Astray [Review]
Astray is a first person puzzle horror game developed by Aegon Games.
You play as the nephew of a museum curator. After he disappears, you go to the abandoned museum to find some clues of where he might be.
The premise is as disposable as most ones are for indie horror game. However, in the second half of the game, the game turns into a lovecraftian horror, and I really appreciated that.
The two creators of the game were heavily influenced by Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, and there are multiple similarities: most of the story is discovered through letters and diary notes, you can't fight the monsters and you have to complete fairly easy and straight-forward puzzles in order to advance. There are, however, some problems, the biggest one being the absence of a journal: there are a lot of notes scattered around the areas, and you can't keep track of them in any way. Also, unlike Amnesia, you can't pick up and throw most objects, and the physics are kind of wonky and unrealistic.
The graphics are really pretty for a game developed by only two people, and each area of the museum has nice details that differentiates one another. However, it does not look like a practical museum in real life, making you question some of the level design.
But how is the horror component of the game? Well, it is pretty good. There are no jumpscares and cheap scares, but ambient noises and a tense atmosphere that manages to keep you to the edge of your seat. But, like with most horror games, when you encounter the monster, you feel cheated: the design is pretty bland and not scary, and the music that plays while you are being chased doesn't make you feel as if you were in real danger, also because it is pretty easy to outrun the monsters.
My first run with the game was of 80 minutes, without encountering many problems with the puzzles and dying only once.
Overall, this is a nice entry in the indie horror genre, by going back to the roots of Amnesia, rather than having Slenderman copies. While the museum, puzzles and absence of jumpscares are a breath of fresh air, the rest of the game doesn't bring anything new to the table. I recommend it to hardcore horror fans and newcomers to the genre.
Story: 7.5
Graphics: 8
Gameplay: 7.5
Challenge: 7
Sound: 7
Replayability: 4
ENJOYMENT: 7.5
FRUSTRATION: 3.5
