This is a mish-mash of so many niche ideas and themes: turn-of-the-millennium Internet, clamshell phones, Y2K, Heaven's Gate-esque cults, and doomsday prophecies. Three's a lot going on in this game that I don't think a single playthrough to process it does it justice. This is a great example of a project forming around so many inspired themes and influences that it just naturally works out!
At its heart, this is game is (mostly) a vehicle to deliver the narrative, and it does a good job with the UI of juggling different characters and conversations. Critically the game shakes things up with dialogue interspersed when heading out to the warehouse or checking out the Internet/BBS. I think this pads out the game nicely and also adds enough variety to keep a player motivated to continue.
The only feedback I can give is that dialogue-heavy games tend to violate the 'show don't tell' principle of design. I don't think it matters in this case, but this game has a lot of dialogue and that may deter some people from persevering. I think reining in the focus of the narrative could help, but at the same time the experience of recieving a barrage of weird texts is kind of the whole point of the game!
Thanks for submitting Vertigo Temple to the SCREAM MACHINE jam!
- SCREAM CATALOGUE