The Starship Damrey

Genre: First-Person Graphic Adventure / Horror

Players: 1

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Review:

The Starship Damrey is a First-Person Graphic Adventure with some Horror elements released on Nintendo 3DS in 2013. The premise of this game has the player waking up on the titular starship in a cryostasis pod suffering from memory loss after the ship suffered some unexplained malady. Unable to leave the pod and interacting with the ship through the terminal in the pod, the player must figure out what’s going on and try to escape.

This game starts by informing the player that it’s not going to explain anything to you, and that this is a part of the experience. For some players, this will likely be delightful news, ensuring that the game won’t force them through any hand-holding. However, other players will likely find this game’s lack of direction and instruction to be frustrating. Suffice it to say, this is undoubtedly a divisive game.

Players interact with the game either through in-game computer menus, or through interactive robots that the player activates shortly after the start of the story. It is through these robots and their “video footage” that players will be doing most of the exploring of the ship.

The game’s visuals are depicted with a mix of 2D and 3D elements, with movement through the ship being in 3D, and much of the gameplay within your cryostasis pod being in 2D. This is accompanied by mostly silence, with the main noises being the ones you make by interacting with objects or moving around the remote robot, though there are some other surprises to be found here and there. For the most part, this game does a good job building an ominous atmosphere.

Overall, I’m not usually fond of Graphic Adventure games that are difficult to understand, but I’m especially wary of those that wear their imperceptibility as a badge of honor. However, while i may be predisposed to dislike The Starship Damrey, I have to respect the tense atmosphere the game builds, and the mystery at the center of the game. If you’re a fan of the genre, especially one who hates hand-holding, you may want to give this game a try before the Nintendo 3DS eShop closes in March 2023 (later this month!).

tl;dr – The Starship Damrey is a First-Person Graphic Adventure with Horror elements where players take the role of someone who awakens in a cryostasis pod suffering amnesia and trying to figure out what disaster happened aboard the titular spaceship. This Graphic Adventure prides itself on refusing to hand-hold players, and as a result players who aren’t as experienced with the genre may not find this game to their liking. However, most experienced players may be enticed by the story and atmosphere. In short, this game is undoubtedly divisive, and some are bound to love it, but not everyone.

Grade: C

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