Stigmatized Property
- October 20, 2019
- Chilla's Art
"Stigmatized Property," a horror simulation game, offers a chilling single-player experience. Immerse yourself in a dense atmosphere with its inspired-by-true-events haunted apartment storyline and enjoy the game's pretty visuals and good plot. Fans of horror games should also check out other titles from Chilla's Art such as Hanako, The Convenience Store, and Aka Manto.
Reviews
- The atmosphere and ambiance are perfect, creating a genuinely creepy experience.
- The game features a unique VHS aesthetic that enhances the horror elements.
- Despite its short length, the game effectively builds tension and includes multiple endings.
- The game is very short, taking only about 30-60 minutes to complete, which may leave some players wanting more.
- The visibility is poor due to dark environments and heavy film grain, making it difficult to find items.
- Some players experienced performance issues and bugs that detracted from the overall experience.
- atmosphere214 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its eerie and unsettling qualities, often described as thick and immersive, reminiscent of classic Japanese horror films. While some players noted that the game relies heavily on atmosphere rather than jump scares, many found it effective in creating a sense of dread and tension throughout the experience. However, a few critiques mentioned issues with sound design and predictability, which slightly detracted from the overall impact of the atmospheric elements.
“While this is basically a short walking simulator with fairly easy puzzles, the atmosphere alone gave me massive goosebumps.”
“The atmosphere is really gloomy, and the whole minimalism of the whole thing makes you feel really alone in these creepy little streets.”
“The atmosphere is permeated by dread and tension from the minute you start wandering the back alleys of your friend's sketchy neighborhood in the dead of night.”
“It has a scary atmosphere but everything feels so predictable, which makes it less scary.”
“Stigmatized property is a really weak horror game; while you have the creepy atmosphere, there is not much else going on in the game.”
“With the game being so short, there is not much time to build a proper atmosphere.”
- story182 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The game's story is a mixed bag, with many players finding it simple yet effective in creating a spooky atmosphere, reminiscent of Japanese horror films. While some appreciated the multiple endings and the immersive experience, others criticized the narrative for being shallow or predictable, lacking depth and meaningful engagement. Overall, it offers a brief, unsettling experience that may appeal to fans of the genre, despite its technical flaws and varying levels of storytelling quality.
“I really liked the story as it felt like I'm in a movie, playing the main character. It has multiple endings, jumpscares were decent, and the overall vibe and atmosphere they create by making you read journals was awesome. Fully recommended!”
“The story is interesting and more fleshed out than Okaeri, so that's a big plus.”
“Wrapped with a grainy aesthetic and an unnerving atmosphere, 'Stigmatized Property' is a linear Japanese horror game that serves its purpose as a short and digestible creepy story.”
“The story, what little there is, doesn't serve any real purpose and lacks any meaningful (or well written) ending.”
“This game barely had any story; it literally was just reading.”
“Story had little to no depth, although the map was creepy and neat.”
- graphics158 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The graphics of "Stigmatized Property" evoke a strong VHS aesthetic that some players find immersive and atmospheric, while others criticize them for being overly dark and grainy, making it difficult to discern important elements. Many reviewers appreciate the unique visual style and its contribution to the horror experience, though some express frustration with the technical execution and performance issues. Overall, the graphics are a polarizing aspect, with opinions ranging from admiration for their artistic intent to disappointment over their clarity and optimization.
“Imo, great story, amazing graphics.”
“I'm not exaggerating when I say these graphics look photorealistic; it is very impressive, especially for a cheap horror game.”
“The visuals are absolutely stunning.”
“I know the graphics are dark and grainy on purpose, but when you can hardly see some of the item markers, that's just not great.”
“Crappy filter over the graphics already makes it painful to look at...but it's also too dark to see anything that might be going on.”
“Even after I found the option to turn the film grain off, the deliberate washing out of the graphics and the fact that everything is quite dark makes things generally hard to discern outside of a general idea of what stuff is.”
- gameplay78 mentions
- 4 % positive mentions
- 86 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily focused on exploration and item collection, often described as simplistic and lacking in mechanics, with many players noting its short duration of around 20 to 40 minutes. While the atmosphere and story elements are appreciated, the gameplay tends to drag due to its repetitive nature and minimal interaction, leading to a less engaging horror experience. Overall, it appeals to those who enjoy walking simulators but may disappoint players seeking deeper mechanics or a more substantial horror experience.
“The gameplay is isolating, primarily focused on item collecting, exploration, and puzzle-solving through an authentic Japanese locale sprawled with dim alleyways, hidden shrines, and an apartment complex.”
“Gameplay is simple but it works.”
“It's pretty straightforward in terms of gameplay (walking around and exploring the area), so you can finish the game in approximately an hour.”
