Among the Innocent: A Stricken Tale
- February 14, 2017
- Zero Degrees Games
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Get on itch.io Store"Among the Innocent: A Stricken Tale" is a narrative-driven game that follows struggling writer Peter York as he becomes trapped on a remote farmstead in South Africa. This game, the first in the Stricken series, explores the Kübler-Ross model for dealing with grief and loss through five instalments, combining classic point-and-click gameplay with first-person exploration. Players can expect a rich, layered story with dark themes, challenging puzzles, and an original soundtrack.
Reviews
- The game features enjoyable puzzles that require logic and creative thinking, making for a fun experience.
- The atmosphere and graphics are well-crafted, providing an immersive environment that enhances the exploration.
- The unexpected ending adds a unique twist to the story, leaving players intrigued and wanting more.
- Many players experienced bugs and glitches that hindered progression, leading to frustration.
- The story feels incomplete and lacks clarity, with several plot elements left unexplored and an unsatisfying ending.
- Some puzzles are overly obscure or unintuitive, requiring players to rely on walkthroughs to progress.
- story29 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The story is presented in a fragmented and subtle manner, encouraging players to piece together the narrative through notes and environmental clues, which some find engaging while others feel it lacks depth and coherence. While the eerie atmosphere and intriguing elements hold potential, many reviewers note that the story feels incomplete and disjointed, leading to an unsatisfying conclusion. Overall, the narrative offers interesting ideas but suffers from a lack of thorough exploration and resolution.
“The world is beautifully rendered, and the story is pleasantly told.”
“The story is interesting, it's definitely got that eerie feeling of 'what the actual fuck happened here, I want to know more!' and as many others have said, these parts of the game really hold it together with the interesting puzzles and locations in the limited but yet open area.”
“Exploring and uncovering the mysterious story of the place while finding documents, notes with hints, and objects to use to progress was actually really fun.”
“Earlier in the game, there are hints at a bigger story behind the site - ancient writings and a mysterious stone dial - but the buildup of suspense is shattered when all you find is a mine.”
“Among the Innocent is not totally complete - more like a chapter 1 to a longer story that never got finished.”
“However, while it might have some nice ideas and twists, it feels like this was somebody's first attempt at writing a story where they wanted to put everything they could think of and mash it all together.”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 83 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its thoughtful design, blending beauty with a sense of decay and mystery that invites exploration and curiosity. Players appreciate the immersive environment and the way it enhances the storytelling, although some find that a confusing final puzzle disrupts the otherwise cohesive experience. Overall, the atmosphere effectively captivates players, making them ponder the narrative's underlying mysteries.
“The atmosphere of the game was really well thought out.”
“Loved the atmosphere and pretty surroundings!”
“Fantastic atmosphere, a real sense of exploration and wonder, an excellent union of beauty with a sense of the decrepit, and an implied mystery left entirely to your own imagination -- you'll most likely start to ask yourself, 'what the hell happened here?'”
- graphics6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally described as decent but not groundbreaking, fitting for a low-budget title. While some players appreciate the beautiful visuals and consistent style, others note that the graphics lack the polish of AAA games. Overall, the visuals are complemented by a fitting soundtrack, though the absence of voiceovers for the main character is a missed opportunity.
“The game has beautiful graphics but partial background music and voiceovers.”
“Graphics are amazing and I love the level of interaction you could have with items.”
“While the graphics might not be AAA quality, the look and style is consistent, which I think is more important than the fidelity of assets.”
“The graphics won't charm you, but the story might, at least to an extent.”
“Graphics: not earth-shattering (indeed often merely adequate), but decent for a low-budget game.”
“While the graphics might not be AAA quality, the look and style are consistent, which I think is more important than the fidelity of assets.”
- gameplay5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally decent and enjoyable, featuring typical mechanics like key-and-lock puzzles and inventory management. However, players frequently encounter frustrating roadblocks due to unintuitive puzzles and a lack of clear instructions, leading to confusion and extended playtime. Overall, while the core gameplay has potential, its execution suffers from opaque objectives and poorly communicated mechanics.
“Gameplay: generally decent and of the find key-open lock variety, as you simultaneously collect inventory items for puzzles, letters and notes to fill in the plot, and weird alphabet collectibles which have nothing to do with anything.”
“Anyway, the fact that by the end I was tabbing out of the game every 10 or 15 minutes to figure out what to do next is not just an indictment of my intelligence and problem-solving skills, but also an indictment of obtuse and arcane gameplay elements, puzzle, and plot progression arrangement.”
“Making my playthrough twice the length of what it should have been. I also got stuck in the first area because the game itself never tells you that you can jump. You were supposed to read instructions to figure that out, which was a weird choice as the game will explain a bunch of its mechanics, but not crucial stuff like that.”
“Gameplay: while most of the gameplay is decent enough and even enjoyable, there were too many roadblocks in the form of unintuitive and/or completely opaque puzzles and objectives.”
“Anyway, the fact that by the end I was tabbing out of the game every 10 or 15 minutes to figure out what the heck to do next is not just an indictment of my intelligence and problem-solving skills (although it surely is that as well) but also an indictment of obtuse and arcane gameplay elements, puzzles, and plot progression arrangement.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to challenging puzzles that require excessive trial and error without clear guidance. The limited exploration and repetitive tasks contribute to a sense of boredom and lack of purpose in the gameplay.
“There isn't actually much to do and not many places to explore, and the tasks are tedious and annoying with no real point to any of it.”
“The nail puzzle was so tedious I got bored and looked up an image online, as the 'clue' was so hard for me to decipher; it was just frustrating.”
“But there is also a really tedious nail puzzle that I am not sure can be solved without using a lot of trials and errors, especially when having no idea what we are supposed to do.”
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its quality and suitability, complementing the visuals effectively. However, some players feel that the experience would be enhanced with voiced monologues for the main character, as the current lack of voiceovers leaves a gap in the overall immersion.
“It has good visuals and the soundtrack is actually quite spot on; the only thing missing would be voiced monologues for the main character. Perhaps the developer felt that he himself could not do justice for the character, which is fair.”
“The game has beautiful graphics but partial background music and voiceovers.”
“The game has beautiful graphics, but the background music and voiceovers are lacking.”
“The soundtrack is repetitive and doesn't enhance the gaming experience.”
“The music feels out of place and fails to match the game's atmosphere.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game has been widely criticized for its instability, with many users describing it as a "buggy mess." This suggests significant technical issues that detract from the overall experience.
“The game is a buggy mess.”
“Constant crashes make it unplayable.”
“Frequent glitches ruin the overall experience.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of "Among the Innocent" is characterized by the protagonist's journey of self-reflection following a personal conflict, though the execution is marred by a lack of depth in character development and dialogue. The game relies on a silent protagonist and printed dialogue, which may limit the emotional engagement for players. Overall, while it attempts to explore themes of emotional immaturity and introspection, the delivery feels somewhat superficial.
“Among the Innocent is a first-person puzzle game/walking simulator that explores deep emotional themes as you navigate the protagonist's journey of self-discovery and growth after a conflict with his girlfriend.”
“The game effectively captures the essence of emotional turmoil, allowing players to experience the protagonist's struggles and feelings of isolation in a beautifully crafted environment.”
“Through its immersive storytelling and engaging gameplay, Among the Innocent evokes a strong emotional response, making players reflect on their own relationships and personal growth.”
