Stories Untold Price History & Deals Across Stores

Language	Interface	Subtitles	Audio
English	Yes	Yes	Yes

RecommendedSteam player

09/20/2017

Listen, as great as this is, you shouldn't read any more reviews. The more you read, the more you ruin it for yourself. This is a shining recommendation. Yes, it is worth the price.Show moreShow less

4.4 hours at review373 people found this helpful

Not recommendedSteam player

04/11/2017

Writing this review pains me greatly. There was so much within this little collection of stories that I adored, and yet it managed to squash all of my expectations in one fell swoop. Stories Untold started off beautifully, a shining example of horror, suspense and mystery. Richly atmospheric and gloriously immersive, I was convinced this would be my new favorite indie horror; and through three chapters it was, but then it plummets off a cliff with its ham-fisted finale which completely soured everything that preceded it. There was promise, SUCH promise, but all of it wiped away by an overly dramatic narrative that fits perfectly as a cheesy after school special. I don't think that's what they were going for, but the irony is not lost on me. I cannot remember the last time I have been this let down by a story -- it truly breaks my heart. Despite my disappointment with the overarching storyline, "The House Abandon" is a phenomenal piece of interactive horror that stands well enough on it's own. A true homage to the 1980s text adventures, the chapter places the player in a Twilight Zone-like situation with a narrative that plays out in a very meta way. It's creepy fun and definitely worth its few jump scares. This masterpiece of horror is followed by "The Lab Conduct," in which the player takes on the role of a lab technician as he is directed through a series of experiments on an unknown object. The story goes from ominous to weird to all-out sci-fi crazy at the end, but it never loses any of its nostalgic charm. Chapter 3, "The Station Process," takes place on an arctic research station with a The Thing-ish atmosphere. Although it's not as exciting as the previous stories, it's the most challenging in a very "Please Don't Touch Anything"-type of way. Towards the end of the chapter, the gameplay breaks into "adventure mode" and has you wandering around in the snow performing simple tasks while the voice overs become more and more ambiguous. Unfortunately, this is were things begin going downhill. And then the wheels come completely off with "The Last Session." I can't help but think that the devs were so proud at how cleverly they wove together the story in the 3 previous pieces of fiction that they felt compelled to bash you over the head with exactly how everything played out through their heavy-handed exposition, mostly to ensure you understood just how deep and amazing the game is. Nothing is left to the imagination or interpretation. Everything that happens in chapters 1-3 is explained away, draining all of the mystery and suspense from what could have been an interesting collage of stories that hinted at something bigger than each individually. What's worse, the groan-worthy plot twist makes the excellent build up feel hollow and contrived. Playing through The House Abandon knowing exactly what each detail refers to makes me sick with the realization that these things are SO much less than they could have been. So much less. Devastated is the only word I can use to describe how I'm feeling right now. Experiencing the entirety of Stories Untold is like watching a loved-one kill himself in an idiotic and completely avoidable accident. It tears me up to look back on the game now given how much I enjoyed the first three-fourths of it. If only I could erase the final chapter from my mind, perhaps I can return to enjoying the others as a sort of vague horror compilation. Maybe....maybe? Nope, it's not working. Feeling sick to my stomach again. Curated by: Chudah's CornerShow moreShow less

3.1 hours at review178 people found this helpful

RecommendedSteam player

06/24/2017

Published by Devolver Digital and developed by No Code, Stories Untold is a collection of four short tales that comes with a retro theme based out of the 1980's. Everything from the music to the objects that you interact with have a genuine 80's aesthetic to them that just can't be shaken, and this ambience enhances the mood of the episodes, which are filled with horror and sci-fi elements. As revealing any portion of the story would be to unveil the master craftsmanship behind the entire plot, let's leave it to be said that this is a title that you should experience for yourself. During episode one, "The House Abandon", you find yourself in front of an oldschool TV, complete with retro keyboard, playing a text adventure. It all starts out normal enough, but events soon take a macabre twist. Each of the four episodes have different settings and atmosphere, giving them a new and fresh feel during your first time playing through them. Most of the gameplay is made up of easy-to-solve puzzles, or instructions that are as simple to follow, especially during the second and third chapters. The gameplay does leave much to be desired, though some players who find solving any puzzle a challenging task my find themselves more enthralled by Stories Untold. Rather than relying on jumpscares or frightening enemies, the real horror here comes from the unknown and the unseen. The first three episodes are excellent, but the fourth and final entry where everything comes together is ultimately what causes this title to fall apart; some may even refer to it as a cop-out ending to the anthology. It would've been best to leave the player guessing, and the horrors unrelated. For its hour and a half of longevity, Stories Untold is a fairly sturdy and substantial horror game. It's not all text-based adventure, as some may think given some reviews and a good chunk of the first trailer, but the title would benefit from more of this type of gameplay. There's little to no replay value, so once it's finished it will just sit in your library for the upcoming aeons. However, if you enjoy yourself a good dose of chilling 80's inspired sci-fi horror, you will thoroughly enjoy the small amount of time that you get out of it. Rating: 4.0/5.0 - Excellent, highly worth playing. The Horror Network Curator | Group Click for GoreShow moreShow less

