Published by Devolver Digital and developed by No Code, Stories Untold is a collection of four short tales that comes with a retro theme based out of the 1980's. Everything from the music to the objects that you interact with have a genuine 80's aesthetic to them that just can't be shaken, and this ambience enhances the mood of the episodes, which are filled with horror and sci-fi elements.
As revealing any portion of the story would be to unveil the master craftsmanship behind the entire plot, let's leave it to be said that this is a title that you should experience for yourself. During episode one, "The House Abandon", you find yourself in front of an oldschool TV, complete with retro keyboard, playing a text adventure. It all starts out normal enough, but events soon take a macabre twist. Each of the four episodes have different settings and atmosphere, giving them a new and fresh feel during your first time playing through them. Most of the gameplay is made up of easy-to-solve puzzles, or instructions that are as simple to follow, especially during the second and third chapters.
The gameplay does leave much to be desired, though some players who find solving any puzzle a challenging task my find themselves more enthralled by Stories Untold. Rather than relying on jumpscares or frightening enemies, the real horror here comes from the unknown and the unseen. The first three episodes are excellent, but the fourth and final entry where everything comes together is ultimately what causes this title to fall apart; some may even refer to it as a cop-out ending to the anthology. It would've been best to leave the player guessing, and the horrors unrelated.
For its hour and a half of longevity, Stories Untold is a fairly sturdy and substantial horror game. It's not all text-based adventure, as some may think given some reviews and a good chunk of the first trailer, but the title would benefit from more of this type of gameplay. There's little to no replay value, so once it's finished it will just sit in your library for the upcoming aeons. However, if you enjoy yourself a good dose of chilling 80's inspired sci-fi horror, you will thoroughly enjoy the small amount of time that you get out of it.
Rating: 4.0/5.0 - Excellent, highly worth playing.The Horror Network
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