But as history has shown us, a video game platform needs strong exclusive games to reel in an audience. 21 out of the 22 Stadia launch games have been available on other platforms for months if not years, though there is one exclusive game available for Stadia Founder's Edition purchasers, and that is the stealth-horror game Gylt from Tequila Works. But there are other entries in the genre that accomplish more with less, and it makes GYLT - a perfectly functional and overall effective game - pale in comparison.Google Stadia represents Google's attempt to break into the triple-A video game industry, giving players the option to stream blockbuster hits like Red Dead Redemption 2, Destiny 2, and Mortal Kombat 11 to basically any device that can get an Internet connection. As it stands, it's a welcome introduction to younger players interested in the horror/survival genre, with an affecting story and a good sense of atmosphere. There's nothing necessarily actively wrong with GYLT, but it lacks the depth that could elevate it to something special. But across the board, there's a somewhat shallow feeling to everything that detracts from the finished product. The soundtrack and the family-friendly horror visuals do a lot of stylistic heavy lifting while players sneak their way through tricky situations. GYLT clearly has something it wants to say about isolation, bullying, and more than anything the guilt that can be felt in surviving - or avoiding - either. The gameplay itself can sometimes fall into that old adventure game trick of just being just broad enough to justify a strategy of just walking in circles and pressing everything the player can get their hands on. The game handles well enough, and the world itself is intuitive enough to keep the players advancing at a decent clip. It's ultimately a somewhat basic survival story, with players given tasks, stealth missions, and environmental puzzles that must be solved to advance the plot. There's a little genuine challenge in GYLT outside of the inherent tension of exploration in a horror game, and this ends up leaving it less frightening and memorable as a result. However, the game's focus on not being too disturbing or difficult ends up undercutting itself, as the challenges aren't that hard, and outright outrunning threats when exposed remains a viable option for much of the game. It's reminiscent of the combat in something like Silent Hill, where the characters' failings come across as a deliberate design choice to reinforce the tension of encounters. It fits within the game's already-established mechanics of exploring darkened hallways with nothing but a flashlight for protection and is a clever way to avoid some of the more questionable aspects of providing a young girl with a lethal weapon. Although they're dangerous enough to offer a real threat to Sally, players eventually find ways to use her flashlight and fire extinguishers as weapons to overwhelm and even destroy them. The game's neatest tweaks on the mechanics come with the ways players can combat the creatures. The monsters themselves aren't too frightening or grisly, but they add to the game's overall atmosphere of child-friendly horror. Gylt's gameplay is fairly straightforward horror survival, tasking players with exploring dangerous areas and avoiding enemies. The plot is fine enough, if a little underbaked to accommodate the younger players whom the game was clearly designed for. It's effectively a Silent Hill-style adventure for younger audiences, exposing the main character's lingering dark history with a desperate attempt to survive a spooky scenario. The slightly cartoonish art style helps to underscore its youthful perspective. Sally and Emily's relationship slowly unfolds across the game, revealing a surprisingly heartfelt and somber adolescent story. From a storytelling perspective, the short but to-the-point GYLT is mainly focused on its titular emotion and the impact it has on its central character.
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