Understanding, The Game Review

 

*Contains Spoilers*

A Work In Need of Progress

Understanding, The Game is definitely a work in progress. At this point, there’s not much of the game to actually discuss in a comprehensive review, so instead, I offer feedback for potential improvements.

First and foremost, even though the game in its current state is available for free on Steam, it is not, by any means, a level of polished I expect from games on the platform. I believe it would benefit more by being published on an indie site like itch.io so it can receive feedback without damaging Steam reviews that may sway future users from ever giving the finished version a try.

Second, I found many aspects of the game underwhelming. In my experience, jumpscares are only effective if a certain amount of tension has been established. The jumpscares I experienced during my playthrough did not startle me, but did offer some amusement since they were so out of place. Based on the information for upcoming additions on the Steam store page, it sounds as though more “scares” like this are planned, which I feel will not add anything of value to the game, but turn it into a “jumpscare simulator.”

I would, instead, like to see the developer focus on improving the story and setting so the atmosphere players find themselves in makes more sense. Right now, players see a black screen with some text that does very little to establish who we’re supposed to be or what we’re doing, and then we end up in a random underground bunker. The puzzles are equally random (such as placing body parts on three pedestals to receive a key) and fail to contribute anything meaningful to the story. Doors that are boarded up are suddenly unblocked for no reason as well, which was mildly annoying.

The setting is also nauseatingly red. Using color to set the mood for a game is a good idea when done properly, but here, it’s as if players have immediately dropped into some kind of nightmare hellscape with no explanation.

Grabbing, using, and examining items was also a pain. I see that a new menu and inventory system is in the works, so that is encouraging. In the game’s current state, inventory is awkward and hard to use.

I am also unsure if I encountered a bug, or if this is a direct result of a clunky inventory system, but I was unable to leave the hallway section. I acquired a skull key, but was unable to use it on anything to move forward, so I stopped playing the game altogether after 20 minutes of trying everything I could think of to progress.

Overall, I feel Understanding, The Game needs many improvements before it becomes a decent horror game. During the short time I spent playing it, I felt frustrated with the game’s mechanics and amused by the scare attempts that were completely out of place. The atmosphere attempts to be scary, but without proper storytelling and setup, it will continue to be ineffective.

[Lady played Understanding, The Game on PC with a mouse and keyboard]