects and interacteable areas don't register as such until the player has triggered a different event. And I'm not talking about obvious things like "the ghost just did X and this is why you now have access to another room". No it's the annoying kind of random causality where you walk past the same kitchen table 15 times and there's nothing there. But then you interact with a different object in a different room and now you suddenly find a torn photograph which Mei must have magically missed previously. This means a lot of backtracking in hopes of finding something new to interact with in room you've already explored thoroughly before. The excellent soundtrack does make wasting time while backtracking a lot more enjoyable though.

Unfortunatley other gameplay elements suffer from Sense's strict linearity as well. At one point the game equips you with a ton of objects such as warding spells and a sword indicating that from now on you'll have to fight demons and make tough resource management decisions. In reality however most of the items you are given still have a very specific purpose and can only be used once or twice in the game in specific interactions thus making them little more than glorified quest items. I can't shake the feeling that the devs wanted to implement a more complex system of items that could be used for combat and warding off evil spirits only to repurpose them back to quest items when they ran out of time/money.

Speaking of time/money it is quite obvious Sense is a very low budget game. The main characters animations are stiff, the walkcycle doesn't loop correctly leading to a weird pattern of footsteps, many of the cinematic sequences seem very barebones in terms of sounddesign, etc. Personally however I didn't mind the lack of visual polish too much, if anything it enhanced the eerie darkweb creepypasta feel this game does have at times. Though, as professional 3D artist I would advise the devs to either go fully 3D or only use 2D elements that move in relation to each other to fake perspecitve if they plan on making a sequel.

All that being said I think that the most important aspect of a game is to offer a unique and enjoyable experience and Sense defintely delivered that for me. The gameplay might be clunky and overly linear at times but the athmosphere of Sense is as thick as its main character and definitely worth a buy if you enjoy a fresh take on the haunted house trope. And the relatively low price plus the devs stance on artistic freedom doesn't hurt either. Thumbs up from me.

Kozin
Kozin

Just dropped by to support the chad devs who wont bend their knee to SJW losers. We all must keep up the good fight.

UncleDaddy
UncleDaddy

Ok so let me start by saying I'm recommending the game because I've grown up a massive fan of Clock Tower, Fatal Frame, Haunting Ground and I appreciate the game paying tribute to titles like those because they severely lack games in those categories.

This game imo is good for one playthrough, just for the experience of playing something like this. I constantly found myself getting bored and skipping text or taking a break from the game for a bit. The game is extremely easy and what makes it slow paced to the point of taking me 7 hours (Could take more if you ignore my advice) is the fact that you have to basically spam interact on items and thin air non stop in hopes of finding stuff you need. Just hoping that you don't accidentally get yourself Insta-Killed from spamming bad options.

I beat this without one enemy-caused death because the enemies are pretty forgiving and the objective throughout the game is straight forward: Door is locked, Safe is locked, Path is Blocked, a spirit is on the loose and you need clues to find missing objects. Clues and items can be found from once again, examining stuff, even if you have to examine the same things multiple times to get different hints or items (Like resident Evil).

You can unlock more outfits if you play through NG+ and more achievements, but I don't have it in me to play this game again. I gave it one try, I love the art style and designs, the enemies can be pretty creepy and the other characters are pretty stylish and at least somewhat interesting; I appreciate even the simplicity of the game even though I'd have love more chase and hide mechanics like Mr. Hopps Playhouse 1 hiding in plain sight or The Hag at least. But I kept getting bored because there is hardly any action. Mostly running around to find clues, keys and puzzles.

That being said, this game is getting a Part 2 and it will be a 3D game. It looks really interesting and I wishlisted it. Who knows, maybe it'll come close to playing like haunting ground and fatal frame unless the dev has completely different plans. I wouldn't even mind some Puppet Combo type atmosphere for it. Creepy unsettling you're never alone type vibes is something all 3 of those games have in common and I felt like this game lacked it.

Blindga
Blindga

Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is merely competent. It delivers on the most basic level and nothing more. While I can't find any reason to dislike the game outright, I don't see any reason to come back to this one either. A hardcore fan of Asian-themed traditional horror classics like Fatal Frame will certainly want to check this out though.

Despite having cyberpunk in the title, the game massively downplays being cyberpunk overall. It is to the point where the game could be in literally any other time period and not much would have changed. It is a huge shame, because the parts it does roll with cyberpunk are really well done. Dystopia, plague, death in the streets, dark corporate corruption, the complete decay of morals, super-cybernetics, transhumanism, the beauty and terror of a dark future, and the story of humanity still thriving despite it all. The opening scene and orbiting setting of the game have the right amount of 'punk' for a really good modern punk fiction. Cool, but not too edgy. A bit preppy, but with clearly dark implications. It is sad the developer chose to back off of using this more, because I'm a big fan of the genre and they almost had it.

