Forgiveness is a game about being trapped in a room trying to escape to repay your sin. I’m sorry to report I’m still on the 1738 Hell Express. You see, the game has you take a quiz prior to starting to get your sin and by extension your room. I got the hardest room of all.
I guess that says two things about me. First: I’m an awful human being. It also highlights the flaws in the games difficulty system. Sure you can pick rooms but only after the survey is done once. Each time you complete a room, the game returns back to the menu. With no visual clue you’ve completed once, how do you know when it ends?
The levels themselves are well designed, but the puzzle flow leaves a lot to be desired. This was the first puzzle game where I couldn’t solve a SINGLE puzzle without help. I mean I know I’m shit at puzzles but when they all require hints, it’s not me it’s you. This game worse of all doesn’t feel fun to play. The whole game reeks of “19 more minutes until I can go home”. I play games to get away from the stress of high school. Playing this made me feel dumber than my damn SAT score. I mean in one puzzle you have to stick a key into a Television. A TELEVISION! I’m not even sure how you’d ever figure it out without a guide.
The tutorial is lackluster too in the sense that it doesn’t prepare you for the wide breadth of puzzles you’ll be exposed to. It plays out more like a hidden object level and contains no logical reasoning style puzzles the rest of the game exposes you to. The developer stated the point of the tutorial/demo is to “provide background story and check if the game runs well”.
That statement is in my mind a core reason why I disliked the game: I have more enjoyment in games that use a layered approach where the tutorial is easiest and the rest of the game builds on those concepts. This games core design approach is about as erratic as a drunk driver after a three day weekend. Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s hard, but it’s never fun.
I had to stop after 4 of 7 rooms. I can tolerate when I’m stupid. I can tolerate puzzles too hard for me but I expect to have SOMETHING to keep me engaged. This game has no drive to keep me going. I’ve had more fun doing my physics homework.
One thing I will give this game credit for is its includes loads of useless items to enhance the immersion of the rooms. I felt like I was in an environment that someone had truly lived in. It’s a shame the puzzles are bad or otherwise I’d be commending the game for being a not crappy not ported escape room game. If this, however, is purgatory, then I’m really not looking forward to death.
Please note that no cerebral palsy related issues arose during gameplay.
Forgiveness was developed by Chaos Minds.
Point of Sale: Steam, Itch.io, Discord
Price:$9.99
A Steam review key was provided by the developer.
djf1107 has not awarded Forgiveness the Indie Gamer Team Seal of Approval.
Indie Gamer Team 