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STASIS |OT| An isometric sci-fi horror adventure game inspired by Alien & Sanitarium

M

More_Badass

Member
Indie Games
As an unsettling experience with some interesting puzzles, Stasis will please. Its huge halls and complex machinery look great, giving a sense of imminent death coming from lousy work on behalf of the safety committee. The writing is filled with little hidden gems of great characterization, and does some interesting things with the plot even though it does feel like it's ground that's been tread a little too often before. Stasis is a solid point-and-click game with some fun additions to keep players on their toes. Even if it doesn't frighten its players, it will make them uncomfortable as they wander the bloody halls, wondering if their next mistake will be their last.
Click to expand...
 
T

Truant

Member
jhmtehgamr20xx said:
How good is your rig? If it's better than mine it shouldn't be laggy (mine isn't laggy at all FWIW)
Click to expand...

So it seems the laggy cursor is only in the main menu. It works fine in the game proper.

So far so good, I was overthinking the first "puzzle" as the game wouldn't let me into the
DocMate scanner for some reason. I did the nano drill stuff first, but the game seems to support stuff like that.
 
J

jrcbandit

Member
Great atmosphere so far, enjoying it.

However, I was wondering if the game can be fixed to allow to run true full screen? I have a multi monitor setup and when I got to the left side of the screen/inventory area and click, sometimes the game minimizes because it thinks I want to interact with my 2nd monitor/screen..


Stimpack said:
Slight break in the pacing of the game when I decided to
cut off Yuri's hand immediately with the shard of glass, and then proceed to the morgue.
Nothing major, it was just obvious that that's not the route I was expected to take.
Click to expand...
Well I thought the solution was also a little out there, I didn't think a shard of glass would be enough to cut off someone's hand so i didn't try it until I read your spoiler. I tried the drill on everything though lol



Jackpot said:
Don't, it does suffer a bit of mash-every-object-together like a lot of adventure games. There was nothing to indicate anything about a cloth or hinge going together, or even that the hinge existed as a game object.

How many deaths have people got so far?
Click to expand...

You missed one
Getting killed by acid near the beginning by drilling into the vat before releasing the pressure
 
J

jhmtehgamr20xx

Banned
Truant said:
So it seems the laggy cursor is only in the main menu. It works fine in the game proper.

So far so good, I was overthinking the first "puzzle" as the game wouldn't let me into the
DocMate scanner for some reason. I did the nano drill stuff first, but the game seems to support stuff like that.
Click to expand...
Ah, okay. I'm trying hard to avoid spoilers until I start playing later tonight (gave it a test run anyhow, five minutes or so) Everything I'm reading regarding the game is going straight out of my head lol.
 
J

jimboton

Member
Is this chapterized like Sanitarium, with self contained puzzles and environments for each chapter, or does it have a more organic progression like say Shadowgate (where you can backtrack all the way to the beginning if you choose)?
 
M

More_Badass

Member
jimboton said:
Is this chapterized like Sanitarium, with self contained puzzles and environments for each chapter, or does it have a more organic progression like say Shadowgate (where you can backtrack all the way to the beginning if you choose)?
Click to expand...
Self contained puzzles and environments
 
M

Markoff_Chaney

Member
Stunning Experience, and I've only just started. Life long adventure gamer and, sadly, they don't make em like they used to. I am glad you did.

An immersive and foreboding environment accentuated with unsettlingly welcomed voice acting. This is like the Sanitarium follow up I'd hoped for in a setting I'm enjoying even more.

I look forward to playing through this. It fills me with such unbridled joy, anticipating the despair that must carry the torch lighting this tale.

Thank You!
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Finished it, took me about 10 hours. What an experience. I thought the ending was a tad rushed, but man, it was gripping and disturbing and gorgeous throughout

And game violence rarely makes me wince but these is a moment here that had me cringing like nothing since Dead Space 2's eye needle. Holy shit
 
C

CrunchyFrog

Member
And TIL there's an African branch of IGN.

Instabought, even if I probably won't be playing it right away, but I can't help but support a dev of such quality and dedication.
 
T

Truant

Member
Really liking this so far. About one hour in, just did the
tram ride
.

There's only been one jump scare so far, and it didn't really get to me. The atmosphere is top notch though, and the production values are sometimes surprisingly good for a "low budget" game. Voice acting is also great for the PC.

It really feels like a 90's game in all the best ways.

My deaths so far, let me know if I missed anything.

Drilled a while in the acid canister before draining it and got sprayed.
Didn't evacuate the morgue, got toasted.
 
K

~Kinggi~

Banned
Damn, already stuck.
i just got the neural drill, what now?

Overall its pretty good. Nice atmosphere. The sound is great and creepy. That damn radio.
 
