Still Life

Moby ID: 17411
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

Two separate murder cases, in two separate lifetimes -- so alike .. so similar in the smallest of details that one could believe they were performed by the same person. Impossible! One of the crimes took place 75 years ago, while the other just happened! Is someone copying an old serial killer .. or is it remotely possible that the same murderer is still alive and committing more crimes?

Victoria McPherson is an FBI agent investigator based in Chicago. While visiting her father and talking about their family, they discuss her grandfather, former P.I. Gustav McPherson (from Post Mortem). Finding Gus' diary in an old attic trunk, she picks it up and begins to read ...

In this point and click mystery adventure, you'll play both Victoria in modern Chicago as well as her grandfather, Gus, in Prague in the 1920s. Meet and talk with over 20 characters, explore Chicago and Prague and solve puzzles while investigating in two time periods.

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Credits (Windows version)

236 People (228 developers, 8 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 76% (based on 56 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.9 out of 5 (based on 77 ratings with 4 reviews)

Nice adventure/horror game... but leaves many things unsolved

The Good
- Graphics: Nice job! Graphics may not be breath-taking, but they are quite pleasant to the eye... in a dark, scary way. The characters and items are presented as 3D models, while the pre-rendered backgrounds are nice to look at. The lightning effects are well done, as well as reflection (the water looks pretty good).

  • Story: Quite interesting and intriguing. You play two characters through present and past time, trying to solve the mystery behind several murders.

  • Music/Sound: The music suits very well the mood of the game. Specially the music of the introductory sequence. The sound effects are also good.

  • Videos/Movies: The video sequences are very well done and add a sense of "action" and achievement. Some of them are quite gory and dramatic, so young players should avoid this title. One high point is that you can watch any video whenever you want (once you unlock it).

  • Acting: The dialogs are quite funny; the language used is (sometimes, not always) kind of rude / vulgar, but it adds a touch of realism I think.

    The Bad
    - Gameplay: Sometimes, gameplay is too linear. For example: you happen to find an item, but you won't be able to pick it up if a previous event has not taken place yet. Also some puzzles may be too hard (and sometimes annoying) for some people. But if you like challenges, this is your game.

  • Other: The game actually is fairly short (if you are good solving puzzles, that is). Also when you finish it, it just leaves many things unsolved... a sequel would be nice (actually, a sequel is a must - the developers seem to almost force the need of a sequel; I didn't like this aspect very much). But this is my personal opinion.

    The Bottom Line
    "Still Life" is a point-and-click adventure/horror game, where you play as a female FBI officer (Victoria) and a male private detective (Gus). The main goal of the game is to discover the criminal behind a series of murders.. or at least you think so. The agent Victoria is an appealing character to play as; but sometimes the sequences where you play as Gus happen to be more intriguing. It's OK since both of their investigations are linked and you direct both of them. Several secrets and surprises await for them.

The storyline is great (and very dark) and it may suck you in completely, despite of the hard puzzles. Discovering the story of Gus (linked completely to Victoria's investigation) is very interesting. There are jokes eventually (simple humor, nothing perverted) that relief a bit the dark atmosphere of the game.

As for the puzzles... you may want to use a walkthrough for some of them... though it may reduce drastically the playing time. There's a puzzle sequence that it's actually popular for being very hard, but you can easily find a saved-game to by-pass it in the net.

The interface is simple and elegant. The inventory is very clean (there are no useless objects cluttering it). You can either combine items, use them or take a closer look at them (you can rotate and zoom for examining them, which is very useful). Another high point is that you can save anywhere with no restrictions. I found no bugs with my copy (Spanish version): I finished the game with no problems.

"Still Life" is a very good adventure/horror game, despite of its linearity and hard puzzles. For me, the bad aspect about it was... well, you should've seen my face when I finished the game... my eyes seemed to be a pair of question marks (?_?). Many things were left unsolved; that's the reason because I both liked and disliked its end: the need for a sequel. But as I said, it's just my personal opinion; yours may differ completely.

