The Subject

The Subject starts out promising but you'll quickly realize how annoying the game play will be, as the majority of "puzzles" are buttons and switches that may do something, somewhere. It's all guess and check work. There are 4 rooms that have some real puzzles, but these are the tedious, brute force solving kind. Getting to all these rooms, buttons, and switches is a huge pain since you have to navigate a 4 section maze of corridors with a monster wondering around. (You can turn the monster off at least at the start of the game.) The monster sounds scary, but it looks very goofy and moves like a wacky waving inflatable arm tube man that just learned how to run. The game has a proximity alarm go off when you're near the monster, which is nice for surviving, but completely takes the tension away. I might actually be scared if I didn't know the monster was near. Also the alarm goes off even if the monster is on the other side of a wall or floor, making it misleading. All these annoyances while having a time limit too. You have to keep saving the game at scan stations to reset the time limit. When you re-load your save file, some puzzles reset while others don't. Not sure if that's a bug or intentional. Starting a new game instantly erases your previous save file, and it won't let you replay the tutorial again, so you can't find the combination to the Easter egg door. Overall, the game looks great. But the monster is more silly than scary, the puzzles are simply annoying, and the whole experience is just tedious. If you like walking simulators, random button pushing, and good space aesthetics, then you might like this game.

Beautifully designed environment and a poorly designed monster and monster mechanics. When the monster catches you it is insta kill. Also, the only way to temporarly hide from it is to hide in a proper hiding spot. Most of the puzzles will require you to roam and get lost in dark corridors while searching for countless switches. It is a bit scary at first, but it gets boring fast. Although I had the game video quality maxed out and had a good framerate, I had problems with the antialiasing. It was enabled but it just didn't look like it actually was. Regardless of the AA problem, the game was not very fun to play so far and I would not recommend it to others.

You spend 95% of the time running down long corridors trying to find something to do. The game artificially prolonging its gameplay by making you run in circles without a clue. Absolutely terrible game/level design. Basically a walking simulator.

I went into ‘The Subject’ with a very loose understanding of what I was going to be getting myself into. I got the understanding that it was a horror puzzle game set in space and the price was good for the amount of playtime these games typically provide. So I started up the stream, loaded my game, and rolled up my sleeves. My first attempt at the game was bittersweet. I got past the first main puzzle and was rushing to perform my check-in, which is something you must do before your character is euthanized. Steps from the console I needed to activate, I ran out of time and was killed. Not realizing I had to manually save in this build of the game, I was put back on the main menu and prompted to start a new game. According to the developer it was since patched in that you save when you use the check-in terminals. Regardless, I loaded back in. Ready to accept the challenge from the beginning. The second playthrough went a lot better and resulted in me beating the game and the only gripe I had was that I wanted to play some more. What’s there of a story is pretty good. It’s not a very in your face story but more of a subtle tale that unfolds naturally as if you were actually the character in the game experiencing these insane events. It’s definitely a shorter game. Depending on your puzzling skills, it could take you somewhere between 2-4 hours to beat. However, I do feel like there is some replay-ability. A few achievements promote challenge runs that I think would be fun to try. Running from a monster in a maze is a big part of getting between the puzzles, but the real game is in solving the puzzles. There are four main puzzle rooms in the game consisting of one puzzle each. Depending on your skills these could either be really easy or not so much, but all of them bring a different style of puzzles to the table and kept me excited to see what was next. You also have some things to solve outside of the main rooms in order to open locked doors and discover secret areas, easter eggs, etc. The maze that connects all the rooms is pretty well designed and even when I thought I knew my way around, I was still getting lost. Furthermore, I would turn a corner see my big monster friend and have to book it in the opposite direction getting even more lost. Navigating and finally finding the door you have been looking for was always a wonderful mini-victory. This being the first full game created by the dev, a team of one, it definitely has its rougher spots. But compared to most indie horror games that I play it was definitely among the more polished. The dev is actively updating this game almost daily at times and listening to players feedback. Bottom line, for the price you really can’t go wrong if this type of game appeals to you as it does to me. If you like games like Alien Isolation or are just a fan of puzzles, tension, and horror games, you’ll definitely find some fun here. In my opinion, if this is the first game DarkStone is putting out, future releases can only get better and I’m excited to see and play those games in the future. If you’re still on the fence, watch some of a stream or look up a YouTube video, but I highly suggest going into this as blind as possible as to not spoil the puzzles or the atmosphere for yourself.`

If it wasn't for the stupid AI monster interrupting your puzzling every 5 seconds, this game would be a decent puzzler.

