Grey Block is a new psychological interactive fiction. This is a story about Theo Church, a young man who is involuntarily committed to a place called the Green Valley Psychiatric Hospital. Within the framework of a mysterious conspiracy, he tries to escape with the help of a hired assassin, who Theo tells a nurse was originally hired to take Theo out but instead rescued him. She is the primary secondary character outside of Theo who provides the information Theo needs to escape Green Valley. Together they navigate the watch of green-lit security camera spotlights, collecting security badges and hacking unattended computers to solve the conspiracy. Will they solve it? I don’t know, but there’s one way to find out: play it.
Note: This game was provided to me with a press copy by Silver Rat Studios, thanks to them!
Platforms: PC (Steam)
Don’t Lose Your Nerve
Honestly, this game has a little potential to be slightly triggering for some folks, but I feel although the context of the story is dark, the mechanics of the game are quite fun. Although categorized under psychological horror pretty easily, the main feature I was focused on was sneaking around which is quite interactive. Theo and Nikki (his aide in escape) use puzzles to escape, starting off with mini-game puzzles like computers and utility access points to divert power and manipulate guards plus cameras.
The Steam page confirms for me my suspicion that the conspiracy aspect of the game goes deep and far. Although I personally hate conspiracy theories in general, it makes for interesting gameplay. It’s also quite the setup for it with Theo and Nikki, who for all I know are part of some sort of massive hallucination. I think perhaps this is more contained in the aspects of the game which I would deem psychological horror. In essence, no matter what the truth is, the game has made escaping it essential!
I found the puzzle involving computers and the electrical box in the intro area to be challenging without overdoing it. I often feel that when it comes to game puzzles, they should always be solvable using less energy than the next step, but there’s a little bit of everything here, even in the puzzle areas.
Features
- Escape the hospital by using stealth mechanics to sneak by the staff
- Disable environmental obstacles with puzzles and strategy
- Get tips on how to progress from your friend
- Full 3D environment
- Rich story with thrilling mysteries and character development
- Do anything to get out!
Check Out Grey Block!
This is a very interesting game. I imagine there aren’t a ton of games out there like this, but it’s a brilliant concept and there is no question about the intrigue of the storyline. Really glad I got to try this because I feel ecstatic about sharing this intelligent and engaging game. Be sure to check out the gameplay video above I made with gameplay from the first area. Once you get some of the details down, you should be on your way!
If you’d like to play Grey Block by Silver Rat Studios, head to the steam link below!
Thank you so much for reading Mr. Dave Pizza, I hope you enjoyed this article, and feel free to look around. And again, thank you to Silver Rat Studios, this is surely a polished game of this nature on the indie scene or otherwise!
(P.S. if you are a dev, I showcase games all the time and would be happy to take a look at your game! Contact Me.)
