Lol, these Ringu references, I never thought I would see an animated version of cute Sadako Erma doing a science project. It's a 60 minute adventure game, half of it was animation, basically there is a whole episode of a cartoon here. The game itself is a bit unfinished mechanically (not to mention a bit buggy), lacking things like hotspots, and having somewhat of a troublesome inventory where you have to close it every single time and hope you picked the correct place to use the item.

Otherwise it's a very fun experience, the game never really gets boring, there is always something to look at and nearly every location has some frame by frame animations attached to it. It's a bit unfortunate that there were no achievements for optional interactions, there are a bunch of things in the environment that proc various animations and can be easily missed. It just so happens I really like the OG character, also one of my favorite DBD killers thematically, I love roleplaying as her, even if she is a little weak. This game almost feels like a combined collection of cute Sadako memes I have seen over the years, little Oreo, I mean Onryo on her little adventure.

It's not much of a puzzle game, there is virtually no challenge to it other than pixel hunting. Really you just playing it for some wholesome character moments, and I thought the reference jokes were on point, really cashing in on my nostalgia there. You just get to explore a small silly world and meet some goofy characters, I though the locations had a decent amount of detail to it as well. The only thing I would nitpick is that cutscenes didn't feel as well animated as some of the in-game moments.


(+) Pretty fun characters, I laughed a lot playing it, very clever references and just adorable little Oreo (Onryo) skits

(+) Most of the locations have some nice frame by frame animations, even optional interactions to it, so it's a bit like watching a cartoon episode really, while also being an adventure game.


Some UI/interface issues:

- generally, you always want to have a hover indicator for interactive spots like changing a color of the mouse pointer, otherwise you accidently click on things you didn't mean to click like travel areas, or miss things in the background like "looking for a flat surface", you can even consider adding description text for those areas

- in the future, when you make inventory for these games, it's a good idea to design it so it does not obstruct the game, usually people do like a drop down top panel

- the hints for the mini games were a bit obtuse sometimes, also it's not clear that you can move the lure with the mouse because it has a wide dead zone
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- if you can, consider adding achievements to the game to cover all the optional animations and story milestones

Overall Thoughts: 7/10

It's missing a few basic adventure features like the hover indicator, but overall it's a very fun experience just because the characters are so fun and goofy. I would recommend adding those achievements just because you have those optional animations around the game. Could use a few small QOL updates, but I enjoyed it a lot, I thought the jokes were very clever and most of the animation was great.

I've been a fan of the comic since it came out, so it pains me to say that I didn't like this. What's here is a good start, but it feels more like a proof of concept that needs a lot more cleaning up and fleshing out, and I really do hope that happens.

Despite being a point and click, not a lot can actually be clicked on. Many rooms are full of details and objects that don't actually do anything, not even a little animation, which is disappointing. A lot of my time was spent clicking fruitlessly hoping for something to happen. The school in particular has rooms full of objects that could all be made interactive to make the place feel more alive. It's the small details like that which make all the difference, especially in a game as short as this one.

The puzzles aren't particularly difficult to solve and feel more like exercise than fun. Most of them are just finding clickable objects and then gathering them all up in one specific place, and you're left dragging and dropping everywhere until you figure out where that place is. I got stuck twice and reached for the hint button, only to be told both times that I just needed to find a flat surface, in a place where there are several flat surfaces.

Plotwise, the game barely incorporates any of the main characters from the comics. The story itself is fine for a lighthearted one-off, but why exclude 99% of the cast? You can't even speak to your own parents! I would have loved to see more of the characters and lore incorporated into the gameplay to give the place more depth. You don't have to make the game longer per se, just take what's there and fill it up more.

I don't think the minigames added anything to the experience, especially when the controls are confusing to figure out. I would rather that effort have been spent on more point and click elements.

Finally there are the many, many technical issues, the most prominent being the highly inconsistent visuals. Several rooms, particularly in the starting area, are horribly pixelated and covered in .jpg artifacts. I don't know when this game was started but 1080p's been out for a long time and it doesn't even meet that standard. Certain graphics have visible red or white edges around their outlines as if they weren't cleaned up properly, some UI elements have drop shadows and others don't, and I swear the title screen is warped on my monitor but there's no option to set the resolution so you just have to deal with however it looks. The cursor doesn't change depending on what's interactive and what's not. Sound levels are all over the place. Some dialogue is clicked through, some isn't. Cutscenes can't be skipped even if being replayed, and there's a volume slider in the corner for each one, which... why? The system of having to drag an inventory item out of the large UI into the main game area is wonky and half the time doesn't work.

Overall, the quality on display here is more fit for a Flash game or school project than a finished, marketable product. Lots of visual and technical issues, a story that ignores most of its source material, and a lack of interactive objects that makes the world feel dead... and not in the way we've come to love. It's easy to dismiss criticism by saying, "It's only $5," but so is a sack of flour, and I could probably get more entertainment out of it in the long run.

Some people may argue that the content, only taking about an hour to get through, puts Erma's five dollar price tag into consideration. While it's true that the actual game is quite short and simple, I think the asking price is more than worth it if it means I can support a team of passionate independent creators, making a lovely little throwback to classic point-and-click adventures of days gone.

That's not to say that this game is perfect. It absolutely has a small handful of technical issues. However, they're few and far enough between that I'm able to enjoy the game for what it succeeds at.