1.5 hours at review99 people found this helpful

Not recommendedSteam player

08/13/2017

To preface, this IS a good game and I have to congratulate the team for trying something really interesting with this one, but after writing my thoughts down, I felt the need to change my recommendation. Here's why. I played the demo for Stories Untold a while ago, and was thrilled by the concept; a return to a classic text-adventure formula, enhanced by a few modern touches here and there made for a really unique horror experience. It's incredibly unnerving and engaging, especially in a genre currently bogged down with "run around collecting keys and hiding behind boxes" games (looking at you, Outlast). It's also certainly worth the asking price, even if just to support the concept itself, though I would recommend spacing out the episodes (of which there are only four total), so that you don't burn through the whole thing too quickly. Unfortunately, the game has a series of what I'd consider drawbacks, that after enjoying the demo so much, left me feeling more than a little dissapointed with the full experience. For starters, it doesn't look like much work was done to account for how the player might write certain commands; there were numerous occasions where I found myself fumbling over trying to reword simple instructions, and being constantly met with the game telling me it didn't understand. Frustrating, but only a minor detractor, and arguably could up the tension for some people, if you've less of a temper than me. The 'puzzles' themselves can also be more of a chore than a challenge at times, and seem to mostly consist of reading instruction manuals and flipping switches rather than actually figuring anything out, so you don't necesarily feel accomplished in completing them. The main offender here is in Episode 3, which has you reading instructions from a microfilm; even when hitting the buttons to 'focus' the instructions, I couldn't make out what was written, and I'm not exactly visually impaired. Chapter 3 had a really interesting premise, in fact ALL the chapters do, but I spent most of it just feeling frustrated. This is again true in the long, slow walking segment in Chapter 3. It feels really forced, as if it's just there for padding. By that point in the chapter, you can already tell exactly what's about to happen, so it just leaves you waiting for the game to hurry up, or throw something more interesting at you that never comes. The overall plot is a mixed bag. I'll try to explain without spoiling things. The House Abandon (Chapter 1) is excellent, really creepy and full of intrigue; seriously, play the demo and I'm pretty sure you'll want to grab the full game, as I did. Unfortunately, I think that's really the best the game has to offer. The other chapters are far less interesting, and particularily dissapointing if you went in to them expecting a text-adventure like the demo, the full game simply isn't one for the most part. It just boils down to reading an instruction, and typing it in or pressing buttons; may as well be some sort of office job simulator at some points. The second episode is also a highlight though, in terms of story at least, and present you with a very different vibe to the first, and a very different scare. Even if the gameplay was poor, I was keen to keep going to see what happened next, and was interested to see how/if it all tied together. Sadly, it all falls apart in the third act. You get another different and alluring premise, but then the gamplay starts and, as I've mentioned, it's the worst of the lot. After a few moments the story of this episode becomes very predictable, and honestly I'd hesitate to even call it a story, since next to nothing happens. By the time the final episode rolls around and you're plonked into the obvious setting that appears at least once in seemingly every horror game, I only kept playing for completions sake, and in the knowledge it'd only take me about 30 minutes. You're given a very dreary resolution (with a few clever exceptions, such as where the title comes from), and some of the more interesting parts of the game end up feeling wasted. Bizarrely, they return to the usually quite liberating text-adventure gameplay for the final portion, which is perhaps the most on-rails portion of the game. I was left trying to find other things to explore, or take other options, but the game just keeps saying 'no' until you reluctantly agree to finish the story. I understand what they were going for here, but it doesn't really feel in-sync with the crux of the story, the 'big twist'. It'd be interesting to take away player agency here if the character themselves had no choice, but instead your character's just a ♥♥♥♥, and now you have to be one too. I would however, really like to commend the devs on the visuals and sound design. They nail the claustrophobia of being trapped at a desk, and this is particularily evident in The House Abandon (without spoiling, there's some REALLY creepy environmental stuff for a game that mostly has you looking at a screen within your screen). The game clearly wears its Stranger Things influence on its sleeve, and more to its credit I'd say; the 80s vibe is incredibly stylish and the nostalgia for old games and horror movies only amplifies what The House Abandon already does so well. It's really a pity they basically throw it out the window after that. Whilst the rest of the game still looks nice, the visuals and sounds rarley ccompliment the gameplay they way they do in the first episode, and never to the same degree. Stories Untold should be rightfully applauded for trying some really cool new ideas in a genre in dire need of new blood. As a big horror fan, I really have to thank them for that, and really hope that they improve on what they've done here, because I really think it could lead to something very special. As it stands though, Stories Untold, feels more like an experiment, one that doesn't have it's kinks quite worked out, and from my view, includes some major mistakes that spoil the experience. ABSOLUTELY play the demo. Unfortunately though, it's all downhill from there.Show moreShow less

