Stories Untold: Creepy Sci-Fi Stories to Play in the Dark

Finally a nice, cozy place to do my work far away from that pesky heat...

Stories Untold is something of a strange game, being somewhat reminiscent of Stranger Things in terms of presentation (the title sequence is very reminiscent of the show's main title) with a greater focus on technology and strange happenings than investigation and monsters. It's difficult to describe, being at times a MUD, lab experiment simulator, walking simulator, and horror game. It is also presented in an episodic format with a kickass soundtrack that lovers of synth music will adore. It's a decent game, one that I enjoyed somewhat, though it's one that feels shorter than it should have been.

In terms of the Stories Untold's plot/gameplay, there doesn't seem to be one outside of each episode's plot initially, but by the end it's revealed that each episode is interconnected. It's a truly shocking revelation, but one that I felt would have paid off more if it was revealed at the beginning, so the connections would have been more impactful instead of feeling like "So that's that guy, that's why they used that phrase, etc." Speaking of stories, this game's story isn't particularly interesting outside of the context of the twist, even though it is elevated by the presentation of this game as a television series. Each of the four episodes (The House Abandon, The Lab Construct, the Station Process, and The Final Session) has a distinct and unique aesthetic and set of puzzles (on top of each having a kickass name). The only two which are even remotely the same are the second and third episodes, both of which have at-a-glance similar puzzles. The puzzles in this game aren't particularly tough (and nearly all based on eighties tech, so former lab technicians, radio operators, and MUD enthusiasts rejoice), though you're only given the briefest of directions, so it can be a little tricky at times to figure out what to do. Fortunately, when you're doing the right things, Stories Untold is great at telling you, with anything from story indicators, achievements, and green lights being good markers that you're not just blundering around. Besides all that though, there's surprisingly little to Stories Untold, just a relatively short episodic puzzle game with an above-average presentation. In all honesty it feels closer to a student game than anything else, and I'd be a little disappointed if it wasn't, but if it was then the team did a fantastic job.

Stories Untold is a pretty decent game, a nice game for a lazy, snowy afternoon/evening, and pretty cheap at ten bucks, though I'd strongly recommend buying on sale as I don't think that three-ish hours of gametime is worth ten dollars. The soundtrack's pretty cozy, worth shelling out two dollars for I'd say (and that's when it isn't on sale). You could do a lot worse than Stories Untold for a one-sitting game, though I've seen quite a few better. The presentation is really good though, and it's definitely a nice, serious one-shot, not like the dime-a-dozen meme games out there, so that's a plus.