Image - Review

Image is a horror game set in an ever-changing environment that tries to terify you and maybe most importantly confuse you, and it does a damn good job at that, maybe even too good of a job at the last part.

IT ACTUALLY WORKS

oh my god am I happy to announce that that everything in the settings menu actually works, now i’m not sure if everyone who reads this will be as familiar with indie games as I am, but trust me, it is sadly way too common for indie games to lack setting menus or just simply have non working sliders, this game however has a nice collection of graphic settings, some sounds settings, and more, love to see it.

My bpm reads 250+

The moment you enter the game, you are immediately met with the game's scary vibe, everything is dark, there are strange sounds, you see scary things, you feel lost and anxious as you walk through the hallways, this game really has one aspect nailed down and that is the scary aspect, from the rather great looking graphics that are cleverly used to make you feel lost with the use of changing environments and great lighting to the sounds and jumpscares produced by the creatures.

This game doesn’t give you any time to relax, every corner you take you will encounter more scary creatures and slamming doors, and while this game is filled with jumpscares, it doesn't lose its charm. Yes, you will be jumpscared every few minutes, but none of them are not scary, or non-unique, and every single one feels like a completely new jumpscare instead of just a slug of the same kind of jumpscares, keeping your bpm well over a healthy range the entire time.

Stop taking me out of my immersion

Look, this game immerses you in a lot of atmosphere and imaginative environments, but my god does it pull you out of it a lot. Every minute it feels like you are losing control as the screen slowly goes black while transporting you to a new environment. At first, I didn't mind, but after a while, it became a chore to wait through each and every time, and while I understand that the game needs a way to transport you to the next environment, I just wish it had chosen a different way to do so.

It’s confusing for the sake of being confusing

I fully understand that the developers intended for the game to be confusing and random, but it seems that way just for the sake of being so. It doesn't seem to enhance the gameplay or the scariness factor, it seems to be confusing for the sake of confusing you.

The developers' intention is admirable, and I can see how it allows them to demonstrate a variety of creative ideas quickly, but I feel like it could have been done a little bit better in the end, but that’s just my personal opinion.

Is it in yet?

The game is short, like really short, 1 hour to beat short, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because within that 1 hour of gameplay so many ideas are showcased and so many different horor elements and jumpscares are used that it feels longer, but I still have to say that for 12 euros it really feels like it could have been just a bit longer, I’m not asking for a 10-hour game, but perhaps 2 or 3 hours would have been perfect.

Creativity

Now on to a positive again, this game is damn creative, like really really creative, you get thrown from one environment into the next every few seconds, the walls change, the creatures wanting to scare you change, the sounds you hear change, everything is like a constant rollercoaster, and that is truly admirable of this game.

And as I just said, this game is short, but in that 1 hour it manages to show of an insane amount of creativity, and, honestly, it’s worth a playthrough for that alone.

Bugbu- ghostbusters!

The amount of bugs in this game is pretty small, I came across 1 or 2 visual bugs but nothing that pulled me out of the game, apart from that I didn’t get stuck anywhere and didn’t experience any crashes, so I’d say the developers did a pretty good job at making sure it all works!

Conclusion

Image is a scary fucking game, but also really confusing, and while it’s aim is to be confusing, it does feel like it overdoes it a bit at times, that in combination with its short run time of a little over an hour really makes it hard to sell on a first impression, but the creativity displayed in this game and the way it keeps you on your toes is admirable, because of that I will have to give it an

6.7 out of 10.

We at NLM received a key for this game for free, this however didn’t impact our review in any way.