The core setting we do get is a typical, overtly cliche, haunted house. While the cultural references are well put together, the game's horror delivery is basic. Moments of tension are scarce and are lost too quickly. Most of the game's horror is purely visual and thanks to good graphics and level design. The blighted apartment building from the game is made sufficiently creepy and empty, if a bit too spacious a few times, but once you adjust to the atmosphere, it doesn't hold horror on its own. Even the game's jumpscares lack punch across all instances, and not being able to go 'boo' correctly is big red flag to me that the developers are not at all in their element making traditional horror.

Gameplay is, again, merely basic. It is a side-scroller adventure with a ton of pointless backtracking and code puzzles. Every single puzzle is described as "find number lock, find code solution, input solution", and by the end of the game it was wearing thin. Everything else involves using key items, and the game plainly tells you which type of items go where. There is some light combat later, but it too is only just functional and relies on quick time events and contextual inputs similar to the rest of the game (press 'E' to kill monster). Dying in this game is almost impossible save for a couple of puzzles which cleverly punish using brute force on them.

That should sound bland enough, but on top of that, there are also bugs and script breaks everywhere. Frequently, finding the second or last item early of a multi-item key results in the main character declaring to combine it with the first item you haven't found yet and don't have. Performing the attack animation you get later often results in the character performing the animation before the weapon appears, which then appears and just hangs awkwardly at her side for a second. Thankfully, there were no game-breaking bugs, but a lack of game testing shows unprofessional on the developers.

This is a game that is trying to combine genres, but instead comes out the gate with an identity crisis. There are several things that point to this. A very short, but good cyberpunk opening is overshadowed by a lower quality haunted house and feels like two different design intents entirely. The scares and ghost stories lack the touch of proficiency to make them memorable, and even the main character spends most of the game talking about the outside world and sounding like even she isn't interested in what is going on. The game's graphics are excellent with some attractive character models and beautiful still shots of shocking monsters, and the focus on visual horror suits cyberpunk well, but for the traditional horror core that isn't enough by itself. The extra story you unlock at the end actually makes a better plot hook for a futuristic ghost story than what the opening itself is; it is completely backwards. Even the synopsis from the art book sounds like it is talking about a completely different game.

Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is a confused game and a borderline mess. Nonetheless, I did finish it and can still appreciate the things that it does good on. I could still see other people being able to enjoy the little bits that it has to offer, and I'm not talking about the game's clear titillation factor.

If the developers see this: I would ask to get out of traditional horror and do more cyberpunk that utilizes horror themes. Do a murder mystery, or a drama, or a disaster survival story, or maybe some espionage action in the cyberpunk underworld. Just something else that benefits more strongly from the game's obvious artistic talent at drawing monsters and visual shock. I would definitely and eagerly look into one of those more than another story of this caliber. Stick to it next time and hone in on what you are good at.

kovenmoonshadow
kovenmoonshadow

I wanted to give this game a chance, I REALLY did because I loved the concept of ghosts in a cyberpunk setting, especially using Asian urban legends and myths. I wholly support the devs standing up to Twitter puritans but the story for this game is just so weak I can't recommend this to anyone.

IveDidABearTwice
IveDidABearTwice

I bought the game because the dev refused to bend the knee and i am willing to support anyone who stands up to the crazies. That said I did play the game all the way through twice. Cool game for sure. I like the story, not something i have encountered before. And the outfits! =D Need i say more? lol Well endowed women make the game a no brainer.

Albertino
Albertino

This game is awesome ! I loved the lore and story!!!!!!

Paradise Killer
Paradise Killer

Tedious and Non-shocking

More like a Walking Simulator.

Waffles
Waffles

This game boils down to two things at the end of the day, tits and ghosts.
But in all seriousness, a strong narrative drawing from eastern religious practices, an interesting art style which catches the eye, and a well developed lore all lend themselves to a fantastic gaming experience.
The game however slips up when it comes to pacing, the horror, the combat and the climax.
While the games art holds it up and allows for ease of play, the game can feel a bit loose in terms of letting you know what to do. One instance that sticks out is the hairdresser encounter, where a near invisible trip wire resulted in a couple frustrating deaths.
All in all, Sense: A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is a pleasure for the eyes, and a treat to behold, but is held back by a few confusing design decisions.
Final Verdict: 7/10, Well-Done, purchase on sale.