This is basically a horror/puzzle hybrid and as is the case with such attempts, it's quite difficult to 100% hit both marks. It's a tentative recommendation from me, not because the game overall isn't good -it is really good actually-, but because of two main reasons I will mention below. Overall, a few details could have made this a great game. Even as it is, it can get you hooked and thirsty for more. [h3]PROS[/h3] + Easy controls + Solid graphics, I especially liked the lighting in some corridors + Great audio + The combination of sound, claustrophobic environment, dark areas and dystopian theme, make for great atmosphere throughout the game. And all that in casual mode + Casual Mode, which is what saves the game for me. I wouldn't touch it if there wasn't a no-monster mode + You can get the vast majority of the achievements in casual mode. Very few involve the monster and even for those you don't have to beat the game or even progress much. [h3]MEH[/h3] ? The need to use the bio-data terminals every few minutes so that you don't die. I understand that it adds to the sense of urgency, but it does hinder the puzzling aspect of the game ? Almost zero hand-holding (direction-wise and puzzle-wise). This is usually a plus for me, but it's not everyone's cup of tea, so it's worth a mention here ? The maze: It's pretty huge and the only means of navigating will be your memory. Again, it does match with the dystopian theme, but some players go nuts if there's no map ? Monster design/movement: Both could have been done better. That said, whenever you encounter it you don't really have time to marvel at it, as you will be running for your life the opposite way [h3]CONS[/h3] - The normal mode gets very frustrating very fast. For me it's virtually unplayable, as the monster completely ruins it for me. It would have been ok if it appeared every once in a while, but it appears quite often AND the proximity alarm doesn't always give you enough time to avoid it. Plus, it can appear while you're trying to solve one of the smaller puzzles or right after you've solved one of the main ones. Which means you can die before managing to save at one of the terminals, so you will have to do the puzzle all over again. It's supposed to be scary, but it just gets annoying and pretty fast. - A few of the achievements involve the use of Twitch, which for me is a no-no. You bought the game and it's yours, you shouldn't have to deal with other platforms and depend on other people in order to get all the achievements. Especially the voting one seems like an attempt to advertise the game for the developer, which is a bit lame. Like I said, thank god for Casual Mode.

There really isn't much to The Subject beyond what you experience in the first hour. Puzzles, a monster, and occasional steam blasts from vents. The puzzle are okay with a few memorable ones near the end, but I can't recommend this game to anyone. It's just not worth the time. Mostly you will just be wandering around halls trying to find how to progress to the next puzzle and then backtracking after you meet the monster -- you either die or go long the long way around.

Let me start by saying I love Darkstone Digital and this is just the first game that was made. While you may want to skip this one, I certainly recommend some of the newer titles such as Our Secret Below and The Mortuary's Assistant. As some others have said, this game is a good example of a new game developer who has taken negative reviews very well. It seems like every game after this release has gradually improved on the things people did not like about this one. While Kohate is essentially an improved version of this game, games after that changed it up completely. While I can't recommend this game I will be looking forward to future releases from Darkstone Digital.

Great concept but the puzzles you have to solve at each hall are incredibly difficult and tedious. Takes away from any desire to continue playing when you've spent 3 hours on one puzzle trying to figure out what to do, clicking the same thing repeatedly.

