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Community Playthrough #28: Gray Matter
Never heard of the game, but if JJ made it I am sure it can’t be half bad.
I just need to get it from Steam and commandeer the computer, then I’m in.
It’s 60% off in Steam now, only 4$.
Yep, I noticed - it must be fate. 
Happy gaming!
I don’t know if it’s fate….when we decided to play IHNMAIMS in one of our previous playthroughs, the game just got announced on GOG….and in an even older playthrough, when we decided to play AVS, the Kickstarter for AVS: year 1 was announced….
Surely, someone watches these playthroughs….
Surely, someone watches these playthroughs….
Looks like this one particular playthrough EVERYONE is watching, and that’s all they do! Come on people, I want to hear your starting impressions! 
Is anyone else reminded, the way the things unfold and with the mysterious host, of the movie Rebecca?
Recently finished: Four Last Things 4/5, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout 5/5, Chains of Satinav 3,95/5, A Vampyre Story 88, Sam Peters 3/5, Broken Sword 1 4,5/5, Broken Sword 2 4,3/5, Broken Sword 3 85, Broken Sword 5 81, Gray Matter 4/5\nCurrently playing: Broken Sword 4, Keepsake (Let\‘s Play), Callahan\‘s Crosstime Saloon (post-Community Playthrough)\nLooking forward to: A Playwright’s Tale
Come on people, I want to hear your starting impressions!
I want to hear them too, but I bet most of the participants want to share their views after the first chapter, or at least after some minor progression in the game. 
Is anyone else reminded, the way the things unfold and with the mysterious host, of the movie Rebecca?
Hmmm. Fair enough. I won’t call that spoileristic. Strangely, I haven’t seen this movie. Perhaps however you should repost it after we play Dr. Styles…
Yep, I noticed - it must be fate.
From what I can tell, “fate” is one of the game’s themes. For instance, Angela mentions it in her first conversation with Sam.
I had questions about this game’s characters after I finished it the first time, and I’m hoping to answer some of them on this second playthrough. I’m hesitating to discuss these ideas now, though, because even the questions themselves are significant spoilers. I can use spoiler tags, of course, but this early in a playthrough—is it possible to give too much away, even behind a spoiler tag? Should I wait until later in the playthrough?
I’m also aiming to get all the bonus points this time through, many of which I missed the first time.
Diego—yes, there are similarities to the film Rebecca. Though the heroine in Rebecca is very different than Sam, as is the housekeeper. Gray Matter and Rebecca are alike in the mysterious, aristocratic host, the enormous mansion, and the creepy atmosphere. They both ask the question (though it’s answered in a different way): in what ways can the dead continue to be present amidst the living?
See, I’ve done it already!
Impressions after finishing the first chapter:
I like the way Oxford is depicted and wish there was more opportunity to explore. If I want to go anywhere off the main game path, Sam just says she doesn’t have time or something similar. Maybe some of those areas will become available later in the game. Maybe not.
Sam seems to be somthing of a con artist the way she tricks the students into volunteering for the experiment. But I liked how she got herself a raise by turning Dr. Stiles’ own words back on him. Serves him right.
During the experiment, I couldn’t tell whether the volunteers were being bombarded with some sort of weird radiation or whether Dr. Stiles was simply recording their brainwaves while they listened to his voice. There seemed to be some sort of event taking place at the location Dr. Stiles was describing, but it wasn’t clear what it was.
The Daedalus “scavenger hunt” is sort of a fun side quest. I can’t tell if it will ever have anything to do the main plot, which I assume is about Dr. Stiles’ experiments considering the title of the game.
I thought the beginning of the game was heart felt. I wanted something good to happen to Sam and the cut scenes explained the situation well.
Overall, the first chapter introduced the characters and game mechanics well and the story I though was off to a good start.
I enjoy playing adventure games on my Alienware M17 r4 and my Nintendo Switch OLED.
First chapter finished - it was short! I want to play more - boo hoo.
I’m intrigued by the game, but I’m not blown way (yet).
The plot looks interesting enough, but there are already a few aspects that makes it hard for me to apply suspension of disbelief - such as the traveling pet rabbit?! Where did she keep it on the bike?
Also, I’m not sure I totally grasped how Sam came to be mistaken for the assistant in the first place - what happened to the other girl we saw at the door? I’m a bit confuzzled - the cutscenes were a bit too static for my taste.
All in all, I feel like I need a bit more background info on Sam especially to make her an interesting character to play.
Gameplay-wise, I find the game rather easy - almost too much so. When you don’t even have to guess what action you need to take, but the cursor simply tells you whether it’s time for a magic trick or conversation or interaction, it gives a very linear feel.
This doesn’t bother me too much as long as the plot carries the game, which I’m not quire sure yet that it does.
The graphics are beautiful! And the voice acting good. Inventory is a bit annoying to use, but I think it takes getting used to.
Like a previous poster, I too enjoyed the Daedelus treasure-hunt-subplot - I hope this seeming side-plot will turn into something more solid in the story and not just be a puzzle for the sake of puzzle.
The final cutscene of the experiment will hopefully lead up to something interesting happening - again, I was left with a slightly disappointed feeling of wanting more. Reactions from the test subjects especially - but maybe that comes in chapter 2.
All in all, I’m fairly happy with the game so far, but I do hope it moves along more quickly and that the chapters get both longer and more complex.