2.4 hours at review99 people found this helpful

RecommendedSteam player

01/07/2018

Overall Score: 8.0 / 10 Quality 8/10　　　　Solid, budget indie game Performance 8/10Performs smoothly overall, but deficiently executed / optimized, rare 3D sequences Utility 7/10No bugs or crashes; has Steam cloud save; no way to save and quit during an episode Controls9/10Clever usage of outdated retro controls; very basic walking sim sections (rare) Gameplay8.3/10　Story-driven click 'n type adventure Challenge 8/10Rather easy, but well designed puzzles; e.g. an acoustic decryption of a Morse code msg Content 7/10A short, episodic, psychological horror trip (4 x 30-45 min. episodes = ~3h+ overall); few replayabilty, except for the atmosphere Diversity 8/10Each of the 4 episodes has its own setting and gameplay; slightly repetitive at times Immersion10/10Very atmospheric due to good SFX and a delicately arranged soundscape & narration Design7.8/10　　Fresh ideas & straight realization Visuals 8/10Unhasty, clinical and well polished design; unfortunately poor AA → flickering edges Sound 9/10Splendid soundtrack, SFX & composition; few, but good voice-overs (English only) Texts 7/10A puzzling "short story collage"; a bit too shallow and short text adventure sections Mapping6/10Good, but very claustrophobic level design; only a few, dull locations; no exploration Interface 9/10Puristic HUD & simple, well designed menus; important options are located in a launcher 💸　Dumping prices 4 keys; market value is less than 2€! 📜　Insider tip for fans of old school / story-driven games Tested with: Low, Medium, High; no further options, presets only HD, 1920 × 1080, constant 60fps, 0 FPS drops / lags 4K, 3840 × 2160, Ø 60fps (suprisingly demanding) i7-7700K, 4 x 4.2 GHz; MSI GTX 1080, 8GB GDDR5X 16 GB DDR4 RAM; Samsung SSD; Win 10 Pro, 64-Bit Check out my curator page here, if you liked this review.Show moreShow less

5.3 hours at review69 people found this helpful

Not recommendedSteam player

02/28/2017

This game is a cool throwback to old style text adventures, having a few short text adventures mixed some point and click scenes (which mostly are about solving number puzzles). Unfortunately, depending on your luck, you may find the game will be way too easy or extremely frustrating. The text adventure segments mimic a 80's Spectrum computer, but the game is very crude compared to actual text adventures from the Spectrum era. It knows nothing at all about synonyms, it understands none of the conventions of the genre (for movement, object inventory, or getting required information from your surroundings), and puzzles are not actual puzzles but a bunch of 'guess the word' block walls that usually rely on you remembering some detail about your surroundings that sometimes you won't be able to get again. Any 1983 text adventure from a real Spectrum completely destroys this game in both a technical and gameplay level, not to mention any of the modern quality interactive fiction you can play today. The point and click segments are not much better. The puzzles are uninteresting, and rely mostly on you trying to make sense of small, blurry print, or distorted voices saying something that resemble English numbers (there is a subtitles option, but it is useless, as it works only on flavor text). Hopefully you have English as your native language or a very good hearing. It is also an extremely short game that you'll finish in a single sitting, and a short one. There are some things the game does right, though. The story is great, and the way the four apparently undisconected stories are tied towards the end is a genius move. The graphics are really great, and the renditions of 80's equipment and computers is very, *very* realistic. I experienced a few graphical glitches, but the game worked fine most of the time. I find it really disappointing that the amount of love given to the presentation and the original idea didn't follow through to the implementation of the actual game elements. This could have been an amazing experience if the game had a proper text adventure engine and better puzzles. As it is, I can't really recommend it.Show moreShow less

