Sylvio Game Review – Tuning in on ghostly shenanigans

<p><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi; font-family&colon; Calibri&semi;">When it comes to horror games&comma; not many are able to create unique and dynamic scares that truly chill you down to the bone&period; Most often rely on simple jump scares and over the top monster madness that ends up being more camp that creepy&period; <em>Sylvio<&sol;em> is an interesting title as its works into the mechanics a method of paranormal commination known as <&sol;span>Electronic voice phenomena and mixes in other elements to produce what could be one of the chilling games out in recent years&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure style&equals;"width&colon; 1920px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;akamai&period;steamstatic&period;com&sol;steam&sol;apps&sol;362860&sol;ss&lowbar;a9482f6cc1325b25ae9796810328548bd3f1b65c&period;1920x1080&period;jpg&quest;t&equals;1481719482" width&equals;"1920" height&equals;"1080" &sol;><figcaption class&equals;"wp-caption-text">&lpar;Sylvio&comma; Stroboskop&rpar;<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p><img &sol;><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>You take on the role of Juliette&comma; a paranormal investigator of sorts who spends her time communicating with the dead <span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi; font-family&colon; Calibri&semi;">and going into places she really shouldn’t&period; One evening&comma; she decides to venture into an abandoned park and soon discovers a strange world of government experiments&comma; lost souls and creepy shadows who pose an engraving threat to her life&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi; font-family&colon; Calibri&semi;">The game&OpenCurlyQuote;s framework is simple&comma; taking players into large areas where they must solve a variation of puzzles and challenges to progress deeper into the haunted park&period; Normally the player will have to speak with wondering spirits to gain a better understanding of the world around them and also obtain vital clues for their progression&period; Armed with a microphone and tape recorder&comma; our plucky investigator tracks down hot spots of paranormal activity and listens to what the spirits have to say&period; Often picking up a simple word or phrase at first but with some fine tuning&comma; you can grasp so much more&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi; font-family&colon; Calibri&semi;">What I really liked about <em>Sylvio<&sol;em> was the depth of investigating these paranormal events&period; By rewinding and changing the speed and pacing of recording&comma; you can hear new words to form more detailed messages that provide more substance in gameplay&period; These messages unlock clues on how to progress further or allow you to obtain mysterious collectibles&period; It’s all about tuning the recordings and locating those key moments that will reveal more of the world around you&period; Not to mention&comma; this is genuinely creepy to play&period; It’s very rare that a game’s audio can make me feel unnerved and rattled&comma; but at the same time pushes me to explore further and listen to more&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure style&equals;"width&colon; 1920px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;akamai&period;steamstatic&period;com&sol;steam&sol;apps&sol;362860&sol;ss&lowbar;872a5dd835a6cec1a97d3cb4f4ae5ac4d8cd04de&period;1920x1080&period;jpg&quest;t&equals;1481719482" width&equals;"1920" height&equals;"1080" &sol;><figcaption class&equals;"wp-caption-text">&lpar;Sylvio&comma; Stroboskop&rpar;<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi; font-family&colon; Calibri&semi;">Listening and editing the recording are both unsettling ways to build tension and a great concept for gameplay that’s original and interesting&period; I can’t also forget to mention that the soundtrack is just superb&period; I love the 80’s inspired themes that just send shivers down my spine&comma; reminding me of films such as It Follows and TV series such as Stranger Things&period; The beats are hypnotically surreal while immersing you so well into the vibe of the game&comma; creating a stronger sense of atmosphere and immersion&period;<&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi; font-family&colon; Calibri&semi;"><em>Sylvio<&sol;em> does a great job at capturing your attention but falls short in keeping you invested for the long haul&period; Though I know many enjoy this game and there’s good reason to do so&period; I personally just felt some of the issues that arose held it back greatly&period; <&sol;span><&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><span style&equals;"color&colon; &num;000000&semi; font-family&colon; Calibri&semi;">Combat is an element of gameplay that never felt needed and just adds nothing more than tacky&comma; uninspired encounters with daft looking mists and giant shadows&period; Aside from one or two puzzles where the gun is needed&comma; it feels forced into the game just to add a sense of fear and tension&period; But rather lessens the impact of the fear the game already generates with the <&sol;span>Electronic voice phenomena elements&period; Otherwise&comma; <em>Sylvio<&sol;em> is highly repetitive with simple and tedious platforming and puzzles that generally push players to go to various points in a level listen to recordings and engage in some minor inventory management all the while with a protagonist who sounds massively uninterested in her journey&period; I mean it&comma; the voice acting is bad from our leading character to some of the ghostly recordings&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<figure style&equals;"width&colon; 1920px" class&equals;"wp-caption aligncenter"><img src&equals;"http&colon;&sol;&sol;cdn&period;akamai&period;steamstatic&period;com&sol;steam&sol;apps&sol;362860&sol;ss&lowbar;a2a27457fc183365a5148f3d9cdf6d2b95d72d8f&period;1920x1080&period;jpg&quest;t&equals;1481719482" width&equals;"1920" height&equals;"1080" &sol;><figcaption class&equals;"wp-caption-text">&lpar;Sylvio&comma; Stroboskop&rpar;<&sol;figcaption><&sol;figure>&NewLine;<p><em>Sylvio<&sol;em> could have focused on the Electronic voice phenomena in smaller areas that enclosed and gave you the sense of helplessness&period; But here&comma; areas feel way too big and just become a chore to explore&comma; especially when you running back and forth between various points completing repetitive mission objectives&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p><em>Sylvio<&sol;em> is an interesting concept and holds some unique gameplay elements that make it stand above the rest in the horror genre&period; As an indie title&comma; it goes beyond many others like it and offers a refreshingly chilling experience that’s rewarding&period; Yet the drawbacks of this title include a tedious amount of repetition outside to speaking with the dead&period; Platforming segments become long winded and dull while the tension disappears when the game demands you to fight off giant shadows and black clouds with a blunter bust that shoots spuds&period; <em>Sylvio<&sol;em> would be benefited with focusing the tension and gameplay elements in smaller areas and relieve us of the platforming&comma; shooting and long winded objectives&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>There’s something here that if expanded upon could make for a great sequel&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;