To mention, the developer reached out to me to give me a Steam Key for the game to play it a day before the official release, I streamed it and enjoyed the experience. This may not matter the most as the game is free anyways, but I thought I should mention this.

Concluse is first-person atmospheric exploration game that's based off of a YouTube video series of the same name that had slowly been releasing over the last year depicting a 'rare' PS1 horror game. The game is a playable form of the first third of the video series (up to the ending of Part 7 of the video series), but includes a lot of new areas and bits that didn't exist within that series ever. If you ever watched the Concluse YouTube video series and enjoyed it, you should definitely give this a play as it's basically just that video series in a playable form, along with all the cryptic elements attached to that.

Now if you've never even heard of Concluse until now, essentially it's a "Forgotten PS1 Horror Game" that came up in the wake of Petscop (another fictional PS1 'lost' horror game that was found video series on YouTube) blowing up in popularity. Unlike most copycats, it did a lot of its own original things, and didn't quit making these videos despite Concluse never really taking off in any huge way in popularity. And now said video series has been turned into an actually playable game. Neat. The game at its heart sounds less interesting than it is, a lot of the game is simply exploring a semi-open world environment looking for key items to use elsewhere to progress with the occasional puzzle or threat. While the gameplay is relatively simple, what makes it work is a well done cohesive atmosphere, a good element of intrigue, and a general strangeness to everything around it. The game is also sprinkled with a few dozen PS1-era esque CG cutscenes, which do add to the experience and don't really overstay their welcome (except maybe the opening, which as you can't skip cutscenes and if you click "New Game", you have to watch again or close to skip).

Some may notice immediately there's some Silent Hill inspiration here, the story concept of a man named Michael going to find his wife after three years since she went missing in a New England town named, "Hell", is more than enough for said comparison. But without spoiling too much, in the later half of Concluse you enter an area that could've easily existed within the original PS1 Silent Hill game. It's not hiding its inspiration, but I admit to kind of loving that with the current state of the SH franchise. Concluse isn't just pulling from Silent Hill however, outside of the noted Petscop influence, there's also elements that can be traced to things like Marble Hornets, and having seen later videos of the Youtube series before this game was announced, other odd elements come into play later wearing their inspiration on their sleeves most of the way through.

There's a few interesting mechanics at play here. One I was really fond of is this payphone system. Throughout Concluse you'll find several quarters, which you can use either on Payphones or other minor optional things. When you put a quarter into a Payphone, you get an option to either call Home, your Mother, or your missing wife Carolyn. You can call whoever, but can develop some background plot threads based on who you decide to spend more time talking to. It's a minor thing, but it did help me become more invested in the story and characters by having some choice who to call (as payphones are one-time use for whatever reason) and discover more about.

To mention: This is the first part of what I assume they plan to make a series of games. If you watch the Concluse YouTube series, this covers the first 7 parts of the video series. The game ends with a cliffhanger and a "Next Time on Concluse" preview video, which honestly I'm excited for as I both really enjoyed this experience and having watched the YouTube series, I think it ended right as things both begin to get stranger and more interesting.

Even if you've seen the video series, there's a lot new here with about half of the content being new areas, puzzles, and elements that weren't in the original video series (though plenty of familiar areas, scenes, and the like as well as it does recreate everything from the videos, just adds to it). And if you've never seen it before, while this experience won't be for everyone and more a specific few niche audiences, it should appeal to those who love some good ole' surreal exploration and don't mind a slower-burn exploratory cryptic experience. There's hardly any action at all, but I think it succeeds by generating an interesting world, atmosphere, and several key moments to keep things engaging.

Also at the time of writing, I think this game has a few hidden secrets in it. I in my play time had found two secrets I was not able to complete due to not finding all the missing pieces before reaching the ending. I plan to go back and see if I can figure out these two optional things and see what secrets they hide, but if you like secret digging I can confirm this game has some of that element hidden inside of it.

Overall, an enjoyable atmospheric cryptic exploration game in the guise of a lost PS1 horror game, which is a game adaption of a YouTube creepypasta-esque thing. Not everyone will like it, but those that find the appeal I think will quite enjoy it. And this first part is free, and rather meaty (it should last someone 2.5-5 hours I imagine), so definitely worth checking out.

