We learned how to protect ourselves
But we knew we couldn't survive anyway...
And so eerily begins The Fog Fall, the newly released point-and-click adventure from Pastel Games and Mateusz Skutnik, creator of favorites such as the Submachine series, Covert Front and Daymare Town. You are an unnamed, unknown survivor of a nuclear holocaust, eking out a meager existence with your family in a bomb shelter-like house, struggling against the inevitable knowledge of your own impending mortality. A lonely life, really, sadly mundane. Until, one night, you wake up with a strange feeling in your belly, and look out to see the house surrounded by fog....
This is a fantastically atmospheric game. Mateusz has proven himself to be a master at creating wonderfully creepy, claustrophobic environments that lend themselves perfectly to the deeply enigmatic nature of his stories; with Mateusz, finishing a game is generally less of an "escape" and more of an entry into a new cage. Maybe more than any of his other creations, The Fog Fall, with its references to the Cuban Missile Crisis and the 1950's gone awry, meshes beautifully with Mateusz's style. It is a vision of an alternate outcome of a frightening, uncertain time; even more than half a century later it, to be frank, gives me the jibblies.
Play the entire Fog Fall series:
Analysis: The Fog Fall plays much like Mateusz's previous offerings; same graphical style, same spare soundtrack and ambient noise, same largely code- and machine-based puzzles. Basically, it feels almost exactly like playing another Submachine. And hey, who am I to complain about that? I'm a fan of the tried-and-true Murtaugh style, and if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Also like the Submachine series, however, I did feel at times that The Fog Fall requires unintuitive leaps of logic (though, judging by how quickly some JIG readers have pulled together walkthroughs, that might be a personal failing). I'm all for thinking outside of the box, but a few of the game's puzzles had me using the unfortunate "try everything with everything until something happens" method. Although, now that I think about it, perhaps a certain amount of frustration is integral to the full Murtaugh experience? He wants us to empathize with the games' protagonists!
Despite any minor criticisms, The Fog Fall is another excellent, good-looking, entertaining production. With story by Karol Konwerski, the artwork of Maciej Palka, music by Brian Wohlgemuth, and programming by the game master himself, Mateusz Skutnik, all the pieces are in place for yet another fantastic escape game experience, as well as an entirely new series of games not to be missed.
Escape the, um, apocalypse:
Walkthrough Guide
(Please allow page to fully load for spoiler tags to be functional.)
Walkthrough (narrative version)
I was sick of hiding out in the fallout shelter. I knew I'd have to leave whether I wanted to or not. The problem was that I didn't know where anything was hidden, so I had to look around...
I stood on the second underground level. A spiral staircase in front of me led up to the first level, but before I used it I turned right and investigated the supply closet. In a box along the left wall I found a gear, and in another along the right wall I discovered a wrench.
Next, I turned left and entered the bathroom. I nabbed a tube of toothpaste off the shelf on the left, and a bottle of poison off the shelf on the right. I also found a first-aid kit behind the tub, and inside was a strip of adhesive plaster. I figured I might need it.
I took a step into the hall behind the staircase, and noted the cabinet on the wall. I couldn't open the lock on it, so I applied some toothpaste followed by some poison, and the lock melted off in a jiffy. A single key awaited me inside.
I ignored the bedroom and kitchen for the moment, instead heading up the stairs to the first level. An odd set of markings on the right wall read "Z - 2285". On my left were three doors, one barred up by bricks. Beside it was a panel with lots of wires sticking out, and I discovered a pack of matches behind it.
Backing away from the brick door, I headed through the door to the right of it, and found myself in a study. I used the key from the cabinet to unlock the drawer, and found a console of some sort. I also found another key in the wastebasket (who throws keys away?). To the left was an observation room, but I didn't go in for the moment. I had to power up the place first.
I returned to the second level and headed straight ahead to the bedroom. The wastebasket key opened a drawer, exposing a chain. With that and the gear in hand, I returned to the stairwell and climbed a ladder down to the third level, where I attached the sprocket and the chain to the appropriate spots and powered up the shelter with a bit of bicycling.
After that, I returned to the first level observation room (left, then left again from the staircase), nabbed an audio tape from the knitting basket on the floor, and plugged it into the tape player on the right wall, but all I heard was the beginning of the President's speech about watching Cuba. Disappointed, I then plugged the console into the nearby wall panel, and entered the code from the wall earlier: 2285. This revealed a periscope through which I could assess the aboveground scene, and a number 19 in the corner of my view.
I instantly remembered a newspaper on the floor of the second level. Someone had doodled "76 FIRST" in the margin. On the first level, I turned right from the staircase, and opened the cabinet with the code 7619 (which I followed by pressing E for enter). I put on the radiation suit, then slapped the plaster onto the mask and put it on as well.