Windows · by Christian Munive (5) · 2006

Good but not great

The Good
There is a lot to like about this game, in fact there's not much wrong with it. The art work is very good and they cleverly use different colour pallets for the different time periods. Very good video sequences in this game.

The sound effects and music are well done. The music is good and does its job without being noticed, I only realised how much it added to the game when, in Chicago, it changed and abruptly started playing some thrash metal dirge that wasn't relevant to the scene at all.

The puzzles are generally good. There is a maze in this game, which I know some gamers hate, but honestly it shouldn't cause too many problems. There's also a sliding block puzzle but most of the game's puzzles are to do with performing tasks in the right order or unlocking safes, boxes etc. The game provides all the information the player needs to solve each puzzle but, be warned, some of the clues are a very subtle.

The game saves, loads and played flawlessly for me under WIN XP but I have seen some reports that it does not play under Vista.

The storyline is good without presenting too many surprise twists and the script is also a sound piece of work that is well executed.

The Bad
The game very linear, there's one path through it and that's it. There are points where I knew what I wanted to do but I could not until I had a conversation with someone who suggested that I take that course of action. Some games do allow a degree of freedom - this is not one of them.



The Bottom Line
A good, solid game that I finished in under fifteen hours. Having said that I did use a cheat sheet twice.

For me the game was good but not remarkable. It's good enough for me to pick up the prequel, Post Mortem, and the sequel, Still Life 2, but it's not something I would play again

Windows · by piltdown_man (232926) · 2013

A great horror/drama!!

The Good
The graphics, the risque scenes, and the plot all formed creates a wonderful experience better than watching CSI on TV. You're put into the shoes of a snazzy female detective to figure out who's killing who.

The storyline is pretty good, as you travel from place to place looking for clues and answers. The game even takes you back into the past with one of her relatives solving a case.

The graphics are top-notch, and the details can be seen clearly, even from the dust on the floor to the markings on the wall, all play a key role in the game.

You also get to play with some real-life equipment such as black lights to reveal a clue, to learning how to lift a fingerprint off a coffee mug with precision. The puzzles in the game are challenging and somewhat tedious.

The cutscenes varies, I have mixed opinions about it. Cutscenes heighten the plots of the game, and some are well constructed and vivid. Definitely not meant for the younger audience hence the Mature rating it gives.

The controls are simple just like any other adventure game. The usual click with the mouse to do certain things. Reminds you of Syberia.

The Bad
It's too short and leaves you hanging at the end. Wondering if there will be a sequel or not. Apparently they haven't announced it yet...

Voice is acting on par, but still sounds repetitive and from the same person in some cutscenes. Cutscenes are okay in some parts, and crappy in others. The gameplay is pretty much linear and doesn't offer much roaming around. It's also a slow game, I mean, who needs to see her enter the same building 5 times, and open doors, after doors, after doors.

The puzzles range from challenging to almost pulling-your-hair-out. One mistake and you have to start all over, some puzzles require you to continue the story, and you'll be spending hours trying to solve the same puzzle. So definitely not a good thing with casual gamers or lightweights.



The Bottom Line
It's a great game if you're tired of the usual CSI routine games they come out with. Has a great twist and has variety, plus a good learning experience in problem solving as well as realistic detective work. Not a game to recommend to minors, because it does show some disturbing scenes that would even wrench some folks out of their seats. A great classic Jack the Ripper game done with dialogue and puzzles to solve!

Windows · by Twilightseer (252) · 2006

[ View all 4 player reviews ]

Trivia

In the cutscene where the guard dog attacks Gustav, we see the dog on a leash, then without it, though the dog still acts as if the chain prevents it from getting to Gustav (cf. screenshots).

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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Jeanne.

Macintosh added by me3D31337.

Additional contributors: Chentzilla.

Game added April 18, 2005. Last modified February 5, 2024.