C

Corpekata

Banned
~Kinggi~ said:
Damn, already stuck.
i just got the neural drill, what now?

Overall its pretty good. Nice atmosphere. The sound is great and creepy. That damn radio.
Click to expand...

Use the drill on the big vats in the maintenance area. if you read to logs and whatnot you'll see that if it leaks any fluid it resets all security measures.
 
E

epmode

Member
Is it possible to make a good horror game with poor sound design?

Thankfully, Stasis gets it right. The computer sounds have just the right amount of piercing treble.
 
Jibbajabbawockky

Jibbajabbawockky

Member
Really enjoying this so far. Super atmospheric and spooky.

Never even realized this was a Kickstarter game but that really makes me appreciate it even more. With the likes of EA seemingly not doing anything like Dead Space anytime soon, its wonderful having a smaller developer able to make a game like Stasis that gives you that sci-fi horror feel.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Jibbajabbawockky said:
Really enjoying this so far. Super atmospheric and spooky.

Never even realized this was a Kickstarter game but that really makes me appreciate it even more. With the likes of EA seemingly not doing anything like Dead Space anytime soon, its wonderful having a smaller developer able to make a game like Stasis that gives you that sci-fi horror feel.
Click to expand...
And don't forget that Frictional's SOMA is coming out in September

'Tis a good time to be a sci-fi horror fan
 
C

Corpekata

Banned
Is there a quicksave button in this? Given the lack of autosave plus some sudden deaths, I'd like to avoid having to manually save every time.
 
R

Rhaknar

The Steam equivalent of the drunk friend who keeps offering to pay your tab all night.
Never heard of this, looks amazing
 
B

blackw0lf

Member
Stuck in the beginning

Want to create a leak with the fluid tanks but when i drill the guy just stupidly stays there instead of moving away and get's killed. How do I cause a link without killing him?
 
M

More_Badass

Member
blackw0lf said:
Stuck in the beginning

Want to create a leak with the fluid tanks but when i drill the guy just stupidly stays there instead of moving away and get's killed. How do I cause a link without killing him?
Click to expand...
One of the key things to learn about the game is that a lot of hints and clues are revealed in the PDA logs. Read the PDA in that room closely
 
C

Corpekata

Banned
blackw0lf said:
I have, several times. Which message log specifically?
Click to expand...
Hint:
The log in the room you're drilling in, second entry I want to say
Solution
You have to release the pressure valve in the previous room. The log in the room itself mentions the valve gets stuck and needs to be turned 3 times. This will cause the fluid to drain slower when you drill
 
B

blackw0lf

Member
Corpekata said:
Hint:
The log in the room you're drilling in, second entry I want to say
Solution
You have to release the pressure valve in the previous room. The log in the room itself mentions the valve gets stuck and needs to be turned 3 times. This will cause the fluid to drain slower when you drill
Click to expand...

Oh I didn't see it. I figured there might be one but couldn't find it.

I wish there was a way to highlight what items on the screen you can use.

edit: some stuff is highlighted though which is appreciated
 
J

jhmtehgamr20xx

Banned
blackw0lf said:
Stuck in the beginning

Want to create a leak with the fluid tanks but when i drill the guy just stupidly stays there instead of moving away and get's killed. How do I cause a link without killing him?
Click to expand...
Yeah I'm at that point too; I could technically figure it out seems easy enough, but I've only given myself an hour to play tonight. And yes, some of that time was spent dicking around.

Loving the game so far btw; this is why we need more of these kind of scifi/horror games in the industry. They're just right up my alley, altho I don't profess to be a pro at PnC games. Hoping this inspires other games to try their stab at the subgenre, preferably with a focus on story.

In a way it reminds me of the System Shock games, and Dead Space too of course. Actually hoping for fiendish puzzles later on as well; that would go hand-in-hand with the sort of atmosphere this game evokes.
 
A

afternoon delight

Member
Custom Steam grid images culled from the thread devoted to such things.

stasislogo.png
Ix0GjaR.png
 
B

blackw0lf

Member
Spoiler for about an hour into the game

Stuck trying to get to
the atmospheric controls in the security room. I have a linen sheets and the drill, is there anything else I'm missing?

edit: nvm, missed a place i hadn't been to yet
 
S

Stimpack

Member
Phew, stayed up later than I wanted, but I ended up completing it. I've got to say, overall I'm slightly disappointed. A lot of people are really digging everything the game offers, and I don't mean to be a stick in the mud, but these are my honest opinions.

I found that the story was predictable and slightly flat, though not the worst. The voice acting was acceptable in some parts, but cringe-worthy in others. That André Maurois quote was repeated like 4 or 5 times throughout the game, and I understand that it was trying to be impactful, but for me it missed the mark.

