Windows

Shady Brook

Shady Brook succeeds to create a unique atmosphere, partially due to the really unusual, moving and creepy story. And graphically the game improved substantially compared to its predecessor. Numerous exciting cutscenes with some impressing close-ups and varied puzzles push the story line and complete the general good impression. If I rate it as high as 84 % now, then also, because I honour the quasi one-man work of an independent developer, even if this hardly carries weight any more because of the professionalism and the wonderful design. Concerning fun and suspense Shady Brook can keep up easily with commercial products anyway.

In conclusion, the high points of Shady Brook are the immersive and dark storyline, interesting characters, good music and worthy cut scenes. It would have been great to see more puzzles in the game. Those who are really into games with a lot of puzzles will likely be turned off. Those demanding top notch graphics will also be disappointed. But, if the high points listed above fall into your gaming niche, then head over to the website at www.unimatrix.com and get yourself a copy. I’m glad I did and I look forward to more of what Christopher Brendel has to offer us. His games are unique and add needed flavor to our gaming world.

Se cercate un gioco con enigmi complicati, con molta interattività, con una grafica all'ultimo grido, questo gioco non fa per voi. Se cercate un thriller denso di atmosfera e con una storia di buona qualità, ve lo consiglio.

If you ever end up on some lonely stretch of highway, far from home, and see the soft lights of a roadside motel, a word of warning. If the city limit sign reads Welcome to Shady Brook, best drive on by. But of course, gamers rarely listen. So go ahead, stretch your legs, grab a cup of coffee and stroll around a bit. But watch your back and keep your engine running. In Shady Brook, people who linger too long never find their way home.

Mr Brendel and Unimatrix were responsible for the unassuming Lifestream, an enjoyable blend of story and puzzles that emerged last year. Shady Brook is another independent effort and was apparently born as a script for a possible short horror film, one which didn't get the green light so became a game instead. Though not that horrific, it does have some dark and sinister moments, and whilst I didn't think it lived up to its predecessor, Mr Brendel should certainly be encouraged to keep making his story driven games.

College is a place rife with "in jokes" created by insular groups of friends coining phrases that immediately enter the clique's vernacular. One that circulated among my friends back in the day was "dill pickle." It meant anything that was eerily odd and subtly offsetting. Strange encounters in convenience stores at 4 a.m. were "dill pickle." Marathon six-hour drives across the Arizona desert while listening to Pink Floyd's Ummagumma at low volume while reading aloud from Naked Lunch were "dill pickle." Most of H.P. Lovecraft's stories were "dill pickle." I haven't thought about that term in ages, but playing Christopher Brendel's new indie adventure game, Shady Brook, brought back the meaning of the phrase in full.

For many of us, adventure games are all about The Story. The puzzles are nice and the exploration is fun, but it is the story which ultimately decides whether we want to come back for more.