Huntsman

akndfkjcdnsrmdldnjjejandesndskj THIS WAS SO GOOD WTF

every daybloom project game feels like stepping into a world that you didn't even know was possible to reach in rpg maker. i was completely absorbed from the first second to the last; the atmosphere, visuals and sounds are absolutely UNPARALLELED. genuinely couldn't believe my eyes haha. and outside of the atmosphere, everything else is top tier as well! i loved the feeling of uneasiness and unknowing i got as i tried putting together what was happening, and that feeling never went away during my entire playthrough. sooooo cool.

(SPOILERS)

first off the aesthetics are off the charts!! the wandering around gameplay gives super close vibes to the woods scenes in the FAITH trinity. love the super simple solid colors contrasted with the detailed shapes and movements. and paired with the vhs filter, it felt like i was playing a screwed up haunted retro game haha. and the switch ups to the realistic style?? unbelievably cool. the notes scattered around the forest, the pause menu, the goddamn shooting scenes! it's SUCH a cool and unique style, and it works super well with the horror; the retro aesthetic gave me kind of a sense of security and separation, so when the style got realistic i felt my danger levels shoot up haha. and the animation of the hand picking up the paper!! and the jumpscare!! and the way your reflection vibrates unstabley in the mirror!! god absolutely everything about the presentation is INCREDIBLE, sorry if i sound like a broken record but it really gave everything a perfect eerie vibe. awesome stuff. (oh and the sound design!! absolutely terrifying in the best way. GOD this game's presentation and atmosphere are fantastic)

the gameplay is really cool too! wandering through the forest felt really foreboding, and every time i found a new thing to interact with my senses became super alert haha. the notes scattered across the zone are really creepy and it made me feel like i was trying to complete a puzzle i couldn't fully grasp. that goddamn smile teleporting around was creepy as hell, made me feel like i was never alone. and of course the shooting scenes! i don't even know how one could code those parts. they were cool as shit and perfectly break the game's immersion to give maximum spooks. and i love the attention to detail, like when you come back to the cabin after the jumpscare, you're smiling! soooo cool, i knew there had to be something that had changed haha. i feel like the player's moving speed is a bit too slow, especially when i was right at the end and had to find the last deer. but to be fair it also helps with the worldbuilding; i felt like a hunter who was walking through a forest and couldn't run or i'd scare away my target.

the smile appearing at random is cool, though when it vanishes it leaves a tile that you can't pass through, and that felt a bit annoying when i was trying to reach certain parts of the map. and while the exploration overall is really well done, i would've liked if there was at least a small hint towards where the next deer is. maybe the smile could appear in the direction of the next one, or something like that? and while the notes, ending and overall story were intriguing and abstract, i would've liked if there were more hints as to what's truly going on (tho that's more of a personal preference thing, i tend to get really lost in stories that are really open to interpretation haha).

this was an amazing horror experience, and a showcase of incredible art, programming and atmosphere skills!! kudos to everyone who worked on this and i urge everyone who reads this comment to play this. SOOO cool.

p.s.: :)

Made a video

This was great... Seriously. I wrote a review saying everything I needed, but you did a beautiful job here, both on the style and story. Really liked that switch between top/ first view, and those deer scream sounds really helped with the immersion. :p

That was really well-made and creative, great job! Reminds me of Faith. Also this is the first time I see a font that only consists of capital letters XD

now ik that majority of my playthrough is just figuring out where i'm going, BUT THE GAME WAS STILL FIRE. The visuals were just soo crispy dude, keep up the good work!!!

Very good game

I like the first person gameplay!

A really short and sweet game.  The parts where it switched from a top-down view to first-person did wonders for the immersion and set up a routine for the player to get comfortable before it turns itself on its head.  The music and menus were definitely a highlight for me as well.  Just an all-around cool game.

Nice!

That was cool! The lo-fi / hi-fi contrast is quite evocative.