This game is okay, it doesn't excel unless you love complicated, obscure puzzles in a slightly moderate horror game. It starts off with some cryptic puzzles in a very dark and spooky atmosphere. It has absolutely no hand-holding, the most you get is the PA system at the beginning of the game telling you to get this or that panel working. After the initial "tutorial" section, you're on your own. The graphics are really good, it looks like a scifi space station and the design gives the player just enough to build atmosphere and hint at what to do. The audio is very sparse, occasional spooky sounds you can hear down corridors. The spooky sounds are done pretty well; loud enough that you are aware of them, but not so loud that you are annoyed unless you're stuck, which unfortunately is likely. The problem is when the player finishes the main puzzles and there's no hint to what else needs to be done. The puzzles and objectives become so cryptic and obscure that you can spend hours not knowing where to go or what to do. It's such a draw back that it can ruin the spooky atmosphere and horror to the point where the horror just gets annoying. A few hints, Check your pause menu which is basically your inventory (Nothing to click or select, just visuals) The glowing blue "home" orb is necessary at one point in the game. Just press H (Default) when you think you're there Refer to a walkthrough (There is a quick walkthrough in this game's discussions forum)

I have attempted this game twice from the beginning. I was able to get further on my second attempt but once that creature is released my heart was racing. Overall: Isolated feeling of dread then scared you are not alone. Quick answer: Worth buying for good puzzles and a good setup for horror. Recommended for its price which currently is 11.49 CAD. I did get it on sale for 20% off because it was discounted on launch. The Creature is not as scary in the light as in the dark but that is true of almost every monster in any movie or game. It could use a little more texturing. Still better designed than many other creatures in similar games. His scream and his running animation ramped up the fear. My heart was pounding even after I died. More detail: The backstory is enough to go on for the premise. Gameplay starts off with instructions over a speaker so you feel like you are in a lived in place. Then you enter a seemingly empty station. You will feel alone. The puzzles are challenging but solvable like the myst games. You will get an idea of what you need to do then you need to go look for the solution. You have to save every once in a while or you will die. The stations are not too far away so no problem. Except when the abomination is set loose. Then you are hiding from it like the Xenomorph in Alien Isolation. Only now you have to get to save stations or you auto die. The creature got me and I jumped. The second run I was curious to see if I could hide. I was successful a couple of times but fear made me panic. The voice acting is decent, the puzzles are challenging and the threat of murder or auto death keeps you on the move. One puzzle clue was reminscent of Clockwork Orange which was a nice touch. Also the at least the codes you need to discover do generate per playthrough so if you do survive to the end there is replay value and you can't just meorize every puzzle answer. If you are looking for good challenging puzzles mixed with some fear like Alien Isolation then I would recommend The Subject.

I am a seasoned gamer and for the past 20 years have played the most difficult adventure games possible and platinumed all the dark souls and bloodborne games with ease. That being said, when I say the puzzles in this game hardly make any sense, I mean it. I walked around the same 5-10 rooms for an hour and a half and did absolutely NOTHING to progress the game. I think there may be a bug because I watched a walkthrough on youtube after I was done with this game and there was a button on the wall where in my game there was not. Unless it is randomly generated I dont know. There is ZERO direction in this game. There are little buttons everywhere to push and you have no idea what they do. All while a monster is chasing you. If this sounds fun for you go for it, for me it was 90 minutes of wasted time and goes down in the bucket of the 0.1% of games that I will never finish.

If you like running around in a literal maze for a couple of hours figuring what to do, figuring out obscure puzzles with barely any directions and have 300 IQ, then this game might be for you. The blue orb intended to bring you back to the central hub doesn't work well since it doesn't fully lead you back. Then the red buttons. I assume they're not purely for decorations, but they're just about as useful as them. [strike]I also assume they're supposed to be hit in a certain order[/strike], but even then it's obscure as hell and confusing to figure out since they're all over the maze with no real order. EDIT: Buttons are called "placebo buttons" internally. They don't do anything but waste your time and if you press all of them, you get an achievement. I finished the 4 puzzles, got the 5 items and couldn't figure out where to go next even after stumbling through the mazes for a few hours while being chased by the stupid monster. Then my save nuked itself after being caught by the monster (checked the log file and it was erroring out saying the autosave couldn't be found.) Needless to say, this leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Runs well even on ultra high settings whilst streaming- and considering this is a Unity game from an indie dev, that's rare. All in all, I would not recommend this game even with its (current) price at $5 with its poor game design. Good puzzles, but with no real directions.