But I wasn't ready to leave just yet. I headed to the kitchen, which I accessed by turning left right before the bedroom on the second level. I used the wrench to turn on the burner below the grate, then lit the gas with the matches. The heat broke the grate, after which I turned the burner off and nabbed a piece of metal from the broken grate. I felt like I needed it.
And I did. After I went through the exit door (straight ahead from the staircase on the first level), I couldn't open the door beyond it because the lever's handle had broken off. No problem: I fitted in the piece of metal and was out in no time.
We were always afraid of the A bomb...
Posted by: SonicLover
|
April 23, 2008 11:18 AM
Hey, I think I'm going to get to write a walkthrough! I actually figured out a game on my own.
Walkthrough (normal version)
Pick up the newspaper and note the number to the side.
Go left to the bathroom and click on the medicine cabinet at the left. Pick up the toothpaste.
Click on the third shelf of the shelving and pick up the bottle marked Toxic.
See the white bit sticking out from behind the tub? Click on it. Click on the lid to the emergency kit and then pick up the sticky plaster.
Go back out to the staircase and then to the right into the storage room. Click on the file box on the top center shelf and get the wrench.
Click on the box on the middle shelf on the left and get the sprocket.
Go back to the staircase and go forward. Use the paste on the box on the right wall.
Use the toxic stuff on the box on the right wall.
Click on the box and get the small key.
We'll come back to the two rooms later. Back out to the staircase and go up.
There's something written on the wall to the right of the door. Click on it and make note of the numbers.
Go left and then forward. Click just above the exposed wires. See the brown box sticking out? Click on it and take the matches.
Go right into the office. Click on the trashcan and take the rusty key.
Click on the desk and look at how to make the generator. You can click on the poster above the desk, too, but I never did figure out what it was for.
Use the small key on the center desk drawer. Take the console.
Go back to the brick wall and exposed wires and then go left into the library.
Click on the posters.
Click on the basket on the floor and take the tape.
Back out to the stairs and go down one floor.
Go forward twice into the bedroom. Use the rusty key on the nightstand and take the chain. You can also look at the poster over the bed.
Go back to the hallway and then left into the kitchen. Use the wrench on the gas tank.
Use the matches on the gas tank until the grate above it gets red then click on the knob to turn the gas off. Take the piece of metal from the grate.
Go back to the stairs and go down. Put the sprocket under the large gear.
Put the chain on the bike. Now you've got electricity!
Go back up the stairs and then up again. Go left and then left again into the library.
Put the tape in the tape player and click on it. Push play and listen. You can rewind and listen again if you'd like.
Hook the console up to the panel with the red dot. Click on the console and type in the numbers you saw on the wall...2285.
Look in the periscope and note the number in the lower right corner.
Go back out to the stairs and right into the room with the space suit. Click on the number pad on the door. Remember the number from the newspaper? What did it say? 76 first. Type in 76. Then what were the numbers from the periscope? 19. Type that in and then e.
Take the suit, and mask. Wait, you need to fix the mask. Use the sticky plaster on the mask and then take it. Now you're ready to leave, right?
Go out to the stairs and then forward. Click the handle on the door.
Go forward and click on the door. You need a lever. You don't have one, but you do have that handy piece of metal. Put it in the holes on the right.
Click the lever and leave!
Posted by: agrwife
|
April 23, 2008 12:02 PM
Here is a Hint-Through! This is for those who want some help, not explicit instructions. If you need a gentle nudge, you should be able to jump in here and get help till you're back on track. If you're an instant gratification seeker, go for one of the traditional walkthroughs.
General Tips
As always with a Mateusz game, it's good to go explore and get the lay of the land, to try and understand where you are and why. Pick up everything you can for your inventory. Examine closely any item you can. Take note of any numbers or markings that might useful later. Take note of any locked locks.
Exploring the Bottom Floor
Broken-down bicycle. Right, that was exciting. Next!
Exploring the Middle Floor
On the Landing
Check out that newspaper.
And there seem to be various switches and gadgets around here too, huh?
In the Pantry (to the right of stairs)
Examine everything, of course.
You should take two things away from this room.
They are in boxes.
It's a wrench and a sprocket.
In the Bathroom (to the left of stairs)
You should take three things away from this room.
Two are in cabinets.
One item is in something, and that something is behind something else.
You should get toothpaste, a bottle of poison, and a sticking plaster from the first aid kit.
The first aid kit is behind the bathtub.
In the Hallway (forward past the stairs)
You can't really take anything here, but you can observe things.
Like that locked cabinet on the wall.
In the Kitchen (to the left off the Hallway)
There isn't anything you can pick up here.
But it probably wouldn't be in the game if there wasn't something to do here at some point, huh?
Kitchens can be pretty useful, what with the utilities and the heat and all.
In the Bedroom (forward through the Hallway)
You can't really take anything here, but you can observe things, and remember them for later.
Like that locked drawer.
