The Dark Side of the Moon: An Interactive FMV Thriller

NEGATIVE🟥 🟧 🟨 🟩 🟦 🟪POSITIVE [h1]#tinygamereview[/h1] [code]like an episode of The X-Files, but for kids who won't get caught up in the lack of detail or its inconsistencies[/code] 🟨 [b]CAMPY OKAYNESS[/b] 🟨 [hr][/hr] 🎮 🟧[b]Gameplay:[/b] definitely a weak spot; simple, occasionally-buggy, and annoyingly-repetitive. 📖 🟨[b]Narrative:[/b] campy fun, but full of holes that cross over into the actual gameplay. 🔊 🟨[b]Audio:[/b] some of the music is good, except when it isn't; the sound quality is generally poor and the lack of settings to manipulate (for example) music vs. voice audio makes some dialogue hard to hear. 🖼️ 🟩[b]Visuals:[/b] [hr][/hr] [h1]#readme[/h1] I laughed for three hours straight - but sometimes for the wrong reasons. [i]The Dark Side of the Moon[/i] doesn't shy away from dumb jokes (which I love) and low-budget camp, but the inconsistencies in performance and tone are occasionally offputting. I [i]love[/i] that half the cast is the developer and his family, and they really [i]do[/i] seem to have fun and put their hearts into it, but the differences between their performances and the other actors is jarring. Which sucks, because you're left with two competing levels of camp: non-actors having fun nevertheless, and professionals really hamming it up. Combined, it really just made me laugh through pretty much the whole thing. It undermined the narrative and instead of feeling for any of the characters, I waited for their next odd performance tic. Still entertaining. There's not really much to the gameplay. Having grown up with adventure games where you can pick up whatever you might need for purposes you don't yet know, I approach things like this with a similar mindset and found myself annoyed several times that you can't see or pick up items that were there the first time you were in a place, until something triggers your ability to do so, so that you go back the way you came for five minutes and then return with the thing you could've picked up before. There's one part of the game that has you report that you found something, then return to the thing you found, then go back to find a thing to bring back to the person to show them, only to have them tell you "good job, go back and look harder!" - which doubles the timesink for that little "quest." It's not the only time this happens (it might be the longest, though), and for a game that's already stretching itself to the 3-hour mark, going back and forth for five or ten minutes, [i]multiple times[/i] is pretty significant. While early FMV games notoriously had unnecessarily-long or oddly-placed clips (like this one's mouse-clicking while exploring the laptop), this game doesn't improve on those annoyances at all by "cutting the fat"; it pads a feature-length-hopeful runtime by having you go back and forth (sometimes immediately) to and from the same places. Despite my gripes, I still had fun. This could have made a great episode of Mystery Science Theater. [h1]#memorycard[/h1] [b]What stood out:[/b] 📌THE TRUUUUUUUTH [b]Who it's for:[/b] 🎁FMV game nostalgists 🎁Bad movie enthusiasts 🎁X-Files fans who want to have a long sit-down with their kids (and don't mind a couple f-bombs) playing an FMV adventure game that [i]almost[/i] brings back the medium's 1990s soul [hr][/hr] [h1][b]Curator: [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/46000099/] Brickroad Amusements[/url][/b][/h1]

So bad that it's good. Some of the dramatic parts had me laughing so hard. But it has a an unusual SciFi X Files like plot with twists and turns in the story that was enjoyable. It's obviously low budget and it shows. But what they managed to achieve with the story telling was impressive considering it's low budget nature. All of the actors had personality if nothing else. I hope Tayanna Studios make more games. Hopefully adding in some more problem solving or puzzle elements. Pro Tip - space bar allows you to skip scenes.

very interesting game... wasn't what i expected, at all. and i REALLY enjoyed the story, as its not to dissimilar to my own beliefs.. but obviously this being very exaggerated. I had a few problems with the sound... it was only voice acted for me during cut scenes, although i know his inner dialog throughout should have been. the subtitles for the inner dialog came and went so fast that i missed so much of it as it was impossible to read. I'm only mentioning this in the hopes that it can be fixed as i would love to play through again with this adjustment. but despite this i did very much enjoy playing and do recommend it 🙂

Campy writing and over-the-top acting that had me laughing all the way through, exactly what you expect and want from a game inspired by Contradiction! Spot The Liar. Will come back and 100% the achievements, but absolutely love the cast, love the writing, and love how it was shot too. Great way to spend an evening and share over discord with a few friends.

well what can i say here, its certainly a different type of game i would normally play . I wouldn't normally play this type of game, there's not much out there at this time of year, so when I came accross this one I thought why not give it ago. i'm pleased i did ,I did find it hard to work out at times but fumbled along , I ended up enjoying it . The story to it was great it certainly had me thinking ,which is good for this old 76 year old lol,Its a great game with a fantastic story to it, I didnt want it to end .Thanks for making it and hope you make more like it .

На первый взгляд скучно. И нудно и управление нудное

Das Spiel ist sehr amateurhaft gemacht. Das merkt man an vielen Stellen, vor allem bei den Schauspielern, welche wohl gar keine sind. Das wird nochmal deutlich, wenn man sich die Extras (Outtakes/Bloopers) anschaut. Es wirkt wie ein privates Projekt, die ersten Versuche von Familie und Freunden ein FMV Spiel auf die Beine zu stellen. Man hat nie das Gefühl, dass man irgend einen Einfluss auf das Geschehen hat, auch wenn es ein paar wenige Dialogoptionen gibt. Trotz den negativen Punkten wollte ich immer wissen, wie es weiter geht, Spiele in dieser Qualität können durchaus einen gewissen Charme haben und/oder einfach lustig sein. Wer offen für etwas Trash ist und vielleicht eine(n) Freund(in) mit auf diese kurze Reise nimmt, kann durchaus etwas Spaß mit diesem Werk haben.