I enjoyed this horror game! The very last puzzle was a bit too "wtf" for me to figure out, so I had to look it up. Otherwise, I had fun trying to figure this game out. There is ZERO hand holding and you need to use your brain. I enjoyed the mystery and the puzzles. There's some weirdness to the game. Like how the monster's foot stomping sound effects just cut out completely. Otherwise, I enjoyed the graphics--lighting and quality of the 3D assets, sound design, and overall difficulty of the game. The "safe" mode with no monster was nice so that I could at least familiarize myself with the basics of the game without too much frustration. I like games where even though you know everything about them, it's still a challenge to beat and feels really rewarding when you do.

This game is more than just a game, it's a way of life. I started playing this game and couldn't take my hands off it. I've become so enthralled with this game that my wife left me, but that's ok because this game is my new wife.

☼ Graphics ☼ ☐ Ugh ☐ Meh ☑ Decently nice ☑ Beautiful - The design of the interior of the ship looks fantastic, especially when catching a glimpse of machinery/tech. It's obvious the developer pays attention to even the minute details. From a distance, the monster looks sort of slapped together, but when you're one of the lucky few who gets a face-to-face, it STILL looks slapped together! The details are more pronounced, and you realize the monster is just ugly as heck. ♬ Music / Ambience ♬ ☐ None ☐ Random Sounds ☐ Alright ☑ Spoooks ☑ Perfect for the Game ☐ Beautiful Soundscape - The soundscape was versatile, depending on where you are on the ship. Some rooms were quiet with little noise, others had quite the ambience that add to the anxiety. A nice touch that cut through the dead silence was the proximity feature of the monster's movements. If you hear them heavy footsteps, HIDE! ☠ Difficulty ☠ ☐ Easy ☐ Average ☑ Hard ☐ Smh - My opinion is biased because I had a difficult time with some of the puzzles, and when encountering the monster, running away would get me turned around and lost. So my experience was rough going, and majority of hours on record was either being confused, or aimlessly walking around. There is a navigation system in place, but it's not properly instructed, and the maps are confusing. The general objective of the player is also not properly instructed. And once you put together that you need to complete 4 main puzzles, each puzzle feels like a BIG guessing game; more-or-less compared to others. Definitely need to implement streamlined guidance for those whom aren't exactly 'maze-bright'. § Bugs § ☑ Nothing encountered ☐ A bug or 2 ☐ Consider calling Pest Control ☐ Rips power cord out of wall - The version I played at the end of 2020 had long been updated! ☯ Story ☯ ☐ There is none ☐ Back to the drawing board ☑ Decent, but surfacey ☑ Captivating - The backstory of why I was on a BioMass ship is very interesting! That's a horrible situation to be in, and a terrible future for humanity. But then the story basically stops there, and it's time to bang your head against puzzles! ⚔ Gameplay ⚔ ☐ Boring ☑ Confusing ☑ Fun ☑ Terrifying ☑ Challenging ☐ RAGE - My thoughts from 'Difficulty' apply here. The gameplay was fluid, and the mechanics worked well. There only seems to be a lack of instruction to help the player progress on. ۞ Game time / Length ۞ ☐ Short (0 - 3 hours) ☑ Few hours (4 - 8 hours) ☐ Long-form (10 - 20 hours) ☐ Completionism (40-60 hours) - DO NOT underestimate the puzzles! Set aside at least a couple hours, if you're a frickin beast. $ Price / Quality $ ☐ Don't buy ☑ Wait for Sale ☑ Full price - And if you ARE a frickin beast and enjoy a challenge, I'd suggest buying the game for $8. But for the not so confident, maybe wait till there's a sale. https://youtu.be/N0S9GJLobmg

