Claire

Be sure to check out [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/37670120/]"DaRevieweD"[/url], y'know THAT brutally honest yet beloved Steam curator that you haven't followed yet!? [h1]PROS;[/h1] + Gameplay is pretty much the same as every other walking simulator horror title or is it now? Well, you have scavenger hunt type puzzles, twice the amount than in Claire, that will occupy you for about a solid hour so make sure you keep your eyes peeled all around! I read people found them tough but I much rather enjoyed them and solved them with ease. Though I could see why some may condemn them and give up halfway. It's an acquired taste after all and I possess superior intellect, what can I say! There's also the little nook and cranny details that I wholly welcome which flesh out the family tree and grant some good ol' foreshadowing of fates. All in all, the mental deterioration of an ordeal lasts 3-4 hours~ https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3641745886 + The chases make up the other mechanic that set Claire apart from Ethel, thus they deserve their own pro because they aren't your standard "scripted chase run in a pre-defined path for a bit to escape" fodder. They double as tense stealth sequences where you have to rely on both your spatial memory of the interiors of the house and your hopefully accurate hearing as you're bathed in total darkness. The patrolling spirits may or may not have some pesky habits built in too... Shh, I've said too much! + Ethel was an audio Picasso, so what does that make Claire? I'd reckon the latter is a museum of Picasso's masterpieces...! There's still the signature creaks, murmurs, and whispers but with slightly more restraint. Voice acting has been implemented tenfold and that's always a win in my eyes or rather ears, hoho! Beth's tone is characterized by hopeful naivete and a prim proper cadence, she was a joy to listen to! The ensemble fit right at home too with no obvious weak links. + Tony Shoulders must either moonlight as an architect or was one in a past life. Why, you ask? Just look at Claire's pad, MMM! Whereas Ethel's cozy residence was the embodiment of claustrophobia awash with depressants, Claire's is grand but not too lavish with traces of the former's spirit coming and going depending on the mood lighting, if at all. I can't wait to see where the next game ventures! I need another spooky staycation, pronto! + In all truthfulness, I much preferred the tightknit and nuclear-family-esque nature that revolved around Thomas. And I was pretty perplexed and bewildered by the extended family of Beth and Claire. It was a traumatic hark back to the rapid fire recollections that your mom could muster with the snap of a finger and 99% rate of accuracy too. Then it hit me, yeah, families are meant to be complex and secretive. For that alone, the realism of it all brought it up in good standing yet again. Once I brushed through that, I could genuinely appreciate the melodrama that followed and I wanted to beat the living daylights out of Claire. That poor fool! I won't ever understand certain character motivations, but I can respect it especially if it is deemed significant to them. + What makes it scary? For one, you'll be either pleased or utterly crushed and might I add fearful to know that the jumpscares have been toned down. Now, you can only wait for the scare that will never come... Or maybe they will, when you least expect them. BWAHAH Secondly, this was true for Ethel's case as well as Claire's too, so I feel it fair to mention and give it the recognition it deserves. But the way the endings are handled were done so with poise. Heck, before you decide on one, you're given all the facts to make an informed decision unless you only skimmed through them, lols...! Last but not least, check on your family? Stay in touch. You never know what they are going through. On the other hand, some relationships are better left strained, your call! It does have you think though~ https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3641744833 [h1]CONS;[/h1] - To my dismay, as I have lived out this experience firsthand and personally underwent many a deaths, I can imagine that a majority of consumers will find fault and vent out their frustrations on the matter of the chases. In particular, one of the ending routes' ensuing chase is downright unbeatable unless you perform a *specific* action; [spoiler]closing a door for a ghost[/spoiler]! The problem here is all the other encounters played by the same rules- turn off your lighter and you're fine. Don't run and you're golden. As such, it kind of felt cheap and broken. https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3641841328 - You get to revisit familiar territory in chapter 3 and I was all for it. That was until I realized that a retconning of one of the endings to Ethel, sort of. It may have just been really clever subverting of expectations. That said, I found, speaking as someone who played its predecessor, there's quite a bit of dredging through facts we already know and have established in the first game, least for the player. I understand Beth has to discover these too, I just thought there were better and less redundant ways of doing as such. Tony admitted in the credits that Ethel was going to be a standalone thing and had not idea it would develop into a full-blown franchise and it showed. - The voice acting was above average and generally acceptable throughout its runtime. However, I did find some of Beth's delivery flat and surprisingly enough they're reserved for the moments that should carry the most emotional weight and stakes! The end result being that I was sucked out of the shocking scenes... [h1]BUGS;[/h1] x Model of malevolent spirit revealed way in advance. Staying firmly in place possibly due to triggers not working right. [h1]NITPICKS;[/h1] ~ "I need to stay quiet" text repeatedly appears whenever I press shift during the chase sequences. ~ The way and pace in which Beth runs is super underwhelming... Sometimes I can't tell when I am running. ~ I just realized both Ethel and Claire are missing audio settings! ~ It would be nice to credit the voice actors too for potential fans and/or networking purposes. [h1]VERDICT:[/h1] "Claire may be more posh and ambitious but it does not necessarily translate to her being more able. Sure, she can carry herself with more grace but when she lets her hair down, she does so twice as hard in ferocity and relentlessness sacrificing some clarity in the process. She's louder too, more vulnerable and yet she chokes when it counts most. That said, just like Ethel, her beautiful humanity & spirit are preserved proving the sequel curse invalid~" [b]3.75 out of 5[/b] Warnings~ Sincerely, Chen Ying