1953: KGB Unleashed
- March 4, 2010
- Phantomery Interactive
- 2h median play time
"1953: KGB Unleashed" is a single-player Horror Point and Click game set in a photo-realistic 1950s USSR. Explore a KGB laboratory where real human endurance tests and fear experiments took place, now abandoned and haunted. With good graphics, a good story, and an isolated, suspenseful atmosphere, uncover the truth while dealing with an ominous, unseen observer.
PC
Reviews
- The atmosphere is incredibly immersive and creepy, effectively capturing the essence of a Soviet bunker.
- The game features a decent amount of lore and backstory, with some notes providing disturbing insights into the bunker’s history.
- The graphics are visually appealing, with distinct room designs that enhance the exploration experience.
- Puzzles are often illogical and frustrating, requiring excessive pixel hunting to find items and solutions.
- The story fizzles out towards the end, leaving players with an unsatisfying and anticlimactic conclusion.
- Movement and interaction mechanics are clunky, making navigation and item interaction tedious and cumbersome.
- story61 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The story of "1953 - KGB Unleashed" presents an intriguing premise set in a KGB bunker, but ultimately disappoints due to a lack of coherent narrative progression and an unsatisfying resolution. While the atmosphere and initial setup are compelling, many players find the storytelling fragmented and confusing, with excessive reliance on text documents that can obscure key plot points. Overall, the game is seen as having potential that is not fully realized, leaving players frustrated with its execution.
“The story starts off well and builds up the mystery but then never really amounts to anything and the resolution of the story is unsatisfying.”
“The story ultimately revolves around human experimentation, and features a twist near the end, along with a manufactured and unsatisfying ending that doesn't really come off as believable.”
“It does feature some interesting atmosphere and story, dealing with a sealed and evacuated KGB bunker, many notes you find providing background, furnishings and propaganda posters you find are evocative of the 1950s.”
“The storyline in particular became a huge letdown.”
“The story starts off well and builds up the mystery but then never really amounts to anything, and the resolution of the story is unsatisfying.”
“The fact that nothing is clearly explained means that the story is up to you to figure out.”
- atmosphere36 mentions
- 72 % positive mentions
- 19 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is frequently praised for its immersive and eerie qualities, effectively enhancing the creepy ambiance and historical context. However, some players find the experience marred by annoying sound effects and a lack of engaging gameplay, leading to mixed feelings about the overall execution. While the visuals and sound design contribute positively to the atmosphere, the game's short length and underwhelming story detract from its potential impact.
“A creepy atmospheric game that fits right in with the time period in history I'm currently studying.”
“The visuals, sounds, and in-game reading helped create an atmosphere that can be downright eerie at times, and the story, while short, was solid.”
“They really did a good job with the atmosphere of the game - the documents and the scenario make you feel in a Cold War scenario.”
“I did enjoy the ambience which helped with the creepy atmosphere of the game, but sadly there's quite a lot of items you interact with that are just plainly annoying and emit some ringing noises that will make your ears bleed.”
“Unfortunately, this does take away from the game, despite the mystery/escape element and the dark atmosphere.”
“The background story isn't anything new (KGB does secret experiment shocker...) and while the atmosphere is decent it's hardly worth the effort.”
- gameplay19 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been criticized for its lack of user-friendliness and tedious mechanics, making it feel like a slog rather than an engaging experience. Many players found the traditional point-and-click adventure format to be frustrating, with repetitive actions and dry writing detracting from the overall enjoyment. Despite some potential, the inconsistent design and reliance on walkthroughs left players disappointed, resulting in a gameplay experience that felt more like a chore than entertainment.
“As far as gameplay goes, it's an extremely traditional point-and-click adventure.”
“One groundbreaking gameplay element that should be mentioned implicitly is the door-opening eyeball.”
“You have waited a long time for developers to come up with some nice gameplay feature that cuts the edge.”
“The tedious gameplay mates with excruciatingly dry written text, culminating in an experience that's best left alone entirely.”
“An engine that just isn’t up to scratch, inconsistent gameplay and design ruined this game, which showed great potential.”
“The story may be somewhat good, but the gameplay makes it boring, and the 4:3 locked resolution and pre-rendered graphics don't make it better.”
- graphics17 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
Overall, the graphics in the game are generally praised for their beauty and atmospheric quality, with many users noting the photogenic presentation and smooth visuals. However, some critiques mention that certain environments, like the bunker, appear overly pristine, and the graphics may not reach high-end standards typical of other genres. While the visuals contribute to an eerie atmosphere, they are sometimes described as typical or lacking in depth, particularly in relation to the gameplay experience.
“I've always loved escape room games, and I loved the first-person POV, great graphics, and realism of this one except for two things.”
“The graphic presentation in this game is actually really well done and more often than not it is nearly quite photogenic.”
“The music is pretty awesome, the graphics are beautiful, and the controls are pretty straightforward.”
“The story may be somewhat good, but the gameplay makes it boring, and the 4:3 locked resolution and pre-rendered graphics don't make it better.”
“Although the soundtrack is atmospheric and very generic, the places you visit are insensate and rigid.”
“Graphics are okay, but you don't go for the high-end polygon count in a game like that.”
- music10 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric quality, enhancing the tense mood and complementing the art direction. While some reviews note that the soundtrack can be generic or sparse, many agree that it effectively contributes to the overall immersive experience. Overall, the combination of music and sound design is considered a strong point, adding depth to the gameplay.
“Frankly, the art direction and style paired with the music and sound design are top notch.”
“Still, the music is great, the atmosphere is tense and the documents really flesh out the world.”
“The music and sound effects are excellent, as was the direction of the story.”
“The audio, music specifically, is practically non-existent save for a couple of scenarios.”
“Although the soundtrack is atmospheric and very generic, the places you visit are insensate and rigid.”
“The voice acting was correct too, like the soundtrack.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game has been criticized for its lack of replayability, with reviewers noting that it offers little incentive to play through again after the initial experience. Many recommend purchasing it only at a discounted price, as it is primarily seen as a one-time playthrough.
“There is no replay value.”
“All in all, the game has zero replay value, and I would say it is worth playing through once, but only if it can be bought for very cheap, like say less than five dollars.”
“After you've been through the game once, you could probably go through it in an hour the second time; not much of a replay value.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the grinding aspect of the game is characterized by tedious point-and-click mechanics and unintuitive controls, leading to a frustrating experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment of the narrative. Many players found the gameplay to be excessively dry and unenjoyable, suggesting it may be best to avoid.
“This tedious gameplay mates with excruciatingly dry written text, culminating in an experience that's best left alone entirely.”
“Unintuitive controls, frustrating to use, and outright tedious.”