So far, this game is really good. It doesn't hold your hand though and that can be a little frustrating in puzzle games. Especially ones like this where there is an enemy stalking you while you're trying to figure out complicated puzzles through tons of corridors. There's also no map that I've found so it's really easy to get lost. Despite it's shortcomings though, there is a lot to like here if you like puzzles and horror. It mixes the two together pretty well from what I've played of it. In this game, you ARE the experiment and who knows what will happen if we actually make it through the experiment completely but I'm excited to see if the narrative pulls together at the end or not. At this early stage, I'm giving it a "recommend" although that could change as I play more of the game. I've started a series for this game on Youtube if you want to see how things are going so far: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2K-fP1m1JXA&list=PL08FwntTpxPC8ffzOTFOuTMpgFRnl0cQB

Alright I know I have a laughably short amount of time in this game to give it a review, but it's only because of how scary it is lol. I'll update this review as I make more progress however. So far I've gotta say the way it blends a Myst-like puzzle experience with a horror experience is pretty clever. I found myself in a lot of interesting situations I hadn't been in in other games before. It's one of those games that you just have to play yourself to truly "get". The art direction is familiar but still has a lot of unique visuals going for it. I think the context of the familiarity strengthens the elements that are unique and makes them that much more striking. Pretty much the only con I can think of that other reviewers have mentioned already is the lack of rebindable keys. If you're on a QWERTY keyboard like me it probably won't be a dealbreaker though. If you like games like Myst, The Witness, or Obduction, but also like constantly being on edge and stressed out, then I would highly recommend checking this game out. I mean come on, it's 10 bucks max price for crying out loud. Bonus: This game is only like 2GB and doesn't suck up storage space which is always nice in a world of 70GB behemoths.

I had no fun playing this game. The first puzzle already seemed totally random to me .. I did not get the game principles, the puzzles. I already wanted to uninstall the game after being stuck in a simple room with switches that are hard to recognize and whose operation made no sense to me... right in the beginngng... I also absolutey did not understand why I was able to proceed after a while. In the next level, I ran around some corridors, found nothing interesting ... Where is the horror? As the protagonist, I would rather die in that spacestation than solve those boring puzzles ... I quit the game... The presentation is above average! It looks quite good! .. It could have been something.

Hmm. Nice looking game. Nice atmosphere. An options to invert the Y-axes. Great. But no possibility to remap the keys?! Why? On an azerty-keyboard it's no fun to use the asdw-system when your w-key is just above the left-alt-key. Please add an option to allow remapping of keys

3 out of 5. The Good: -Environment is extremely well-done and it is an interesting place to explore. -Story is interesting as well as most of the puzzles. The Bad: -The monster is super frustrating, so play with it disabled. -Endless, identical maze-like hallways and no functional map to show you where you are. You will spend 80% of the game wandering aimlessly. -One unsolvable puzzle (room with a the combination lock) -On my second playthrough, the game glitched and wouldn't grant me access to the last room even through I solved all of the necessary puzzles. Overall, a decent experience and a good boredom killer. But the downsides make it frustrating at times.

Very well made indie-horror game. Lots of fun puzzles and the atmosphere is great. There is no hand-holding when you are thrust into this situation where you must figure out what to do yourself (won't spoil anything). The monster is scary, fast, and unrelenting which puts you in a lot of high-tense chase sequences. The art style reminds me of Alien: Isolation while the gameplay reminds me of Amnesia/Penumbra. This is an awesome game (especially at $10, I consider that a steal) that will probably take you 4-6 hours to beat. I thoroughly enjoyed both of my playthroughs and recommend it to anyone who enjoys a horror games!

Very atmospheric, with a sense of urgency. The monster that lurks in the corridoors has amazing sound quiality with the pounding footsteps on your heels as you scramble for somewhere to hide. Not quite as deadly as Aliens: Isolation where if the Alien saw you it was over, in this game you can escape at least if you are savvy enough. The puzzles are challenging and not easy which is nice, a challenge can be very rewarding once you figure them out. So far I would recommend this game alone just because of the atmosphere of the creature chasing you gives me sucha thrill and gets my heart pouding.

