Video Game Review: Stasis - In Space Noone Can Hear You Scream

Developer The Brotherhood Games
Where we got our copy The Brotherhood Games
Genre RPG
Game modes Single Player
Players 1
Reviewed on

NiteFenix

Published October 31, 2016

First off, let me start by saying this. I know we’re late to the party with reviewing this game, but there is a method to our madness. What is that method you ask? Simple, it’s Halloween, and being South African, we had to add our very own flavour to this distinctly American holiday. What better way to do this than by reviewing a game from our very own Cape Town-based game development studio, The Brotherhood Games. The game? Stasis!

Stasis is not your run of the mill point and click adventure game. Sure the game is one grand adventure, but it is by no means a light-hearted romp, ala Money Island. Stasis is what you would get if Alien/Doom and King’s Quest had a lovechild, and it turned out to scare the living bejesus out of you. Got it? Great!

Now that we have that out of the way, let’s delve into the story shall we? Stasis follows the story of one John Maracheck, a holiday-goer who, along with his family were scooped up by a deep-space top-secret research vessel called the Groomlake (ring any bells conspiracy theorists?). The Groomlake, the player learns, focusses said research on taboo (by regular stands) scientific advancements such as cloning and other cruel and gruesome experiments. See where this is going? Right! So as the player continues down this wanton path of deteriorating madness, you will soon learn that the ship has been long since vacated…but how? Well once you start seeing the bodies (some in worse conditions than others) you will start to see a picture forming. The core focus of our protagonist (with the help of a mysterious female benefactor) is to find his family, who were of course taken by the Groomlake as well. The antagonist in this game, much to my glee, was one Dr. Malan, a VERY South African AND evil character (who isn’t a mercanary I might add).

The gameplay for Stasis is solid. With few if any evident issues throughout the experience. The user interface is clean and the inventory system tucks away comfortably allowing for more screen real estate to allow the player to deeper immerse themselves into said experience. Story advancement is just the right level of hard, making the puzzles and problem solving just beyond “simple” or “stupid” so that even the average/noob player can figure it out. To be clear I consider myself part of the latter. If you get completely stuck, like I admittedly did, there are quite a few walkthroughs available online, but honestly guys, you shouldn’t have to do that unless you really need a klap.

On a sound level, Stasis has some pretty scary and immersive ambient sounds. The ship does not quite feel so abandoned when you’re walking down a corridor and you hear agonised screams coming from just beyond the currently inhabited area. The monsters too has some pretty solid sound effects which sent a geniune chill down my spine. Voice acting was quite well done, with only a few characters feeling like there was a bit of a questionable writing session behind their dialoge, but otherwise, despite this, they delivered their lines acceptably.

If you’re a fan of tension building storytelling and you like jump scares, then Stasis is a solid title worth looking at. I have seen some even comparing it to other space faring horror titles such as Dead Space in the execution of its horror and I can definitely agree. If you’re looking for a great horror title this Halloween and you want to support local, check out Stasis over on the Steam store . It is currently 50% off on the Steam Sale. That’s R79.50 for the standard edition and R121.05 for the Deluxe Edition. The Halloween sale ends soon, so be sure to grab it while it’s available at that price. Alternatively, check out the bottom of the post for a competition!