Some of the "puzzle" solutions are borderline ridiculous and fall into "mash random objects together" rather than requiring logic and reasoning. The cutscenes look fantastic, and I wish the entire game looked like that! The animations are somewhat unintentionally hilarious at times, and the character models leave something to be desired. The lack of any real options is kind of a big deal in this day and age, but that leads me to the real issue I had with the game. It's an homage to older point-and-click adventure games, to a fault. The gameplay itself does nothing new. At some point I'd almost feel like going back and playing some of the games that I never ended up getting around to, because they'd perhaps have more to offer. Also, if I have to read one more PDA in my life, I'm going to literally go insane. I think I'm fatigued on the PDA and log entry stuff at this point in my life.

But it's certainly not all bad, and I have to take into consideration the fact that it's not some big budget title. What the game does well, it really does well. The atmosphere is incredible. In terms of science fiction storytelling in a video game, it's probably among the better half. The cutscenes are on another level, and I found them to be very impressive. As a whole, the game is good, and for a small team I'd say it's a major accomplishment. I'd play it again, and I cannot stress enough how much I am looking forward to what's next. There's definitely a lot to like there, and I hope the development of this game has been a learning experience.
 
M

More_Badass

Member
Corto said:
Will start playing this today! Can't wait to finally do it tonight.

In the meanwhile the Alec Meer RPS review is just fantastic:

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2015/09/01/stasis-review-pc/#more-311319

"The best adventure game I've played in years" The title says it all. No need to read the body of the review hahaha. No, read it, it's also a fantastic read.
Click to expand...
Best part:
The tiny team behind it have done remarkable things, far in excess of what many, much larger studios seem capable of. Those studios should be afraid – be very afraid.
Click to expand...
 
D

demon326

Member
I played the demo over a year ago and i was just waiting for the full release, this game is just pure awesome! The game doesn't tell you 'Please us item X on item Y' or 'please leave the area'.. its makes you learn from your mistakes, it asks you to think about how to solve the puzzle..
 
C

CDRacingZX6R

Member
Just curious, but is there an options menu for changing the games resolution and enabling/disabling certain graphics features? I see only the standard option menu for brightness and volume.
 
J

jhmtehgamr20xx

Banned
CDRacingZX6R said:
Just curious, but is there an options menu for changing the games resolution and enabling/disabling certain graphics features? I see only the standard option menu for brightness and volume.
Click to expand...
I don't think so. But as long as you meet minimum requirements it won't be a biggie. Is there a particular reason you're looking for those kind of settings?
 
T

thehillissilent

Member
Stimpack said:
Phew, stayed up later than I wanted, but I ended up completing it. I've got to say, overall I'm slightly disappointed. A lot of people are really digging everything the game offers, and I don't mean to be a stick in the mud, but these are my honest opinions.

I found that the story was predictable and slightly flat, though not the worst. The voice acting was acceptable in some parts, but cringe-worthy in others. That André Maurois quote was repeated like 4 or 5 times throughout the game, and I understand that it was trying to be impactful, but for me it missed the mark.

Some of the "puzzle" solutions are borderline ridiculous and fall into "mash random objects together" rather than requiring logic and reasoning. The cutscenes look fantastic, and I wish the entire game looked like that! The animations are somewhat unintentionally hilarious at times, and the character models leave something to be desired. The lack of any real options is kind of a big deal in this day and age, but that leads me to the real issue I had with the game. It's an homage to older point-and-click adventure games, to a fault. The gameplay itself does nothing new. At some point I'd almost feel like going back and playing some of the games that I never ended up getting around to, because they'd perhaps have more to offer. Also, if I have to read one more PDA in my life, I'm going to literally go insane. I think I'm fatigued on the PDA and log entry stuff at this point in my life.

But it's certainly not all bad, and I have to take into consideration the fact that it's not some big budget title. What the game does well, it really does well. The atmosphere is incredible. In terms of science fiction storytelling in a video game, it's probably among the better half. The cutscenes are on another level, and I found them to be very impressive. As a whole, the game is good, and for a small team I'd say it's a major accomplishment. I'd play it again, and I cannot stress enough how much I am looking forward to what's next. There's definitely a lot to like there, and I hope the development of this game has been a learning experience.
Click to expand...

I watched someone play the whole game on youtube (I know, I know), and from what I saw I would have to agree with your opinion. I almost wish it was a full 3D game and had more characters, but it was amazing what was done with such as small team.
 
Dsyndrome

Dsyndrome

Member
Are there missable areas in the game? Went to the morgue instead of
getting on the tram
and I'm wondering if I need to solve whatever it is with
the furnace and the dirty wet towel
before venturing on, or if I just come back here anyway.
 
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