Where will you look for the devil in mystical and psychological Advenchur from Jane Jensen (Jane jensen)? Try to recognize him in the owner of the magic shop with the speaking name "Mephistopheles"? Congratulations, you got a finger at the sky. The devil has several eternities in a row spawning his days in the little things. And from this point of view Gray Matter provided a horned guest with a worthy refuge.
Fans of the genre were waiting for a new quest from Jensen impatiently. Almost eight years have been waiting, by the way. The release date was postponed many times, potential players were bred by promises and, surprisingly, they eventually realized a lot of the declared. If not for malicious small details ..
A normal rabbit leading a sedentary lifestyle in a cage is difficult to raise in the air by the ears. With one hand. But if the rabbit is the name of Hudini, the impossible immediately becomes possible.
How to get a job correctly
Let’s start with the praises. The plot is really completely non -trivial. A young magician named Sam and by the name of Everett comes to London from the States to find and get to the Daedalus Club – a kind of Mecca for Rabbit and Cylinder workers and cylinder. A multi -stage combination of circumstances leads her in a late rainy evening in Oxford, to the house of the neurobiologist Dr. Stiles. And – what a coincidence! -Literally, in front of the heroine’s eyes, the potential assistant of the scientific light is going to introduce herself to its future employer, but, frightened by either sinister shadow or a bat, shamefully runs from under the door itself. Samantha instantly takes the place of the unsuccessful contender and the next morning finds itself in a luxurious mansion where she is fed with breakfast, promise a full boarding house and immediately load the first, “test” order: to find six volunteers for the Stiles experiment. For money. Easier than steamed turnip, right? Everything would be fine, but only after hearing the name of the doctor, all the interlocutors of the girl in horror and anger run away from her. Why? We have to find out "in the course of the play".
Jane Jensen -Not just a aunt-scenarist, but a legendary person in the world Adventure. She began her activities together with another, no less famous lady – Roberty Williams. The first independent project, after which Jane woke up famous, is a series Gabriel Knight, which fell into the same mythical gold fund of quests, which we mention from the review to the review. Gray Matter should have been a triumphal return Jensen In the adventure industry after a long break during which the scriptwriter wrote books and worked on small casual games.
Subsequently, it turns out that Adventure, who declared herself as a sweet detective man, is actually pretending to be a traditional story about a criminal doctor who does something terrible with his patients. Dr. Stiles is a deeply tragic figure. After the death of his wife, he actually locked himself in his laboratory, devoting himself to studying the capabilities of the human brain. And achieved certain successes, it should be noted. During experiments that are very similar to hypnosis sessions, the experimental Stiles manage to change the very fabric of reality.
In parallel with the main storyline, alternative develops: Samantha continues to persistently look for the "Dedalus Club". In the process, she has to play games, solve puzzles, collect a map from fragments, gradually approaching her dream.
Natural rotation of skeletons helped the doctor save. He simply https://agentspinscasino.co.uk/ locked a fresh client every five years in the reception.
How to talk about art correctly
Jensen Not failed. Scenario, the idea and characters of the characters make the most favorable impression. On the one hand, we are constantly unobtrusively referred to a literary, philosophical and historical context. So, when Samantha examines the surroundings, she often supplies objects with a commentary, from which it is clear that she is aware of the case: she is able to distinguish amateur painting from professional, understands architecture styles. She chatting sweetly and quite objectively with a shy youth about Homer. The culturally saturated Oxford atmosphere surrounds us gradually and unobtrusively – “literary” dialogs and replicas do not go beyond the school level of perception. So that people inexperienced may well play in Gray Matter and feel great. But Adventor, of course, will show much more to an educated and thoughtful person. Here is symbolism and allusias. For example, we see Dr. Stiles in a white half mask, a very reminiscent of the favorite headdress of the ghost of the opera.
What is most valuable, the main character is not “another girl with a rich neckline as a detective”, but a real person: unusual, strong -willed and cockroach. In the sense of cockroaches in my head in all the necessary gyrus. Sam, for example, reacts very peculiarly to the abundance of gloomy and even terrible statues in the house of Stiles. The average adventure girl would probably say “oh, what a horror, it looks scary. The owner of the house seems so sinister!". Or something like that. Miss Everett claims that she really likes all this, warms her Gothic soul and, in general, a man clearly lives in the mansion.