“Unfortunately, this game has almost no mechanics.”
“The gameplay really pulls away from the horror as my exploring for items really drags down the pace.”
“Super short, no real gameplay, it looks horrible, the film grain off option only decreases the amount of ugly film grain instead of turning it off, and best of all it has one decent jumpscare and that's the bad ending.”
- optimization18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 44 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received largely negative feedback, with many players experiencing significant performance issues such as stuttering, freezing, and screen tearing, even on low settings. While some users noted minor stutters, the overall consensus is that the game is poorly optimized, detracting from the experience and leading to recommendations against playing it unless performance concerns are not an issue for the player.
“I only had one small stutter during an animation, so this ranks pretty high in the performance bracket.”
“Overall, I wouldn't recommend the game due to its optimization and graphics, but if that doesn't bother you or you're one of the lucky ones with no performance issues, then I hope you enjoy the game's atmosphere.”
“Even on the lowest settings, I had slow performance and a lot of screen tearing.”
“Yet, the optimization leaves much to be desired.”
“Performance issues and engine shortcomings keep this from being a very good game.”
“The issue I have with the game and why I can't recommend it is that it has stuttery, poor performance.”
- stability16 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 88 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players reporting no significant issues while others experience frequent crashes, glitches, and lag, particularly during streaming. Many users express concerns about poor optimization and translation errors, indicating a need for further playtesting and fixes. Overall, while some enjoy a stable experience, others find the game frustratingly buggy.
“Still runs great when not streaming.”
“I don't know if it's just me, but I tried to play this on stream and it was extremely laggy and buggy.”
“I like and respect the works of this studio; I support other games, but this is just glitchy and freezes. It's poorly optimized, and I hope they fix it.”
“Even then, the program displays the 'made in Unity' logo before the game bugs out and says 'don't expect me to work for you until heck freezes over,' and I have to close the game manually.”
- replayability14 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is limited due to its short length and minimal content, with some players noting that while there are multiple endings, the lack of substantial differences between playthroughs diminishes the incentive to replay. A few reviews mention that additional endings could enhance replay value, but many agree that the game may not satisfy those seeking extensive replayability.
“With 1 more additional ending (good and bad) there is replayability in this game, which the previous game lacked.”
“With replayability and a story with more depth, I highly recommend this game.”
“There's a few different endings which give the game a slight replay value.”
“However, that does mean the game has little replay value.”
“And while I loved it, the short length and lack of replayability will turn a lot of people off.”
“Pretty cool game, but it's really short and there's no replay value unless you want to get 2 achievements that are impossible to get on one run.”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players have mixed feelings about the grinding aspect of the game; while some find the page-collecting and exploration enjoyable and engaging, others feel that certain elements can become tedious and frustrating, particularly when secrets are obscured and require excessive effort to uncover. Overall, the game manages to make some grinding aspects feel rewarding, but it can also lead to moments of confusion and monotony.
“Also, there's diary page hunting in the game which can get tedious after a while.”
“I feel some of these games are deliberately made obscurely difficult for some reason, not in a strategy kinda way, more like a 'wtf do I even do!?' kinda way, and the creep factor goes out the door when it becomes a tedious slog.”
“My only real critique of this game is that the map hides secrets that cannot be found without a guide or wall grinding.”
- music6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is minimal, primarily consisting of ambient sounds from the outside world, which enhances the subtle horror atmosphere rather than relying on traditional musical cues. Reviewers note that the lack of dramatic orchestral music during jump scares contributes to a more immersive and atmospheric experience, making the overarching plot and ambient sounds significantly scarier than the jump scares themselves.
“There isn't any special music; you just hear the sounds of outside life, such as cars driving by.”
“The horror aspect is subtle and relies more on atmosphere than anything else; there's very little music and the few jumpscares in the game aren't accompanied by aggressively loud orchestral chords that launch into a whole opera.”
“Final jump scare not that scary - overarching plot and musical ambience 10x scarier.”
- humor6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is primarily derived from its jump scares, which players find more amusing than frightening. Many reviewers note that, rather than creating a tense atmosphere, the jump scares contribute to a lighthearted and entertaining experience, making it a unique addition to the horror genre.
“The jump scares are actually funny, not gonna lie.”
“Jump scares are just funny instead of scary, and if you've played a lot of horror games, I doubt you'll be creeped out by this.”
“A nice and funny little horror game.”
- emotional4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's camera movement creates a disorienting and nauseating effect, likened to a bad trip, which may detract from the emotional experience. However, it effectively personifies the protagonist's emotional state through interactions with animals, adding depth to the narrative.
“It can personify the emotional state of your protagonist through the animals you encounter.”