Samantha Lienhard
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Writing For
MonsterVine
KeenGamerLatest Reviews
Deliver Us the Moon
Exploring an abandoned station while piecing together events from the past to learn what happened to the people there is hardly an original concept, but Deliver Us The Moon does an excellent job with it. Aside from a couple of tedious gameplay sections near the end, I enjoyed all 7...
Blair Witch
Really, though you’ll spend most of your time walking through the forest. Storytelling and psychological horror are the central features of Blair Witch because while this might be a story about the Black Hills Forest, it’s really a story about Ellis. Sometimes he suffers flashbacks, and his past trauma gradually...
Layers of Fear 2
I enjoyed the snippets of dialogue from the past and I loved my growing unease as the pieces started to come together, but the ending just left me underwhelmed. Layers of Fear 2 might have fixed the biggest criticism I had of the original, but it ended up less compelling...
Layers of Fear 2
I enjoyed the snippets of dialogue from the past and I loved my growing unease as the pieces started to come together, but the ending just left me underwhelmed. Layers of Fear 2 might have fixed the biggest criticism I had of the original, but it ended up less compelling...
Observation
However, if you expect everything to be wrapped up in a tight conclusion like the developer’s previous game, Stories Untold, you’d be wrong. The mystery and anticipation leads to an ambiguous ending that left me with more questions than answers. It was an interesting ending to be sure, but I’d...
The story is pretty straightforward. It has a few twists along the way, although it didn’t delve as deeply into the moral quandaries surrounding AI as I expected it to. This was a little disappointing, since it left the world and story with unexplored potential. Despite taking place in a...
The World Next Door
However, although the plot veered in some interesting directions, the end of my playthrough left major plot points untouched. Since it had only taken a few hours to complete, I started a second playthrough. The developers said The World Next Door had multiple endings, so I picked different dialogue options...
Fate/Extella Link
Fate/Extella Link was pitched as a side story focused on Charlemagne, with a full sequel to The Umbral Star also planned. With that in mind, it accomplishes its task well and introduces many excellent features that I hope to see carried over to the next game.
Although much of your 4-5 hours will be spent with this puzzle-platformer gameplay, The Liar Princess and the Blind Prince really focuses on its storytelling. After a lengthy opening cutscene, additional scenes come every few levels as the two characters continue their journey and grow closer to one another. The...
Nairi: Tower of Shirin
Apparently NAIRI: Tower of Shirin is only the first part of the story. It ended just as things really started to pick up, leaving the majority of its questions unanswered. I assume the developers intend to make a sequel, but the lack of resolution left me disappointed in what was...
Gris
According to the official description, Gris is about a journey through sorrow as the main character deals with a painful experience. I didn’t read that before I played, so I interpreted the game in a much more literal way. But I think both interpretations work. Whether you see Gris as...
Satisfying puzzles, an intense atmosphere achieved through dark environments and unsettling audio, and heartfelt storytelling come together to make The Missing a worthwhile experience if you’re looking for a game that combines serious issues with more than a touch of the macabre.
