Here's The Thing:
You invade the Sam’s life, a hipster resident of Glenn Devin Estates with killer taste in music but is a slob. Like everyone else, he’s forced into quarantine due to the outbreak of Paraschaphism. Anyway, indoors is the new… in and norm for now. Willing to try anything to pass the time, he plugs in a time-limited brand-new console he got in the mail. Can he survive self-isolation? Can he trust this corporation?? More importantly, can he emerge the victor in “Future Racer 2000” (FR2)~



What began as your stereotypical walking simulator centered on one recognizable space and ominousness conjured out of nothing, something in the vein of The Convenience Store… Slowly gave way for a game-within-a-game style of exposition much like what Janitor Bleeds executed only with much less screentime as it went a vastly different route afterwards.

There isn’t all that diverse of tasks in the 80s as this title demonstrates, not to mention when a large portion of it is spent in quarantine and so Sam mostly plays games, watches tv, and heads to bed… OMG I just found out I’m willingly trapped in the 80s in real life! However, once Future Racer 2000 lands, the supposed panacea to boredom- you then make out more colors and sounds. Even if it’s just Dance Dance Revolution for your fingers and each miss press is equivalent to you shifting to the wrong gear driving stick!

All in all, the 80s high should consume up to an hour at most, though it felt as if it was way longer! There are two difficulties that weren’t properly elaborated upon, but basically “Easy” implies you don’t have to be decent at FR2, much less come in first in the races; “Normal” forces you to get gud and you will play more rounds unless you a borne champion~
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980695587


Graphically, this game goes through a mini time-travel of sorts where it’s crisp and tangible one moment able to pass off as a title released in 2020s. Then pixelated the next and nearly back in the good ol’ days of arcade titles. Now in terms of visuals, despite not being born in that era, I was pleased by the choice of assets whether it’s posters of bands & movies I don’t know or cassettes that I’ve heard so so much about!

It’s very dedicated to realizing that feel-good 80s illusion but also maintaining that quarantine realness… The windows let in light yet not much else, the days and nights seem to pass as well as alternate between quicker or slower depending on your state of mind. The apartment hallways are long but cramped like a birth canal, and having to go through them doing the same few actions put your sense of security through the wringer… implanting a tiny seed of delayed aggravation.

The audio design is no backseat passenger either in that it aims to fill and linger in your ears all throughout the short airtime it gets. You can rarely go wrong with synth, and this game epitomizes that saying- y’know the one I just coined! Be it the little sampler tracks on the keyboard that echo of Final Fantasy, Owl City, or just of cheerier times in general. Down to the eventual signature theme of FR2 that’s every bit as iconic and high stakes-sounding~


In describing the plot, I’d say it’s a low-key version of Hidden (2015) only the pandemic is more well-documented (to a point) and the situation is more chill… But there is a twist and it’s that there are remnants, dare I say callbacks to Ringu (1998)!? Just less supernatural, and more psychologically subtle in going about things!

The story is vague and its storytelling feels indifferent, emphasized in the way the protagonist remarks, and responds aloud to the littlest matters, but that’s the beauty of it! He’s probably gotten used to the pandemic and its ways (or just doesn’t care) by now… I really hope that’s it. But if you choose to look alive, you’ll realize you do get clued in on these key plot points~


I like the type of horror that stems from something that was neither labelled or marketed as such; allowing developers to get off their high horse and come up with innovation! For instance, here, I wasn’t really expecting a psychological horror… especially one of this caliber (if it was intending for it to be). For all you know, it’s yet another work that piggybacks of the COVID-19 relevance! But that’d only be 25% accurate, the rest is a rather original Lovecraftian-influenced yadda 3x!!

The ambiance is insane and cabin-fever-like, downplayed in terms of severity but enough to be perceived and bother you. The sick beats and entertaining shows distract you from the horrendous and tedious reality- but how long can they stave off the inevitable!? It’s practically an unspoken slow-burn gaming addiction PSA because just as playing FR2 becomes Sam’s unyielding priority, some would term him obsessed, even at the most inopportune of times like when death literally comes-a-knocking on his door.

