"What Happened"

"What Happened"
Reviewer: Console Carl
Developer: Genius Slackers
Publisher: Sourena Game Studio
Platform: Steam
Release Date: July 30th 2020
Price: $24.99

So I'm kind of let down about this review. Mainly because I always do video reviews, and this comes along a pretty much visual master piece and I have issues with my recordings. I will try my best though to let you know just how beautiful and a mind trip " What Happened" is. So to be honest I have kind of been over Psychological Horror. They just been pumping them out left and right and most have just been really unimaginative and all the same. "What Happened" is like nothing else I've experienced. If I had to give it a comparison though I'd say a cross of "Life Is Strange" and "Layers of Fear" The whole High School aspect gives off a "Life is Strange" vibe. It's no where near it as far as voice acting and storytelling, but it's still a quality experience. You will relate with Stiles the lead protagonists. He experiences a lot of things most of us have in life, so you feel for him a lot. You want to see things turn for the better for him. The rest of the characters you just don't get to know all that well. Which is sad because the game certainly lasted long enough to do so. You'll understand what i mean by that later in the review. Just feels like you never really care about them much at all. Stiles how ever you really hope he wins his battle against his mind. I guess I should explain more about that.

In "What Happened" you play as a teenage boy tripping on Acid. This is where video would have showed that off a lot more, because the word tripping doesn't do it justice. You see so much off the wall crazy and creepy stuff that you just don't know what to expect next. everything from running from wolves and sharks, busting ice sculptures of your friends, to entire rooms made up of bodies. Some of the creepiest stuff I've seen in a game no doubt.Some times it goes on way to long though. You start to ask your self how many times am I going to walk these same halls or open this locker. It starts to feel really repetitive. You start thinking this has to be the end, but it's no where near it. To be fair though then something else happens that blows your mind, and your glad it didn't end back when it did. That is where I was going with earlier about time for more character building. The game seems to really go on forever repeating a lot of things. Would been nice to see some of that shifted to making me care more about the supporting cast.

The graphics are amazing in my opinion. Even having to turn them down when i was having some issues, they still looked amazing. You are also never gonna see anything like this. There was so many WTF moments. So many moments where I was asking did that just happen? So the title is really fitting even though it has nothing to do with that. It has a lot deeper meaning I won't spoil. If you've never done acid before , and you played this I honestly think you are going no where near it. Everything is just so super weird and chaotic. You never know what you are going to see next, and a lot of times I had no idea what was going on. A lot of times it took me awhile to figure out what to do as well. Sometimes the controls just feel really clunky even with a controller. It was worst in the Shark moments where you had to make quick movements. It's nothing game breaking just a slight hassle. Just a few things that can be fixed with minor updates. I still enjoyed it so much that I played it all in one sitting. To find out there are multiple endings that had replay value to it. Not to mention that I unlocked the ability to just keep giving the bird like crazy. Can't wait to flip off my mind about a million times my next play through.

The sounds and voice acting are pretty good as well. I think Stiles and his mind steal the show, but every one else is okay in their limited moments. Stiles voice actor kills it though. You care for Stiles and understand why he has made the mistakes he has. You could see why he'd be in the bathroom taking hits of Acid. he lost his father, his best friend, and his girlfriend to his best friend. Nothing has went well for him, even though some of the blame goes on him, things like losing a parent hurts and is life changing. You have no control over that. One day things are normal and in a flash your world changes. That is rough and Stiles makes you feel it. His mind does a excellent job in making you hate it. he drives Stiles down lower and lower and we all face battle like this with our own minds. It can be a very dark place at times, and the game does a perfect job at emulating that. It's good to know you are never alone though.All off us have these doubts and moments, the sooner you realize that the better. There is some one always to talk to that knows how you feel. You just have to reach out not caring about humility. It's important to know you are special , and have purpose here. That people care, you just have to put the effort into finding them. There is always better reasons to be alive, than the alternative. As someone that has battled things like this my entire life the story hit home. I recently lost my father, and just everything changes. You have to realize it happens to us all some time, and when it does everything is different but it isn't over. A new part of your life begins, and if you stop to really embrace the positives you find a lot more peace. So never give up, and if you need a ear and can't find one. Call a Hotline there are people who want to help, people that care. We care as well are messages are always on, and all of us to busy doing reviews to sleep so someone always up.

So by my conversation over the last few sentences you can probably tell how dark this game goes. The content is very serious, and probably good for a lot of people to experience. Not only the story, but the game as well is very dark. A lot of adult language and situations, but also some really dark things happen on screen as well. Gore, murder, sexual content just a ton of things you will have to decide if it's for you or your children. I think the overall experience and story content it fits though. I think the message out weighs all of that. Life and High School can be scary and very adult at times so it's fitting to a point. I know the ending effected me , and will for a lot of others as well. I know it was important to the game creator as well. You can just tell in his art. Yes it's not a perfect game. Some of the story just doesn't add up, some of the characters you just don't care about, and it can be clunky and hard to figure out what to do next because the icons can be slow to pop up at times. I even experienced a few glitches and game freezes. Even with all of that I have to say "What Happened" is an important message. "What Happened" is Creepy and Trippy as hell.A lot of the time I really had no idea what was going on, but i freaking loved it.

                                                                  Message is important
                                                        Beautiful and Trippy game design.
                                                                     Great Protagonist.
                                                                       Creepy as Hell.
                                                                         Replay Value.

                                                                Controls clunky at times
                                                     Needed more support character building.
                                        Can be repetitive at times, some things repeat to much.

Overall: 8.4
What Happened brings something new to the table as Psychological horror goes. Yes it has the typical battle of the mind, but it does it in such a beautiful and trippy way that you are sure to never forget. Some of the games moments go on way to long, but some will be engraved in your gaming mind forever. It's certainly weird and creepy as hell, and I love it.