Review – Stories Untold
From No Code and Devolver Studio, Stories Untold is a compilation tape of four episodes from the now cancelled series of the same name, including a remaster of the original pilot episode “The House Abandon”. Think of a new age text based adventure for adapted to video games as we know them today. Stories Untold is a perfect blend between the original text based adventures we knew and loved before actual graphics were the cool thing to see and a more updated gaming environment with items and other objects to interact with
Text based video games have been around dating back to the 1980’s. They kept the players mind sharp with critical thinking skills and given almost the ability to do whatever they want in a game within some limits of the world that you are interacting with. What exactly is a text based video game? A text game or text-based game is a video game that uses text characters instead of the more traditional graphics or images we are used to seeing in today’s games that we know and love. Most text based games will present the players with questions or scenarios that will allow one to type out their response with things like “Open Car Door”or “Enter The House”.
Stories Untold takes this same concept but with a twist adds the graphics and images. When adding the graphics and images to a game like this, they also do a great job at keeping the environment you find yourself in with an older retro feel. What does that mean exactly? To navigate your way through the game, it touches on a healthy mix of typing your way through the different story lines and taking a break from that aspect and interacting with objects within your environment turning things on/off or changing settings on equipment that tie into the story that you are typing your way through.
One of the really cool things that I loved about this title was the sound effects as well as the interaction with your surrounds past the computer screen in the simulated room that you are in. On the first episode you are sat down in front of an old computer to navigate your way through “The House Abandon”. Without giving too much away, this episode pushes the boundaries of a 4th dimension and keeps a very creepy and suspenseful vibe throughout the experience. Some of the other chapters actually involve you interacting with objects such as a science type lab with X-Ray machines and other devices.
With a total of 4 chapters, each one has its own twist and uniqueness on how it gets played out. Overall, Stories Untold is a fun game that is worth the low price of $9.99, available in the Steam Store. If you are looking for a solid text based adventure with a little more to it then meets the eye, this would for sure be a title to pickup. The special effects and lighting within the game keep it suspenseful and keeps it from getting stale or boring.
To find out more about the game itself, check out http://www.nocodestudio.com/ and head on over to the steam store as well to download today!
Note: GameOctane received a code for the purpose of reviewing this game. Any code or product intended for reviews is distributed to the team to review and stream for our audience.
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