1917: The Prologue, if this is the start, where does it end?
I think the main reason I bought this game was because of its interesting looking banner image. I also like reading about things that have happened in someone’s past which shapes into who they are today. Judging by the plot given to us for the game, I think that’s what really made me purchase it.
Do I regret purchasing it?
Kinda.
I mean, it’s a prologue, which meant there’d be more to accompany it, but there isn’t another game (as of right now) which is kind of disappointing.
- Developed by Payara Games
- Published by Payara Games
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FAQ
Who is this game for?
When did my interest get piqued?
When I found out I actually couldn’t progress to the next area without having first figured out what to do in the first area. Yay escape rooms!
Does 1917: The Prologue’s ending explain everything?
Maybe, maybe not? As someone who doesn’t speak Russian, I’ll say no.
Do you have guides for the game?
- My full walkthrough is on YouTube.
Explanation to Negative Feedback
Achievements don’t work
Yeah, as someone who likes getting achievements in games, I was highly disappointed that this game is bugged enough that it doesn’t grant you the achievements you’ve earned.
High price point
I don’t believe the pricing should be as high as it is due to the fact that this game is probably an hour long–as long as you’re not stuck on a specific puzzle to get the all clear to go into the next room.
Not fully translated
Though there are portions of the game that will give you a translation–such as the pages you pick up with a lot of text on them–there are other areas where the character speaks or hears things that are not translated. It’s these kinds of language barriers that makes you not understand the full story of the game.
Explanation to Positive Feedback
Atmospheric
They’ve done an extremely good job with the atmosphere of these rooms, what with all the paintings, and some objects you can pick up and get a small comment on.
Gameplay
Achievements
13 achievements, not that it matters.
Plot
1917 : The Prologue is a psychological horror game with elements of an escape room. All events in the game are occuring during the October Revolution in 1917 in Russia. The game is based on memories of those who survived in this dark time.
Game Length
Around an hour, give or take.
Replay Value
None
Genre(s)
In order to clear a room, you’ll need to finish the puzzle in that specific room–kind of like an escape room type of scenario.
1917: The Prologue Review
I had a hard time liking this game after one of the puzzles gave me a whole lot of grief.
Like, there are hints that you can find for two of the puzzle’s answers, but the third one is up in the air. And it’s really annoying, because the answer is sort of obvious and should be deduced based on your own thinking of what it should be.
Well, turns out if you hand us hints, then you should keep handing us hints, because the brain isn’t quite as smart as people think it is.
Keep in mind that this puzzle was around the start of the game.
Now imagine going into a game and struggling with one of the first puzzles, which doesn’t give you all the hints to what should unlock it, and just all around not being able to progress forward. Pretty frustrating, wouldn’t you say?
That was probably my biggest hang-up. The other puzzles become a bit easier as you continue the game.
The atmosphere of everything is spot-on. Sometimes the darkness can overwhelm you, so you just light a match in order to be able to see everything. The matches do burn out after holding them for too long, but you can always light another, as you never seem to run out of them. A little odd, but I wasn’t going to complain.
Another odd thing is it’s labeled as a psychological horror on Steam, and while I can see where the psychological portions come into play–what with our main character seeing visions of events playing out before him, the “horror” portion of that is severely lacking. There are some jump-scares, but they’re rather weak and will just leave you thinking, “Uh, okay?” At one point there was a loud noise, but the jump-scare was lost on me, because I wasn’t looking at the glass that suddenly burst into shards on the ground.
So…is it horror? Definitely not.
The one good thing I can say is the atmosphere. The creepy photographs and paintings on the wall. I know there’s one photo you can pick up and if you move it to the side, the lady’s face turns into a skull. Those are some nice touches.
I’m going to assume here, so don’t quote me on it, but maybe our character’s dad was a piece of shit and this is kind of regaling our character’s crappy life he’s been living. Because at the end you’ve got two choices. Shoot yourself, or exit the door’s on the end, where a man–who I can only assume is our father–blows out the match we’re holding.
And even before this cheap-shot ending, we’re thrown into a really short cutscene where our character looks in a mirror at himself and it zooms in on his face.
Why?
Hell if I know. It was the weirdest most random thing the game could throw at me.
And you know what? I didn’t want him to have to live through this nonsense again, so I made him pick up that gun and end it for the both of us.
