Blue Whale
- October 31, 2017
- Lissencephaly
Get on Steam"Blue Whale" is a 2D horror-adventure game that follows 12-year-old Midori's involvement in a dangerous online game, where she is tasked with completing challenges leading to a supposed suicide. The game features an exciting plot, multiple endings, and explores the theme of teenage suicide through its surreal dreams and existential atmosphere. Can you help Midori uncover the truth behind this urban legend and save her from the deadly game?
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has a great atmosphere and some decent scares, creating a creepy and immersive experience.
- The concept of the game is intriguing, based on a real-life incident, and it offers multiple endings.
- The art style is visually appealing, with a surreal feel that enhances the overall mood of the game.
- The lack of a save feature is frustrating, forcing players to restart the game from the beginning after each death.
- The story is poorly written and hard to follow, with many players finding it bland and cliché.
- Gameplay can feel aimless and tedious, with cryptic puzzles and a slow character movement that detracts from the experience.
- story7 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally criticized for being bland and difficult to follow, often hampered by poor translation. While some players appreciate its dark themes, many find it lacking depth and clarity, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, the narrative fails to engage, leaving players wanting more substance.
“A fun quick look into a dark concept in a simply told and creepy story.”
“The story is very hard to follow considering a lot of the times the translation is very poor.”
“The story is really hard to follow and just boring, and the gameplay is just walking around trying to figure stuff out that is not made clear to the player.”
“It’s a sensitive topic to cover, but my morbid curiosity got really interested in checking it out, and I'll say right now the plot in the game is really bland.”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 86 % positive mentions
- -29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive audio cues and detailed environment, creating a creepy and engaging experience, especially in dark settings. While many players appreciate the atmospheric elements, some feel that the overall gameplay does not match the potential suggested by its strong ambiance.
“Every little audio cue enhances the atmosphere, and when you're going down dark alleyways and start hearing rumbling and wind howling, it is pretty creepy.”
“I really enjoy the atmosphere and the overall detail that was put into the game.”
“The concept of this game is personally very interesting; it has a lot of potential, and the atmosphere of the game is really nice.”
“Every little audio cue does play up the atmosphere, and when you're going down dark alleyways and start hearing rumbling and wind howling, it is pretty creepy.”
“The game tries to create a tense atmosphere, but it often falls flat due to repetitive sound design and lackluster visuals.”
“While the setting has potential, the overall atmosphere feels lifeless and uninspired, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- graphics5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The graphics have received mixed reviews, with some players criticizing the use of outdated retro pixel art and the lack of resolution options or graphics tweaks. While the art style is generally considered decent, there are minor complaints about its execution, though some players appreciated certain design choices.
“The only positive things I can say about it are that the graphics were nice, and I thought the closing of the game after the message error part in the beginning was a nice touch.”
“A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel art as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
“There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
“The art style is really decent; however, I do have some minor gripes with it.”
- gameplay4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players finding the one-chance mechanic an interesting reflection of reality, while others criticize it for being tedious and unclear, leading to a frustrating experience as they navigate a convoluted story. Overall, many users describe the gameplay as boring and lacking engaging elements.
“The story is really hard to follow and just boring, and the gameplay is just walking around trying to figure stuff out that is not made clear to the player.”
“Gameplay is really boring.”
“Sure, the lack of being able to save is annoying, but that one chance mechanic at least reflects reality to a degree.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that Gamemaker Studio is often associated with the creation of low-effort, retro-style games that are perceived as cash grabs, suggesting a negative view of its monetization practices.
“Gamemaker Studio is most commonly used to make retro pixel shovelware and cash grabs.”
