Title: AnnaFormat: PC, Mac
Release Date: July 16, 2012, November 2012(Mac)
Publisher: Kalypso Media
Developer: Dreampainters
Price: $5
ESRB Rating: T
I'm a big fan of indie games, and since the horror genre has been on a high for awhile, I thought I would give Anna a try. Its just been released for the Mac, and that was the perfect opportunity for me to give it a shot.
Story, Presentation, Core Gameplay:
The basic premise of Anna is set around an old sawmill, where you have to uncover all the secrets surrounding the abandoned building. You quickly find that the sawmill is haunted and you're trapped inside. Over the course of the game's short story, nightmares will surround you every step you make. There is a lot of mystery in the game, since you're not given any kind of backstory, there are a lot of questions why you're at the house in the first place. It turns out to be rather dark in tone, with a lot of demonic themes in the house. The visuals are a bit of a mixed bag, the first setting is the lush greens forest area on the outskirts of the house. This area looks really good, the blades of grass really pop out with color and vibrance. The bright blue river stream is peaceful to say the least, while being impressively rendered. When you finally enter the house, the inside rooms don't look all that good. There are a lot of blurry and muddy textures inside the house, and seeing how you spend most of your time in the house, its ultimately detrimental to the game. There are also a number of graphical bugs and glitches in the game, which further brings the game down. The technical issues will frequently take you out of the game's experience, which is a serious issue with a horror game. The music is one of the few bright spots in the game, constantly fading in and out, the score is fits perfectly to the game's dark atmosphere. The game uses some sporadic voice acting to create an eerie atmosphere, you'll only hear bits of voice work as you traverse the house and uncover its dark past. The game is an adventure game, but since its in a first person perspective, the sense of horror gets heightened up quite a bit. Its setup like a point and click adventure, you need to find certain objects and use them for different scenarios. The interface is simple, you can use, examine, or pick up objects. The game will always just tell you what you can do and what you can't. As you progress through the game by interacting and using certain objects, you'll hear faint voices call out from the walls, falling objects, and shadowy figures appearing from the shadows of burning candles. The game starts off pretty scary, but when you find out that you can't die, it takes all the good stress from your experience. The puzzles are frustrating and monotonous, and end up just being a huge obstacle. The poorly designed inventory system is another reason behind this, picking up an item, then exiting your inventory with it in hand is more complex than it needs to be. 
Final Thoughts:Anna started having a lot of potential, you're thrown into a barren setting with little to no information about your whereabouts. The mystique surrounding the opening setting quickly fades when you enter the house. The terrific soundtrack can't save the game from it's frustrating puzzles and muddled graphics.
S&S Rating: 5.5/10 @whatsPlay
