Stasis: Bone Totem Review (Ryou)
STASIS: BONE TOTEM is a really interesting point-and-click game set in the futuristic, post-apocalyptic setting of the CAYNE universe. It's incredibly atmospheric, well-written, and features beautifully intricate sets, arts and environments that will have you glued to the screen until the end, if you appreciate what it offers as much as I did anyway.
What really sets this game apart from a couple other contemporary games of its genre is that it's really refined a lot of frustrating aspects about the genre. There are very clear indicators for what you can interact with, and what you can simply investigate to read flavour, the latter for which you merely need to hover your cursor over. Furthermore, any and all puzzles within all acts always wrap up by the end of it, meaning that with the exception of a handful of items, 90% or so of items are found and used within the same chapter, meaning you you won't get too bogged down by having to lug around several items for several chapters and won't ever know what it'll be used for.
For the most part, puzzles are pretty sane and sensible, as always there's a few handful of puzzles I got stuck on where the logic was perhaps a bit too much of a leap, and because of its futuristic setting and sci-fi elements, some key parts seem cryptic in its function because, well, you're not an inhabitant of the world so you weren't really aware what you were looking at. There were a few puzzles that I didn't like, and I generally dislike anything to do with numbers, but the game has a generous hint system and if you truly get stuck, there are walkthroughs out there.
But it's not the puzzles that should draw you in, rather, the setting and incredible lore that's jam-packed into this experience. Without delving into the actual plot, the game has phenomenal build-up over the course of the story, with several key elements that seem bizarre but then somehow make sense within the pseudo-science of the universe. The game is confident in its own narrative to the point where it boldly presents plots in your face that you won't even understand the ramifications of from just this game alone, and there are very big narrative strands to other games within its universe, but these aren't necessary to understand the actual plot of the game.
The characters took a bit to grow on me, but there's a goofy charm to their interactions, and I think that's important because they talk a lot, as one would expect from this sort of game. The only complaint I have is that at points the dialogue was a bit too much, and a good 20% of the dialogue consists of various grunts noises as characters are shimmying, crawling or otherwise traversing, and this alone wouldn't be so bad if it didn't stop you from interacting with puzzles while the dialogue box is open. But again, this is nitpicky to the max, and these things can be skipped.
Of note, if it wasn't apparent in the game's aesthetic, this game is gruesome and gore-y. I'm usually not a fan of this sort of thing, but it's done rather tastefully here and is used pretty sparingly, and it tries to use it only in moments when it wants you to feel unsettled. There are a few key puzzles that very made me a bit uncomfortable, though I can't help but think this was done on purpose and it helps you stay immersed in the game. And immersion is something the game truly excels at.
There's really not much else about the game I can say without spoiling anything, I can safely state that it was really, really good and ranks probably among the top 10 best point-and-click games I've played to date. The game is well worth the price tag, but I myself grabbed it when it was on sale. Highly recommended to veteran or newcomer alike.