Hello Cruel World

Disclaimer: I didn't finish the game. While Hello Cruel World advertises itself as a horror puzzle game, the emphasis is heavily shifted towards the puzzle part with not much horror or story to it. What you mostly do (that I've seen) is open doors using convoluted Tesla coil chains and the whole thing isn't trying to feel like something you'd actually need to solve in a real life situation. The story seems interesting but unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much of it around, told mostly by your disembodied guide and a few e-mails and recordings. I didn't feel very immersed in the world. Interactivity is limited - you can only pick up objects that directly or indirectly pertain to a puzzle, plus there are no hand collisions. The game also gives you a chat window where you can read the replies of your followers, but it repeats too often and doesn't actually help you. You get an interesting technological gadget early on but I haven't seen it used meaningfully during the first two thirds of the game. Overall the graphics look decent, gets the feel of an abandoned underground facility across fairly well. I haven't noticed any issues with the exception being a really crappy head torch. It's amusing when the stream chat actually mentions this but it's not as funny when you have to deal with it. Sound effects seem fine but personally I find the sound design lacking. In concrete wall underground rooms, I would expect the sound to travel and there being a good bit of reverb. The isn't much ambient music but I liked what I could hear at times. Overall I think this game had potential with its interesting premise but is hindered by same-ish puzzles with limited imagination. Recommended if you really like tedious puzzle fests like The Talos Principle and only scraps of story in between. The description made it sound like a harrowing experience and I guess that's what I got, just not in the way I expected.