3rd eye
- September 30, 2019
- 3rd eye project
Get on Steam"3rd Eye" is a story-driven, atmospheric horror adventure game. You play as a paranormal investigator, equipped with a special camera that can detect supernatural entities. The game is set in a mysterious and creepy mansion, where you must uncover the dark secrets of its past while avoiding terrifying creatures.
Nintendo Switch
PC
Playstation 4
Windows
PlayStation
Reviews
- The game features stunning and unique art that creates a creepy yet captivating atmosphere, reminiscent of Tim Burton's style.
- The story, while complex, offers an intriguing exploration of psychological themes and character lore, particularly for fans of the Touhou series.
- The gameplay, though simple, allows for enjoyable puzzle-solving and exploration, with a focus on narrative and visual storytelling.
- The English translation is often poor, leading to confusion and a lack of clarity in the story and dialogue, with some lines left untranslated.
- The game suffers from performance issues, including glitches, frame drops, and a lack of options for adjusting settings like resolution and sound.
- The gameplay can feel repetitive and aimless at times, with puzzles that lack clear direction, making it frustrating for players to progress.
- story32 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The game's story, centered around the character Koishi and her third eye, is described as atmospheric and intriguing, yet often incoherent and poorly translated, which detracts from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the lore and visual storytelling, many find the narrative unfocused and difficult to follow, leading to mixed feelings about its depth and engagement. Overall, the story has potential but suffers from translation issues and a lack of cohesion, leaving players divided on its effectiveness.
“The story they created really ties up to a character like Koishi, and I love how they implement the '3rd eye' idea into not just the story and gameplay but also into the little pages you find around, giving some interesting commentary to think about for a while.”
“I'm happy that this game decided to portray its story through narrative and visual cues instead of jumpscares, as I was expecting.”
“The story is still enjoyable despite the awkward sentence structures, at least from my perspective.”
“The story and events are incoherent and never explained.”
“There is a possibility I'm just not smart enough to get it, but I felt that the game's story was unfocused.”
“The story feels very empty.”
- graphics23 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 26 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique and beautiful art style, often described as uncanny and reminiscent of Tim Burton's work. Players appreciate the atmospheric visuals that enhance the horror experience, although some feel that the story can become confusing and detracts from the overall impact. Overall, the game's aesthetics, combined with a compelling soundtrack, create a captivating experience that many find worth the price.
“This game has amazing atmosphere, climatic soundtrack and unique and cool art-style.”
“The actual levels, art style and soundtrack are great, and there's neat references here and there.”
“Playing as Koishi is both sad and creepy at the same time, due to the amazing art style; everything around looks sad, and with the neat 3rd eye mechanic, you can see the world in a very creepy way, making it an amazing horror experience.”
“But a game cannot survive on aesthetics alone.”
“I feel somewhat bad giving this game a thumbs down, because I love this game's aesthetics.”
“The vintage art style drawn is remarkable and perhaps a little bit disturbing in some way.”
- music14 mentions
- 79 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many reviewers noting its smoothness and unique arrangements. While some players pointed out minor issues, such as overlapping tracks and a desire for better transitions, the soundtrack is generally considered a strong complement to the game's distinctive art style and intriguing narrative. Overall, the combination of music and visuals creates a captivating ambiance that many feel justifies the game's price.
“This game has amazing atmosphere, climatic soundtrack, and unique and cool art style.”
“Atmosphere, visuals, and music are so excellent on their own, it would almost be worth the standard pricing.”
“This game has a distinctive art style, a somber atmosphere, some really nice musical arrangements, and a sordid/twisted plot.”
“The music is smooth until chapter 3; I wish there was a crossfade when opening the third eye and changing the background music.”
“It would be great to add some bridges to link two songs with different keys or tempos.”
“The art and music are excellent, but the setting of the game's story feels a bit off.”
- gameplay13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by its simplicity, primarily involving walking, talking to characters, and solving straightforward puzzles, which some players found lacking in depth. While the "third eye" mechanic adds an interesting layer to the experience and enhances the atmosphere, it can feel somewhat tacked-on and may detract from immersion. Overall, the game offers a short playtime of around three hours, with a focus on story and atmosphere rather than complex gameplay mechanics.
“On a serious note, this game has very simple puzzles and gameplay but has a lot of good atmosphere, and the story was actually pretty fun to decipher.”
“The story they created really ties up to a character like Koishi, and I love how they implement the '3rd eye' idea into not just the story and gameplay but also into the little pages you find around, giving some interesting commentary to think about for a while.”
“Playing as Koishi is both sad and creepy at the same time. Due to the amazing art style, everything around looks sad, and with the neat 3rd eye mechanic, you can see the world in a very creepy way, making it an amazing horror experience.”
“The progression is made by solving 'puzzles', which consist of you walking back and forth the screens talking to characters with or without the eye mechanic active, hoping that one of them says something new or gives you a random item.”
“It's only about 3 hours long (can be even shorter because you can choose to skip parts of a level) and gameplay is essentially walking around, talking, and picking up items.”
“Firstly, be wary that the English translation isn't the best, which hinders the storytelling and decision-making, and the gameplay isn't anything crazy - also some apparent optimization issues.”
- atmosphere12 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its unique art style, climatic soundtrack, and engaging storytelling, creating an intriguing and immersive experience. Reviewers highlight the blend of eerie and cute elements, along with a somber tone that enhances the psychological horror aspects. Overall, the atmosphere stands out as a significant strength, making it a compelling journey for players who appreciate rich visual and auditory experiences.
“This game has amazing atmosphere, climatic soundtrack and unique and cool art-style.”
“Overall still an intriguing experience, and I loved the atmosphere of the art and music.”
“This game has a distinctive art-style, a somber atmosphere, some really nice musical arrangements and a sordid/twisted plot.”
“Gotta love their good work on the eerie settings, as well as the creepy atmosphere.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its macabre and dark elements, drawing comparisons to "Fran Bow" for its similar tone. While some players found the humor effective, others felt confused by the delivery, suggesting a mixed reception overall. The game's art and music were noted as strong points that complement its humorous aspects.
“I think it's fair to compare the game to Fran Bow, and having now played both, I think Fran Bow had stronger puzzle elements, though 3rd Eye makes up for it with macabre humor and excellent art and music.”
“Reminds me of Fran Bow for its black humor and playability.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is marked by minor bugs and glitches, such as flawed translations, text cut-offs, and occasional stutters. While these issues are present, they do not significantly detract from the overall experience, indicating a commendable effort in development.
“The game has a lot of heart and effort put into it, but it suffers from glitches that detract from the overall experience.”
“There are a couple of minor bugs and glitches, such as text being cut off and random stutters, which affect the game's stability.”
“Multiple sound clips playing over each other and lost frames create a frustrating experience, despite the game's potential.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant optimization issues, including performance problems and potential memory leaks, which can cause it to hang the desktop. Additionally, the lack of an options menu further complicates the ability to adjust settings for better performance.
“I think it really makes a good game, but it's just poorly optimized; it hangs the desktop (probably a memory leak, I don't know).”
“The game has some performance issues and lacks an options menu.”
“I think it really makes a good game, it's just poorly optimized; it hangs the desktop (probably a memory leak, I don't know).”
“The game has some performance issues and doesn't have an options menu at all.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
While the game touches on various emotional subjects, reviewers note that it fails to deeply explore any of them, resulting in a more superficial emotional experience.
