The Guilt and the Shadow reviews

Translated by
Microsoft from French
If you want to crush black ideas, to bite on your past faults or to lose yourself in gloomy lands, the guilt and the shadow comes to a point. More seriously, this ephemeral game of exploration and puzzles offers to who is willing to hear it, a dark and difficult story. Lulled by an oppressive atmosphere, the black tale which is given to us in the guilt and the shadow pours before our eyes like an icy river from which one does not spring unharmed. Slowly, the story is revealed to us as our character takes a tired step from one edge of the screen to the other. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=655977260 guilt, death, madness are all themes that will be tackled in a sober but never without depth. The narration is profiled through a few recollections of past sessions at the shrink, this fan that turns soft to the ceiling, this couch where so many other souls in distress have settled; and, through memories that will be displayed on the screen as a floating text, as we progress through the meanders of the thought of our character. This black and filthy atmosphere is relieved of a very atmospheric and mysterious soundtrack with its cold sounds, its melancholic tones, its metallic rhythms and its freezing sound to give you chills. The different phases of the game are accompanied brilliantly by making us feel the despair of the protagonist, his fear, his feeling of being alone and lost as well as his nostalgia for the happy days. For a real dive in the psychological pangs of this man, you are recommended to play the helmet. Do it, it brings a seamless immersion. I particularly enjoyed the tracks the shadow and the singing of consciousness; the complete soundtrack is available to listen on this site [garaccia.bandcamp.com]. Don't deprive yourself of it. To answer such a soundtrack, the developers decided to adopt a singular visual style leaving the beautiful part to the interpretations. With a vivid line, faces have been shaped on the stone walls, hypnotizing eyes are scrutining us, threatening shadows lurk. We will visit a forest, a cave or even a desert, often in a level design of a verticality putting our sense of direction to the test. On several levels you will have to lose yourself to find the way. Borrow the many scales that mark the levels, push crates to create bridges and activate mechanisms using music. http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=655978250 our man possesses in fact a musical instrument with which he will be able to clear a blocked path, stop the time for a few seconds or turn the wind to know the direction to follow. The puzzles are not complicated, you just have to have some sense of direction to avoid turning in circles. Depending on your spatialization capabilities and your willingness to recover all the "seeds" (which will allow you to attend a new Psych session), you will finish the game in 3h-3h30 maximum. It is of course above all for its narration and its atmosphere that we will turn to a game such as the guilt and the shadow, its gameplay remaining in the end quite shakical. More than a year after its release on steam, the game did not have the visibility necessary for its development. If it does not address to players who are looking for action or to others who may experience a certain boredom by working on it, it is undeniable that we must salute the artistic work carried out on this amazing title for the eyes and bewitting for the Ears. A key was provided for evaluation purposes by developers which nevertheless did not influence my opinion. Read more reviews on my curation page: Kitsune's Guide
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