Sun Knife
Sun Knife

Sense A Cyberpunk Ghost Story is a 2.5 D horror game made by Suzaku and published by Top Hat Studios Inc. It's pretty much a horror and detective game, a walk and clic game. Your first playthrough should be around six hours.

I noticed this game after the controversy and then got it at a sale. I was expecting more due the controversy, it's pretty tame for what a cyberpunk world can be (and there are bigger breasts out there). I was also disappointed by the lack of cyberpunk content. Only the very start and very end have cyberpunk imagery. Sure, when the girl dies you can see circuits and layers, but not enough to consider it cyberpunk. With that aside, it's a decent game for a sale.

Good:
+Excellent ambience. It's very, very immersive and keeps you on your toes. Background noises, music, small details here and there.
+All the information you get, you can check it again on your inventory.
+Several costumes but a couple are locked by NG+.
+The music is good and the sound effects can chill your blood.
+The design of the ghosts is interesting. You can use them for your horror tabletop games.
+The devs have fixed several issues.

Bad:
-For the true ending you need to finish the game three times.
-As stated above, this is not really a cyberpunk story. The title is misleading.
-Some cutscenes throw at you some Cantonese and it's not subtitled.

I feel cheated by the lack of cyberpunk, but I still recommend the game.

Pickles
Pickles

Top Hat Studios posted on twitter that they weren't going to censor the game when it released and that act stuck this game in my mind. I bought it recently, finally got around to it and its a fun horror adventure game in the same vain like Clock Tower. The atmosphere was genuinely good and I was sincerely scared at some points, I thought the game was going to do cheap jump scares but it didn't and that's really impressive for an indie game. The bad part about this game is the sheer amount of back tracking because the game won't let you pick up things until you know about a puzzle or are at a specific step in the puzzle. Also to get the true ending you need to beat the game 3 times but they could've easily tacked it on the NG+ ending, playing this 3 times is a waste of time honestly no matter how good the game is, its just not that replayable.

Borbkat
Borbkat

Praise Top Hat Studios! And fuck the SJW and cancel culture!

Artoboi
Artoboi

Sense - A Cyberpunk Ghost story is a game about trying to find a way out of a bathroom. It is set in an utopian future where every lady has gigantic honkadonkers. And there are also ghosts, some of whom also have titanic donkeronkos. The writing is surprisingly well done and it is exciting to see what happens next, but the gameplay is at times quite bad. So maybe wait for a sale. 3/5

Pros:
+ Interesting contrast between the haunted apartment building from a bygone era and a cyberpunk city.
+ Tragic backstories.
+ The art is great. Especially if you are a pervert.
+ Creepy scenarios and unnerving atmosphere.
Cons:
- Cannot pick up items before you know where to use them
- This leads to lot of running back and forth
- Items are used automatically. There is no challenge in most puzzles.
- Unresponsive controls and cumbersome menus.
- Some of the art is very low resolution.
- Bugs.
- Combat created by the devil. While bad, at least the sequences are brief.

nhk99
nhk99

The game itself leaves a lot to be desired, but it has pretty cool art style and the story is fairly interesting once I pieced it all together after multiple playthroughs. I've seen the true ending and I would be interested in the sequel if a lot of things, like the combat and puzzles are much more improved. Also, I would like to see more Cyberpunk settings to be put to good use because I thought it was weird how nothing felt Cyberpunk-ish once I entered the building. Still, this feels like a decent foundation for future games, but I would like to see a lot of improvements when I see the sequel.

Also, huge props for standing up against SJWs. I am so sick of those people!

lammassu
lammassu

This game is a lot of fun and easily a time consumer. I found myself staying up all night playing this game from beginning to end because I just HAD to know what happens next. For a game to make you miss your bed time because you're so caught up in the story is a major win. The graphics are great for the style of play, kind of a mix of manga and a 'Resident Evil' engine mash up. The music is haunting and engrosses you into the story. Sense is very much like "playing" a manga and yes, the "fan service" is pure eye candy. Yeah, this game is fantastic and the replayability is very high. I definitely recommend this game.

[Agora]HoneycombPancake
[Agora]Honeyco…

Not as advertised by the SJW screechers.