By the way, with the neckline of Samantha, too, everything is in order. Very well.
Man on the other side of the street is a speaking mannequin. He does not know how to move, but he has his own opinion.
How to fight and look
On the other hand, the excellent plot and the atmospheric textual part are perhaps the best that is in Gray Matter. Other aspects, including gameplay, will somehow be worse. Remember, we talked at the very beginning about the little things? So, annoying detail number one: the heroine is very lazy. She does not just walk slowly, but also stumbles upon objects, stuck in three pines and generally behaves like a very inhibited person. Since there are many objects requiring inspection in the game, almost eighty percent of the time goes to wait – while our protege reaches the desired subject. She can give valuable comments on what she saw only after it comes close to the thing being examined and almost pokes into it.
Dr. Stiles, who we also have to manage, not far away from his assistant in the sense of general sports. You can fit the characters, but very not for long – they run a couple of meters and again switch to a slow, sad step.
Secondly, despite the careful illumination of all active objects, tasks in many cases are very cushione, if you solve them from the point of view of logic, and not a simple breakdown of options. It is not easy, for example, to guess that in order to open a mailbox with the logo of the Daedalus Club, you need to push in the opening for the letters with a similar sign on the package. If only because at the time of acquaintance with this mailbox, the heroine already managed to find several more obviously related objects of objects, by the way, also decorated with his coat of arms.
Oh yes, it is extremely undesirable to miss active points along the road. For fidelity, it is better to inspect everything twice. Very often, Samantha, when first acquaintance with a thing or a person, loves to let go of a witty (or not) replica and thereby limit herself. So that the girl would fit and speak with the right character or touch the subject, you need to “set” her again on the object. In many cases, a certain event should be preceded by interaction. For example, Miss Everett is able to pick up a note “For the New Assistant” only after a conversation with the economy of Dr. Stiles. It happens that we notice new objects that have arisen in locations during the storyline, solely due to a change in the shape of a tiny cursor. It turns out that pixelhanting, from which they tried so hard to protect us with a backlight, still follows on the heels – just in a slightly different guise.
But there is in the gameplay Gray Matter Very cute and unusual element: tricks. Since the main character is a magician, she solves many problems with the help of her little magic. Or deception is how to see. Moreover, for the refuge of the gullible acquaintances, we were provided with a separate interface, with the help of which we, armed with a textbook and common sense, should prepare a “number” in step -by -step mode. As a result, all mini games and tasks live in organic kinship with the script. For adventure, a harmonious plot rationale for the need to suddenly start solving puzzles – a huge rarity, in fact.
How to talk aloud correctly
In the English version Gray Matter There is another captivating part. Living voice, rich in intonations, a characteristic manner of saying from everyone, even the most episodic characters, is what we call real, high -quality, atmospheric voice. And then why you can fall in love with a new project Jane Jensen. In addition to the plot, of course.
Unfortunately, the graphics look and half is not so attractive. Two -dimensional backdrops would be good, stylish and atmospheric, if not for the almost complete lack of life. The water in the fountain is motionless, people walk the streets only when they are “ordered” by a tough scenario need. During the kitchen conversations with the economy of Stiles, Samantha every time makes the same gestures – as if eating. Animation of the movements of the heroine itself is monstrous, the secondary characters were even less lucky. Facial expressions are absent as a fact – during the conversations of the avatars of interlocutors, in turn are shown on the dialog strip at the bottom of the screen. Heads open their mouths – and only.
The "Dedalus Club" did not have enough funds to order business cards. I had to arrange puzzles for those who wanted to find the main headquarters.
Gray Matter – A very ambiguous project. On the one hand, the plot, representing a clear artistic value, wonderful written and voiced dialogs in combination with gameplay, organically woven into the tissue of the narrative, is worth to suffer minor shortcomings. But is it possible to consider an almost completely ruined game process with a trifle? May every amateur Advenchur answer this question himself.
Pros: A fascinating and unusual plot;Interesting ideas at the basis;literally verified dialogs;tricks as an element of gameplay;Beautiful, atmospheric voiceing of roles.
Cons: inconvenient and bulky control;"Lazy" main characters;veiled pixelhanting;not always logical tasks;Animation curve.