Paper Dolls: Original / 纸人
Get on SteamIn "Paper Dolls: Original," you navigate a realistic, immersive environment to uncover a gripping, surreal narrative. As the protagonist, you must interact with lifelike paper dolls, solving intricate puzzles to reveal their dark secrets. This atmospheric first-person puzzle game delivers a unique experience, where reality and illusion blur and tense, suspenseful storytelling takes center stage.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a terrifying atmosphere with well-designed enemies and a compelling story that immerses players in Chinese horror culture.
- Puzzles are challenging and satisfying to solve, providing a rewarding experience for players who enjoy critical thinking and exploration.
- The graphics and sound design contribute to a spooky ambiance, enhancing the overall horror experience.
- The quick-time events (QTEs) are frustrating and can detract from the intended tension of the game, often leading to player frustration.
- Movement speed is excessively slow, making navigation tedious and contributing to a feeling of frustration during gameplay.
- Some puzzles require knowledge of Chinese culture or language, which can alienate players who are not familiar with these elements.
- atmosphere38 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its creepy and immersive qualities, enhanced by well-crafted graphics and audio. While many players appreciate the tension and mystery it creates, some feel that cheap jump scares and frustrating mechanics detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game successfully evokes anxiety and chills, though a few players suggest that additional atmospheric elements, like music, could further enhance immersion.
“The graphics, audio, and atmosphere are all well done.”
“So beautifully crafted with one of the spookiest atmospheres around.”
“It has an amazing mysterious and scary atmosphere and it gives you anxiety many times, as the main character walks around extremely slow!”
“There's more silence to add to the atmosphere and when there is music it does exactly the opposite.”
“For both Paper Dolls 1 & 2, the atmosphere and some jumpscares are pretty okay but the level design/combat design are pretty uninspired.”
“I feel like there could be a little more as far as music or atmosphere noises.”
- story32 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The story has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it intriguing and well-designed, while others criticize it for being incoherent and poorly translated. Many noted that the narrative lacks coherence and depth, often overshadowed by excessive quick-time events and frustrating gameplay mechanics. Despite these issues, a few players appreciated the atmosphere and the satisfaction of piecing together clues to form a complete story.
“The story is intriguing and puzzles are generally well designed, although on one occasion the way to reach an area seems perplexing.”
“I particularly enjoyed finding pieces of clues that eventually led up to a complete story at the end, which fascinated me.”
“I love the atmosphere and the small bits of the story I'm able to piece together from the little journals I find.”
“The sound design doesn't exist, the graphics are way outdated, the jumpscares are just obnoxious and annoying, there is nothing spooky other than that it's pitch black, quick time events are just laughably stupid and there is a lot of them and the story is almost non-existent.”
“There doesn't seem to be a coherent story, unfortunately.”
“Like some other Chinese horror games I've played, the narrative/story is impossible to understand. The notes are all poorly translated and make no sense. You seem to be trying to save your daughter from some malevolent spirits, but I forgot all about her because other than right at the start of the game, they do nothing to remind you this is your goal.”
- graphics30 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 37 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the strong artwork and atmospheric design, particularly in the context of its Chinese culture-themed setting. While some players highlight the impressive visuals and character models, others criticize the graphics as outdated and inconsistent, noting that they can be overshadowed by poor sound design and gameplay mechanics. Overall, the graphics are generally regarded as a strong point, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere.
“Excellent Chinese culture-themed first-person horror, 'Paper Dolls' boasts great graphics in its reconstruction of a typical Qing-dynasty mansion.”
“The graphics are nice and the atmosphere is really good too, reminds me a bit of Fatal Frame/Project Zero.”
“It's a cool game and I really enjoyed the graphics and character models.”
“The game has bad controls that you can't change, bad sound breaking immersion, and some decent graphics.”
“The sound design doesn't exist, the graphics are way outdated, the jumpscares are just obnoxious and annoying, there is nothing spooky other than that it's pitch black, quick time events are just laughably stupid and there are a lot of them and the story is almost non-existent.”
“The graphics are mostly okay.”
- gameplay30 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with players praising the atmospheric design and well-crafted enemies, but expressing frustration over convoluted puzzles, slow movement speed, and ineffective sprint mechanics. Many found the gameplay mechanics to detract from immersion, turning what could have been a thrilling experience into one of frustration due to complicated tasks and poorly designed chase sequences. Overall, while the game offers a spooky ambiance, its gameplay elements have left some players feeling dissatisfied.
“The game succeeds in scaring the player throughout, by leveraging a persistently dark environment, well-designed enemies, and a run-and-hide gameplay.”
“Thanks to the developers for that 12 hours of gameplay.”
“The gameplay mechanics and plots are very well designed.”
“However, a few things killed this game for me - the convoluted puzzles, the slow movement speed, the randomized QTE inputs, and the mechanics of the last boss fight.”
“Here are my thoughts: first of all, the sprint mechanic is awful. It may as well not exist, as the character seems as if he weighs 1000 lbs because he takes 2 steps and is instantly exhausted.”
“The sprinting is so short and the recovery is so long that I'm confused about what the purpose of the mechanic even is? You can't use it to avoid enemies or navigate more effectively, so the mechanic is very nearly useless.”
- music10 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game is minimal but generally well-received, contributing to the atmospheric experience through silence. However, some players feel that additional ambient sounds or subtle musical elements, like phantom koto music or whispering voices, could enhance the overall ambiance.
“As for the music, there's not much of it, but I actually liked it.”
“Nothing dramatic, but maybe have some phantom koto music float through the air every once in a while or voices whispering lightly sprinkled in.”
“There's more silence to add to the atmosphere, and when there is music, it does exactly the opposite.”
“I feel like there could be a little more as far as music or atmospheric noises.”
“Nothing dramatic, maybe have some phantom koto music float through the air every once in a while or voices whispering lightly sprinkled in.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, particularly due to the lack of a sprint button, which exacerbates the monotony of gameplay.
“The tedious games of cat and mouse grow old very quickly.”
“What enhances this problem is that there is no real sprint button, so things get tedious.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The reviews indicate that the game's replayability is hindered by significant issues at launch, drawing unfavorable comparisons to Cyberpunk 2077's initial state. Players express disappointment, suggesting that the current experience lacks the engaging elements necessary to encourage multiple playthroughs.
