Dusk Golem
A 21st Century Rockefeller
As a horror enthusiast who follows reviews, horror games have a very high chance at polarizing scores for a number of reasons. Not the least of which because the direction, execution, and themes strike with people differently. IE, one person can HATE that a game has over the top disturbing scenes simply made to shock you while another might love it, or someone might love slow atmospheric exploration while another finds it dull.
Because horror games more than many game genres are based on 'narrative loops' rather than 'gameplay loops' (narrative loop isn't cutscenes but a scene with situational context design rather than gameplay context design, and in fact horror games are often anti-typical game design or may make elements of the gameplay worse or less fun to emphasize the horror and situations), it can vary a lot in how people take the game. It also doesn't help that different people want different things out of horror and some are more or less influenced by their bias going in.
I'm not saying how horror games are reviewed is wrong, but horror games usually have a harder time than most genres in the review space because of their subjectivity, especially ones that aim for specific experiences not really aimed at everyone. I haven't played this one yet, but reading the reviews it looks like this is in heavy effect with this game. It's an experience some may love, some may hate, which is refecting here in these reviews.
Because horror games more than many game genres are based on 'narrative loops' rather than 'gameplay loops' (narrative loop isn't cutscenes but a scene with situational context design rather than gameplay context design, and in fact horror games are often anti-typical game design or may make elements of the gameplay worse or less fun to emphasize the horror and situations), it can vary a lot in how people take the game. It also doesn't help that different people want different things out of horror and some are more or less influenced by their bias going in.
I'm not saying how horror games are reviewed is wrong, but horror games usually have a harder time than most genres in the review space because of their subjectivity, especially ones that aim for specific experiences not really aimed at everyone. I haven't played this one yet, but reading the reviews it looks like this is in heavy effect with this game. It's an experience some may love, some may hate, which is refecting here in these reviews.