Køb TRAUMA

"Trauma" is more a visual art project shaped as a point'n'click adventure than a conventional game. IMHO, a great, quite succesful experiment, with a surprising game mechanic I had never seen before and a dreamy, surrealistic atmosphere.

Having said that, the game is quite short, so try to get it at a discount.

An interactive adventure game that is based on a woman who has suffered a physiological trauma (hence the title), and tries to resolve several dreamscapes while unconscious and hospitalized. The game utilizes point-and-click and gesture-based actions to move around the scenes which are entirely composed of photographs with digitally altered features. Trauma is very short and the story isn't really engaging or exciting. Actually, it was so boring that I cannot recommend it at all.

The game is marketed as a game, but it's more of an artistic work. It uses a well-worn gesture-style of control that reminds me of many Japanese games. I'm not sure why other reviewers seem to find it original. There are no "puzzles" in the traditional sense. More importantly, the game is short and rather uninteresting.

I truly believe that this could have been a great game, but almost none of the elements were more than rudiments.

Strange game that makes me sad.

Trauma did not leave a lasting impression for me. The game was simple, yet confusing as to what it was trying to tell me. The game was very short, which didn't leave me playing long enough to become absorbed in any storyline or any of the characters. The graphics weren't great at all, since it reminded of playing old school Myst with a picture to picture movement style. It's not a bad game, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Less of a game, more of an interactive story.
The gameplay is based on navigating trough a set of dreams and finding a sigil to use in the right area. Each dream contains a single sigil, but can be solved with every one of them leading to different revelations. The game can end via solving all dreams once, but discovering all revelations will unlock a secret ending.
Dreams can be solved in a non-sequential manner and although navigation can be confusing at times it also makes it easy to tackle a different dream and come back later on.
Overall an enjoyable brief and casual experience, that manages to deliver its message.

I don't know how this "game" has a "mixed" reception. It's more of a collection of images than a point-and-click or hidden object game, really. The entire game is presented as a 360 degree panoramic picture and the main objective is discovering all the angles. Think google map's street view. It feels more like someone's phototophy portfolio or a proof of concept, not a finished product. Discovering the angles isn't much about puzzle solving or wits, moreso just finding the right approach to access the area you want. If you appreciate urban photography with an amateur attempt to photoshop a surreal environment, you might find it interesting. But really, even from that approach it's hard to like.

I've seen a few comparisons to Dear Esther, a walking simulator that I found to be quite enjoyable. It's nothing like Dear Esther. Dear Esther relied on an attention to detail in a beautifully designed 3D world that you could explore. There is no world to explore in Trauma - just essentially a folder of images from a day's photography of a city. This game cuts corners to deliver plot with stale 2D images as plot device "collectibles" in the form of Polaroids. There is nothing to actually interact with or trigger except alternate endings and main endings that abruptly end the level. This is the slideshow version of Dear Esther - something that DOESN'T work. The most redeeming thing about it are the cutscenes which are actually fairly well-done snippets of filmography.

For one, it's incredibly short and can be completed in less than an hour. With some games, this is forgivable. But, with "TRAUMA" it is not. If a game is short, I expect the experience to be top notch. If a game is bad, I at least expect it to be longer to win me over.

The story reads like a psychological thriller. But, it's done in too little time to make it interesting or captivating. The objective is completely pointless, too. Yes, it's a dream so nothing should make sense, but the first chapter's primary objective is to get a rock off of a teddy bear. I was expecting that to trigger some other objective. Nope. Film scene, then end.

The controls remind me of a DS game where you draw command with a the stylus (in this case a mouse). For instance, a horseshoe makes you view what's behind you. But most of the time, it's just a quicker way to "turn around." It also allows you to interact with the environment to trigger alternate endings - alternate endings that come down to "I like coffee, but I usually have it during the day. This time, it's at night." Whoopty do. Half of the time, the recognition is bad and leads to you inputting a completely different command which accidentally triggers a plot ending, the FMV associated with it, and brings you to the main menu.

If you want surreal, hop on an art site and save your $7. It's much higher quality and much more interesting. This isn't really a game and is moreso an artsy display of someones photography/graphic design mixed with a short-film that is laid out badly.

NOTE! My recommendation is relatively neutral skewing towards positive. Please read entire review!

Setting aside the personal meaning this game shows within the life I've seen and lived through, the game plays like a standard point and click exploration game similar to Myst. If one is unfamiliar with Myst, the concept is simple screenshot photographs of areas the one clicks certain areas of to view another screenshot from a different vantage point. One can play any of the four sections in any order in any way because they all link together.

It's a relatively quick playing game experience with some creative takes on the effects of a traumatized consciousness within a broken mind of dreams. It has multiple ways out of the four scenarios with all of them leaving the gamer slightly beffudled until played through the entire game. Once navigated the portrayal of the psyche comes into focus more clearly. Although it's just a game, it leaves me wondering about the developers and what happened to inspire such a game and this is where the game begins to take on personal meaning within anyone's life through the metaphorical portrayal of the trauma. I don't recommend anyone experience real trauma however it seems to happen in life and this game brings into question many aspects. The views of the external world viewing the traumatized and the internal world viewing external while damaged.

