Ingrid had it coming. So many times we play the part of a hero trying to right some wrong, fight for justice, yadda yadda. It’s refreshing to be put in the clean shoes of someone that needs to be taught a lesson. Ingrid Penance is an unpleasant child and that dynamic only adds to the darkly humourous fairy tale atmosphere.
Creepy Tale 3 is obviously the third game in the series. I’ve not played the previous two. As far as I can tell it’s an anthology and this story is completely stand alone. After a truly astounding act of selfishness Ingrid finds herself in hell and in order to return home will have to be a little nicer. Looking at Ingrid’s hands shows a tally of her sins and virtues during the game, with an unfavourable starting point. There are multiple endings and choices during the game. I got an okay ending, albeit with a little help from the demonic buddy that accompanies Ingrid through the story. I could see there were times when I could have acted worse but am not sure how many times I could have acted significantly better. There appear to be times when you must do some nasty things to continue. So I’m not sure how many different routes or outcomes there are. It feels like a mostly linear game. A question for people who like to replay games a lot to answer.
The story plays out in brief chapters, each a puzzle area of it’s own. Moving through these segments like vignettes keeps things focused and moving in a linear fashion with less backtracking than in many other adventure games. Also, the number of inventory items stays helpfully small.
This is not a basic point and click adventure. In fact I didn’t see an option to use a mouse. It’s controller or keyboard. Suiting the gameplay because much of it involves hiding from NPCs that will kill on sight. There is a chance to outrun or hide from them and sometimes the AI is a little dumb and forgiving. Even so, it can give a good thrill. Those owls are kinda cute until they let out a shriek and come running. Expect to die. Thankfully auto-saves are plentiful with little to redo after a death.
A good portion of the puzzles involve screwing with the creatures who are trying to go about their daily grind. I get a wicked laugh out of taking their tools away, breaking or moving stuff, and seeing the confused and grumpy reactions. I mean, they’re evil, so it’s fine. Sort of. Not sure I’m learning Ingrid’s lesson by taking the low road but it is fun. And I’m still doubtful there are many roads through this. It may be more about treading a fine line. Like I said, it will take replays to find out. However, as a one and done adventure it works just fine.
Puzzles are quite varied including an area switching between characters and one based on music. There are a couple of times when actions need to be done in a particular order which can cause a little confusion about what can or can’t be done with certain objects. Difficulty ranges from fairly simple to having no idea what that thing is even supposed to do. Another cheeky design choice is that some specific items don’t highlight as interactive. This is clearly pointed out early in the game but led to a lot of hopeful mashing the button when stuck.
Due to the segmented game design it’s easy to keep trying stuff in the hope it works. I expect everyone will need to do this at least once when it’s not clear what to do. In fairness it fits with the story of being in a strange underworld and not knowing quite what is going on. In some ways it enhances the atmosphere so long as it doesn’t frustrate, which for me it didn’t. I came close but stayed focused on thinking my way through it. Then trying everything, lol.
I really like Ingrid the spoiled brat as the lead character and the voice acting is good. As is the voice actor for the demon buddy. Overall the mood created by art, sound, deaths, and animations works great for me. I love Ingrid’s petulant walking posture. It took me close to seven hours to finish, with a fair bit or cluelessness; could be done much quicker. Thumbs up.
Available from Steam.
mishmash 