I, too, was doing the exact same thing in reality… more or less! What started out as a plausible coping mechanism for the pandemic, can dangerously cross over into “time-wasting” activities that take away from more meaningful and seize entire life opportunities if one isn’t more mindful. That was some otherworldly 4th wall-breaking shi*. I’m not kidding, you could make it to the end of the game and still be in the dark because you consciously chose to ignore or didn’t notice important notes. Also, has the human race truly evolved in the future (where we’re at now), since it takes place in the 80s and all?~
https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980697573


The one thing I didn’t like was the manner in which interactions were handled. Mainly that objects had a wide zone in which they can be prompted, and the cursor makes no attempt to differentiate between different things. Technically you could even miss out vital clues by this reasoning, through no fault of your own!

The dialogue advancement wasn’t very interface friendly either in that it’s a tad jarring as to who’s speaking and who’s replying, even if logic dictates the bottom as being Sam; still got them confused. Lastly, the “closing eyes” mechanic should only & rightly be introduced when the need for it arises, instead of being made available throughout the game. Why? Well, I found that in repeat playthroughs, I actually missed scares of note because of it~


x A few objects were too light, the slightest touch and they’d fly across the room!
x Superintendent’s bed is mistaken for Sam’s own bed?
x Stood on some objects.


~ No option to just play the eponymous game freely.
~ Not sound capitalization, punctuation, and a number of typos freaking me out…
~ No crouch to inspect really low objects.


https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980696614

Last Words?
Well-oiled analog horror whose engine appeared to be stalling at first but it wasn’t for naught. Result? A short race that has you awash in suspense, blood pumped, nerves shot, and eager to finish~