Campa
Campa

its like escape from the hospital, but with better art and content. just needs sex scenes. also the idea behind the ghost puzzles are interesting but sadly thats about it, they kinda make you meander too much and just spam the interact button everywhere.

pros:
-good plot
-great plot.
-animation of characters and enemies is great
-lots of spook

cons:
-too pixel hunty. but at least it gives you reasons to get junk, you just have to connect stuff in your mind and remember where in the map useful items are because you will only collect when they become relevant. its kinda annoying due to backtracking but after having those backtracks populated with interesting stuff its ok.
-clearly they wanted to add h scenes, but sadly it dont have
-world navigation is kinda weird. it adds a LOT to the immersiveness and experience, could be better especially by having doors having a small icon, because sometimes they hidden behind the camera and not showing. well not that its really a problem, but the inconsistency is kinda weird

game is too inconsistent, but it left me wanting more from the devs, so i will leave this as a positive review

kazereal
kazereal

Cool, stylish horror adventure. Setting and story telling are refreshing and interesting.

fluffy_vulture
fluffy_vulture

Great game, though a little hard to make events and the story trigger along

Starwolf-001
Starwolf-001

Going to be brutally honest here. This game starts off amazingly! Just... It falls apart after the half way point.


You stop being scared as you learn how everything works. There are horribly thought out puzzles. One where I couldn't figure out because I can't read any Asian languages. There are typos, one set in a puzzle that makes it impossible to open unless you luck out or look at a walk through. Design choices that just don't make any sense. SPOILER!You are told to exorcise all the ghosts so that you may escape... But at the 2nd to last floor there is a ghost you cannot exorcise and will hunt you crazy. And another ghost that rejects your exorcism offering... But you can still unlock the (ALL) 13 Ghosts achievement. To get all the endings. You must complete the game, not once. Not twice. But THREE times.


Ultimately, the developer here has something awesome. It kinda just falls apart halfway through the game. There are issues still not fixed to this day.

I cannot for the life of me recommend this to anyone unless you want to pull a prank. Like, this game starts off interestingly! But then frustrates you to the core.

I look forward to what these developers do in the future.

Junpitar
Junpitar

I REALLY enjoyed this game. I stayed up all night just to finish, because I was interested in what would happen next. It has a really spooky atmosphere, and I love the heavy Cantonese Folklore and Daoism themes. If you are looking for something spooky with a cool story-line, I highly recommend.

9kfreemen
9kfreemen

Alright, I have only spent about 3 hours playing this, but I've had enough for now.

The good
Character design for our buxom protagonist (and a few NPCs at the start) is good.
Overall art of the environments is excellent and sells that "East Asian Horror" vibe very well.

The meh
Cut scene art is kinda average
The writing does not sell the story.
Cyberpunk set-up is really mostly bait and switch. It's mostly just a straight ghost story.
This seems to mix a lot of different Asian names and stories willy-nilly with no explanation. If you're going to introduce the setting as Hong Kong, why are we mixing Vietnamese-American stories with a Japanese-speaking protagonist? Perhaps this is explained later in the story, but as an American who has lived in Japan and now Macau, this seemed weird for a game really leveraging player interest as a uniquely Hong Kong story.

The bad
The point-and-click gameplay is frankly boring and unnecessarily repetitive. I do not mind backtracking in a game sometimes. However, the game is set up so you can only see certain items if you have already picked up other items. So you might find a desk is empty, but then come back later and find something because you found something else. Everything has to be done in a very particular order which requires the most running from place to place. It's infuriating. The final straw came when I came across an unknown item that when clicked on, simply said "you are carrying too much" - when there is NO limit to how much you can carry, as far as I know. And the ghosts are frankly not scary.

Verdict: There is a lot to like about this game, but in the end, it just became an endless chore of combing the map side-to-side constantly with no need or rewards for deduction.

kira
kira

This game is fine. The visuals are beautiful, and the use of 3D models in the environment is super neat, but the story and characterization are underwhelming and confusing at best. And I find the overly-sexualized designs of pretty much all of the female characters to be incredibly frustrating. The gameplay is fine, sometimes a little too obtuse, but mainly... just like, fine. All the attempts to expand the world were good-natured but really missed the mark.

I don't "recommend" it, but I don't *not* recommend it either. Do I think you could buy a better game with your money? Yes. Is this the worst way to spend your money? No.

chancepaladin
chancepaladin

Absolutely shares the top of my library of point and click adventures. If you like the Cat Lady series, Kathy Rain and Whispers of a Machine, Techno-Babylon. You'll like this one. Thoroughly enjoyable with some spooky scares and awesome theme. Very very much enjoyed it end to end. Couldn't put it down. Don't listen to the haters, if you like point-and-click, this'll be a favorite for you.

Admiral Bone
Admiral Bone

Great game! Really fun puzzles combined with some traditional Chinese folklore/horror elements. Highly recommended if you like sci-fi/fantasy/horror puzzle games.

Had a lot of fun jotting down notes/numbers that I thought might be useful later; it's been a while I've had game to play with a pen and paper!