BinaryMessiah Stories Untold Review

Adventure games, specifically text adventures, were some of the first video games ever made. These were similar to choose-your-own-adventure books, but you had a set of common commands you could type, such as "Go To," "Open," and "Go Back." Some games were super strict with these commands, while others were more loose. You could pick specific objects in the current text on screen to interact with. These can be very fun, as they are as much a puzzle game as an adventure game. Stories Untold starts off this way, but with a twist. I'm hesitant to reveal the game's premise as it could potentially spoil the entire experience. All I can say is that there are four short chapters, and they all involve interacting with older 80's equipment. The game isn't really a horror title, despite seeming so on the surface. It can be a bit unsettling, but there are no jump scares or ghosts. The game is full of puzzles to solve, but everything you need is right in front of you. You must tune radios, use scientific equipment, read the manuals for these devices, and follow the on-screen instructions. It's amazing, and I had a lot of fun with these interactive pieces. I did find it a bit annoying when you didn't exactly know what buttons you could interact with. In the second chapter, with all the science equipment, I encountered a bug that prevented me from turning on one of the boxes, forcing me to restart the game. Outside of these minor issues, the game has some decent voice acting and visuals, with some great lighting effects. The first chapter's 8-bit computer is quite convincing, allowing your typing to translate 1:1 with the sounds of a real 8-bit keyboard. Some will remember the CRT glow and the dark corner full of wood furniture. I never grew up with 8-bit computers as they were before my time (I started out with Windows 3.1), but for those who have, they would get a real kick out of this. My least favorite parts were when you did control the main character in real-time. There are two sections in which you do this, and it's very slow, plodding, and uninteresting. I found the stationary parts to be more entertaining. Overall, Stories Untold has four short chapters, and you can finish the game in about 3 hours, but it's a lot of fun. I found the overall story and ending to be quite intriguing, and the development of the entire experience was commendable. The interactive objects and puzzles are clever and fun, but when you take control of the character itself, the game slows down too much.