Shoutout to

Indie Gems,

for GEMME-ing a key! Follow them right now for more well, y’know~

[code]Curator page here-->[url=https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/curator/37670120/] DaRevieweD #228 [/url]<-- [i]New review every week[/i][/code] [h1]”SAME OL’, SAM OLD-!!?"[/h1] [u]Here's The Thing:[/u] You invade the Sam’s life, a hipster resident of Glenn Devin Estates with killer taste in music but is a slob. Like everyone else, he’s forced into quarantine due to the outbreak of Paraschaphism. Anyway, indoors is the new… in and norm for now. Willing to try anything to pass the time, he plugs in a time-limited brand-new console he got in the mail. Can he survive self-isolation? Can he trust this corporation?? More importantly, can he emerge the victor in “Future Racer 2000” (FR2)~ [h1][u][+] PROS;[/u][/h1] [h1]:) MY DANGER CENSUS ARE TINGLING~[/h1] What began as your stereotypical walking simulator centered on one recognizable space and ominousness conjured out of nothing, something in the vein of[url=https://gtm.you1.cn/id/DeadeGuard98/recommended/1552310] The Convenience Store[/url]… Slowly gave way for a game-within-a-game style of exposition much like what [url=https://gtm.you1.cn/id/DeadeGuard98/recommended/1552310/]Janitor Bleeds[/url] executed only with much less screentime as it went a vastly different route afterwards. There isn’t all that diverse of tasks in the 80s as this title demonstrates, not to mention when a large portion of it is spent in quarantine and so Sam mostly plays games, watches tv, and heads to bed… OMG I just found out I’m willingly trapped in the 80s in real life! However, once Future Racer 2000 lands, the supposed panacea to boredom- you then make out more colors and sounds. Even if it’s just [b]Dance Dance Revolution[/b] for your fingers and each miss press is equivalent to you shifting to the wrong gear driving stick! All in all, the 80s high should consume up to an hour at most, though it felt as if it was way longer! There are two difficulties that weren’t properly elaborated upon, but basically “Easy” implies you don’t have to be decent at FR2, much less come in first in the races; “Normal” forces you to get gud and you will play more rounds unless you a borne champion~ https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980695587 [h1]:) WHAT. A. GODSYNTH. AND THEM RETRO-BACKS!!? ENGINE-IOUS. ON THE RIGHT… TRACKS![/h1] Graphically, this game goes through a mini time-travel of sorts where it’s crisp and tangible one moment able to pass off as a title released in 2020s. Then pixelated the next and nearly back in the good ol’ days of arcade titles. Now in terms of visuals, despite not being born in that era, I was pleased by the choice of assets whether it’s posters of bands & movies I don’t know or cassettes that I’ve heard so so much about! It’s very dedicated to realizing that feel-good 80s illusion but also maintaining that quarantine realness… The windows let in light yet not much else, the days and nights seem to pass as well as alternate between quicker or slower depending on your state of mind. The apartment hallways are long but cramped like a birth canal, and having to go through them doing the same few actions put your sense of security through the wringer… implanting a tiny seed of delayed aggravation. The audio design is no backseat passenger either in that it aims to fill and linger in your ears all throughout the short airtime it gets. You can rarely go wrong with synth, and this game epitomizes that saying- y’know the one I just coined! Be it the little sampler tracks on the keyboard that echo of [b]Final Fantasy, Owl City,[/b] or just of cheerier times in general. Down to the eventual signature theme of FR2 that’s every bit as iconic and high stakes-sounding~ [h1]:) AN ON-OFF RELATIONSHIP… DOOMED IN THE 1ST PLACE!!![/h1] In describing the plot, I’d say it’s a low-key version of [b]Hidden (2015)[/b] only the pandemic is more well-documented (to a point) and the situation is more chill… But there is a twist and it’s that there are remnants, dare I say callbacks to [b]Ringu (1998)!?[/b] Just less supernatural, and more psychologically subtle in going about things! The story is vague and its storytelling feels indifferent, emphasized in the way the protagonist remarks, and responds aloud to the littlest matters, but that’s the beauty of it! He’s probably gotten used to the pandemic and its ways (or just doesn’t care) by now… I really hope that’s it. But if you choose to look alive, you’ll realize you do get clued in on these key plot points~ [h1]:) HENRY REGRETS? 3, 2, 1-[/h1] I like the type of horror that stems from something that was neither labelled or marketed as such; allowing developers to get off their high horse and come up with innovation! For instance, here, I wasn’t really expecting a psychological horror… especially one of this caliber (if it was intending for it to be). For all you know, it’s yet another work that piggybacks of the COVID-19 relevance! But that’d only be 25% accurate, the rest is a rather original Lovecraftian-influenced yadda 3x!! The ambiance is insane and cabin-fever-like, downplayed in terms of severity but enough to be perceived and bother you. The sick beats and entertaining shows distract you from the horrendous and tedious reality- but how long can they stave off the inevitable!? It’s practically an unspoken slow-burn gaming addiction PSA because just as playing FR2 becomes Sam’s unyielding priority, some would term him obsessed, even at the most inopportune of times like when death literally comes-a-knocking on his door. I, too, was doing the exact same thing in reality… more or less! What started out as a plausible coping mechanism for the pandemic, can dangerously cross over into “time-wasting” activities that take away from more meaningful and seize entire life opportunities if one isn’t more mindful. That was some otherworldly 4th wall-breaking shi*. I’m not kidding, you could make it to the end of the game and still be in the dark because you consciously chose to ignore or didn’t notice important notes. Also, has the human race truly evolved in the future (where we’re at now), since it takes place in the 80s and all?~ https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980697573 [h1][u][-] CONS;[/u][/h1] [h1]:( IF IT’S ANY CONSOLE-ATION…[/h1] The one thing I didn’t like was the manner in which interactions were handled. Mainly that objects had a wide zone in which they can be prompted, and the cursor makes no attempt to differentiate between different things. Technically you could even miss out vital clues by this reasoning, through no fault of your own! The dialogue advancement wasn’t very interface friendly either in that it’s a tad jarring as to who’s speaking and who’s replying, even if logic dictates the bottom as being Sam; still got them confused. Lastly, the “closing eyes” mechanic should only & rightly be introduced when the need for it arises, instead of being made available throughout the game. Why? Well, I found that in repeat playthroughs, I actually missed scares of note because of it~ [h1]BUGS:[/h1] x A few objects were too light, the slightest touch and they’d fly across the room! x Superintendent’s bed is mistaken for Sam’s own bed? x Stood on some objects. [h1]NITPICKS:[/h1] ~ No option to just play the eponymous game freely. ~ Not sound capitalization, punctuation, and a number of typos freaking me out… ~ No crouch to inspect really low objects. [h1]"WAS DIS POSTER BE SCARY? IF SO, I TOTALLY GOT THE MEMO~"[/h1] https://gtm.you1.cn/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2980696614 [u]Last Words?[/u] Well-oiled analog horror whose engine appeared to be stalling at first but it wasn’t for naught. Result? A short race that has you awash in suspense, blood pumped, nerves shot, and eager to finish~ [h1]9.3 / 10[/h1] [quote]Shoutout to [code][url=https://gtm.you1.cn/storesteam/curator/32732116/]Indie Gems,[/url][/code] for GEMME-ing a key! Follow them right now for more well, y’know~[/quote]