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Pineview Drive

46%Game Brain Score
story, atmosphere
gameplay, optimization
47% User Score Based on 238 reviews
Critic Score 40%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

PCXboxWii UPlaystation 4WindowsPlayStationNintendo SwitchLinuxXbox OneWii

About

In "Pineview Drive," you take on the role of a investigative journalist who must uncover the dark secrets of a haunted mansion. Using only a lantern and your wits, you'll explore the mansion and its overgrown grounds, avoiding various supernatural threats and piecing together clues to solve the mystery. With a focus on atmosphere and exploration over combat, this game offers a unique and suspenseful take on the horror genre.

Pineview Drive screenshot
Pineview Drive screenshot
Pineview Drive screenshot
Pineview Drive screenshot
Pineview Drive screenshot
Pineview Drive screenshot
Pineview Drive screenshot
Pineview Drive screenshot
Pineview Drive screenshot
Pineview Drive screenshot

47%
Audience ScoreBased on 238 reviews
story23 positive mentions
gameplay14 negative mentions

  • The game has a great atmosphere with effective sound design that enhances the horror experience.
  • The fear detection mechanic adds an interesting layer to gameplay, making players more cautious during scares.
  • The game features a variety of jump scares and creepy moments that can genuinely frighten players.
  • The gameplay is repetitive, primarily revolving around finding keys to unlock doors, which can become tedious.
  • The game suffers from poor optimization, leading to low frame rates and performance issues even on capable hardware.
  • The story is thin and lacks clarity, leaving players confused about the plot and the ending.
  • story
    143 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is widely criticized for being thin and poorly executed, with players expressing frustration over the tedious key-fetching mechanics that detract from narrative engagement. While some found the premise intriguing, the delivery through sparse diary entries and a lack of cohesive plot development left many feeling underwhelmed and confused, particularly regarding the ending. Overall, the story fails to captivate, often feeling like a mere backdrop to the gameplay rather than a compelling narrative experience.

    • “It was a really well put story, with simple to understand events and great scares and hidden gems (for Halloween, for example, the front porch of the house has pumpkins on it) for replay value.”
    • “Overall, I enjoyed the story and I am definitely excited to play the next installments!”
    • “The fear meter mechanic is unique, I really love the atmosphere, the mansion is insanely convoluted which is both a pro and a con, and the story is at least intriguing throughout the game.”
    • “It fails as a horror, it fails as a story, it fails as a game.”
    • “The story is delivered in single sentences and is, so far, too vague and without unity to be engaging.”
    • “Instead it seemed like it was a failed attempt to string together a ghost story by randomly connecting disjointed bits and pieces into an incomplete story that ends without explaining why, what, who, or how.”
  • atmosphere
    88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is a prominent highlight, with many players praising its creepy ambiance, sound design, and visual elements that effectively create tension and fear. However, some reviews note that the atmosphere can be undermined by repetitive gameplay and a reliance on jump scares, leading to a mixed reception. Overall, while the game excels in establishing a haunting atmosphere, it struggles with gameplay depth and variety.

    • “The atmosphere, building, music, and sounds fit the game.”
    • “The sound design, atmosphere, and graphics are some of the most amazing I've seen in the horror game scene in a few years.”
    • “Pineview Drive is a solid horror game, judging by the atmosphere it creates.”
    • “Instead of relying on the honestly remarkably tense atmosphere of wandering an 'empty house', it throws repetitive jumpscares that do random amounts of damage at you constantly!”
    • “The atmosphere and darkness are indeed creepy, but the pacing was terrible, and the scares were so laughably unfrightening, few and far between that it felt like a poor reward for all the aimless circling (done at a snail's pace walk) to obtain them.”
    • “A game can't sustain interest on atmosphere alone.”
  • gameplay
    74 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive and tedious, primarily revolving around searching for keys to unlock doors. While some appreciate the unique "fear mechanic" that punishes players for reacting to scares, others criticize it as poorly implemented and frustrating. Overall, the gameplay lacks depth and innovation, leading to a sense of wasted potential despite a strong atmospheric foundation.

    • “The gameplay revolves around finding keys, unlocking rooms, and gathering small bits of information about the mystery engulfing this cursed building.”
    • “The aware-of-your-fear mechanic is also really, really cool.”
    • “Gameplay is simple as it revolves around finding things and exploring the place, but the experience is there and can get very tense.”
    • “You could feasibly excuse this game as a subpar indie horror experience that heavily relies on atmosphere, even if the moment-to-moment gameplay is about as deep as a day-old puddle.”
    • “Believe it or not, that's basically everything your journey entails from the gameplay point of view: ahead of you are hundreds upon hundreds of same-looking doors in need of unlocking and hallways of the sprawling interiors to navigate; it's safe to call the whole game a key-search simulator.”
    • “But the tedious gameplay (plan to walk through pretty much every room in the house, multiple times, every day, looking for keys or journal entries), the overused scares, and the lack of a compelling story quickly drained both fear and enjoyment from my experience.”
  • graphics
    47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players noting that they appear dated and suffer from optimization issues, leading to lag and low frame rates. However, others appreciate the atmospheric design, lighting effects, and overall visual detail, which contribute positively to the horror experience. While not groundbreaking, the graphics are generally considered decent for an indie title, with some players highlighting the effective use of sound and visuals to enhance immersion.

