Stories Untold

Stories Untold is a chilling adventure that manages to draw us right into its world through the ingenious use of its UI and perfectly realised lo-fi aesthetic. Through the walls of old technology and complicated machinery, it creates a uniquely strong bond between player and narrative, giving you a real sense of place within its world as it slowly corrupts and twists from the comfortingly familiar to something else entirely. It's one of the best interactive horror stories we've ever played and a perfect fit for enjoying alone in the dark on Switch.

Stories Untold is a very interesting and engaging horror title, building a huge story that taps into your imagination before expertly drawing that scope back in. A couple of puzzles don't quite stick the landing, but the game is engaging over its three hours.

Stories Untold is not a game for everyone; it's short length and limited interaction make it appear more like Black Mirror's Bandersnatch than most AAA titles. That comparison is not quite fair, because Stories Untold goes beyond what the player expects at every turn. Each chapter evolves and reveals a new layer of thought. There are many ways to tell a story, but Stories Untold could only be told this way.

Those issues aside, Stories Untold is a genuinely smart, immersive, and thoroughly creepy piece of work. It's the kind of story that could only ever be told in the medium of video games, and deserves a place in every gamer's library. Just maybe don't play it in the dark if you have a cat with a penchant for jumping on you.

Playing an 8-bit style text adventure on the Nintendo Switch is novelty enough but this inspired mix of weird horror and puzzle-solving is more than just a blast of ‘80s nostalgia.

The shocking and distinct storytelling in Stories Untold will stay with you long after you finish the rather short experience.

Control issues aside, I still wouldn’t say that Stories Untold is a bad game. Indeed, if you like emotionally heavy games with interesting, underutilized mechanics, you’ll get that here — you’ll just have to go in understanding that, without a mouse and keyboard, some of those mechanics don’t work the best.

With its retro ‘80s aesthetic and multiple different settings and dangers to deal with, Stories Untold is a very well put together horror game, despite its flaws. Every story is short, clocking in at just around 30-45 minutes each, which makes this the perfect game to pop on during an evening get together where your main goal is to spook your friends. The voice acting is also a high point, as each performance felt believable and different in a way that truly made me sink into each small world as I went. It’s not a perfect game or even a perfect port, all things considered, but if you like a good atmosphere and a well-told series of stories, then you should probably go and contradict this game’s title when you have the chance.

This version of Stories Untold is not the best - you'll miss the feeling of keyboard typing - but these stories are still worth hearing.