Not in Heaven

I paid nothing for this and I want my money back.

[h1]Overview:[/h1] '[i]Not in Heaven[/i]' is a short third-person horror game where you play as a little girl named "Emily" on an unsettling journey in search of her father who had mysteriously disappeared when comforting her during her hospitalization. After being in a tragic car accident leaving her mother dead and both her and her father injured, Emily finds herself waking up in a hospital bed with an empty chair beside her where her father was sitting. Confused and distraught, she sets off to look for him and finds herself in numeral creepy environments along the way. It's not too bad for a free horror game but it isn't very good as it stands alone. [h1]Gameplay:[/h1] '[i]Not in Heaven[/i]' plays like a walking simulator with elements of survival horror and puzzling. The pace is very slow and I mean [b]very[/b] slow. Emily walks incredibly leisurely despite things that would normally scare the typical 8 year old girl being present everywhere around her. Not only that but her sprint isn't much better. Considering there [i]are[/i] actually pursuits in the game, a slow paced approach for a game like this isn't really the best idea. The distances you have to walk are for the most part tolerable and only once or twice did I find myself pushing down the shift key harder and harder hoping in vain that Emily would run faster. Despite this I still managed to complete the game in just under an hour which is a true testament to how short the game could have been had Emily been able to move faster than a windup robot. Other than that, the game [i]does[/i] have a few interesting and surreal events that are quite disturbing and does keep the player on their toes at times. The problem is that there isn't much of them and for the most part the game feels like a slog, you're essentially just walking around either solving puzzles or just trying to get from point "A" to point "B", Half the time I was wondering when the game would end because the insensibly slow moving was driving my brain to the brink of insanity. The environments were nice enough to look at which is probably what kept me going. The puzzles on the other hand are extremely easy to solve and are relatively straightforward. There's literally nothing special in this game and there are a good number of flaws in it. However, the flaws don't take away from the games playability as It isn't [i]too[/i] bad but a lot of the mechanics do not compliment one another. [h1]Graphics:[/h1] Honestly I have mixed feelings here. On one hand the skies are very nice and certain areas of the game are visually pleasing but the game has a lot of graphical inconsistencies splattered throughout. An awkward sheen can be seen on far too many surfaces making the entire game look like it's covered in some type of oil or grease. It doesn't look pleasing at all despite knowing what the developers were trying to do. That being said, some of the lighting and reflections are actually well done and looks good so they didn't botch all of the visuals which is the least that can be said. [h1]Audio:[/h1] I also have mixed feelings here as well. The ambience combined with the music don't go too well together, I feel as if the developers should have picked one or the other. Sound effects on the other hand are appropriate enough but sound like the typical sound you hear in most free indie horror games. Nothing special here since everything works fine enough although not of the best quality. If it isn't broken, don't fix it. [h1]Conclusion/TL;DR:[/h1] '[i]Not in Heaven[/i]' is a very slow paced horror game with light elements of survival and puzzling. Walking is extremely slow and makes the game feel dragged on despite it not being a long game. It doesn't have jumpscares but does have some creepy moments which are quite interesting. It isn't too bad for what it is but if you hate games where the character is slower than the average person walking, then this one will drive you nuts.