Okay, I have been playing for literally 20 minutes and I can already tell this game is definitely going to be played during daylight hours. It has the most unsettling atmosphere I have experienced in a VERY long time. No jumpscares yet at all, just pure "oh EFF THIS SHIT TO HELL" sort of feeling as you explore the place. The art of subtlety is totally lost most horror devs and these guys have it in spades. Again, I am not far into the game at all and I will update as I go but OMG!!! For all you older gamers who may remember, this game is a scary as the original F.E.A.R and F.E.A.R 2 was (Its NOT a shooter tho).

I beat The Subject in 56 minutes and it was highly enjoyable to rise above the game. I love extending the bounds of the game and my stream had a blast watching me figure out how to do each puzzle outside of the box. Also being able to fly is fantastic! Cheers!

I love the idea of the game but the execution is lacking. One of the first puzzles is a sliding puzzle but 3D and I'm certain almost nobody likes those. You need to align glowing tubes to the outside part of the puzzle but you can't always see said tubes due to the 3D nature of the puzzle. It makes an already unfun puzzle into a memory game affair. The monster that stalks the area you're in is locked out of main puzzle areas which begs the question why the monster even exists if its not a core gameplay element. Lethe Episode One has a few puzzles in it that has a monster stuck with you while you try to solve the puzzle and that's been one of the scariest gaming memories I've had. The Subject takes the easy way out while also have less fun/interesting puzzles. The map you can see of the area is also pretty useless but the area you're in isn't too big but it can be tedious to wander aimlessly. Basically, I'd recommend Lethe: Episode One over The Subject. The Subject has the better premise but Lethe has the better game. And they're similar spooky experiences to boot.

I want to ask dev team add subtitles in game - i mean that part when talking head ( spoooiiiillleeeerrrr next ) gives us some number sequence and add something like 'over 36' and im sure it's not what i'm hear cause english is not my focking native language!!!!%#$!$!%!%!%^!%! Make subs duuuuude!

This game is Fantastic. The graphics are really good. The Storyline is compelling, and the gameplay is smooth. It is very immersive so you feel like you are the character and that to me is what makes a game awesome. I love this game. The only thing I don't like about it is dying but I am working on not doing that anymore 😜

Honestly the game started out great, then it introduced a crawlspace to me and no matter how many times I restart the game it will NOT allow me to crawl through it. Runnin a gtx 1080 ti, i8700k, blah blah im sure you know where I'm going with that, its a well built computer. I've tried to verify integrity of files, and I still can't beat that crawlspace boss XD RIP

defo..a must buy to add to your collections..gd horror,nt to jumpy,puzzles are a little hard but overall a game thats 110%..thank you brian and your team...looking forward to see more from you soon....

I would highly recommend this game. It's no hand-holding hardcore horror/puzzle game. The atmosphere is really intense. When you solve/understand something you have a great feeling of satisfaction. I'm ~9 hours in and still haven't finished it. Be warned though, the puzzles are tough, you can safely add 2 hours to my playtime, which I spent with pen and paper solving them on the side. If you like Frictional games but you want more of a brain challenge then The Subject is easy pick... Overall 8.5/10.

Annoying game, had potential with an awesome atmosphere and fun puzzles but ruined by terrible navigation. I even played on casual mode and it was still annoying as fuck, I missed a read circuit somewhere and could not find it after an hour of running through the same shit over and over again. I can’t imagine being in this position topped with a creature up your ass. FUCK THIS GAME.

Way too dark as usual these days, can't see a thing and no way of knowing where you are. No torches no lighter or matches, just eternal darkness with a few lit corridors just for fun. I'm so sick of these games where everything is black and you are supposed to wander around aimlessly until you die of bordome. Dont bother with this rubbish. Also you cant rebind keys so that adds to the fun as well. Save your money and go buy a real game.

The subject is a great and wonderful experience! There is so much detail in the hallways and rooms and if you stop to take a look at the rooms you notice the tremendous amount of detail! The game is fun to play once you understand what to do and the lore has enough to make you think about the game long after it's done! 9/10

10/10 would crap myself again