First of all, I want to say that I am a massive horror fan, always have been, and always will be.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first 3 chapters of Song of Horror but things took a turn for the worse as I went on to play chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 4 was extremely cryptic with no direction, which don't get me wrong, is fine as long as you have some semblance of clue of what to do. The fact that chapter 4 needed to be patched, weeks after release to fix a myriad of issues speaks for itself.

Now, even with chapter 4's shortcomings, I was extremely excited and looked forward to chapter 5. After a five month wait, it was finally time to see once again what Song of Horror had to offer. Within thirty minutes of gameplay, I had encountered one of the most appalling bugs and gameplay gaffs that I have seen in my 25 years on this planet. There is a moment in the game, where you have to rearrange pieces of an old photograph, and gaze upon it to solve a riddle which leads to a sequence of numbers. You are meant to use a master key to lead you to the solution, fair enough. HOWEVER the master key simply does not exist in the game. I had to look up on the internet and stumbled upon a forum that the DEVELOPERS commented on where they had to flat out post the solution because it was un-solvable.

Now, I don't mind a bug here and there, especially from a small indie studio. That being said, a game should not be on the steam market for full release, if the only way to progress is to look up the solution and bypass the puzzle. After being mentally destroyed and dragged through the mud by this sinister glitch, I took a couple deep breaths, re-centered my self and moved on.

No more than five minutes later, I encountered yet another phenomenal piece of game development. You enter a room in the game, which holds a piano with symbol engravings on each key. Now, if you've played Song of Horror in the past you know that pressing RT has your character look at the "clue" area while solving a puzzle. This is a great mechanic used throughout many puzzle portions of games... WHEN IT WORKS. To my dismay upon pressing the RT key (no idea what it is on keyboard, if you're playing on keyboard good luck) I was presently surprised to see a dark black void in the place of where the clues should be. Unacceptable, reprehensible, and absolutely flat out revolting.

I would like to point out, that these two game breaking bugs were discovered in the short short time of about an hour. Actually, as I type this I've remembered a nice bug that I also encountered in the pre-chapter character select screen. No matter how you many times you mash the select button to choose your character, nothing happens.

Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. That's right ladies and gentleman, the main menu itself drove me to the point of mental exhaustion. I'd like to say that I have a steady head on my shoulders, but this game really put me to the test. The only Song of Horror here is the sound of the incessant crying and voice acting of the lady in my ear as I tried to solve the photograph puzzle.

As I write this, I am tempted by the box of Beanboozled Jelly Beans on my desk. As rancid as they are, I would rather shove an entire handful in my gullet, than experience the travesty that you call "Chapter 5" again.

Those who know me (ask around) know that I rarely do get upset, but by GOLLY have you guys done it this time.

AGAIN, I want to point out that I LOVED the first three chapters of the game. It would be unfair of me to only point out the bad. I understand that the developers worked hard and put their best into creating an enjoyable horror atmosphere and gaming experience. Some of the puzzles in the first three chapters were some of the best I've seen in the horror genre. Chapter four was a disappointment as I said, but I thought as I went to sleep that night that there was no way it could get worse. Boy was I in for the rudest awakening west of the Mississippi.

Now, if you really want to get in depth, the game breaking bugs weren't the only problem. The story is a convoluted mess, the amount of characters and timeline skips is simply too chaotic for the average human gamer, and for the love of everything that is holy, why do the teeth of all the character models look like they've been eating gravel for the past ten years. Now, I understand that the game takes place in a older timeline, but for crying out loud dentists have been around since the Bible. You cant't tell me that someone of Daniel's stature can't finesse a simple root canal once every five years.

Alright alright, irrelevancy aside, if they simple go back and put out a couple patches like they did after the uproar of complaints from chapter 4, I'm sure they can make chapter 5 a bit of a masterpiece.

I made the grave mistake of purchasing all five chapters of this game after playing the first. I have been hoodwinked, led astray, bamboozled, and flat out deceived by the initial bait that was chapter 1. Honestly, you guys should teach a course in theft, lying, and dishonesty because I have fallen victim to all three of the listed crimes.

AGAIN, I am not one to get upset and I am fighting tooth and nail here to keep my head on my shoulders, but right now it feels like I'm in one of those old airhead commercials, where the head gets so big and explodes.

Sincerely I thank you for reading this, and I hope the game gets patched or updated so I can enjoy Song of Horror as I did back in 2019.

Thank you, and have a blessed day.

-whisqey

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

EDIT JUNE 6TH 2020:

I have gone back and finished the game after receiving a sincere and respectful response from the developers regarding my initial complaints. I have always enjoyed chapters 1-3. Now that chapter 4 is patched, I'm sure it joins the others in being just as enjoyable.

Chapter 5 had some issues, and the glaring problems with it have been swiftly addressed by the developer team. I was too quick to judge chapter 5 harshly, and maybe considering the fact that I played it the day it came out, there were a couple hiccups. If anything, I am honored and glad to have helped improve the game for any players that might pick it up down the line.

I will admit, I was lost on the story for a major portion of my play-through, however nearly all of my questions were answered in the 5th and final chapter. Well done. The puzzles at the end only got better and better. There was variety, nothing felt repetitive (besides maybe fighting off the presence, but that's no big deal).

As someone who has played every horror game under the sun, I understand the basic structure of crafting games in the genre. Song of Horror pushed the boundaries and thought outside of the box, to bring horror enthusiasts around the world a fresh take on story and game play. While there were some annoyances, I would say it's nearly impossible to craft a game with zero flaws.

Overall, I give the game a 7/10. There was frustration, there was impatience, but in the end there was redemption.

Well done lads, can't wait for the next one.

