Gameplay:
The gameplay is pretty simple, you collect keys for different rooms to unlock others, read notes along the way that help explain the story, and occasionally have to remember a code to access special locations. It works, though I was hoping there would be a little more to the puzzles.
Story:
The story was interesting, I'm used to seeing games about families from a human perspective not from their robots or AI! This game also includes both sci-fi and supernatural elements and I always love seeing those paired together. I think they could have been blended a little better though? There were a couple moments were the clash of genres was a little jarring- specifically because of how the people talk in the notes feels older, and their appreciation for older things like books, instruments, and painting made them feel kind of out of time with the more sci-fi elements.
I think if there was just one or two more details it could have made a bit more sense why such old fashioned people had a robot to begin with. Especially because a lot of the notes don't even mention the main character, I didn't always understand what their place was in this family.
Presentation:
Most of the UI is the basic RPGMaker one, a few included older elements like class, health and mana, which weren't really used in this game. The look itself was pretty unique, but I think more music, in-game sound effects, and a little bit more customization with the menus and the title screen would have helped sell the mood of the game better. A small note, there weren't a lot of misspellings but there were some grammar errors (their instead of they're, maybe a few others) so the writing might need a look.
Creativity:
When I first started playing and saw the note about how the visuals don't always match up with what is actually there, I felt a bit excited. The premise is actually pretty cool- you play a robot/AI with limited visual sensors, and have to navigate through a storm ravaged mansion in order to find out the family's secret? That's really interesting!
It also lends itself well to puzzles, as maybe you have to figure out what some objects are without being able to "see" what they are. I was actually a little disappointed I didn't see this in the game, like, maybe in order to find one of the keys a note tells you it's hidden behind one of the master's paintings. It tells you the name of the painting and everything, but the problem is, you can't see the paintings themselves! So you'll have to rely on clues, like maybe you know this is one of the character's favorite paintings, so you have to look at the painting in their room, or something like that.
In fact, I thought there might even be a puzzle where you have to find a key that someone has, so you find it somewhere and then move on, only realizing later that the sensors didn't pick up that the person was dead! I was actually in dread of that for much of the game. Maybe that's kind of morose, but I thought it would be a good way to point out the visual limitations and the possible horrors associated with that.
Horror:
There were a little bit of horror elements, including me once or twice finding "organic matter" which was a little unnerving since as we already talked about, you don't always know what you're looking at in this game. However beyond what's mentioned in the notes, most of the game is pretty lacking in either direct scares or an unnerving mood. I think even just a little bit of unnerving music, or even music with slight computer glitches would have helped to bring this element out a lot more.
Theme:
The game is certainly about a family and their secret. I was kind of hoping the reveal would have a little more build-up, I think one of the notes tells you directly but I would have liked maybe if they talked about about the master's son first, talk about some of the feelings the family had leading up to the "event", or even maybe we have to walk through one of the rooms that has things they were trying to keep hidden or secret. Of course one of these rooms could already have been just that, in which case I think it would help to make it a little more obvious, maybe have some required dialogue mentioning how "strange" the room is or something like that.
Overall:
A nice little game, the premise is pretty interesting I just wish that more had been done with it.