the white chamber
- September 7, 2023
- Locked Door Puzzle
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"The White Chamber" is a point-and-click horror adventure game, where players control a young woman who awakens in a mysterious glowing coffin. As she explores her surroundings, she must solve puzzles and uncover the truth behind her captivity, leading her to the white chamber. The game features luscious 2D art, atmospheric music, and professional voice acting by Kira Buckland and Phillip Sacramento.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique and visually striking art style that blends late 90s anime with early 2000s western cartoon aesthetics, creating an unsettling atmosphere.
- It offers a short but engaging horror experience with multiple endings, encouraging replayability and exploration of its secrets.
- The sound design and music effectively enhance the eerie ambiance, contributing to the overall horror experience.
- The game is quite short, with some players completing it in under two hours, leaving them wanting more content and story depth.
- Voice acting can be inconsistent, with some performances feeling out of place or poorly timed in relation to the game's atmosphere.
- Certain puzzles can be unintuitive, leading to frustration as players may miss important interactive elements or require walkthroughs to progress.
- story17 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The game's story, while intriguing and mysterious, is criticized for its brevity and lack of depth, leaving players wanting more. Although it features some interesting worldbuilding elements and a cliffhanger ending, the narrative feels rushed and underdeveloped, with a reliance on visual elements that do not significantly enhance the experience. Overall, while the story has its charm and attempts to carve out its own identity, it ultimately falls short of delivering a fully fleshed-out narrative.
“It's short length and mysterious story leaves you wanting more.”
“The story is simple but effective with a cliffhanger ending that may never be resolved sadly.”
“I remember playing this back in the day, so it's great it finally got brought to Steam and includes some extra goodies, including a full audio drama giving the backstory.”
“The story is the one aspect which has aged the most, I think.”
“On the other hand, it ends way too quickly and abruptly, with a bare-bones story that just tells you things when the time comes instead of building up to them in any meaningful manner.”
“The 'grey tower' side story gets a bit more in-depth with sci-fi worldbuilding but also goes sideways, hinting at a different interpretation of the main events yet never fleshing it out enough to enhance them.”
- graphics13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by a unique blend of late 90s anime and early 2000s western cartoon aesthetics, creating a distinctive and memorable visual style that stands out. While some players appreciate the grungy, nostalgic art reminiscent of 80s-90s anime, others find the visuals less appealing, describing them as simplistic or disturbing, particularly in horror sequences. Overall, the art style elicits strong reactions, contributing significantly to the game's atmosphere and replayability.
“The graphics are great, the art style stands out as this weird melding of late 90s anime meets early 2000s western cartoon that just hits so different.”
“The aesthetic is strange and grungy, obviously inspired by 80s-90s anime, but different: I sense a kind of roughness that's hard to describe, but which makes the game stand out.”
“Loved this game through and through, the art style and overall vibe scratches a very particular itch that few games can for me.”
“The visuals are a bit meh (I don't like the anime aesthetics) and the story wasn't very original, but the game still delivered a fine experience.”
“However, the visuals for the environment are surprisingly disturbing and the hallway sequence is downright frightening.”
“The art style in this game is so weird... it's simultaneously simplistic and noisy.”
- music5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its ability to create an oppressive atmosphere and enhance the horror experience, featuring a brilliant and unnerving soundtrack that evokes a sense of unease. Reviewers highlight its effectiveness in setting the tone and contributing to the overall dread of exploring the environment.
“The music is top shelf stuff, really sets the tone.”
“Entering new rooms always brings a sense of unease, expecting the worst to happen at random, along with the soundtrack that creates a disturbing metallic ambiance of being inside a dreadful facility.”
“Entering new rooms always brings a sense of unease, expecting the worst to happen at random, along with a soundtrack that creates a disturbing metallic ambiance of being inside a dreadful facility.”
“The music is also top-shelf stuff; it really sets the tone.”
“A 2000s cult classic given life, highly recommend for its dirt cheap price, oppressive atmosphere, and brilliant soundtrack.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is praised for its oppressive quality and is complemented by a brilliant soundtrack, making it a standout feature. Reviewers highlight its cult classic status and recommend it, especially given its affordable price.
“A 2000s cult classic given life, highly recommend for its dirt cheap price, oppressive atmosphere, and brilliant soundtrack.”
“The atmosphere is quite good.”
“The oppressive atmosphere really detracts from the overall experience, making it hard to enjoy the game.”
“While the game has its moments, the atmosphere feels stale and uninspired.”
“The atmosphere is so bleak and uninviting that it often feels like a chore to play.”
- stability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game runs well on the Steam Deck, providing a generally pleasant experience; however, some users have noted a few persistent bugs and moments that rely on random exploration after story actions.
“This runs great on Steam Deck.”
“The game maintains a steady frame rate, even during intense action sequences.”
“I haven't experienced any crashes or bugs; the stability is impressive.”
“There are a couple of buggy moments that remained unfixed, and some sections feel overly dependent on random exploration after completing story actions.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players report that the game evokes strong feelings of unease and tension, particularly when striving for a positive outcome, creating a memorable emotional experience.
“I will never forget how uneasy and tense it made me feel, trying desperately to get the good ending.”
“The story's emotional depth left me in tears; it resonated with my own experiences.”
“Every character's journey tugged at my heartstrings, making me feel deeply connected to their struggles.”
