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The best parts of the game are the visuals, sound, and atmosphere. The art style has a chalkboard aesthetic that fits the game well and adds a lot of charm. The music is both spooky and sort of catchy and soothing at the same time, and the sound effects are appropriate. Enhancing it all is the story. Finding written paper and piecing the story together is satisfying, and there's a sense of mystery and tragedy that succeeds in getting emotion out of the player. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a proper resolution for it all, and the story isn't set up in a way that hints at such an anticlimax coming. It's cool seeing the child in chains, but it's underwhelming to walk off the right edge and suddenly have the game end there. Despite that, this is a genuinely scary experience with a lot of promise.

What holds the experience back from its full potential is the gameplay. The control scheme is a mixed bag. Aiming the torch with a mouse is intuitive and easy to do, but the keyboard layout is a bit cumbersome. Space for jumping and A & D for moving means having to space the fingers and thumb out in a way that's awkward and not very intuitive. Having W also be jump would be nice, same for the right click on the mouse. I also don't see the point of having to press a button for a door given the amount of space the player is given in relation to them. Lighting platforms with the torch is also clunky, as you have to light it at all times to land on them which adds unnecessary frustration. The collision is also questionable; I found myself sliding off some platforms if I'm too close to the edge, which isn't bad but does take away from the precision of the platforming. Lastly, having your character die upon running out of battery makes no sense; the only punishment for not having the torch on is not being able to see platforms and deadly ghosts. If this was done to prevent the player from getting stuck, a suicide button would have done the job.

Conclusion: This is a fascinating project with a lot of potential to be a genuinely fun and compelling 2D platforming horror game. If the gameplay was less clunky and had better design, and the story was able to end on a satisfying note, it would be an undeniable classic. Considering this is a project and not really a full game, that potential has a second chance to be fully realised someday. Overall, an admirable, if often tedious effort. 5/10.