Reviews

• Niamh

  Jan 6, 2022

  Honestly- One of the best games I've ever had the pleasure of playing. Thank you for making this Quinn.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 6, 2022

  Even if it's an horror game, the game has PSA and lets you OPT-out a scene. And it's also jumpscare-free. Did I mention it is also great?
• gamedeal user

  Jan 7, 2022

  the Manshrike is sexy. 10/10 game so far, only complaint is that some of the required combat is a little too difficult for a story based game, but even that isn't too bad of a thing.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 9, 2022

  Haven't played all there is to the game yet, but so far I'd 100% recommend the game to anyone who likes small-scale narrative experiences. There are only a few characters you interact with and a handful of areas to explore, but rather than making the game feel like a slog I think it keeps the game tightly focused and directed towards what it wants the player to feel/think about while playing. The relatively short length of each single playthrough also works in the game's advantage, since it's very easy to sit back and say "what if I had done something differently here?" without the need to either savescum or get through many hours of gameplay again to find out. Without spoiling anything, this resonates pretty well thematically with what the game is trying to say thematically about choice, action, and consequences. Combat is, I think, thematically slow, risky, and not particularly fun to engage in. It seems like the game doesn't want you to take too much pleasure in it. This is fine, but it also means that the short combat heavy portions of the game feel like they drag on much more than they do since it's not as engaging as the gameplay that focuses more directly on exploring the characters and narrative.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 11, 2022

  This game is very cool--there are so many elements that come together. The music stands out to me right away. It's a gorgeous, haunting soundtrack. Even the soothing tracks have a taste of anxiety to them. The fight system was not something I expected. It made me feel helpless pretty quick, until I learned to use the skills. It fit the mood well, even if I did die a couple of places. There were some twists and turns in the story and gameplay that I didn't expect. I've played a lot of weird little games, so that impressed me. As for the best part, the writing is the thing that stands out to me. Not necessarily the "plot" aspect, though I was compelled by the way it went, but the lyricism of the writing. I'll be real, there's a lot of bad poetry in video games. Here, it's clear that the writer of this game knows their poetry. As much as I disliked the birds, I loved reading their poetic screeds whenever they popped up. On a final note, for those who are wondering, is this a scary game? This isn't what I would call scary in the typical sense, more like dread-filled. It weighs down your thoughts more than it gives you shocks or jump scares. The topics are heavy and faced without flinching, so do be aware of the content warnings. I strongly recommend this game if you can handle them! I've only gotten one ending. I will have to check out more!
• gamedeal user

  Jan 11, 2022

  Very impressed with this game. A haunting political tale that gave me chills, and poetically beautiful throughout. Soundtrack is great, and the fact that the game was made with RPG Maker 2003 is damn mind-blowing. And to be fully honest, when I played the demo back in 2020, it helped me come to terms with my gender identity. So there's that bonus, I guess. Game isn't for everyone, obviously. But I think it's worth checking out. Working on getting all the endings right now.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 16, 2022

  The game play is so clever! The old RPG style really adds to the terror too.
• gamedeal user

  Jan 20, 2022

  It's cool, funny, heavy, nostalgic, and sad. There are very strong emotions that shine through from the creators, and they're not interested in coddling you. They want to teach you a thing or two about trauma, so go in with an open mind. Voicing the birds out loud for fun might make you say a naughty word, so keep it down, kay, k... okay?
• gamedeal user

  Apr 18, 2022

  An Outcry is a fantastic game that pulls you in almost instantly, with awesome pixel art, great atmospheric music, and a haunting narrative that sticks in your mind long after you're done playing. One of the best games I've ever played. It's so cool to see a game like this with a nonbinary protagonist, as well.
• gamedeal user

  Apr 20, 2022

  The demo for An Outcry was featured in the Haunted Demo Disc 2021 collection, which introduced me not just to this game but to the grander "HPS1" development scene, a tight-knit community lovingly devoted to retro and/or small-scale horror experiences. Having played literally hundreds upon hundreds of additional HPS1-branded demos and game-jam productions since then, and following the full release version of An Outcry, I can still safely state that it is one of the best and most strikingly-memorable titles to come out of the scene. Delicately woven into the fabric of the game's brief runtime and fairly simplistic turn-based RPG mechanics is the stark portrayal of a most suffocating contemporary dread: the caustic smog of fascism growing ever-thicker and choking out the voices of the marginalized. However nightmarishly supernatural the events and imagery of An Outcry become, the sociopolitical forces and characters at their core remain shockingly (almost distressingly) real, deftly side-stepping "easy answers" and consequence-free happy endings in the process. It is, in short, a game for those who cherish sharp and evocative writing aimed at portraying and exploring some of the most important issues of our time, contained in a richly-detailed pixel-art package to boot. ...and if you find yourself playing the game on that recommendation, be sure to also check out THERE SWINGS A SKULL, another title made in RPG Maker 2003 and contributed to by Quinn K. in the form of scripting, world design and graphics. It's sure to pluck many of the same psychologically-harrowing nerves.