    • “The main impressive thing about this game is the level of graphical detail.”
    • “The graphics are good, the atmosphere is good and the jump scares did make me jump quite a few times.”
    • “The sound design, atmosphere, and graphics are some of the most amazing I've seen in the horror game scene in a few years.”
    • “Is 10 years old by the time of this video, and that can be seen throughout the entire game; it didn't age well. Although the graphics wouldn't be a problem had the game offered something else, like engaging gameplay or a good plot, which, unfortunately, it hasn't.”
    • “I wonder if the extreme darkness of the game is a feature or a bug (it's a strong possibility, since there are other graphic bugs, at least in the Linux version).”
    • “There was so much texture tearing and glitchy shadows, but that might be because I had to play with PS2 graphics.”
  • music
    23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally praised for enhancing the atmosphere and contributing to the creepiness, with a variety of tense background tracks and sound effects that keep players on edge. However, some reviewers note that the sound design can feel amateurish, with music sometimes mismatched to events and becoming repetitive after extended play. Overall, while the soundtrack effectively builds tension, its overuse and lack of variety can detract from the experience as the game progresses.

    • “The sound, music, and ambience is everything in this game!”
    • “The music and sound effects are excellent and really add to the game’s creepiness.”
    • “A creepy background soundtrack also helps to create the tense atmosphere that empowers the basic 'don't get scared' catch of the game.”
    • “The sound design is amateur, with sounds being random and music played haphazardly, in spite of their quality.”
    • “However, the music is constantly there and it feels out of place at most times.”
    • “At times, the music will get intense as well, and loud noises will come out of nowhere, which again feels out of place most of the time and is overused in my opinion.”
  • optimization
    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players reporting severe performance issues regardless of their hardware specifications. Many users experience choppy gameplay, significant frame rate drops, and unresponsive graphics settings, indicating that the developers may struggle with effective use of the Unity engine. Overall, the game's technical performance detracts from the experience, overshadowing its otherwise intriguing story.

    • “Its probably an optimization issue, so you'll need to play with the settings yourself to see what works best for you.”
    • “Some optimization might be needed/patched to solve the framerate issues.”
    • “This game is not very well optimized, but I find the bit of story that is here rather intriguing.”
    • “The game is good but... I'm giving this bad review due to terrible optimization no matter how powerful your setup is.”
    • “Absolutely atrocious performance... can't be more than 10-15 fps no matter what settings I use.”
    • “For developers with assumingly little knowledge of how to properly work with the Unity engine, it's admittedly acceptable: the shadows tend to get a little funky whenever a candle is lit, there is some nasty texture flickering and the performance is simply horrendous regardless of the specs.”
  • grinding
    19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, primarily revolving around the monotonous task of finding keys to unlock doors without a compelling narrative to engage players. Many reviewers noted that the gameplay quickly becomes a borefest, as players are forced to navigate the same areas repeatedly, leading to frustration and diminished enjoyment. Overall, the lack of variety and the cumbersome mechanics contribute to a grinding experience that detracts from the game's potential thrills.

    • “It's made even more tedious because of the way the game tracks your health -- through your mouse movements, movement speed, and camera direction.”
    • “The game itself is basically fetching key after key and trying to find the door that it unlocks to progress, which can be tedious at times trying to remember which ones you've yet to open.”
    • “But the tedious gameplay (plan to walk through pretty much every room in the house, multiple times, every day, looking for keys or journal entries), the overused scares, and the lack of a compelling story quickly drained both fear and enjoyment from my experience.”
  • humor
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is described as both absurd and situational, with comparisons to the melodrama of Spanish TV shows. Players find amusement in the protagonist's prolonged inaction and the quirky interactions with ghostly elements, such as a mischievous clown doll and the humorous predicament of missing keys due to poltergeists. Overall, the blend of dark humor and playful scenarios adds a lighthearted touch to the gameplay experience.

    • “I find it hilarious how it only took our hero a lousy 20 years to finally get his butt up and get on the case; doesn't sound like he was desperately clinging onto his second half.”
    • “-ha, then you will find this funny: this place is full of pesky poltergeists and they stole most of the keys so I cannot give them to ya.”
    • “Funny like watching a Spanish TV drama.”
  • replayability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the engaging story and hidden details that encourage multiple playthroughs, others feel that technical issues and a lack of substantial replay value detract from the experience.

    • “It was a really well put together story, with simple to understand events and great scares, along with hidden gems (for Halloween, for example, the front porch of the house has pumpkins on it) that enhance the replay value.”
    • “Twenty bucks isn't too bad, but there is no replay value, and the buggy fear can cause more frustration than enjoyment.”
  • stability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is marred by a buggy fear mechanic that detracts from the overall experience, leading to frustration rather than enjoyment. While the price point is considered reasonable, the lack of replay value further diminishes its appeal.

    • “The fear mechanic is incredibly buggy.”
    • “Twenty bucks isn't too bad, but there is no replay value, and the buggy fear can cause more frustration than enjoyment.”

40%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

Buy Pineview Drive

30h Median play time
30h Average play time
30-30h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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