The Most Astray

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A giant museum stood before me, full of dangers lying within. The eerie museum looked over a dark forest in the middle of nowhere. I was filled with so many questions as I began to make my way through Astray. The character you play is the nephew of Professor Walker, who ran the Museum of the Supernatural. I couldn’t help but wonder what creepy monsters were waiting to kill me, not to mention if there was something larger at work here. On top of that, where was the uncle? I had a sneaking suspicion that the answer to that question in particular was better left unknown. My night of terror was about to begin and it was a night I would not soon forget.

(What could go wrong at this terrifying place?)

As I made my way into a strange basement with an electrically charged puddle, I realized something. -- this game was dark. I don’t necessarily mean in the sense of dark and messed up, but actually visually dark. I used several crates to cross the puddle and hit the power switch. The second I hit the switch, I was swept into darkness. Unable to see anything going on in my surroundings, I panicked. I rushed out of the basement blind as a bat when I realized, wait, I have a flashlight! I don’t know if I have actually played a game where I have had a harder time seeing, ever. To be honest, I found that this was one of the best subtle qualities of the game. Having absolute darkness around your flashlight gives an aspect of fear most horror games don’t produce.

(Hoping I don't get murdered)

I managed to make my way into the museum after my blinding misadventure. As I entered, some horrible noise emanated from within the building. I ran into a corner expecting the worst to happen, but alas, I was left unscathed. I made my way to some door that looked almost like a vault. It was lacking 3 keys, and of course there were 3 sections of the museum. Putting two and two together it seemed my path led to these exhibits of terror.

(i wonder what's behind this door..)

The first one I entered was an exhibit based on ancient Egypt. Unlike most museums, the whole section was set to be as though you were in a pyramid. I made my way deeper into the exhibit, eventually approaching a pyramid that looked to have a secret entrance. I had to hit a switch to enter the pyramid, leaving me with a time limit to get in before the entrance inevitably shut. This ended up leading me into a chamber with a sarcophagus inside. The only way to open it was to decipher what hieroglyphs I needed to use for a 3 part code. I had to match the correct images together that I ended up finding the code for in the next room over.

(How did they get this thing in here?)

After matching them I expected some terrible mummy creature to emerge from within the sarcophagus. To my surprise as it opened I realized there was nothing in it. After taking a closer look I managed to find a key lying within it. Now I was getting somewhere! Still unscathed, without a single terrifying encounter from whatever it was that wanted to kill me at this point in the game. I made my way back to the main area and put my key in the large vault door. One of the 3 key locks immediately opened, I started to think maybe I couldn’t die in this game. As I made my way to the next exhibit for Demonology, I would soon realize I couldn’t have been more wrong.

(Ooo a key!)

I made my way into a room that was something out of some satanic ritual. There were skulls, weird glyphs on the floor, and lit torches of course. I managed to go through a hidden door in one of the giant skulls. As I made my way down the narrow set of stairs within it, I thought I saw something move at the exit of the passage. Being the fearless thrill seeker that I am, I decided what better idea than to investigate what this was, and possibly die a horrible death. As I turned the corner, a green lit up arrow pointed towards a dark passage. I of course followed the cool symbol left for me, “Nothing bad will happen if I go down there, it’s not pointing the way to my demise or something like that,” I said to myself as I made my way into the labyrinth of death.

(Looks like some strange stuff has been going on since I was last here)

I followed a few arrows and as I turned a corner, I saw it. Some grotesque monster stood before me. It resembled a person, but a person with no face and rotting flesh. As this happened a notification popped up, “Don’t shine your flashlight at enemies,” “Wow, thanks game!” I exclaimed as the creature let out a roar. I turned and hightailed it out of there. I could hear it stomping behind me, hot on my trail. I eventually ran into a dead end. All I could do was turn around in horror as the creature turned the corner and sprinted towards me. I screamed as it grabbed my character and proceeded to what appeared to be stabbing him to death.

(I thought I saw something move...)

I found Astray to be a truly scary game, and a worthwhile playthrough. It caused several adrenaline rushes and had several puzzles to solve, which are always one of my favorite additions to horror games. I really enjoyed the notes scattered throughout the map, revealing pieces to what I found to be an interesting plot. It takes you on a bizarre journey through twists and turns with many scares to have along the way. I am a horror game fanatic but the ones like Astray are always the ones that really capture my attention. It’s more than just jumpscares -- it’s a captivating adventure that has more to it than just fear, it has an interesting story to discover along the way.