Araya Review

Are you ready to solve puzzles that are complex and intricate, while, at the same time, playing a murder mystery suspense-drama, horror? Welcome to Araya, the rebirth of old-fashioned Resident Evil, Silent Hill like puzzles with lock and key. Did Araya kill herself or was someone else paid to do the dirty work? Far too often, when we hear about an individual going through manic bipolar depression, we want to leave them because we are unsure of how to handle their situation. Araya is best characterized as a strong heroine protagonist that later loses her fight through bipolar depression. People with bipolar depression normally experience a certain defined degree of Dissociative Identity Disorder characterized by mood swings, personality changes ( mental, physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual). They also typically experience what can be called ‘separation phobia.’ Separation phobia is the fear of being alone all the time with nobody that can help you, nor anyone that you can stay within contact.

Many people are looking for some of the basic needs of love based survival in our world. People experiencing any form of clinically based depression, need to be encouraged, reminded of all the positive memories, contributions, and joy they have given in their friendships and relationships. I found myself throughout my full playthrough of Araya relating emotionally, mentally, and spiritually toward two very specific and unique characters: Marisa and Araya. While Araya is the insider throughout the whole game, Marisa calls out to comfort her. Araya’s personality has altered to a new permanent conditional contingency. She is now angered and ready to hurt everyone pushing away her best friend Marisa who is trying her best to help her.

Now, Araya, has two natures, both a physical and divine nature. However, only her human nature is attached to her person since she is not a god. As a result, she manifests both as spirit and in her original human form with a ghostly appearance and presence. The presentation is where the game excels the most in the Thai hospital setting. It takes place in a couple buildings. The ‘ Old building’ as it is referenced to more commonly has engraved-grain textures on the hospital walls with old architectural pillars mimicking a psychiatric hospital atmosphere. The newer hospital, on the other hand, has fewer grain textures that are downgraded from the older building.

Newspaper articles and objects, paper drawings are collected to progress the story of the game. Language options are only available in Thai and English; keep this in mind. All newspaper articles generate a significant noise once picked up. Puzzle are straight-forward, while, the sequencing of doors opening are very Outlast oriented. Doors open after you collect the articles and drawings. All doors are scripted to unlock in a particular and peculiar order. The plot unfolds, likewise, of The Evil Within. There are plot holes and gaps throughout the whole Thai hospital journey towards uncovering Araya’s murder.

Three separate storylines are in Araya tying into different sections of the same area exactly like The Evil Within brought forward. Araya’s character model reminds me of Laura when Araya is in her divine, supernatural form. However, in her regular human appearance, Araya, is run-down, confused, and battling bipolar depression with suicidal tendencies. Thus, the story transitions in Marisa’s plotline through using the actions in the present-perfect combined with past-perfect. Her past actions are important to learn when she was happy, but now, she is angry and enraged by no fault of her own. All areas, we will see three times throughout the three separate plots of each separate protagonist in their relation to actions and events that took place with the connection of friendships, relationships.

Araya falls short in one aspect since it is a new game. There are many problems with lag in certain areas; achievements are glitched out. Movement is slow and unrealistic because it simply did not translate over well. During chase scenes, when you have to hurdle your way over patient beds, every character you play will fumble over it. It seems as if the crawling mechanic below desks and other objects is unstable filled to a breaking point because of lag imputation. This will not make a significant difference if the enemies approach slower. Most, however, you are only allowed to make a single mistake before you are caught ( i.e. Jit, Araya’s ghostly apparition, and the monster that moves like Laura from The Evil Within, although he cannot teleport.

I want to take a moment to discuss the content through the lens of religion and sociology. Araya from a purely objective religious lens works out well. While Araya is characterized by specific mainstream horror elements that are modern, its main focus will always be its suspenseful drama-thriller narrative. We are to solve a murder case of Araya while unlocking doorways finding all the keys to unlock the missing pieces towards the puzzle. What is this puzzle specifically? It is a puzzle all of us face in life; the questions we are left with in metaphysics within the field of eschatology: Who are we? What is our purpose placed on this earth? Why are we all here? What makes up the genotypes and phenotypes of our personality? Is there life after death?

All of these very detailed questions are answered throughout the suspense of the plotline. Missions is an extremely diverse and expedited cycle in many religions that are primarily concerned with enforcing culture, but not forcing others to assimilate into the amalgamation of an insider culture. Culture is the way in which others collective actions, behaviors, motives, and religious practices within a specific order of ethics determined as a collective is carried out. Araya exposes players to Thai culture, most, in whose followers of Thai culture practice Buddhism.

However, Hinduism is also a very deeply integrated influence. This is unique because, in my religious studies, I remember that Hinduist believe in one reality. They do not believe in separate subcultures and the United States principle of maintaining multiple identities in friendships, relationships. Duality is a concept rather stressed through polytheism, while monocism is a single conception and expression expressed in cultures rooted in India, Thailand, and other outskirts.

Sanuk is defined as an ideology of Thai that combines humor and happiness into emotion. Possibly, at the end of Araya, this is most apparent in an unforeseen practical joke that is played on us that comes very unexpectedly. Generally, the Thai people avoid public displays of emotion. Araya’s character is the embodiment of this keeping important secrets away from Araya in her past when the flashbacks occur. Rituals are conducted throughout the game to help communicate in shrines with spirits, the primary characteristics of prayer and reverence in Buddhism to help others cross over.

Araya is a religiously sound and culturally accurate first-person experience that is enthralling, intriguing, and captivating. Many of the sounds are in low production compared to the great synths in the most intense encounters in Araya. Many jump scares from a religious standpoint could have been removed as well as all the chase scenes that distract away from the majority of the suspense narrative. Furthermore, Araya has no potential squandered. It chooses to combine human friendships, relationships once again blending into something more promising that should, over time, be included in a two-way division of the horror genre, the malevolent, and then the more drama, suspense, plotlines, and positive elements of human interaction towards a goal of mending broken people and solving all of their problems.

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary PC code was provided to Brash Games for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to editor@brashgames.co.uk.