It’s October already, the spookiest month of the year! So, I thought I’d compile a list of all the ‘Horror’, ‘Thriller’, ‘Mystery’ and ‘Spooky’ games which we’ve created reviews for over the years. If you’re looking for something to play this month, why not check out the below titles and see if any tickle your fancy?!

Also stay tuned as I’ve put aside a bunch of terrifying games which I’ve not yet got around to reviewing, all of which I’m planning to complete and publish articles on throughout October.

A Chair in a Room: Greenwater (PSVR) Review

A Plague Tale: Requiem (PS5) Review

AKIBA'S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed (PS5) Review | via PS4 BC

Alan Wake Remastered (PS5) Review

Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo (PC) Review

Back in 1995 (PS4, PS Vita) Review

Bendy and the Ink Machine (PS4) Review

Black Mirror (PS4) Review

Blair Witch: Oculus Quest Edition (Oculus Quest 2) Review

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (PS4) Review

Call of Cthulhu (Nintendo Switch) Review

Call of Cthulhu (PS4) Review

Castlevania Anniversary Collection (PS4) Review

Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood (PS4) Review

Clea (Nintendo Switch) Review

Close to the Sun (PC) Review

Close to the Sun (PS4) Review

Conarium (PS4) Review

Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View (PC) Review

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (PS4) Review

Dark Nights with Poe and Munro (PC) Review

Dark Nights with Poe and Munro (PS5) Review | via PS4 BC

Dead Secret (PS4, PSVR) Review

Dead Secret Circle (PC - Steam) Review

Death Road to Canada (PS4) Review

Death Stranding (PC) Review

Deliver Us The Moon (PC) Review

Deliver Us The Moon (PS4) Review

Detention (PS4) Review

Dollhouse (PS4) Review

DOOM Eternal (PS4) Review

Doom VFR (PSVR) Review

Draugen (PC- Steam) Review

Draugen (PS4) Review

Edna & Harvey: Harvey's New Eyes (PS4) review

Edna & Harvey: The Breakout - Anniversary Edition (PC) Review

Edna & Harvey: The Breakout – Anniversary Edition (PS4) Review

Emily Wants to Play Too (PS4) Review

Flipping Death (PS4) Review

Friday the 13th: The Game (PS4) Revisited Review

Friday the 13th: The Game Ultimate Slasher Edition (Nintendo Switch) Review

Happy's Humble Burger Farm (PS5) Review | via PS4 BC

Hello Neighbor (PS4) Review

Hellpoint (PS4) Review

Home Sweet Home (PS4 and PSVR) Review

Injection π 23 ‘No name No number’ (PS4) Review

Into the Dead 2 (Switch) Review

Intruders: Hide and Seek (PS4, PSVR) Review

Jessika (PC) Review

Killing Floor 2 [Killing Floor: Double Feature] (PS4) Review

Killing Floor: Incursion [Killing Floor: Double Feature] (PSVR) Review

Layers of Fear 2 (PS4) Review

Little Nightmares II [2] (PS5) Review | via PS4 BC

Lucius III [3] (PC) Review

MachiaVillain (PC) Review

Maid of Sker (PS4) Review

Maid of Sker (PS5) Review

Martha Is Dead (PS5) Review

Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition (PS5) Update Review

Moons of Madness (PS4) Review

Murder Mystery Machine (PS5) Review | via PS4 BC

Neversong (PS4) Review

Observer (PS4) Review

Paper Dolls: Original (PS4) Review

Pinstripe (PS4) Review

PixelJunk VR Dead Hungry (PSVR) Review

POSTAL Redux (PS5) Review | via PS4 BC

Pumpkin Jack (PS5) Review

Raging Loop (PS4) Review

Rememoried (PS4) Review

Resident Evil 2 - Remake (PS4) Review

Resident Evil 4 (Switch) Review

Resident Evil HD Remastered (Switch) Review

Resident Evil Zero/0 (Switch) Review

Rise of Insanity (PS4, PSVR) Review

S.O.N (PS4) Review

Sanity of Morris (PS5) Review | via PS4 BC

School Girl / Zombie Hunter [SG/ZH] (PS4) Review

Shadows 2: Perfidia (Nintendo Switch) Review

Silver Chains (PC) Review

Silver Chains (PS5) Review | via PS4 BC

SIMULACRA (PS4) Review

Slayaway Camp: Butcher's Cut (PS4, PS Vita) Review

Someday You'll Return (PC) Review

Song of Horror: Complete Edition (PS5) Review | via PS4 BC

Spirit Hunter: Death Mark (PS4) Review

Spirit Hunter: NG (PS4) Review

Strange Brigade (PS4) Review

Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse (PS5) Review | via PS4 BC

