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Overshadowed by The Exit 8

Platform 8 is by no means a bad game. However it misses the mark to step aside and leave the shadow Exit8 creates. When it comes to making a succesfull follow up to a game there are mostly two ways. Either go and recreate the experience and only adjust content and quantity or change the gameplay to create a unique experience standing on its own. The first one is what we commonly see, most games expand the success the previous had and add only in content and maybe a new engaging game mechanic to provide a new additional challenge. Evolution rather trying something new. Why because trying something new comes with the risk that the new game wont get the reconigition it perhaps needs. Some veteran of the first skip it or dislike because of the changes and other might be turned away by not wanting to play the first game. Surely this is a complex matter and to much to discuss here in a review. But I wanted atleast to share a portion of my thoughts for you to understand what makes this game a nothing more than a good game being overshadowed by the first game.
Platform 8 tries something new and I am not talking about shifting the setting from passageway to trainwagon. I mean the change the basic gameplay. Exit 8 demands you attention by making a simple choice. Is there an anomaly or not. Depending your answer you either turn back where you came from of move ahead. If your make the right choice you may continue to the next hallway. Doing this 8 times in a row succesfully lets you discover the end. Makeing a wrong choice however sets you back on zero. Forcing you to start all over again. Platform 8 is different. Instead of being a dectives games where you need to uncover a mystery. It became an average survival game in a more eventfull scenerio. Walk across the wagon to the exit and move the next one. Doing this after an anomaly which you survived and the train will travel a station forward. Similiar to Exit 8 doing this eight times and the train will arrive at the final stop allowing you to succesfully depart. And here comes the trouble.
First and formost the game lacks instructions. While Exit 8 told you what to do Platform 8 does not. This left me walking from one weagon to another without an incident and not knowing what to do. You cant turn back. The way behind you gets locked and your only choice is move across the wagon to the exit. Only after 3 or 4 wagons an anomly appeared and me being confused walk across the wagon therefor succesfully surviving the encounter and moving on. Yeah thats basically the gameplay. Get across the wagon, your not in a hurry and survive the anomaly. The majority of them are events that dont harm you. They arent build as jumpscares they appear, happen and you move on. Other may force you to wait a little in the wagon. Atleast two of them block the exit door and I am not sure if you need to sit and wait in your wagon for a few minutes till the go away or if there is a specific trigger that then ends the anomaly earlier. But the time you need to wait is a little to long.
To round the events up there are some minigames you need to complete. From playing red light green light to find a typical difference before moving on. Unlikely to Exit 8 the game tells you that something changed and warns you to move on. There is a clear indicator if you found it or not so you dont have to make a try you will know excatly when to move on. And this is where I introduce you to the biggest problem this game has.
There is no challenge.
Exit8 was challenging. Find the mistake, if there is one and make the choice. Wrong choice? Start all over again. Platform 8 anomaly consist of 100 % successfull by just moving along or being killed if wrong. This means that there is a chance you can encounter 8 anomalies that cannot harm you and you technically could have pressed W without ever stopping once. The game is more an eventfull experience than the challenging one and this makes me sad. Exit 8 in is expierence felt earned after beating it. Games like this play arround knowledge. That moment you memorized the enviroment and therefor can spot the sometimes subtle changes you win the game. Platform 8 does not have this learning curve. I bet there is the chance you can just press W and left mouse to open the exit till you reached the end without dying once and not stopping.
Why do I still rate it as a good game?
If I lock and judge the game on its own without looking for the comperison to Exit 8 this game is fun enough to be played. The eventfull side of not knowing what might await you in the next wagon ist exciting and a unique experience. The game might be easier but some stuff is fun. Like leaving the train to early. The game on its own provides everything it needs to work. Its the comperison that ruins it by having a to high standard or to much expectations. It went a more socialable route of presentation. This games works better for streamers and youtuber cause its more eventfull. It has a better tension than Exit 8 which mainly is a walk the same passageway again and again locking at the same objects and pictures again and again. Platform 8 is more dynamic in that. I only wished for a better performance and clearer instruction at the beginning.
This game is a prequel and I recommend to go for the true ending by discovering all anomalies and afterwards play Exit 8 again or the first time, but I recommend playing Exit 8 before Platform 8. The true ending is nice.