izigame.me

I'd like to clarify that I had no idea this game existed until a few days before release, when it popped on my recommendations shortly after finishing Amnesia: The Bunker. So, I haven't been following, nor did I have any idea about this project and I mostly went in blind.
First of all, like other reviews point out, this game isn't a shooter, a survival horror or anything of the short. This game is much closer from my experience to a walking simulator, and a very lineal one. Gameplay mechanics are fairly limited and mostly consist of simple puzzles like finding items, codes or interacting with some of the environment.
Additionally you might be dealing with a few monsters in different ways, cutting wires, breaking obstacles or using a flashlight or a gas mask to move through darkness or clouds of gas. All of these are very simple mechanics and they're definitely not what the game is going for.
This game's main attraction is its story, which of course I won't spoil, but I'll give my thoughts on it since that's the main pillar of the game. It is a very personal and psychological story which doesn’t focus exclusively on the war experience itself, but on the consequences it had on people involved in it directly or indirectly.
One thing which I found remarkable is how this game doesn't solely go over the scars and wounds that the war has caused in our protagonist, but in how it affected his own family as well. It is a story with a wide angle on the suffering and destruction that an event such as WW1 brought not only to those in the front, but also to those back at home.
The game is filled with symbolism in the shape of creatures, objects and scenes, some of which I found very beautiful, haunting and brilliant.
It also includes different choices that affect the ending, although I haven't been able to see all of them yet since I just completed my first playthrough.
Aside from this, I didn't find any major bugs, although my first impression of this game was somewhat mixed due to a glitch that prevented me from advancing, but was solved after reloading a checkpoint.
The music is quite good, very orchestral and used to a big degree in important moments of the game, although I encountered a few audio glitches or moments where music or background noises would stop playing for a moment.
I would also add that I didn’t like the music much at first, not because it was bad, but because it felt quite out of place to me, especially at the beginning. However, as the game progressed it started to make much sense and I could find myself finding it fitting.
That’s also one piece of advice: Do not judge the game or how it handles the setting until you’ve been playing through a good chunk of the game.
Overall, I liked it a lot but it's definitely not a game for everyone. So, if anything of what you read in my review sounded like you would be interested in it, consider giving it a try. If you're intrigued by the story but can't afford it you can always watch it somewhere.
I'd definitely keep an eye out for other projects of this team.