Review: Decay - Part 4

This review took me a long time to write. It wasn't because I just couldn't peel myself away from the fun I was having, but more to do with one fact: this game is hard and it took me forever and a day to beat. And honestly, this is really the only thing wrong with the final chapter of Shining Gate's creeptastic, dark and unsettling point-and-click adventure title.

Here come the nightmares.

The series is built around the story of uncovering where you are (heaven, hell, limbo?), how your family died and just what is going on in this creepy world where nothing seems tangible and a killer seems to just be around the corner. It all seems like a bad dream. I don't want to ruin too much of the story, so I'm being vague, but the final chapter handles the story much like the third: it uncovers much more of the mystery and gives players the answers they've been searching for.

But I'll be damned if those answers are easy to obtain. I like a good challenge, but I don't like being presented with puzzles I have no idea on how to solve. Now, I'm not the best at games like Myst and Monkey Island, but I can get through them. Decay IV, however, has these random little puzzles -- a nice change of pace from just finding handles and sticks to place in the right corresponding item or location -- but they are just too hard. I shouldn't have to look for answers online after trying and failing at a puzzle for 30 minutes. I found a particular ball puzzle to be extremely difficult, and would have welcomed playing a Halo game on Legendary difficult where the enemies were jacked up on speed than solve the damned thing.

The film grain effect adds to the surreal ambiance.

Now, this may not be a problem for gamers who are smarter than me when it comes to solving puzzles and such, but I have one more bone to pick with the game: the multiple endings. It's already challenging enough to get through the game, why make it so there are alternate endings. I know this extends replay value -- some players will love that -- but I want to see the best ending there is for what is a great, haunting and genuinely interesting story. Just how good is the story? Well, it's better than most found in triple A titles like Halo.

Now, there is much more than just story that makes the final chapter great. First off, and most noticeable, is the music. It fits the game perfectly and becomes and important part of setting the ethereal atmosphere. Not only that, but you'll find it stuck in your head after the game has been shut off.

Decay IV. Not for the faint of heart.

The package as a whole is miles above what is usually offered from the Xbox Live Indie Games service -- a feat all the greater when one realizes the small team involved in developing the series. I like the Decay series -- the first game is what made me take indie games seriously -- and the final chapter is probably the best in the series, but I just can't get around how challenging it was. If you're a fan of point-and-clicks you owe it to yourself to play this series, especially if you like suspense and unsettling stories. I for one am afraid to look into my closet after seeing the creepy face peering back at me in this final chapter. Thanks Shining Gate.