Yeah, so this ended up much like a review. Not sure if you guys usually do this in CPs, but frankly I can’t find much to discuss about the plot yet.
Happy gaming!
Started the game finally, played for about 1h30, nice environments to explore in Oxford, the story sounds intriguing but it’s still too early. The animations of the characters are kind slow and the interface clunky but nothing game-breaking.
Reminded me of:
The plot looks interesting enough, but there are already a few aspects that makes it hard for me to apply suspension of disbelief - such as the traveling pet rabbit?! Where did she keep it on the bike?
Especially such a big one.
You could make a lot of stew with something like that.
Also, I’m not sure I totally grasped how Sam came to be mistaken for the assistant in the first place - what happened to the other girl we saw at the door?
A bat flew in the girl’s face and she freaked and ran off. She was already spooked by the look of the house and the thunderstorm—like something out of a horror movie. The bat was too much for her. Sam had heard the girl rehearsing what she was going to say when the door opened, and used the same words.
The plot looks interesting enough, but there are already a few aspects that makes it hard for me to apply suspension of disbelief - such as the traveling pet rabbit?! Where did she keep it on the bike?
According to Sam, in her backpack. I suppose that’s why it is a mess in there!
Finished the chapter, not a lot to add, Phantom of the Opera doctor clearly has a big trauma that is reason for the experiments but it’s too soon to uncover stuff.
The magic tricks mini-games remind me of deduction stuff in Moebius (along with the other features like the music of course).
The plot looks interesting enough, but there are already a few aspects that makes it hard for me to apply suspension of disbelief - such as the traveling pet rabbit?! Where did she keep it on the bike?
According to Sam, in her backpack. I suppose that’s why it is a mess in there!
Houdini was a victim of animal abuse - traveling in a backpack at a rainy night (and I don’t know where she’d fit the cage).
.
Also, I’m not sure I totally grasped how Sam came to be mistaken for the assistant in the first place - what happened to the other girl we saw at the door?
A bat flew in the girl’s face and she freaked and ran off. She was already spooked by the look of the house and the thunderstorm—like something out of a horror movie. The bat was too much for her. Sam had heard the girl rehearsing what she was going to say when the door opened, and used the same words.
I was under the impression Sam created that illusion of the bat to scare the girl so she can take her place and stay in the house, but maybe is was just a coincidence or… destiny!
The plot looks interesting enough, but there are already a few aspects that makes it hard for me to apply suspension of disbelief - such as the traveling pet rabbit?! Where did she keep it on the bike?
Especially such a big one.
You could make a lot of stew with something like that.Also, I’m not sure I totally grasped how Sam came to be mistaken for the assistant in the first place - what happened to the other girl we saw at the door?
A bat flew in the girl’s face and she freaked and ran off. She was already spooked by the look of the house and the thunderstorm—like something out of a horror movie. The bat was too much for her. Sam had heard the girl rehearsing what she was going to say when the door opened, and used the same words.
Heh yeah, the graphics are a bit wonky - like when Sam carries it to the cage, and it looks like she’s just holding it by the ears.
Ahhhh, now I understand about the first assistant! I totally missed the bat part. To me it looked like she was kidnapped, because suddenly she looked terrified and then the car door slammed and it sped away.
It makes more sense now.
Happy gaming!
The plot looks interesting enough, but there are already a few aspects that makes it hard for me to apply suspension of disbelief - such as the traveling pet rabbit?! Where did she keep it on the bike?
She’s a magician. It’s maagiiic!
As far as what spooked the real assistant off, we’ve had quite a lengthy discussion about it somewhere at some point… I have been under the impression it’s actually a plastic bag that’s flying around, but because she is spooked by the weather and most importantly the bad rumors about dr. Styles, when something (i.e. the plastic bag, but she doesn’t know it) suddenly strikes her in her face, she panics. (As was suggested before, only replace bat with bag )
This is my impression.
Oh! Oh! At this time, it’s a good moment to ask if people are aware of this short story Jane wrote about Sam before the events of Gray Matter? ... Of course right now I forgot what it’s called and where it can be found but I’ll go google and I’m pretty sure I’ll find it quickly. Edit to follow…
(Edit): Here we go. It’s a Christmas story from ‘08, “Twas the Night Before”. It was on her Gray Matter blog, but of course that site, as well as the original game website are now down, so you can’t find them there anymore. Luckily at least Kotaku has it on their website. So, here you go:
http://kotaku.com/5113149/jane-jensens-christmas-story-twas-the-night-before
About Sam alone in Rome on Christmas Eve. It’s a nice peek into the character of Sam.
Oh! Oh! At this time, it’s a good moment to ask if people are aware of this short story Jane wrote about Sam before the events of Gray Matter? ... Of course right now I forgot what it’s called and where it can be found but I’ll go google and I’m pretty sure I’ll find it quickly. Edit to follow…
(Edit): Here we go. It’s a Christmas story from ‘08, “Twas the Night Before”. It was on her Gray Matter blog, but of course that site, as well as the original game website are now down, so you can’t find them there anymore. Luckily at least Kotaku has it on their website. So, here you go:
http://kotaku.com/5113149/jane-jensens-christmas-story-twas-the-night-before
About Sam alone in Rome on Christmas Eve. It’s a nice peek into the character of Sam.
That was great!! Thanks!! 
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