andy's apple farm analysis:
this is an early access game, I don't know the devs or anything like that, but given as the game was 20 minute long, it was released in 2021, we're almost in 2023 and there is still no chapter 2, I wouldn't put too much faith on there actually being mroe chapters, so I will talk about it as an standalone game
first of all, as I predicted, this game isn't really scary, the ambient itself is not scary, and the jumpscares are so predictible it doesn't really matter. Not only that, but it's easy to see how the game is coded after one or two events, so you know that if you just run into the character that is trying to chase you, and let them get you, that it's not actually bad and it's the way the game is supposed to be advanced, so it really removes any tension in order to do that
I don't play many horror games, I'm a coward as I said, but I feel that if you want to make something scary, you must abstract and obscure how the game operates, so you cant just do what I did
there isn't much in the way of gameplay, as it's basically purely narrative, however, the way the plot is actually delivered is in this very game-theory baity way. What I mean by that is that the game is made to be confusing, and it's not like a regular confusing game, that you can later kinda just think about it, recall all the events and really understand it, but, they put lots of lore in text that only appear for like 3 frames, which means: you aren't going to catch it, and you're not actually going to understand the plot after you finish playing it
the only way you can really manage to actually read the lore and understand it, is if you somehow are able to freeze on those frames, and the only way to really do it is either if you have god-like reflexes and manage to screenshot it the frame text appears before it dissapears, or if you just so happen that you're recording, since you can go frame by frame in the video
if you wanted to discover all the lore by yourself, once encountered one of these elements, you would need to create a new save file entirely, and then get to that point recording, and then watch the recording back to really get it, this is not good story-telling, this is hard to access for the sake of it being hard to access
let's say you actually did all of that, now we have the lore, that kinda does describe the backstory of some of the characters and stuff, now what?, what we have is basically a backstory, are we going to see the story unfold?, well, not really, since that isn't really on the game, and I know that it is a early access and there is only 1 chapter, but you should have at least have some payoff and actually some story in play on an early access verison of the game, you shouldn't release a game like this with only 1 chapter if that chapter is only backstory, this is like releasing a game but only the tutorial
now, directed at lostsilver i'm aware how you would find a game like this, you probably saw a gampeplay from markiplier or any other big youtuber that covers these type of games, however, you must know that there is a difference between games that make for good viewing experiences, and games with good gameplay experiences, some games are better on video that on gameplay, this is one of those games. I don't blame you for seeing a video and believing that this is a good game, because it is made to feel that way.
Not only that, but these game are algorythmic games, these is a short early-access game, that basically ceased developement apparently, that tried to profit on the mascot horror/analog horror youtube trend that was booming at that time, you could probably say that this game is a cash-grab and it would be really hard to prove otherwise
so now, how would you,
lostsilver, be able find great
gameplay games? for example, my favourite game of all time is disco elysium, which is absolutely NOT a youtube game, in fact, if you search it on youtube, you probably wont find any gameplays by big name creators
well, you either must curate were you get recommendations from, or learn how to properly analyze a videogame and really learn for yourself how to identify these type of games. The second you will get with experience as you get older and play more diverse stuff, because that's the other thing, dont just limit yourself to youtube/markiplier games, but explore the entire market
look at videogame review websites (metacritic, steam250, glitchwave, etc) and try whatever they catch your interest from the generally well reviewed games (keep in mind, a lot of the time a lower score with a lot more reviews is better than a high score with low ammount of reviewers!), look in youtube at games that you have personally enjoyed without watching a full gameplay of it before, and look at what other videogames those people have ed, maybe watch the first 5 minuet of one of those gameplay, and decide to play it yourself without watching the rest
ask around for friends, ask what their favourite videogames are, look at videogame publishers that have published games that you like, and do this often, try to open your views on the gaming market as much as possible, try those free epic games you claimed that you never played, even if you end up disliking them, the fact that you have now played it, you know more about yourself and what genres you like, and you will be able to find better games in the future
the game market is full fo people that will try to sell games on trends and just try to make a quick cash, the most clear example of this would be something like garten of banban, so please, be able to identify garten of banban's by yourself, If you enjoy some of those games it's totally fine, but I feel that there isn't really any harm on going really outside of your comfort zone, because maybe you will find a experience that will blow you away, in fact that is the reason why i'm making this thread! I want to see all that I have yet to really explore, and so far, i'm finding some really good stuff!
my personal recommendation if you want a game similar like this one but that I personally think is way better, try
pony island, it's also analog stuff, but it was created before that really became popular and it's an honest to god really good game, if you want more game recommendation just tell me, tell me games that you enjoy or genres you want to explore and I will give you recommendations, i've been playing games for all my life so I believe I can really give you a good list, and even If I have told you that I'm a coward that hates horror, my brother does not, so even if you want horror recommendation, I can ask him for recommendations that I can forward to you, just reply to this thread, talk to me in osu dm's or on discord (my nick is "patatitta")
I'm not saying your likings are invalid or anything like that, but I just feel you're in a way really limiting your scope with these type of games, and I feel you could probably find a new favourite game of all time if you just look a little bit, so please, let me try to help you and give you some recommendations, even if I fail and you hate those games, please, let me try
(these tips also apply to everyone, hell, even I can really give recommendations to anyone who asks, not just for games either. But I'm mainly mentioning lostsilver since they are the one person who recommended this game)
also, if money is a concern, piracy is morally correct if you are not able to buy the game anyways, I know of safe resoruces to really pirate from, so I can also give you all of those
(again, i'm heavily sorry that this was this long, but yeah, I hope you understand where i'm coming from)
honestly my favorite cartoon
