Oh this was a scary little game that was too short because it was so good, but then if it had been longer would it have been better? You know when you have a yummy dessert but it's a small portion? It tastes so good!....but then it's gone!...and you want more! Thats how I feel about Alpha Polaris.

Playing this, I got serious Lovecraft/Blackwood (Algernon Blackwood, check him out he's great)/The Thing vibes. Those are great things. You play as Rune, a young man studying polar bears with a crew in Greenland who are looking for oil. During an oil expedition, some old bones and an ancient manuscript is found which leads to paranoia, hallucinations, really bad dreams, and the return of an ancient creature. You know, all that good stuff.

For it's time, the game looks good. The characters move kind of mechanically but the portraits showing their fear/joy/paranoia were really cool. The voice acting was believable. This was a cast of characters you got to know in four days. All in all, it is a tight cast in a small location, and i love stories like that.

The puzzles weren't really puzzles. These were actual tasks that made sense to do. If you are stumped, you can click on Rune and he will guide you in the right direction. There is a funny little side mission that you accomplish before everything gets really bleak. You have to make Bombe Alaska for Nova, the only female on the team. It's her birthday so don't screw it up!....or screw it up and use gasoline and a fire extinguisher. Your choice. Every once in a while there will be dialogue options. It doesn't change the end game but it does give some variety.

OK, is the game scary? For a P&C, yes! The ambient tracks got to me. During the day, you are researching and figuring things out. At night, the Aurora Borealis is out, bathing everything in beautiful lights. Yes somehow it makes the empty hallways ominous. And the nightmare cutscenes are awful...meaning they did a good job. I dreaded when it would be night, and for a third person P&C game to be able to instill dread in me, I'd say they did a good job.

Alpha Polaris is a small game, with a small story cast. Yet, it does what it does well. It tells a story, connects you to characters quickly, and freaks you out. I would definitely recommend it on sale, since this game will take you 5 hours tops if you don't use a walkthrough.

Oh this was a scary little game that was too short because it was so good, but then if it had been longer would it have been better? You know when you have a yummy dessert but it's a small portion? It tastes so good!....but then it's gone!...and you want more! Thats how I feel about Alpha Polaris. Playing this, I got serious Lovecraft/Blackwood (Algernon Blackwood, check him out he's great)/The Thing vibes. Those are great things. You play as Rune, a young man studying polar bears with a crew in Greenland who are looking for oil. During an oil expedition, some old bones and an ancient manuscript is found which leads to paranoia, hallucinations, really bad dreams, and the return of an ancient creature. You know, all that good stuff. For it's time, the game looks good. The characters move kind of mechanically but the portraits showing their fear/joy/paranoia were really cool. The voice acting was believable. This was a cast of characters you got to know in four days. All in all, it is a tight cast in a small location, and i love stories like that. The puzzles weren't really puzzles. These were actual tasks that made sense to do. If you are stumped, you can click on Rune and he will guide you in the right direction. There is a funny little side mission that you accomplish before everything gets really bleak. You have to make Bombe Alaska for Nova, the only female on the team. It's her birthday so don't screw it up!....or screw it up and use gasoline and a fire extinguisher. Your choice. Every once in a while there will be dialogue options. It doesn't change the end game but it does give some variety. OK, is the game scary? For a P&C, yes! The ambient tracks got to me. During the day, you are researching and figuring things out. At night, the Aurora Borealis is out, bathing everything in beautiful lights. Yes somehow it makes the empty hallways ominous. And the nightmare cutscenes are awful...meaning they did a good job. I dreaded when it would be night, and for a third person P&C game to be able to instill dread in me, I'd say they did a good job. Alpha Polaris is a small game, with a small story cast. Yet, it does what it does well. It tells a story, connects you to characters quickly, and freaks you out. I would definitely recommend it on sale, since this game will take you 5 hours tops if you don't use a walkthrough.