Exploring the Top Floor
On the Landing
Couple of "noticeable" things here.
That handle stands out, doesn't it?
And what's that on the wall?
On the upper right?
In the Hallway with the Metal Door (forward past the landing)
Okay, so this is where you might make your escape...
...but for that pesky radiation.
In the "Dressing Room" (to the right of stairs)
That suit could be useful, if not for all this unpowered gadgetry. Where can you get some electricity?
In the Hallway with the Brick Door (to the left of stairs)
Is that a door from which you might escape?
Doubtful. But it's noteworthy.
Well, that weird panel of wires is, anyway.
Did you examine it very closely?
Find something you could take away?
Like a box of matches?
In the Room with the Chair (to the left of brick door)
Lots to ponder here.
The pictures tie together, and give you serious clues as to what is supposed to happen in here.
There's an item to pick up in this room.
Or, is it to actually be used here?
Hm, where would you put a tape...
...in that tape machine on the right wall, maybe?
Better figure out how to make that machine run. There seem to be lots of places in this shelter where electricity would come in handy.
In the Office (to the right of brick door)
Interesting drawing on the desk. What does it remind you of?
Maybe something you've seen before?
So maybe the broken-down bicycle downstairs was more than met the eye?
And the drawing is titled..."Generator"?
Oh, look... there's another locked drawer.
Nice if there were a key nearby.
You didn't really think the key to the lock would be in the same room, did you? ;)
Interesting diagram on the wall. Looks like maybe a map of the place?
Solving Your Problems (You know, other than the nuclear winter outside.)
So, you've got that key.
There are three locks on which you could try it.
And you already know the lock in the room where you found the key is a no-go.
So, try the others.
They're both on the middle floor, in case you forgot.
It's either the cabinet in the hallway, or the drawer in the bedroom.
So now you've got a chain.
Looks like a very specific sort of chain, eh?
Like a bicycle chain.
So you've got the bicycle chain on the bicycle. What else would improve the operations here?
Use that sprocket in your inventory to replicate the drawing you saw upstairs.
"Let there be light!" Go see what effect your electricity has had.
Sometimes, a John F. Kennedy speech about Cuba is just a John F. Kennedy speech about Cuba.
So, you've got a wrench.
Wrenches are used to loosen tightened things, or tighten loosened things.
Have you spotted any handles you couldn't turn? Or screws loose? or loose valves that needed tightening?
Try the kitchen.
Try the gas tank under the stove.
But as everyone knows, you can't just leave a gas tank to emit vapors into the room. What would you do after turning the gas stove on?
Use your matches.
So, now you've burned some metal and ruined the stove. Well done.
Here's where logic ends and random application begins.
I'm sorry to say that the game goes a bit illogical here, so the hints might seem a little nose-leading from this point forward.
You've still got two locks to be unlocked.
One of them isn't just a keyhole: it's an actual lock. But it's really rusty, so even if you had a key, it wouldn't work.
How to get a jammed lock off? You could break it somehow. But you don't have a way to use force.
You could shoot it with a gun; that's what they do on TV, anyway. But you don't have a gun.
You could try to clean it or pop it with some acidic solution.
Notice I didn't say, "but."
You've got some chemicals at hand, don't you?
Toothpaste + toxic = lock melting.
I have no idea either.
But at least now, you've got a proper key.
So, you've got that key.
And there's only one lock left.
It's on the top floor.
In the office.
We know what to with keypads, don't we?
But with the wires... surely it's to plug into something. Where are the rooms with gadgets that seem to need more operation?
The console is pictured in a diagram somewhere.
It's the left drawing in the room with the chair.
What else do we know from the drawing? That the red light should be green.
Try one of the codes you've got lying around.
Here's a hint: the code was accompanied by a tiny picture to indicate where it should be used.
You might have thought it was a letter Z, but it wasn't.
The code 2285 from the top floor landing.
Periscopes are sweet.
Looks green and noxious out there, huh? But what else did the periscope yield?
It's on the view finder.
It's another code. Hang on to it.
So, you've got some numbers floating around here. And a significant keypad yet to be unlocked.
The keypad on the radiation suit closet requires a 4-digit code.
Play around with the ones you've got. There are some numbers from the third drawing in the periscope room... the 19 from the periscope... the "76 first" from the newspaper.
It's 7619.
Oh, and "e". Probably for "enter."
As Barney would say, "SUIT UP!"
Yikes, torn mask. Can't you repair it?
Can you bail now? Out of your comfy shelter and into the nuclear fallout?
Still looks like a "no."
You need a lever. And you're out of inventory.
There's that metal grate you burnt earlier in the kitchen.
Even though you needed a wrench to turn on the gas, you can turn it off with your hand.
When the metal cools, grab a piece. Good luck out there!
Posted by: pineapple
|
April 23, 2008 5:22 PM