Notebook Entries VOL.1
- November 11, 2022
- anOVERTHINKER
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Get on itch.io StoreNotebook Entries VOL.1 is a narrative-driven game where players uncover the story of a young woman's struggles with mental health, relationships, and self-discovery. The game features a unique art style, combining hand-drawn illustrations with interactive environments. Players will engage in dialogue choices and actions that impact the outcome of the story, with multiple endings to discover.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game creates a constant tension and feeling of fear that keeps players engaged throughout the experience.
- Each of the eight mini-stories offers unique gameplay mechanics and styles, providing a variety of horror experiences.
- The sound design and voice acting are exceptional, contributing to the overall immersion and emotional impact of the game.
- Some chapters feel overly simplistic and lack meaningful gameplay, leading to a sense of disappointment.
- The execution of certain concepts is inconsistent, with some segments feeling frustrating or confusing.
- The game is quite short, which may leave players wanting more content for their investment.
- gameplay20 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
Gameplay is described as varied and unique across different segments, with each of the eight games offering distinct mechanics that create a sense of individuality, though some players feel that certain segments lack depth and are too brief. While the overall experience is engaging and evokes tension, there are criticisms regarding the limited gameplay in some areas, making it feel more like a collection of mini-games rather than a cohesive experience. Despite these issues, the game successfully maintains a sense of fear and excitement through its innovative mechanics.
“For the most part, all of these are excellent, and it's amazing how they completely swap visual and gameplay style from one to the next.”
“I'll avoid spoilers as much as humanly possible, but throughout the whole game, each of the 8 games has a unique and fun mechanic that really gives it a different feeling from each other, making the entire experience feel like 8 individual games rather than 1 experience. Each individual level does exactly what it sets out to do, giving a unique sense of fear and dread through its individual mechanic, especially the first one.”
“A pretty cool anthology that switches up the gameplay formula between each scene.”
“With far too little gameplay.”
“Gameplay is almost like Simon Says.”
“The car game and the Don't Look Up game were just kind of over really fast and had no gameplay, not super interesting either.”
- story14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's story is presented as an anthology of eight short tales, which some players find misleading due to the lack of cohesive narratives in certain segments. However, many reviewers appreciate the immersive journey into horror, mystery, and madness, highlighting the game's strong sound design and storytelling. While the focus on narrative may limit player mobility and choices, it generally succeeds in engaging players throughout the experience.
“Each story is a journey into horror, mystery, and madness, that keeps you glued to the screen until the end.”
“The three things this game excels at are sound design, storytelling, and level placement.”
“The downsides would be that the game does sacrifice player mobility and freedom of choice in order to tell its story correctly, but I would say it succeeded in most cases.”
“The game claims to be an anthology of 8 short 'stories,' but I would call this misleading at best because oftentimes there is no story!”
“It has a small amount of combat, but the story is asinine.”
“The downsides would be that the game does sacrifice player mobility and freedom of choice in order to tell its story correctly, so I was dumbfounded that I couldn't do much in some of the segments of the game.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics are generally praised for their solid quality and unique art style, reminiscent of black and white Hylics, which enhances the horror experience. Creature design is well-received, and the developer effectively uses varying art styles and control schemes to create tension. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's immersive atmosphere, complemented by an impressive soundtrack.
“But the pacing and the art style akin to a black and white Hylics is absolutely wonderful.”
“I haven't had such a tense horror game make me hold my breath in a long time, the visuals are unique and the soundtrack is impressive, what a lovely little collection of titles and I sincerely hope the developer continues to make them.”
“There's a tiny bit of a disparity between art styles but it's okay.”
“The dev manages to terrify in a variety of different ways in one game, swapping art style and control scheme with each experience.”
“Visuals are solid, creature design is pretty good.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game collection is praised for its heartwarming nature, featuring seven emotionally impactful games that leave players feeling deeply moved and reflective long after playing. Users express a sense of shock and lingering emotional resonance, highlighting the collection's ability to evoke strong feelings.
“I just finished playing it and I'm still in shock; I can't stop thinking about the emotions it made me feel.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features eight distinct mini-stories, each offering a unique atmosphere, plot, and style, contributing to a diverse and immersive overall experience.
“The game consists of 8 mini-stories, each with its own atmosphere, plot, and style.”
- music2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its impressive quality, contributing significantly to the tense atmosphere and overall experience. Reviewers appreciate the unique combination of visuals and soundtrack, expressing hope for future titles from the developer.
“I haven't had such a tense horror game make me hold my breath in a long time; the visuals are unique and the soundtrack is impressive. What a lovely little collection of titles, and I sincerely hope the developer continues to make them.”
