Shady Brook will probably interest gamers who enjoy conversations in adventure games more than those who love puzzle solving. Although the puzzles in the game were fun, there weren't that many of them and you spend a good deal of time locating people and having conversations with them. Shady Brook is also not a game for people who demand the latest eye candy. I also would not recommend it to those with hearing difficulties because of the lack of subtitles. As to the quality of the story, I did not find it as original or interesting as the story in Lifestream. But most adventure gamers who have posted about Shady Brook at adventure game forums so far seem to have enjoyed the story.

As the story unfolded in Shady Brook, I began to realize that this was more than just a mystery game. Yes, there were eerie things about this shady town, but implications of the goings-on didn’t “settle in” until I was deep in the game and realized that it was veering into sheer horror. Somehow, because I wasn’t prepared (nobody rattled chains, or otherwise prepared me to be terrified), the shock of events at game’s end really shook me up. I found that the level of detail in the “Censored” mode was more than enough to send shivers of fear and loathing down my spine. Even on “Censored” mode, this is definitely not a game for children or for those with tender sensibilities.
I replayed Shady Brook in “Uncensored” mode and I felt that the additional nudity and the even more graphic depictions of events near the end actually detracted from the game. In “Censored” mode, with these scenes missing, the game’s story overall was more balanced. In a game that explored the difficult concept that heroes aren’t always heroic, and that religion can be exploited to excuse evil, the additional gut-wrenching material threatened to overwhelm the game’s redemptive theme. I think that leaving some things up to the gamer’s imagination was ultimately more effective.
Sometimes less really is more.
The ending in Shady Brook is fairly ambiguous. On “Censored” mode, I was certain that the ending was redemptive. Replaying on “Uncensored” mode, I was no longer so sure. This brings up the question – is “Censored” versus “Uncensored” merely leaving certain things out? Or is “Censored” versus “Uncensored” (at least in a game like Shady Brook) an exploration of alternate realities? If so, hand me my rose-colored glasses – I choose to live in a world where courage and self-sacrifice are rewarded.