VOTV Forum Let's Play

Starting, as games often do, on the title screen. A row of satellite dishes gaze nobly into the deep, almost as if saluting. It brings to mind a comic book I read when I was little, called EARTHLING! It was about a kid who lived in a satellite array in the middle of the desert who got abducted to a school for aliens. I don't remember if it was any good. I wonder if I'll end up similarly abducted at some point. Who knows?

The music is a circusy pipe-organ affair, intercut with samples of witches cackling and bloodcurdling screams. I presume this is a halloween-specific track. (For reference, I'm starting this playthrough on November 1st. Yesterday, when I downloaded it off itch, was halloween.)

(Also, it asked to use my location when I first booted it up. I figured sure, fuck it.)

I don't see an option for a tutorial anywhere. I suppose I'll hit 'Start game' and see what happens.

Ah, there's that tutorial!

I wonder what it defines as 'full completion?' I imagine this game has a secret or three, maybe I only 'fully complete' the level after finding a certain amount of collectibles or solving some hidden overarching puzzle.

First thing I see is an achievement for launching the tutorial, and one, I assume, for playing the game close to halloween. My screenshot didn't catch it, but as the level was loading in I saw "Node graph out of date, rebuilding..." in the middle of my screen. Is this a source game? it doesn't feel like a source game, but I heard some distinctly Gmod sound effects navigating the menu alone.

First thing I did was get myself stuck in a gutter. We're off to an amazing start here, folks.

Getting a feel for these controls. They're very in-depth, which is another way of saying confusing. I'm sure I'll get better at it in time, but right now even just storing and retrieving items is a tall order. These controls are fine.

Very fine.

Bubger.

'Eat 6/6?' Are these collectibles?

The F and S in the bottom corner (I presume indicating Food and... Survival? Safety? Some kind of health meter) are near max, and I saw them reset back to 100 earlier. I don't think I can starve in the tutorial. But sure, I'll eat it.

Ah, I see! I can take 6 bites before the burger disappears. Cool! Also, I can't waste food by eating when I'm not hungry. Also cool.

There's a suspicious door up there. Reminds me of the kind of thing the G-Man would disappear into in half-life. Also, a similarly suspicious grate and pool of water.

I smell a secret.

I couldn't figure out how to get past the grate, but I've managed to drag this desk over to the ledge.

Light filters in from beyond... I wonder what my reward will be? (Probably nothing much, dragging that desk over to the ledge wasn't that difficult.)

FIND MY PAGES.

Hmm. From what I've heard of this game, Slenderman is the kind of thing that may actually be in it. Maybe I leave this note alone?

...Nah.

...Gulp.

Fingers steady on the screenshot keys here...

Nothing. That doesn't actually make me feel much better. Maybe I'm in for a jumpscare on the way back.

Apparently not.

Actually wait, what are those on the floor? Were those there when I went in? I would have noticed, and the desk would have bumped them as I dragged it over to the ledge.

Gas cans. Weird, but I'm glad I got these instead of a scare. Thanks, Slenderman!

I was able to fit two in my inventory. That's... Really not a lot of space. Oh well.

Crowbar. Standard issue for scientists combatting alien threats, of course.

That's the third half-life comparison I've drawn in the tutorial alone. Clearly the creators of this game hold a reverence for the source engine. So do I!

Looks like that F and S stand for Food and Stamina. Apparently I need a varied diet, and food is better when kept in the fridge. Looks like my diet in the game will probably end up better than it is in real life.

Need a code to progress. I've got a hunch what it might be...

Dammit.

Oh. The keypad isn't actually connected to the door. Don't I feel like a dunce.

Slides! The 'choose.' text is vaguely ominous, I suppose they take me to other optional tutorial bits.

I'll flip a coin. If it's tails, I go green. Otherwise, I flip again. Red for heads, blue for tails.

(Actually, I didn't have a coin. I used a bottle cap instead. Heads, heads. Red it is.)

Ah.

Ah! Shimps! Aliens! How wonderful!

" :3 "

This thing. The signal finder apparatus doodad. I presume it'll be my home for the duration of the game.

I love the retrotech design, with the colorful bands, the wood paneling over beige plastic, the red rotary-dial phone for crying out loud. I like how complex and dense the controls appear.

Of course, if I'm expected to know what all of them do my opinion will change quickly.

The computer is my upgrade menu. I dunno if it was intentional, but selecting the downgrade option for each menu cause it to jump up to full. I doubt it was an oversight, it strikes me more as tutorial convenience.

I'll be honest. I have no idea what I'm doing here. I don't know what I'm looking for when adjusting the polarity, and I don't know how that effects the frequency. Sometimes the line in the bottom circle becomes a waveform, but I've got no idea how to make it do that consistently.