First off, let me start by saying this. I know we're late to the party with reviewing this game, but there is a method to our madness. What is that method you ask? Simple, it's Halloween, and being South African, we had to add our very own flavour to this distinctly American holiday. What better way to do this than by reviewing a game from our very own Cape Town-based game development studio, The Brotherhood Games. The game? Stasis! Stasis is not your run of the mill point and click adventure game. Sure the game is one grand adventure, but it is by no means a light-hearted romp, ala Money Island. Stasis is what you would get if Alien/Doom and King's Quest had a lovechild, and it turned out to scare the living bejesus out of you. Got it? Great! Now that we have that out of the way, let's delve into the story shall we? Stasis follows the story of one John Maracheck, a holiday-goer who, along with his family were scooped up by a deep-space top-secret research vessel called the Groomlake (ring any bells conspiracy theorists?). The Groomlake, the player learns, focusses said research on taboo (by regular stands) scientific advancements such as cloning and other cruel and gruesome experiments. See where this is going? Right! So as the player continues down this wanton path of deteriorating madness, you will soon learn that the ship has been long since vacated...but how? Well once you start seeing the bodies (some in worse conditions than others) you will start to see a picture forming. The core focus of our protagonist (with the help of a mysterious female benefactor) is to find his family, who were of course taken by the Groomlake as well. The antagonist in this game, much to my glee, was one Dr. Malan, a VERY South African AND evil character (who isn't a mercanary I might add). The gameplay for Stasis is solid. With few if any evident issues throughout the experience. The user interface is clean and the inventory system tucks away comfortably allowing for more screen real estate to allow the player to deeper immerse themselves into said experience. Story advancement is just the right level of hard, making the puzzles and problem solving just beyond "simple" or "stupid" so that even the average/noob player can figure it out. To be clear I consider myself part of the latter. If you get completely stuck, like I admittedly did, there are quite a few walkthroughs available online, but honestly guys, you shouldn't have to do that unless you really need a klap. On a sound level, Stasis has some pretty scary and immersive ambient sounds. The ship does not quite feel so abandoned when you're walking down a corridor and you hear agonised screams coming from just beyond the currently inhabited area. The monsters too has some pretty solid sound effects which sent a geniune chill down my spine. Voice acting was quite well done, with…

Video Game Review: Stasis – In Space Noone Can Hear You Scream

2016-10-31

NiteFenix

Total - 8

Stasis is a truly terrifying experience with a slow building tension with a rewarding payoff. The story is solid with a few small writing hiccups. Audio design is well implemented with the graphics just the right level of gory.

User Rating: Be the first one !

Second Opinion Sai I love space, and the endless possibilities out there. From the intro while in deep dark space, until you wake up from stasis, your story begins. The story Line of Stasis is quite thrilling, as you would soon notice, something seriously went wrong here. Flashbacks of your family, singing your daughter to sleep before putting her in stasis. Working your way through obstacles to find your way, your family and what had happened here, quite an interesting plot twist to the end. This 2D point-and-click sci-fi adventure game with a 3 rd person view has some serious potential if played right through to the end. I love how the Game was designed, although not a big fan of these types of games, with the eerie look and feel of a scary sci-fi. Truly felt like something was going to jump out from somewhere just now! For me, the sound was good, fits right in with the overall look and feel of the game.

Second Opinion Zakeroph Stasis is a throwback to old point and click adventure games with an isometric view but if you are expecting a light-hearted comedic adventure you are sorely mistaken. The game takes place on a derelict deep space vessel where our protagonist (John) wakes up bewildered and in desperate need of medical attention. The music and art style definitely adds to the retro thriller feel the game attempts to portray.

Mechanically the game functioned well and the puzzles made sense, using the traditional method of trying all inventory items with everything though could end up with more than a few gruesome ends for the John.You work your way through deadly environments to deal with homicidal robots, terrifying mutants and one really evil scientist, all to find your family and escape this horrendous place. You are helped by a faceless voice over a radio, one light attempting to help you towards your goal. Overall the story is well paced and has great depth when combined with the lore items found throughout the world in the form of datapads. My only complaint would be one stage in the story that seems to revel in being horrific for the sake of it. I understand some horror and thriller genres have their basis in gore and shock but that is the only thing that I might complain about.

With all that said I still couldn’t put the game down and ended up completing it in one sitting, getting all the terrible death achievements possible.

Competition!

Courtesy of The Brotherhood, we have four steam keys for Stasis to give away. All you have to do is like and share along the competition using the below form and remember, the more you share, the higher your chances of walking away with a key.

Win 1 of 4 Stasis Steam Keys!

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The competition closes this Friday at 10am with winners being drawn shortly thereafter.

Be sure to keep an eye on Geek Node early next week as we will be posting up our latest podcast with Chris and Nic Boshoff from The Brotherhood in which we will be talking about Stasis as well as their other upcoming games. If you have any questions for the guys, be sure to leave them in the comments below.

Article Tags: chris bischoff · featured · Games · nic bischoff · stasis · the brotherhood games · video game review

Article Categories: Video Game Reviews