First up is our disclaimer. We got this game because we wanted to review it, and as such,
all views in this article are our own. No money has been exchanged for this review.
White Night is the first in a series of unique horror games that require players to think and solve puzzles! Ultimately, its core concept is nothing special; it’s all been done before: “Oh no, I’m stuck in a room and I only have this key to get out! Better use the key to unlock that door over there!” Amnesia has done it, Penumbra has done it, as have many other survival-horror titles.
Having said this, it’s apparent that OSome Studio spent some time in applying their somewhat new twist to the classic room-by-room puzzler. With a noir-like theme to cover up generic story progression, players navigate through a primarily black-and-white animated novel. When I say “black and white”, I don’t mean shades of gray. We’re talking jet and snow here! Along the way, tiny splashes of color make a brief appearance to point players in the right direction. The noir scheme works and scores big points on the uniqueness scale. It’s like nothing I’ve seen before. The story is eerie anyway, and the shading only adds to the ambiance.
The graphics are strangely addictive in a 1930s sort of way; I found myself wanting to take a smoke and talk to my wife dressed in nothing but black and white while listening to a piano.
The music at times (and I do mean at times) afforded the game that classic depression-era jazz feel. I really enjoyed the music and hope to get a soundtrack somewhere down the line. Overall, the best parts of White Night for me were the visuals, the music, and the few fun challenges it presented. The one feature I didn’t like is that you MUST pick up newspaper articles and clippings to learn the entire story and plot of the game. Other titles usually allow this as a colorful option; not as a tedious austerity.
An autistic gamer with opinions on games who also enjoys making dumb videos on the internet!