The Lancaster Leak - O'Brien State Park | Game Brain

The Lancaster Leak - O'Brien State Park Game Cover

About

"The Lancaster Leak - O'Brien State Park" is a story-driven walking simulator with a 15-20 minute playtime, featuring a found footage perspective of an FBI investigation into a missing person case from 1985. The game boasts immersive graphics and sound design, with jumpscares and a bigger picture slowly being revealed through leaked tapes. Episode 2 is coming soon.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

The Lancaster Leak - O'Brien State Park screenshot

83%

Audience ScoreBased on 150 reviews

story11 positive mentions

optimization3 negative mentions

The game effectively creates a spooky atmosphere with its VHS-style graphics and sound design, enhancing the horror experience.
As a free game, it offers a compact and engaging horror experience that many players found enjoyable despite its short length.
The narrative and lore presented in the game are intriguing, leaving players eager for future installments in the series.

The gameplay is primarily a walking simulator with minimal interaction, leading to long stretches of aimless wandering that some players found boring.
The heavy VHS filter can be overwhelming, making it difficult to see and causing discomfort for some players.
Many players noted issues with pacing and a lack of substantial scares, with only a few jump scares throughout the short playtime.

story
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
60%
9%
The game's story is generally described as short and simple, often compared to a walking simulator, yet it effectively captivates players with its intriguing atmosphere and compelling narrative elements. While some reviews note a lack of depth and abrupt transitions that disrupt immersion, others praise the storytelling through found footage and VHS aesthetics, highlighting a mysterious plot centered around a missing FBI intern. Overall, the narrative is seen as a strong point, despite its brevity and minimalism.
- “I believe this game is easily the best of the three games, and has the most compelling story.”
- “The story is intriguing, even if it's a little vague, and the atmosphere is done unbelievably well.”
- “In conclusion, 'The Lancaster Leak - O'Brien State Park' is a masterclass in horror storytelling.”
- “The story presented in this one is minimal.”
- “Truly dull story with nothing to distinguish itself from a thousand 'after-action' report games/narratives.”
- “Not a lot of depth or story here.”
graphics
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
54%
11%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a heavily stylized VHS aesthetic that effectively contributes to its spooky atmosphere, though opinions vary on its execution. While some players appreciate the unique analog horror visuals and atmospheric design, others find the graphics dated and the filter excessive, leading to discomfort during gameplay. Overall, the visuals are a polarizing aspect, with a strong emphasis on creating a chilling narrative experience.
- “The graphics are stunningly atmospheric, with meticulously crafted environments that breathe life into the chilling narrative.”
- “The use of VHS style graphics was amazing and the execution of the game's plot and buildup was perfect.”
- “I love the visual aesthetic of VHS and it absolutely matches the feel of those types of YouTube videos built by a fun, terrifying ARG element.”
- “Ps1 graphics, horrible movement.”
- “The filter over the graphics is extreme; there are no settings to scale it back at all.”
- “The idea is great; however, the game does have hiccups, especially in graphic settings - which are very bare and the VHS grain feels almost too much at times with no way to remove it.”
atmosphere
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
36%
12%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its unsettling and immersive qualities, effectively enhancing the narrative and gameplay experience. While some players note that the pacing can hinder full engagement, the use of sound, graphics, and design elements like VHS aesthetics contribute significantly to its eerie ambiance. Overall, the game successfully creates a compelling atmosphere that resonates with players, despite some criticisms regarding graphical fidelity and pacing.
- “The story is intriguing, even if it's a little vague, and the atmosphere is done unbelievably well.”
- “The sounds, graphics, and gameplay all add to the creepy atmosphere, using the old-school VCR effect perfectly.”
- “It is a compelling blend of atmospheric visuals, riveting narrative, and psychological depth that will leave you questioning the nature of reality and the ghosts of the past.”
- “The pacing is incredibly slow; it’s hard to get into the atmosphere.”
- “When the player reaches checkpoints to 'bring you back' to the main story, it's abrupt and kills whatever was left of the atmosphere.”
- “Like I thought the concept is cool, but it's so slow to the point that I couldn't get sucked in by the atmosphere.”
gameplay
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
73%
14%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the spooky atmosphere and found footage style, while others criticize it for being overly simplistic, primarily consisting of walking with minimal interaction. Many feel that the game could benefit from additional content and mechanics to enhance engagement, as the current experience is often described as lacking depth. Overall, the gameplay effectively contributes to the horror ambiance but may leave players wanting more in terms of complexity and length.
- “The sounds, graphics, and gameplay all add to the creepy atmosphere, using the old-school VCR effect perfectly.”
- “I love that the gameplay is the footage you're watching.”
- “The whole purpose of VHS horror to me is to ground you in the immersion of watching something realistic happen before you—having it as a gameplay element is a great factor.”
- “Park has some cool audio towards the end of the game, but for the most part is entirely devoid of gameplay except for walking along a dirt path.”
- “I also think this game would have been better as a YouTube video as the gameplay isn't really compelling in any capacity.”
- “The gameplay doesn't consist of much other than walking or sprinting about until the next piece of exposition is given to you.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
150%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users expressing frustration over its demanding performance compared to previous titles, while others acknowledge that despite its issues, the game still delivers a compelling experience.
- “Good game, even though the optimization is a little messed up, it gave me fear and a few scares.”
- “What the hell is this optimization? The Doom Syndicate sequel was better and far less demanding.”
- “The optimization is a complete disaster; it feels like the game was rushed out without any proper testing.”
- “I can't believe how poorly optimized this game is; it struggles to run even on high-end hardware.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the grinding in the first two games to be tedious and unfulfilling, suggesting that the time invested may not be worth the rewards.
- “The first two games are actually pretty tedious and not really worth the time they take to complete.”
- “Grinding feels like a never-ending chore rather than an enjoyable part of the game.”
- “The repetitive tasks required to progress make the experience feel more like a job than a game.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game has minimal replayability, primarily serving as a refresher for its lore or as a shared experience for friends rather than offering new content or challenges for returning players.
- “It has no replay value whatsoever, unless you want a refresh on the lore or want to get your friends to experience it.”
- “Once you've completed the game, there's little incentive to go back and play it again.”
- “The lack of meaningful choices and consequences makes replaying feel pointless.”