Pondering the creative aspect, how do any of us know that we're not all traumatized and we wake from day to day in an everlasting dream state perpetuated by something else? How do we heal ourselves and focus on healing if we're unable to, by either incapacitation or lack of awareness? How do we trust a hospital that says it cares, but spirals people into debt with healthcare frivolties? How do we know if our consciousness is locked in perpetual cycles by damage and how do we find a way to better ourselves, truly, if we're broken? Trauma (both real and this game) makes me ask these questions. The trauma and answers are different to everyone and that shows some versatility from the developers.

If you want to have a Trauma, just pick it up already.

Bad. Really, really bad. It swings between being tought to control and having surrealist themes that signify nothing. That said, the art is beautiful.

Photography, movie, poetry (why not?)...
Trauma is a very different and interesting game, where you travel through four dreams of a girl in a hospital, after a road accident. You travel by clicks and mouse gestures - like road lights in motion - in still worlds/dreams made of photographs and short cinematics.

You're are searching for one of the four ways to leave these dreams, one uncovering part of a cinematic of that girl at the hospital, three more additional ends for each dream, and a collection of polaroid photos, uncovering tips and little insights for the girl's past and thoughts.

It is not a great story, but the mood is mysterious and cool.
Created on Flash for web, so you can't expect great graphics resolutions and resources, but it still an unique experience.

Interesting concept the way they used actual photographs and had you manipulate angles/shots with directional clicks. Unfortunately, the 'puzzles' were pointless, the story was vague, and I really didn't care about the main character's inability to figure out if she wants to be apathetic or wallow in her misery. I finished the game just to say I had completed it. It's weird, and the main character's voice is irritating.

Trauma is pretty much a point-and-click kind of game, the cool concept that this game offers is that you move through photos in 4 different scenarios, it's very experimental and it tells the story about a woman who had an accident (car crash).
The game is very easy and you can figure everything quickly, but the real beauty is hidden behind the elements of the photos, the 'story' itself.
The idea, like I said before, is very cool and I would recommend this game for photography and cinema fans since it explores the meanings behind the composition.

Good as an art project. Hard to describe it as a game. It's more of a glorified hidden object game. Worth playing if you got it as part of a bundle but hard to justify purchasing it.

I'll preface by saying yes it is a kind of old school flash based find the thing to click kind of story. The ambience is a little dark and moody but it is not off puttingly so. What this honestly reminds me of, more than anything is kind of an old school macintosh hypercard stack.

You are bascially presented with 4 dreams, and in each dream there is a main goal (accomplishing the thing that ends the dream), as well as a few little collectable photos and side goals you can do to sort of 'back out' of the dream's current logic.

I agree with a number of other reviewers who note its not really that much of a game, and though I am generally a real sucker for 'really well executed story disguising as a game' (see Gone Home and To the Moon). In this case the story sort of feels disjointed/only partially executed. A number of the pieces are there, but they don't seem to actually gel into a really solid cohesive goal.

Who are you? Why are you in these dreams, what does getting through them really accomplish? I won't spoiler things here but it just seems more like while there may be some answers there, they don't seem to ... matter... much I guess?

I'm not saying that there isn't something here that some people may enjoy, but its certainly not something readily accessable to me.

(5/10)

Reminds me of a visual art project than a traditional game. Because it seems more like an art student's portfolio, I wouldn't pay more than a couple of bucks for this game, like $2 max.

PROS:
Trippy gameplay
Musical ambience
Dark atmosphere

CONS:
short (barely over an hour)
no save option

5/10 good game, but short, should be free.

This was a fun little game. Not very long, not overly complex or maddenly difficult...just a nice little journey though a trauma victim's memories and impressions. Gameplay is essentially point and click for navigation, and you learn to create these "symbols" (performed with mouse-based gestures) that have generic purposes (e.g., directional controls) and in some cases can be used in less-than-obvious (but usually clever) applications. A modicum of replayability is achieved via multiple solutions/endings to each chapter, and by finding all of the "polaroids" thoughout.

If you're worried about bang-for-the-buck, then get it on sale like I did. Take a look at the screenshots to see if you like the photographic art style. It's certainly not for everybody. But if you're looking for something simple and explorative, a touch psychological, with some light puzzle elements, then it might be for you.

It's an interesting artistic game that finishes quickly but completely. The photos are beautiful, but gameplay is mostly searching for hidden objects and learning all the gesture commands. It's not difficult for the most part, with only a few parts that require complicated navigation. Still, it is satisfying going from not having a clue to completing the basics to figuring out all the puzzles 100%. I'd recommend not using guides, for that reason. I completed in 2 hours, at most there is 3-4 hours of enjoyment here. I just wish that gameplay had more impact on the story and ending.

I got the game in a bundle long ago, but the game itself still holds up even being based on Flash. I'd recommend it at 40% off or better if you are into Artistic games, 65% or better if you just want a neat puzzler for a few hours.

I don't know why I keep on coming back to this rather short game. With four levels, each with four endings - one official and three alternative - and a set of 'colectables' (read: photos) to find, TRAUMA is short. So what is it about it which makes me come back? Is it the mechanics of actions which you can use to clear the levels? Or is it the story of someone who was caught in a car crash, and how the levels help explore her mind's state as she recovers?

This game is great. Without getting deep into it, this game captures a touching story that is somewhat left to interpretation. The gameplay isn't very exciting or great, but it doesn't take away from the experience or the story.

I would recommend this game to anyone who doesn't mind clicking around to hear a well made, emotional story.