Scholar's Mate - First Move | Game Brain

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Scholar's Mate - First Move is a single player action adventure game with horror, mystery, thriller and violence themes. It was developed by JanduSoft and was released on June 29, 2023. It received neutral reviews from players.

In Scholar's Mate First Move you will play as Judith, a young college student who was going back home after finishing the semester. After waking up disoriented in an abandoned hospital room, she will try to escape and get back home safe. Exploration and ingenuity will be your only chance to get out of this strange and dark place alive. Will you succeed? A first-person horror experience in…

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47%

Audience ScoreBased on 34 reviews

atmosphere3 positive mentions

stability1 negative mentions

The game features immersive and detailed graphics with a spooky and authentic atmosphere.
Voice acting is well done, effectively conveying the main character's stress and adding stakes to the story.
Puzzle-solving enthusiasts may find the escape room style intriguing and the gameplay engaging when hints are properly utilized.

Puzzles are often confusing, illogical, and difficult to solve without external guides, which frustrates many players.
The demo is very short, feels more like a demo than a prologue, and lacks enough content and atmosphere to fully engage players.
There are notable bugs and game-breaking issues that prevent progress, and some gameplay elements are clunky and not intuitive.

graphics
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The graphics are generally praised for being nice, immersive, and detailed, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere. However, some users noted that despite the visuals not being highly demanding, the game caused excessive GPU heating, indicating possible optimization issues. Overall, the graphics are considered good and fitting for the game's style.
- “The game was enjoyable enough with mostly logical puzzles (except for the UFO poster locker...), but this thing hammered my RTX 3080 graphics card.”
- “I had all the settings maxed out, as I usually do, and the graphics in this game shouldn't be too demanding, but the card heated up like a toaster oven on the sun.”
- “Maybe some optimization to reduce demand on the card for a non-graphic intensive game?”
gameplay
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The gameplay received mixed feedback, with some finding it exciting and well-supported by hints, while others felt it was boring, short, and lacking originality. Overall, it offers a brief experience but may not fully engage all players.
- “The music and sound effects were really impactful, and the gameplay was super exciting, making you want to keep playing.”
- “It is completely free of charge and it offers a gameplay experience lasting for about an hour.”
- “Gameplay wise - there are plenty of hints to help you solve the puzzles, I just failed to put all the pieces together.”
- “Really nice graphics but the gameplay is so boring, and I usually like escape games.”
- “The length is more like a demo and the story and mechanics are not really special or new, so I was not really hooked by the game.”
- “Gameplay wise, there are plenty of hints to help you solve the puzzles, but I just failed to put all the pieces together.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The atmosphere received mixed feedback, with some finding it short and lacking depth, while others praised its spooky, rich, and detailed ambiance complemented by good voice acting. Overall, it shows promise but may feel too brief or simple for some players.
- “The atmosphere was quite well done and definitely spooky!”
- “Scholar's Mate: first move is a promising demo to what I hope will be a good game, the graphics and atmosphere are rich and detailed, the voice acting is very good, and the story (how little we got) was interesting enough for me to want more.”
- “The atmosphere and voice acting were decent.”
- “Too short, simple, barely any atmosphere... only positive is the price.”
- “A horror game should be building atmosphere and making you feel as if you were not safe.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
The story centers on a girl kidnapped and taken to an allegedly closed psychiatric facility, offering an interesting premise. However, the narrative is brief, feeling more like a demo, and lacks unique or deeply engaging elements to fully captivate players.
- “The story revolves around a girl who is kidnapped and taken to a psychiatric facility that is supposed to be (officially) closed.”
- “Scholar's mate: first move is a promising demo to what I hope will be a good game, the graphics/atmosphere are rich and detailed, the voice acting is very good, and the story (how little we got) was interesting enough for me to want more.”
- “The length is more like a demo and the story and the mechanics are not really special or new, so I wasn't really hooked by the game.”
- “The story revolves around a girl who is kidnapped and taken to a psychiatric facility that is supposed to be officially closed.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game runs relatively smoothly but could benefit from optimization to reduce its demand on graphics hardware, especially since it is not graphically intensive. Improvements in performance would enhance the overall experience.
- “Maybe some optimization to reduce demand on the card for a non-graphic intensive game?”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music and sound effects create a highly impactful and exciting atmosphere that enhances gameplay immersion. However, some users noted moments of silence that reduced tension, especially before jumpscares, which affected the overall experience.
- “The music and sound effects were really impactful, and the gameplay was super exciting, making you want to keep playing.”
- “I got goosebumps for the first 2 minutes thinking the big bad was right around the corner, until I realized there is no music—just one jump scare before having to try and find frustrating locker codes.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is poor, with numerous bugs significantly impacting the experience. While it shows potential, it requires substantial fixes to improve reliability.
- “Worst thing I've ever played… has potential but is super buggy and needs some work.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is considered excessively tedious and frustrating, with illogical and overly complicated puzzle mechanics that detract from the experience.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Scholar's Mate - First Move is a action adventure game with horror, mystery, thriller and violence themes.

Scholar's Mate - First Move is available on PC and Windows.

Scholar's Mate - First Move was released on June 29, 2023.

Scholar's Mate - First Move was developed by JanduSoft.

Scholar's Mate - First Move has received neutral reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its atmosphere but disliked it for its graphics.

Scholar's Mate - First Move is a single player game.

Similar games include Blameless, Daylight, Beside Myself, Locked In Mind, Hellseed and others.

Scholar's Mate - First Move

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