Paper Dolls Original (2019)

Paper Dolls (1? Original?) is the definition of a mixed bag for me. While I definitely enjoyed exploring this large Japanese style mansion, solving puzzles and avoiding enemies… there are a number of annoying mechanics that equally frustrated me.

For starters, there is a map but only a picture of one, nothing easily accessible or that keeps track of your location. One of the puzzles is literally impossible unless you speak the original language of the devs. Others completely avoid logic, or involve pixel hunting to find.

And the combat… hoo boy. There are ghosts that one-hit kill you, and in some sequences are nearly impossible to avoid. The ending, which I gave up on after my 30th try, has you running from a hoard of them at all angles with QTEs to boot. And the sprint button has a mind of its own; normally your walking speed is basically a crawl, but the sprint works for literally half a second and then has an unreliable cooldown of anywhere between 1 and 20 seconds.

But I would still say, 70% of the game is really fun. There’s some nice Resident Evil inventory type puzzles and a few logic ones too. If it had gotten some testing and refinement, it could have been a great time… but there’s too much frustration to truly recommend.

Fun: Planned 2 unplanned 2(I enjoyed 1 of the puzzles. Other than that the most fun I had was seeing how close I could get to an enemy without dying)

Replayability: Incentive 0 Enjoyment 0 (There is literally no reason or incentive to play this game again.)

Plot: Storytelling 0 Mood 3 (There seems to be two plots. The first is introduced, and literally serves no purpose other than introducing the characters. There is no progression of any type for the first story. The second is told through notes found throughout and a few dialogues/ environmental cues. The plot is incoherent and makes no sense. There are multiple occasions where useless information is given, and key information is missing.)

Difficulty: physical 3 mental 2 (there is options for easy normal hard, but it only seems to change the ghosts route or speed. The puzzles can be a bit ridiculous. Many of the puzzle combination solutions are a bit of a stretch in logic. There are also a few puzzles that require cultural knowledge.

Gameplay: Complication 2 Learning curve 5 (Like I said earlier the puzzles can be dumb. The ‘Run’ Mechanic just doesn’t work half the time. Trying to hide underneath something often had trouble)

Look: Graphics 4 Design 4 (It’s hard to tell how good the graphics are because of the lighting, but I didn't notice anything off. The design gives off a creepy old mansion vibe where you can practically smell the rotting wood. The layout can be very confusing at times, but you obtain a map by the time it becomes complicated. The lighting is very dark where the flashlight isn’t facing, and that is bothersome.)

Audio: Music 1 (atmospheric other than one song, but it didn’t match the vibe) design 3 (repetitive sounds)

Value: 0 (I wouldn’t recommend playing it if someone paid you anything under $5 more of less pay $17)

Genre specific: Horror 3 (The atmosphere was good at the beginning. The ghost designs as paper dolls are cool. Lot’s of cheap jump-scares, and the pursuing ghost is not tense or frightening, it's annoying.)

Extra credit / grievances: 0 (Had QTE’s. Was unable to finish the game because one of the items was only available during a specific event, and I missed it soft-locking to a full restart. Those puzzles are stupid. Lot’s of wandering around wasting time.)

31/100 F- Don’t spend time or money on this game in any way.