3.1 hours at review80 people found this helpful

RecommendedSteam player

02/27/2017

A great mix of new and nostalgia! No Code expands on it's free game 'House Abandon', a text based adventure game they released in October 2016, with three more facinating stories. The game is split into 4 parts, the first being 'House Abandon', so if you're unsure whether you'll like this game I'd check that out here: https://jonnocode.itch.io/the-house-abandon I was curious to see if No Code could expand on the text adventure format with Stories Untold, and after beating the game I can safetly say they exceeded my high expectations. It took me around 3 hours to beat the game, but I will probably need to go back through some of the chapters to find some of the hidden achievements. Gameplay is a mix of text adventure, and puzzle solving using interactive pieces of the environment. The environments themselves look fantastic, and remind me of Alien: Isolation's low-fi look, which makes sense considering some of the developers at No Code worked on A:I. Overall if you played 'House Abandon' and enjoyed it, I highly recommend Stories Untold. For $10 it's definitely worth the price. *Note: I should warn, and the game itself also warns, that there are sections of the game where the light flashing gets pretty intense. Anyone with sensitivity to such things might want to take that into consideration before picking this up.Show moreShow less

2.9 hours at review60 people found this helpful

Not recommendedSteam player

07/02/2017

A very clever experiment but not a very good game. There's great art direction on display, voice acting is believable and there are moments where all the different gameplay elements genuinely work together to create a chilling atmosphere and put the player right in the centre of it all. Unfortunately, none of those individual gamelay elements are done particularly well. Text adventure bits are very bad at recognizing commands. What little puzzles there are seem to be designed to test your patience rather than challenge your intelligence. 1st person walking bits are weirdly clumsy and unresponsive. But I could overlook all of that if it wasn't for the story. First three parts are quite intriguing, each for its own reasons. But when the Big Reveal comes in part 4, it retroactively invalidates most of what you've done up to that point. Even if the plot itself is sort of legit, the fact that none of what you've been doing really matters leaves a bad aftertaste. It just doesn't feel like time well spent. I wish there was a "middling" review option available. I hate to give this game a thumbs down, but simultaneously I can only recommend it as an interesting experiment, not an experience worth having. Then again, it's not an expensive game and I definitely hope we'll see this particular style of adventure games evolve in the future.Show moreShow less

3.8 hours at review45 people found this helpful

RecommendedSteam player

12/22/2020

Go in as blind as possible. You'll thank me later. It's brilliant, if you're remotely interested just play it. Don't read any reviews. Honestly, blows my mind people putting spoilers for the 4 chapters in their reviews.Show moreShow less

4.5 hours at review51 people found this helpful

Not recommendedSteam player

10/21/2017

This game is so dedicated to the inane writing cliche eating it from the inside out that an entire fourth of it is dedicated to discarding the uneasy horror tension and parading everything in front of you and asking 'DO YOU GET IT? DO YOU GET IT??? DID YOU SEE WHAT WE DID THERE????' Yes. Yes I got it. I even saw it coming, but being well-telegraphed doesn't make a lousy writing trope any less bad. And it's a shame that it wound up this way; I was a fan of The House Abandon and was excited for there to be three more episodes. There's a lot of incredibly clever game design at work here. I could have even swallowed the cliche 'twist' if they had more restraint and left it as nothing more than clues and subtext, leaving it for the player to figure out for themselves. It's not a total loss and I wish that Steam had some sort of middle-ground option when it comes to these reviews. I'm mad because I was really enjoying the game until it went full bore on explaining itself and fizzling all the atmosphere and intrigue that it had built up.Show moreShow less

7.3 hours at review30 people found this helpful

Stories Untold

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01About Stories Untold

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