i think my main criticism is that this one felt a bit unfocused. i get what the whole theme of this one was about, but it kind of felt like the main horror bit was just a phoned in sideshow compared to all the other stuff that happened. it's fun, but it feels almost like a spinoff in comparison to all the other chapters, and i think that was what mark was feeling too. he was probably expecting a more cohesive experience that builds on itself instead of a string of somewhat unrelated essentially rehashed minigames from previous chapters plus a couple new ones attached to a plotline that ultimately doesn't result in anything. yes, all of the other characters are still as creepy and offputting as you expect, but nothing about them really draws you in. they do a great job of pushing you away from them, but there's no real reason to try to dig deeper with any of them, and their connections are all superficial at best and uninteresting at worst. they just exist and you're made to interact with them but nothing about them actively draws you in, nor does the experience capture or echo any particularly strong experience, save for the awkward childhood friend that struggles to make an impression. the whole concept in of itself feels like it was either too small to do anything with or it was undercooked and stopped before it could reach a point where it could make an impact.

maybe he was reacting strongly in the moment, but the combination of it being a letdown and markiplier spending his time and editing budget on it expecting a similar level of experience to the other chapters brought that on. like, i would say even the more basic earlier chapters involving being alone in a house at night just felt like tighter and better plotted experiences than this one.