“The unseen enemy is always the most fearsome.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Clash of Kings
Ib is a horror puzzle game in a bizarre setting. It tells the story of a girl named Ib, and with her parents, she visits the museum, all seems well until she sees a particular painting, after that, all the people were gone, and Ib's adventure for company, and a way out started.
The direction the game goes is a sometimes confusing one, and if you feel slightly paranoid at night while playing this, you can't be put to blame. The beauty lies in its abstract form, the hidden meaning, what lies behind. Each painting you encounter has some kind of impact on the story, direct or indirect. Most paintings are malicious, they either want to kill you, or trick you. Your life bar, or roses they are called have 5 petals, and each time you get hit, you lose one, in some cases you die automatically (ie one-hit-kill), and you will have to restart.
The characters, aside from the various evil artistic forces trying to attack you, exist out of 3 protagonists, the silent, small girl, who you command, her actions are your choices, and these actions are leading to an ending, which isn't always under your control. The second character, in chronological order you meet them, Gary, a tall boy who is also imprisoned within the abstract world of various creations, since he is a bit older than Ib, his dictionary is a bit more expanded, and he can help you with the words you do not know, he seems to have a cool demeanour. But as the story unfolds, you notice that inside his seemingly lanky body, he is still quite afraid. Of course, his actions are partially regulated through the actions of Ib(you), lastly Mary, the cheerful young girl who is yet another victim of the weird world they have come into. Mary shows to be adventurous and not as afraid of the happenings in the world as the other two, she also isn't too aware of the meaning of the rose.
To me, this game was a lot, usually, I back away from anything with horror in it, but as this was recommended heavily by another user on here, I decided to conquer my fears, and give it a go. And boy was I glad, the atmosphere, is done so well, from the moments a painting chases you and you are at the edge of your seat, to the moments where you do your best to keep your hand away from the tissue, to wipe your tears away, and the moments of happiness, all of it, beautiful. More so since you are sometimes quite scared, which makes you savour the moments of absolute sweetness more. The moments of fear are amazing, nothing is happening, it is just being alone, defenceless, in a huge room with no end, can be quite frightening. That along with the occasional jump-scares which get you, luckily for the one who doesn't enjoy these, they are small in amount.
The meaning of certain paintings, and how they come to live, literally and figuratively is quite astonishing to be frank, some paintings actually attack you, and when you read about them, you see malice, a painting made with the wrong emotions. Yet no each painting has the wrong intentions, some try to assist you in a way, not always successful, but some are actively trying to help.
Now, the art is simple, for a story which focuses on fear, and is made with a rather old engine, it is understandable, it has an air of uniqueness about it. The odd way the characters are drawn, it is definitely not the best, but it fits.
Music, like in my review of To the Moon, it is a huge part, which is a huge factor in the creating of the atmosphere. A few samples:
Ib's themeBlind AlleyPuppet
Trailer (unofficial):
Now, this is probably one of the best old looking games I played, the replay value is something different though, I don't think it has the same impact it would have on the first run. So, with this rather short game (2-3 hours), it is small, but powerful. So if you are looking for something short, with horror, and a lot of drama, play Ib, and praise it like I do.
↧