Review Summary
Positive:
Negatives:
Overview:
Creepy Tale: Some Other Place is visually gorgeous, has interesting spooky characters and fascinating mechanics. Although a bit short, it is a worthy successor to the Creepy Tale series.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to step into one of the Grimm brothers’ fairy tales? Creepy Tale: Some Other Place is the newest release of the Creepy Brother development studio. This game is the fourth and latest entry into the indie series, Creepy Tale. It is a horror puzzle game with a point & click format. This latest instalment lets you revisit the Creepy Tale’s ghastly fairytale world, where we meet Martin, our current hero. Martin lives with his mother, two brothers, and a baby sister. While they eat breakfast, Martin’s brothers are planning on going mushroom picking on this fine morning. But Martin is tired of mushrooms! He decides to go fishing instead, so that his mom can cook some of that tasty fish soup he likes so much. Martin is not like his brothers who are always in search of adventures, but somehow adventure seems to find him. He is quietly fishing on the pier when he encounters a strange little creature. Martin follows it through a well, and finds himself in an unsettling alternate world filled with nightmarish monsters and spooky characters. Of course, it wouldn’t be a self-respecting fairy tale without a rescue mission and a happy ending.
Creepy Tale: Some Other Place has ten chapters. Each one is an area in and of itself. You must complete the puzzles in each of them before progressing to the next. There is an overarching story, but each chapter also has a theme of its own. It seems to get creepier as you get further into the game; I kept wondering what kind of horrific creatures I was about to encounter in the next area. You’ll come across a giant sasquatch, a cave filled with dwarven miners, and even a witch. Eventually you acquire a ring which adds an interesting time manipulation mechanic to the game. Time mechanics are abundant in puzzle games, but the way Creepy Brothers uses it is pretty unique, adding a new type of puzzle to the Creepy Tale series. It is strongly recommended playing with a controller. You could probably use a keyboard and mouse to play, but it’s not going to be optimal. I played using a controller and had a great experience. I did however try playing using a keyboard and mouse, and it was not as intuitive, so I would highly recommend following the developer’s advice and using a controller. The puzzles have interesting mechanics. They are not overly complicated, but do require a bit of reflection. Some of the puzzles I found bothersome. Solving them almost seemed a result of chance and it didn’t appear to be a design choice related to the story. Even with these occasionally frustrating puzzles that take longer to complete, the game is still very short. It should take most players around three hours to complete, but could be a bit longer for beginners. Creepy Tale has a gorgeous 2D visual style. It’s dark and gloomy which is perfect for this type of game. The visuals have evolved through each of the four games, but never lost their unique style. I love that. Too often creators will try to improve on an already winning formula by completely changing the style and ruining what made their game so unique in the first place. Creepy Brothers have found a formula that works and have only made small improvements from game to game while keeping the spirit of the game intact. The sound effects and music are created by Alexander Ahura, who has done a fantastic job with it. The music captures the sinister atmosphere superbly. The voice acting is also high quality. The developer has managed to create a truly spine tingling atmosphere. One aspect that I would like to see implemented is the ability to save mid-chapter. The auto save only works when you complete a chapter. The chapters are not that long, but if you are stuck on a puzzle and want to take a break, you will have to start the chapter over. Creepy Tale: Some Other Place features many chapters filled with menacing characters, spooky places and a bone chilling atmosphere reminiscent of the Grimm brothers’ fairy tales. It still feels a bit too short for my taste. With it’s beautiful visuals and puzzling riddles, this game has lived up to my expectations and is deserving of its place in this hit series. Review written by VEE for Zeepond.com