I will be honest, I really only got this game on a whim as I have seen it popping up in a lot of places online, and the raving reviews so I was going in mostly neutral into this game. However with that being said, this game really exceeded my expectations quickly.
A Surreal Sensation:
Without spoiling too much, Endacopia is a point and click adventure with underlying horror themes throughout the game. You start off with your character confused and with amnesia to themself and their surroundings. This is the springboard to getting you as the player to look around and understand more about the circumstances you are faced with when going to various areas.
The game has a fun way of helping you give you tips if you are stuck as well, which I tested unexpectedly to the full extent early on as the game stopped me from missing out on something in an area when moving away. These tips are mostly given when asked though, as the game is not too trivial in solving a lot of the puzzles throughout it.
You will mostly be going around collecting items to help solve the various puzzles throughout the game, in true point and click fashion. I found a lot of the puzzles throughout the game to be fairly interesting and fun to solve, where I am only sad there not more by the end of the game.
Other gameplay you will see at times is combat, which although basic, does develop with mechanics getting introduced by various enemies in the game. As part of this system you can attack and defend, where a stamina bar is drained when doing the appropriate action to attacks and attacking. These sections of the game were fun, and was a welcoming addition to the game as it helped to keep things exciting and varied when progressing.
There is also other unique gameplay sections to what been defined above, although these are quite rare and are there to provide more variety on what has been previously stated above. I enjoyed these but would of liked some more sections like this in the game than we got, but what is here is fine.
I found the overall story, characters and message the game had endearing and captivating. The presentation and music are standouts for me in this game, as it really gives the game a unique identity compared to other games out there. I also really enjoyed the contrast and clash of different art styles being used, as it helped to capture and portray characters and areas well to show off personality and feeling of where you are exploring.
A Horrific Mess?
With all that being said I do have a few hang-ups on this game. I will go over the combat first. I felt these gameplay sections never really evolved mechanically, where it was only the enemies adding more mechanics, but not how I was attacking or defending changing, as this remained the same. I would of liked more mechanics for me to have to use as the player so that I had more to keep track of and deploy successfully, as you are mostly attacking and defending with the same actions throughout the game. I appreciate though that these sections are not the main focus, but if any additional content was to be done for this game I would love more mechanics to be added here if possible.
I also felt not all the gameplay sections were that interesting. This is because some sections involved you to enter keys successfully, or be able to time certain actions correctly. This was more frustrating than fun, and felt a bit too out of place and made the game pad out more than I would of liked because of these sections. Thankfully this is not something that happens a lot so is not a major complaint.
I did not like one of the areas in the game which was using time mechanics and various clues which were quite vague. I appreciate some problem solving is needed in the game, but when finding the answer, I saw I needed to complete various activities to progress this area. I am not being too specific as I don't want to give any spoilers, but if you do play the game you might understand what I mean when going through this part. Again thankfully this was the only occurrence of this, and I really enjoyed the other areas the game has, as I found them engaging and entrancing to progress.
Lastly, this game does have a lot of disturbing and horrific scenes. I personally don't think it as bad as other games out there, but still may not be for the faint of heart.
I am feeling a sense of recommendation! (Conclusion)
Endacopia is a fun, unique, yet sinister point and click adventure game. Thanks to it various gameplay sections, and combat sections, it keeps a sense of wonderment in every room you enter. The puzzles are well thought out and satisfying to complete. Music and art for this game will leave an impression, where I have added several tracks to my own playlist. I am seriously considering this game being my game of the year so far, so I give this game an 8/10, I hope we see more games like this in the future!
If you have any passing interest, at least try the demo, but I think you will really like what is here.
