You picked up the red flower...


Now bring that flower to me......

No way this game was released in 2012 and I’ve only just found out about it a few weeks ago. I feel so late to the party, but better late than never!

Honest to God, no game has ever come this close to giving me a cardiac arrest like this one did. How did a walking simulator manage to make me feel such overwhelming fear, anxiety, hopelessness, claustrophobia, and a looming sense of doom all at once? And how did I end up feeling a weird emotional attachment to my tormentor by the time it was all over?

Both endings are incredibly bittersweet. The silence in the empty house after the Loneliness ending was deafening, and I found myself missing White Face’s presence, even though I had every reason not to. I even tried restoring the heart.txt file just to see if he would come back, but he didn’t. I wonder if anyone else felt that way, or maybe I just get emotionally attached to characters too easily.

The only obstacle that held me back from fully enjoying the experience was needing to unlock all the achievements in order to reach the ending. I understand that without that, the game would be very short, but by my third replay, it was starting to feel a bit like a chore, and the constant backtracking and checklist mentality dissipated much of the tension the game was so brilliantly building up. Not enough to stop me from playing though, that’s for damn sure.

The game’s creator, Ivan, is genuinely the sweetest. He interacts with fans on discussion forums, and I even spotted him under comment sections on YouTube Let’s Plays, which is rare for a creator of a game with this much popularity. He also has an upcoming passion project connected to the 2022 version of Imscared, featuring a new character called ‘Restorer.’ Please show him some love for that.

Overall, this game is absolutely worth your time, especially if you’re the type to get spooked by 4th wall breaks. Only $2 to play, with a kind creator who engages with his community, what more could you ask for?

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be busy spending the next month diving into theories and explanations online for this masterpiece.

great game for its time, loved every second of it.