- whisqey

First of all, I want to say that I am a massive horror fan, always have been, and always will be. I thoroughly enjoyed the first 3 chapters of Song of Horror but things took a turn for the worse as I went on to play chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 4 was extremely cryptic with no direction, which don't get me wrong, is fine as long as you have some semblance of clue of what to do. The fact that chapter 4 needed to be patched, weeks after release to fix a myriad of issues speaks for itself. Now, even with chapter 4's shortcomings, I was extremely excited and looked forward to chapter 5. After a five month wait, it was finally time to see once again what Song of Horror had to offer. Within thirty minutes of gameplay, I had encountered one of the most appalling bugs and gameplay gaffs that I have seen in my 25 years on this planet. There is a moment in the game, where you have to rearrange pieces of an old photograph, and gaze upon it to solve a riddle which leads to a sequence of numbers. You are meant to use a master key to lead you to the solution, fair enough. HOWEVER the master key simply does not exist in the game. I had to look up on the internet and stumbled upon a forum that the DEVELOPERS commented on where they had to flat out post the solution because it was un-solvable. Now, I don't mind a bug here and there, especially from a small indie studio. That being said, a game should not be on the steam market for full release, if the only way to progress is to look up the solution and bypass the puzzle. After being mentally destroyed and dragged through the mud by this sinister glitch, I took a couple deep breaths, re-centered my self and moved on. No more than five minutes later, I encountered yet another phenomenal piece of game development. You enter a room in the game, which holds a piano with symbol engravings on each key. Now, if you've played Song of Horror in the past you know that pressing RT has your character look at the "clue" area while solving a puzzle. This is a great mechanic used throughout many puzzle portions of games... WHEN IT WORKS. To my dismay upon pressing the RT key (no idea what it is on keyboard, if you're playing on keyboard good luck) I was presently surprised to see a dark black void in the place of where the clues should be. Unacceptable, reprehensible, and absolutely flat out revolting. I would like to point out, that these two game breaking bugs were discovered in the short short time of about an hour. Actually, as I type this I've remembered a nice bug that I also encountered in the pre-chapter character select screen. No matter how you many times you mash the select button to choose your character, nothing happens. Did I ever tell you the definition of insanity? Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome. That's right ladies and gentleman, the main menu itself drove me to the point of mental exhaustion. I'd like to say that I have a steady head on my shoulders, but this game really put me to the test. The only Song of Horror here is the sound of the incessant crying and voice acting of the lady in my ear as I tried to solve the photograph puzzle. As I write this, I am tempted by the box of Beanboozled Jelly Beans on my desk. As rancid as they are, I would rather shove an entire handful in my gullet, than experience the travesty that you call "Chapter 5" again. Those who know me (ask around) know that I rarely do get upset, but by GOLLY have you guys done it this time. AGAIN, I want to point out that I LOVED the first three chapters of the game. It would be unfair of me to only point out the bad. I understand that the developers worked hard and put their best into creating an enjoyable horror atmosphere and gaming experience. Some of the puzzles in the first three chapters were some of the best I've seen in the horror genre. Chapter four was a disappointment as I said, but I thought as I went to sleep that night that there was no way it could get worse. Boy was I in for the rudest awakening west of the Mississippi. Now, if you really want to get in depth, the game breaking bugs weren't the only problem. The story is a convoluted mess, the amount of characters and timeline skips is simply too chaotic for the average human gamer, and for the love of everything that is holy, why do the teeth of all the character models look like they've been eating gravel for the past ten years. Now, I understand that the game takes place in a older timeline, but for crying out loud dentists have been around since the Bible. You cant't tell me that someone of Daniel's stature can't finesse a simple root canal once every five years. Alright alright, irrelevancy aside, if they simple go back and put out a couple patches like they did after the uproar of complaints from chapter 4, I'm sure they can make chapter 5 a bit of a masterpiece. I made the grave mistake of purchasing all five chapters of this game after playing the first. I have been hoodwinked, led astray, bamboozled, and flat out deceived by the initial bait that was chapter 1. Honestly, you guys should teach a course in theft, lying, and dishonesty because I have fallen victim to all three of the listed crimes. AGAIN, I am not one to get upset and I am fighting tooth and nail here to keep my head on my shoulders, but right now it feels like I'm in one of those old airhead commercials, where the head gets so big and explodes. Sincerely I thank you for reading this, and I hope the game gets patched or updated so I can enjoy Song of Horror as I did back in 2019. Thank you, and have a blessed day. -whisqey ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ EDIT JUNE 6TH 2020: I have gone back and finished the game after receiving a sincere and respectful response from the developers regarding my initial complaints. I have always enjoyed chapters 1-3. Now that chapter 4 is patched, I'm sure it joins the others in being just as enjoyable. Chapter 5 had some issues, and the glaring problems with it have been swiftly addressed by the developer team. I was too quick to judge chapter 5 harshly, and maybe considering the fact that I played it the day it came out, there were a couple hiccups. If anything, I am honored and glad to have helped improve the game for any players that might pick it up down the line. I will admit, I was lost on the story for a major portion of my play-through, however nearly all of my questions were answered in the 5th and final chapter. Well done. The puzzles at the end only got better and better. There was variety, nothing felt repetitive (besides maybe fighting off the presence, but that's no big deal). As someone who has played every horror game under the sun, I understand the basic structure of crafting games in the genre. Song of Horror pushed the boundaries and thought outside of the box, to bring horror enthusiasts around the world a fresh take on story and game play. While there were some annoyances, I would say it's nearly impossible to craft a game with zero flaws. Overall, I give the game a 7/10. There was frustration, there was impatience, but in the end there was redemption. Well done lads, can't wait for the next one. - whisqey