In the recent past, there was a time when I didn't leave the house for almost two weeks. I'd practically eat and work (big surprise - I don't play games all the time) at my desk, and walk the two paces to bed whenever I wanted to sleep (it's a small room, what can I say? I wish it was two paces because I was taller), leaving the room only for base necessities. Concluse makes me want to do the same - only this time, out of an unshakable feeling of being unsettled. Also, it's way past 1 as I write this and I scare easily (no, mom, I don't sleep at 10; I'm not eighteen five anymore, ok?)
Concluse is a unique game, in the sense that it's the first title I have played spontaneously, in a totally unplanned fashion in a long while - effectively bringing to an end years of nitpicking and fussing over what game I'd play next. It showed up on my Steam recommendations unannounced and I just said 'Let's go for it.'
An atmospheric puzzle game, Concluse tells the story of Michael, who in search of his wife Carolyn (missing since 3 years) travels to the town of 'Hell.' The game is presented in the style of a PS1 game (I will have to take their word for this as I haven't played any PS1 games) which means - yes - low res graphics. So, if you're the type of gamer who requires high resolution graphics as a minimum requirement to consider a title worth your time, this one probably isn't what you're looking for. What it lacks in gameplay - which mostly consists of solving puzzles to progress to the next area - it more than makes up in atmosphere. Despite a self-proclaimed lack of jump scares, the constant feeling of tension and the sounds are enough to keep you on your toes. The few parts that do incorporate voice acting - you have the opportunity to initiate phone calls with your mom and home at certain points - feel authentic and, as advertised, high-quality.
Some puzzles were too tough for my liking; I would have loved to figure them out by myself, but the low lighting and heightened feeling of unease made me turn to a walkthrough just to get the sections over with as soon as possible. Certainly an interesting game, this was much better than I expected. It won't appeal to all, though; I recommend you have a look at the Steam page - if you think it's interesting, you're probably going to end up having a few hours' fun.
However, be warned - there isn't a definite conclusion waiting for you at the end of this game. There's more to come. This does set the stage pretty well, though, going so far as to give you a sneak peek of what's to come. It will be certainly interesting to play the next instalment. Till then, I will be trying to get the creepy black shapeshifting goo - which promised to hunt me down in real life - out of my mind.
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