It is used for a variety of things, lore-wise, but as for the gameplay aspect, it is your current task list and your inventory. Keeping updated on your current objective is made easy thanks to the wrist monitor you have. They even took this fact a step further when they added a part of the game where you are forced out to the harsh atmosphere of Mars and have to get to a specific door that has the spacesuit you need. Even when it comes to using your space suit for outdoor sections, you have to watch your own oxygen level and make sure it stays up, change the atmosphere of the room when entering or exiting a base, and so on. It was also a nice touch that they didn’t hold your hand through any part of the game. There were a few puzzles that were your standard fashion expected, like make a pathway through a mixed-up pipe maze, but they had some unique ones as well which gave the game a unique feeling through the experience. These ranged from making a poison, finding higher key cards, returning power to a specific PC to look through files and initiate an action, and so on. Find the power cores, line up the solar panels, turn the generator back on, fix the pipes to drain the flooded room, but then there are some that go more towards progress through the oddities. Puzzles in this game come in the form of tasks or typical duties you would have to do as an engineer on this base. I did like that it wasn’t the typical quick-time event style though as you had to line up where the attack was supposed to go before you are prompted and all of the time to do this is on the same timer before you are killed. There is only one time that you will fight back against one of these creatures, but it is in a way that is plausible (given the setting) and is done through quick-time events. Generally, this just means finding the right path to take and getting through it as fast as possible, but going too slow or making the wrong turn can get you killed. If the creature does appear in the section of the game you are in, regardless of which one it is, you will have to avoid it at all costs. There are a couple of moments to watch out for, but the horror lies in the fact that you are defenseless. With that in mind, I am happy to say that the horror in this game doesn’t deal with jump scares. Most of your time will be spent venturing through areas, finding key items you need, and completing puzzles in a variety of styles. There are certainly some scary moments, dangerous creatures, and an eerie atmosphere in multiple sections of the game, but anything Lovecraft will have these aspects. I would say that this game is easily more sci-fi and puzzle focused than it is a horror game. What is happening to the base? Where did the violent creatures come from? Gameplay However, it isn’t long before you come across some oddities that lead you down a series of events and tasks that get stranger the further you proceed. Taking on the role of the Engineer of a small team on a secret mission to Mars, you will be tasked with general maintenance and ensuring everything stays up and running, if not fixing it right as it breaks. This game was one that was hard to put down and I enjoyed getting through it in just a couple of long-game sessions, solving puzzles and trying to understand my hallucinations all while trying to survive. Taking us to Mars is Rock Pocket Games, teamed up with Funcom, in their latest game Moons of Madness. This time the term “cosmic horror” is certainly more appropriate as we play through a story experience that takes place entirely on the surface of the red planet. As Lovecraftian horror, sometimes referred to as cosmic horror, continues to be popularized, we see more and more games coming out that are inspired by the works of the classic king of horror, H.P.
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