5 DAYS
EMILY WANTS
TO PLAY
5 WARRIORS
- THE DEATH
MATCH
WINTER
QUEST
INFINITE
MONKEY
AUTOCORRECT
JAMES PETTEGROW
5
Days takes the interactive story-telling
and text-based adventure genres and makes
from them a highly personal experience.
Most text-based adventure games have a
choose-your-own adventure style which tends
to leave to more fictional
settings than otherwise.
5 Days is the opposite,
and the story is something that can easily affect the audience in the
same way it affects its
characters.
The
overwhelming
emotion throughout the
game’s titular five days is
despondence.
The game is depressing to such a degree
because the story is so
relatable to many people. It explores themes
of death and grief as
you play through the five
days leading up to your
best friend's funeral.
The decisions in the
beginning of the story
feel truly like your own.
Slowly, however, the
plot is driven in a certain
direction and the control
is taken away.
Although by the end of
it you’ll feel like you’ve
been reading a book
rather than writing one,
fans can look at this title
as the potential origin
point for more immersive
adventures.
SCORE: 7/10
SIAN BRADLEY
A
t this point, we really wish Emily was
still away. Unfortunately,
she’s not and this game
sees you haunted by a
disturbing little girl and
her three dolls who want
nothing more than to
play with the unsuspecting pizza delivery guy.
You start the game
with no instructions and
have just a few minutes
to get acquainted with
the house before you
start getting stalked.
Each doll has its
own distinct personality and provides plenty
of scares, but much like
many popular horror
games since the release
of Five Nights at Freddy’s
these come mainly in the
form of screaming creatures right in front of your
face.
While the game does
build atmosphere with its
pitch black corners and
doors opening across
the room, once you learn
the formula it becomes
more of a chore than a
game.
The story behind the
horror has a lot of holes
and is hard to follow with
dolls appearing every
few seconds.
At the end of the day,
this is the kind of game
you’d play if you wanted
to jump out of your skin,
not get immersed in the
life of a little girl.
SCORE: 6/10
JACK DENISOV
T
his describes itself as
'a totally epic experience that everyone can
explore and fully enjoy'.
It then adds that 'you are
a ball that shoots ball at
other balls in an open
world'.
After such an introduction, how could you not
give the game a go? The
reality however is that
the game is a confusing
mess.
The graphics are gorgeous for an indie title,
with an interesting camera effect for water sections. Yet my game had
no sound, and the controls felt wonky.
The main aim of the
game is to destroy five
bosses, but even the
first one gave me trouble. The character, a red
ball, was usually floating around just outside
the camera. The shooting
mechanic felt unsatisfactory, with the projectiles
behaving like a whip
and changing their angle
whenever you moved,
which you had to do to
try and dodge attacks
from the boss.
Overall it left me unsatisfied and confused.
I'm sure over time I would
get used to the combat,
but that time can be better spent elsewhere for
no ˂