Blindscape 4+

I love the concept at play here, especially because it makes the player venture into the unknown through a pov that many of us will never have to experience. I hope that you continue on this because I think it has the makings of a truly fantastic game. The music and attention to sound is a beautiful touch as well. I would advise that you maybe revise the description at the end because there’s a typo (an extra “life” is in there) and also to say it’s from the pov of a man in an authoritarian society who is trying to escape his life by ending it sort of sounds like he’s trying to hurt himself and several of the people who I had recommended this game to were really put off by the suicidal vibes of the description. Also, the pacing is a bit uneven, he gets through the city so quickly and there’s an opportunity to incorporate more events within his journey getting out of the precinct. Otherwise I think you’ve got something extremely special here, and I would love to see it flourish into a full on game that includes what happens beyond that door.

While the execution of the current storyline in Blindscape is phenomenal, with it being such a unique concept and controls, the storyline left me wanting so much more. It’s literally so short, I finished it in less than 10 minutes and most of that time was listening to this protagonist monologue and drop hints about a climax and just the hope of more worldbuilding that never really happened. They give the player SO much random bits of worldbuilding and backstory, only for nothing to come of it. Everything stated in the description here that you read before even playing the game is pretty much the only semblance of plot/development that the world and protagonist receive. Again, I reiterate, this concept is wonderful and I loved the use of sound to orient the player. I would definitely recommend playing with headphones, it makes the experience much more realistic. Even with that said, I just found the story lackluster and somewhat unbelievable at times. For example, if the protagonist has barely left their room since losing their sight, how can they navigate so well? It left me with so many questions and just made me want to develop it more. I’m sure there is a larger plot here, and even if the story isn’t plot based and is meant to be some sort of abstract metaphor, this should be made more full and obvious. Still, it was an interesting experience! I hope it will be further developed in the future.

The audio, the plot- overall it’s an awesome piece of work. A more expressive voice would definitely help out to make it even better than it is! Since this is a game reliant on our hearing and touch, a very important part is to listen to our protagonist’s voice so we can understand the plot and know what tasks to complete. I just feel like if there was some work on the voice acting, it’d make the game feel all the more immersive. Personally, I found the protagonist’s voice kind of... dull? Even though he’s endured the living hell of an oppressive government that stripped him of his sight, throughout the story he seems tired. Bored, almost. The tiredness could probably stem from him “giving up on the world” kinda schtick, but a protagonist with some more personality would get me more emotionally invested.

The concept and gameplay is definitely one of a kind, so it’s not expected for this to be a masterpiece. I think it’s pretty good. I especially liked the part where you had to walk towards the water drops. Even though the voice acting wasn’t the best, I applaud whoever was in charge of the sound effects and editing! Y’all did awesome.

All in all, this game is worth playing if you have 10 minutes to spare. This game was truly a piece of art.