Okay, where do I start.
The opening scene was the best part. The reporter sounded real and I was engaged. AI powered voice lines for the reporter was the right choice. But for the human characters, it just drags me out of the game. It sounds soulless and monotone. But I guess that's the downside of AI text to speech.
The maps are nice to look at. But does not reward exploration. For instance, the 1st map, the house, looks really nice. I want to go around and look around the house but nothing is interactable. Maybe add some lines for some items in the house like, "an old photo of me and Neeta at the beach. That was a unforgettable evening" or "leftover pasta in the fridge. Maybe dad is going to cook it for tonight". This would make exploration much more interesting.
On a side note, some furniture/sprites are placed on the wall. I'm sure this was intentional (to save space?), but for me it slightly effects the atmosphere of the room. It look like wallpaper instead haha
Moving on, there are no transitions when we switch maps. We always teleport from one room to another room. This saves time, but it has a very huge impact on the immersion. Every time it happens, it confuses me and brings me out of the game world. A solution would be an outside world to explore, or a quick transition scene.
The dialogues are ok, but slightly weak. Some proofreading is required as some lines are weird. I have to say it was definitely rushed. Take some time to build up the world and characters to be more believable. For now, all the characters are unconvincing. Example, the interrogation scene between the sheriff and Amez. It felt so rushed. I felt like the sheriff wasn't doing his job properly. He needs to ask and interrogate more.
The girl in the cafe is so weird. Out of nowhere, the MC immediately trusts this girl. Like, "oh you know my name? Oooh its because you have this power to know the history of items". Also, I wished I could talk to other people in the cafe.
After that is the hospital scene I think. I quit the game for awhile because I was stuck haha. It was really a pain to press everything in the hospital just to find out " its locked". And the slow walking makes it even worse. A dash option would be good.
After finding his girlfriend was cheating on him, the MC says that he still loves her, not even affecting him in the slightest. This was totally unbelievable. The MC always says the he loves Neeta with all his heart, but that's all he ever says. It doesn't make me believe him. Give a better reason, like "she was there for me even at my worst moments.", "she helped me when I was at rock bottom" "she loves me like no else, she's the one for me". Something with more detail that may convince the player that he actually loves her. Not just " I love her as much as I love myself".
Going back to the hospital scene, after pressing everything, I finally found out I needed to press Neeta's computer. And then after that, the boss's room is not locked anymore? Very weird and frustrating. I lol'ed when the boss teleported to me. I want to say you did not had the time to put in the walking animation, but it would make more sense if he actually teleported because of what happens next. The MC is teleported/brought/dragged to a very creepy place. I thought the boss had some kind of super power or something.
The flashlight mechanic was pretty cool and interesting. But the walk speed was a pain. Additionally, I wish there were doors or indicators to show which paths are doors. For instance, there were 3 doors at creepy hospital scene, but only the middle one was passable. I don't wanna walk slowly to everything just to find out its uninteractable.
A great addition would've been a goal/task/mission indicator. Most of the time I thought I was done with the place but it doesn't let me exit, so I have to go back and explore. (Most notably the hospital scene)
The story feels rushed (gameplay wise also). The sheriff caught the MC and puts him in jail, but the MC immediately escapes. The red lady sitting on the throne, the girl at the cafe, the scene at the MCs girlfriend house and the ending.
The scene at the Neeta's apartment was boring. I had to walk up slowly to every door, finding out its locked, and the last door is the correct door. (Lucky me) Again, I wish the doors had indicators, or actual doors, so I know whats what.
The MC also does not known where his girlfriend lives and he's never been there. While slightly weird, its still believable. The MC goes to the safe, to find out that Neeta may still be alive. Wait how? I want details and explanation of what he found. Not just the conclusion of it.
Again, the MC is teleported to the hellish world. The MC seems pretty chill with it. As the user Beregon perfectly summarise it "just another flat tire situation for Amez" 😆
This part was a lot of walking in the dark.. Slowly... through maze-like layouts in a very creepy place. Sounds good on paper, but turns out to be tedious instead. Oh, and now I have a gun and a bullet out of nowhere. I guess I got it from Neeta's safe?
On a side note, the inventory system is functional. But wish I could click on items to find out more info/details.
After walking around aimlessly, the MC finally meets the bad guys, the people behind the murders. Who are they? I have no idea, but Amez certainly knows them.
3 guys in hoodies. Is it Doctor S, the cafe girl, and the red lady? Or maybe the dad too as he was pretty weird. And then boom, Amez just shoots all of them and gets back together with Neeta. A simple and happy ending for Amez, or is it?
Maybe Amez was captured by the hooded people and put into an everlasting dream just to have his body be sacrificed in a ritual to the Red Lady. Or was he captured by Doctor S with his powers and is now being under messed upped experiments.
I have to say, the ending was anti climatic and unsatisfying. I'm still not sure what was the "twist". Was it the red lady? Or the hooded people? Or the hellish world Amez goes in. Is the hellish world all just part of Amez's imagination as he is going insane because he lost the love of his life?
None the less, the game was mediocre at best for me. The story could've made more sense if there weren't so many teleportations and skips. At first I was hooked by the story as I wanted to know what happened to Neeta. But ultimately was just confused and disappointed in the end.
Take your time on your next game. Make the NPC's unique and believable , make the world interesting and fun to explore, take time on the writing and story. Slowly build up the dialogues, don't just hit us with conclusions.
You have amazing potential. You just need to put more time into it and plan everything out more. I look forward to your next game Ikmal!