Do Not Open: Review

This game was reviewed on PC.

Reviewed by:  Brian Eckels

This game was provided to us by OUGOfficial and also through Perpetual, a small studio that has brough us some great Indy Horror games. Now, normally, I would say I love Indy horror, but this game isn't that great. Do NOT OPEN. You've been warned. If you wish to avoid spoilers, skip to the end of this review and check the scoring to see why it scored low.

In this game, you're playing as Michael Goreng, a zoologist, whom is losing his sanity. His wife and daughter are in severe danger due to his madness. It is billed as a tragic story about one man's battle to shut out the voices in his head and regain sanity, but I about lost my sanity and patience trying to play this game. There's not much to it, aside from a puzzle in every room whilst avoiding a witch. The first room is a basement with a lock puzzle to unlock the door. It tells the story about the child and daddy's relationship through clues left by the daughter. Why is the daughter leaving clues for daddy to escape from a psychotic "witch" that may not even exist?

Secondly, the gameplay is puzzle based and not much survival, other than hiding in closets and under furniture. No matter what room you pick for your second room, it always ends up being the same room. This is as far as I got in the game, as I gave up, due to the lack of any story to keep me pulled in, or any monster coming at me. It's good that the game is puzzle based, but it needs a reason to make me want to keep going after the first room. At least add a bit of story cinematic or something like a flashback that makes me want to keep going.

With no investment into the character, and no story until after the next few puzzles, this game is NOT worth the asking price of $25/25 euros. It would be better off for less than 10, and that's saying a lot.

My score for this is a 2 out of 5 because of the fact that while the atmosphere puts out to be scary, adding in sounds and music, the story and the puzzle mechanics do not compel me to want to play this. I will probably play it later with some hints from a guide. This game is NEVER the same when you play it or die, or come back, as the puzzles reset so there's not one solid guide out there, but hints help. The game also doesn't hold your hand, so it's one that's a definite DO NOT OPEN, or rather DO NOT PLAY for me. 

Reviewed by: Brian Eckels