I'm talking about that totally original 10-minute-Amnesia-ripoff, with that zombie chasing you.
I hate this part, but it's kinda difficult for me to describe why, but i'll try:

- 95% of the game i was really calm, i mean look at this game, it's beautiful! But then there's that part and i kinda begun to freak out...maybe because it was in the middle of the night while playing and i definetly didn't saw that coming!

- As i already mentioned, putting a 10-min-amnesia-horror-part into an mystery adventure with absolutely no Horror-Elements during 95% of the game seems very uninspired. WOW, now you can put the "Horror-Tag" in the Game-Description, GJ!

- That part is 100% not relevant to the story at all. OKAY, the story with that zombie being doomed to wander aroud that mines forever blabla is kinda cool but this whole part did not contribute to the overall-Story at all. Prove me wrong.

- Overall Problem of the game: To see the ending, the game requires you to see/play ALL the parts (Traps, Astronaut,Portal-House,...) of the game. If you didn't see all of this, you must go back and find whatever you missed.
That's just bad design here. Many parts of the game can easily be optional, don't force the player to see everything, you just destroy the "flow".


But all in all, still a pretty (<-- especially!) good game.
And what do you guys think?

That part was a little unnerving, but the miner was easy to avoid. And there are maps all over the place, ensuring you can't get lost. The good news is that the code for the gate is the same in every playthrough, so you can find a spoiler online, then make a beeline for the room with the spiral staircase and input the code. You don't have to trigger all the dead miners.

I can appreciate how the game lulls you into a false sense of security, then pulls a trick like that. Kind of like in "Scratches", when you think the game engine can display only static images (really not appropriate for jump scares), there's a moment that you won't easily forget.

What unnerves me the most of this part is that you are ACTIVELY invoking the Great Ancient One that was seeping in our reality poisoning the minds of Ethan's family. It is utter nonsense. Ok, from this part onward, up to the ending, there is not so much that made sense anyway.
A pity, really.

Aside from the fact that the story is directly inspired by Weird Fiction and writers like Lovecraft? Aside from the fact that the devs specifically mention that they want a creeping sense of unease and looming horror throughout the game? And you say it has "absolutely no horror elements"? It was another one of Ethan's stories, and it contributes as much and in the same way as the other ones. The "flow" is unaffected, since you do all of them at your own pace, when you want to. Without going through all the side-stories the main story wouldn't have any of its impact which would lead to a much diminished experience for the player.

I think the miner part has its place in the game among all the other short stories. It shows another aspect of the genre that served as inspiration for game in the first place. It might have been executed better, but I don't wish it gone altogether.

First, thanks for your feedback mate, appreciate it ;)

1) Personally, i never felt a "creeping sense of unease and looming horror throughout the game". The game definetly managed to give you the feeling of "somethings not right..." but i never felt uneased or scared. That why i complain, get it? the whole game was kinda "easy going" but then the game turns into something else. Of course, this is my opinion and i understand your argument!

2) On this one i can't agree. The only parts that matter to the ending were the parts, where you had to recreate the murder. Everything else was really just optional backstory, and i would not force the player to see all of this if he doesn't wants to. Think of it as Main- and Side-Quests, and the Zombie-Part clearly is a Side-Quest.

3) If you are basically at the very end of the game, ready to see the ending because you knew: "Thats it, that must be the ending now and i can't wait to see what's up" AND then must(!) go back to complete all the "Quests" in order to complete the game then this is what i consider classic bad design, call it backtracking. Backtracking always destroys the flow. In a story-driven adventure like this, problems like this even do more damage to the game.

I recently bought and finished the game and I'm very pleased with it overall. The game world is just a pleasure to explore. It not only looks fantastic, but it feels like a real location. The problem solving in the game was also well done.

As for the story, well, it was decent. At first I thought the whole "sleeper" storyline felt a bit cliched with weak dialogue to go with that. Somehow, it also seemed ridiculous that the Carter family would've been the only residents in that area. Ofcourse, at least the latter part made sense after the ending, but it just felt a bit flat. Ethan's stories were too complex, it didn't feel believeable that he'd written them and the twist ending lacked any punch.

EDIT:
Finished the game myself, and I can confirm that the ghoul in maze is the only jumpscary element in game. (Traps were kind of jumpy, but not horrifying.) Runaway the swinging lanter light and you are safe.