To mention, the developer reached out to me to give me a Steam Key for the game to play it a day before the official release, I streamed it and enjoyed the experience. This may not matter the most as the game is free anyways, but I thought I should mention this. Concluse is first-person atmospheric exploration game that's based off of a YouTube video series of the same name that had slowly been releasing over the last year depicting a 'rare' PS1 horror game. The game is a playable form of the first third of the video series (up to the ending of Part 7 of the video series), but includes a lot of new areas and bits that didn't exist within that series ever. If you ever watched the Concluse YouTube video series and enjoyed it, you should definitely give this a play as it's basically just that video series in a playable form, along with all the cryptic elements attached to that. Now if you've never even heard of Concluse until now, essentially it's a "Forgotten PS1 Horror Game" that came up in the wake of Petscop (another fictional PS1 'lost' horror game that was found video series on YouTube) blowing up in popularity. Unlike most copycats, it did a lot of its own original things, and didn't quit making these videos despite Concluse never really taking off in any huge way in popularity. And now said video series has been turned into an actually playable game. Neat. The game at its heart sounds less interesting than it is, a lot of the game is simply exploring a semi-open world environment looking for key items to use elsewhere to progress with the occasional puzzle or threat. While the gameplay is relatively simple, what makes it work is a well done cohesive atmosphere, a good element of intrigue, and a general strangeness to everything around it. The game is also sprinkled with a few dozen PS1-era esque CG cutscenes, which do add to the experience and don't really overstay their welcome (except maybe the opening, which as you can't skip cutscenes and if you click "New Game", you have to watch again or close to skip). Some may notice immediately there's some Silent Hill inspiration here, the story concept of a man named Michael going to find his wife after three years since she went missing in a New England town named, "Hell", is more than enough for said comparison. But without spoiling too much, in the later half of Concluse you enter an area that could've easily existed within the original PS1 Silent Hill game. It's not hiding its inspiration, but I admit to kind of loving that with the current state of the SH franchise. Concluse isn't just pulling from Silent Hill however, outside of the noted Petscop influence, there's also elements that can be traced to things like Marble Hornets, and having seen later videos of the Youtube series before this game was announced, other odd elements come into play later wearing their inspiration on their sleeves most of the way through. There's a few interesting mechanics at play here. One I was really fond of is this payphone system. Throughout Concluse you'll find several quarters, which you can use either on Payphones or other minor optional things. When you put a quarter into a Payphone, you get an option to either call Home, your Mother, or your missing wife Carolyn. You can call whoever, but can develop some background plot threads based on who you decide to spend more time talking to. It's a minor thing, but it did help me become more invested in the story and characters by having some choice who to call (as payphones are one-time use for whatever reason) and discover more about. To mention: This is the first part of what I assume they plan to make a series of games. If you watch the Concluse YouTube series, this covers the first 7 parts of the video series. The game ends with a cliffhanger and a "Next Time on Concluse" preview video, which honestly I'm excited for as I both really enjoyed this experience and having watched the YouTube series, I think it ended right as things both begin to get stranger and more interesting. Even if you've seen the video series, there's a lot new here with about half of the content being new areas, puzzles, and elements that weren't in the original video series (though plenty of familiar areas, scenes, and the like as well as it does recreate everything from the videos, just adds to it). And if you've never seen it before, while this experience won't be for everyone and more a specific few niche audiences, it should appeal to those who love some good ole' surreal exploration and don't mind a slower-burn exploratory cryptic experience. There's hardly any action at all, but I think it succeeds by generating an interesting world, atmosphere, and several key moments to keep things engaging. Also at the time of writing, I think this game has a few hidden secrets in it. I in my play time had found two secrets I was not able to complete due to not finding all the missing pieces before reaching the ending. I plan to go back and see if I can figure out these two optional things and see what secrets they hide, but if you like secret digging I can confirm this game has some of that element hidden inside of it. Overall, an enjoyable atmospheric cryptic exploration game in the guise of a lost PS1 horror game, which is a game adaption of a YouTube creepypasta-esque thing. Not everyone will like it, but those that find the appeal I think will quite enjoy it. And this first part is free, and rather meaty (it should last someone 2.5-5 hours I imagine), so definitely worth checking out.