Don't underestimate this experience
Graphics
This is a game that is done in black and white and the background and foreground is basically made up of silhouettes. This game is far from busting with state of the art graphics, but it works very well. The eyes of your protagonist glows white apart from when he blinks. The graphical style certainly creates a very compelling atmosphere and compliments the game extremely well.
Occasionally I came across a few jumping sequences where the platform was not always visible because it was the same colour as the background or foreground, but these are very few and far between and overall the style certainly doesn't create any distractions or frustrations.
Sound
Like the graphics, this dept is very basic. Infact its even more scaled back than the graphics because there is hardly any sounds at all. You may hear some eerie music from time to time, the sound of an elevator going up and down or a spider coming towards you, but that's it. However, like in the graphics, the simple style suits the game and it certainly won't bother you.
Gameplay
In terms of story, well, there isn't one. You wake up in a strange and rather hostile surrounding and you encounter puzzles, the occasional human that tries to poison you with a dart or perhaps a giant spider trying to skewer you. You aren't told why you are there or what the purpose is. However, continuing the theme from the sound and graphics, you accept the simple premise and idea of the game because of the atmosphere. The atmosphere and the puzzles is what makes this game so compelling. Well, that and the fact that this poor boy dies in many gruesome ways. You can be skewered with a spider leg, crushed, drowned, poisoned, decapitated, its a long list of deaths that await you. Luckily though, the re-spawn point after each death is very forgiving, so this cuts down on the frustration level.
As previously mentioned, the puzzles are the star of this game aswell. Some are simple and some can be head scratchers. But I do consider them to be rather clever and original.
The controls have also been simplified. There are two buttons, jump and action (to pull levers or press buttons) and the left analogue stick. That's it.
Final Thoughts
For a game so simplified in all areas, its an idea that works well. It doesn't last very long however. I completed it in about 4 hours and I found the ending slightly, well, strange. But as there are many achievements dotted around the game and easy access to the various chapters to replay, I found myself going back to it.
If someone handed you a game and said it's all black and white, no sound, no story and 2 buttons, you probably wouldn't jump at the chance. But you'd be wrong to underestimate this game. For the price and experience, it's definitely worth a look