The 7th Guest: 25th Anniversary Edition (PC) review

The Blackout Club (PS4) Review

The Coma 2: Vicious Sisters (PC) Review

The Door (PS4) Review

The Exorcist: Legion VR Episodes 1-3 (PSVR) Review

The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker (PS4) Review

The Inpatient (PSVR) Review

The Invisible Hours (PSVR and PS4) Review

The Last of Us Part II (PS4) Review

The Midnight Sanctuary (PSVR, PS4) Review

The Persistence (PSVR) Review

The Shapeshifting Detective (PS4) Review

The Sinking City (PS4) Review

The Sinking City (PS5) Review

The Sinking City (Switch) Review

The Suicide of Rachel Foster (PC) Review

The Walker (PSVR) Review

The Walking Dead: The Telltale Definitive Series (PS4) Review

Those Who Remain (PS4) Review

Through the Woods (PS4) Review

True Fear: Forsaken Souls ~ Part 1 (PS4) Review

True Fear: Forsaken Souls ~ Part 2 (PS4) Review

Vampyr (Nintendo Switch) Review

Vampyr (PS4) Review

Visage (PS5) Review | via PS4 BC

We Happy Few (PS4) Review

What Happened (PC) Review

Yomawari: The Long Night Collection (Nintendo Switch) Review

Zombie Army 4: Dead War (PS4) Review

Zombie Army Trilogy (Nintendo Switch) Review

Zombieland: Headshot Fever (Oculus Quest 2) Review

The makers of The Exorcist: Legion VR have brought their other hit VR horror title: A Chair in a Room: Greenwater, to PSVR, 3 years after its initial release on the HTC Vive. Even as a horror enthusiast, Wolf & Wood have created another strong outing that had me engaged and horrified from the moment I saw the creepy main menu.

It’s a chair… in a room…

The game has an extremely strong opening where you are undergoing some mini memory exams in a mental institution known as Greenwater, with no clue as to who you are or why you’re here. It’s interesting but it’s also really uncomfortable in a way that a strong horror game should be. You can’t help but feel a deep sense of isolation, as there is always a wall between you and whoever is talking to and observing you, making you feel like you’re always alone and possibly dangerous. This sets up an intriguing horror title that only gets better as you play.

The plot progresses with a series of flashback-type situations that aren’t clearly connected. I’m not certain but I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt that this is an extremely clever design choice by developers, Wolf & Wood, to mirror your character’s scattered and questionable memory. To move on you must solve some simple (in answer) but obscure (in execution) puzzles, by moving objects in the environment around and seeing what goes where. What makes the game the most interesting though is how the environment is used to tell the intricate details of the story in a masterful way.

The game even utilises the environment to explain to you how to play the game, with mental health propaganda posters including diagrams that blend in with the asylum, showing you how to move around the various rooms and interact with all the objects. The environment also houses lots of little nods to what is going on in your character’s life.

There are many games where collectables add weight to the story but few do so as well as A Chair in a Room: Greenwater. You’ll find yourself opening: drawers, doors, wardrobes and even safes, scouring for clues and tools to progress. In the midst of this, you will find many clues as to not only how to progress, but also to all of the events that have led you to be institutionalised. I had a blast flicking through books, postcards and posters, finding any piece of information I could about what was going on; it was very fun to piece it together and fill in the blanks between what is overtly explained to you throughout the 3-4 hour campaign.

On the other hand, while it is fun seeking out clues to the story, it can be extremely frustrating having no idea which exact random item you need to interact with and how to interact with it. The only help you get from the game is that you can look at the back of your hand to ask yourself a question that informs you of an objective, which still doesn’t really help you figure out the puzzle.

The saving grace though is that when you do figure out a particular puzzle, there is an obvious and satisfying sound cue that triggers to let you know you’ve made progress.

From a technical standpoint, I think A Chair in a Room: Greenwater is generally very strong. There were quite a few physics-based issues where object collisions would send important clues flying away and sometimes even getting stuck inside floors and walls. However, thankfully there is a mechanic where important items return to their original positions, should this happen. There were also some problems with reaching things on the floor, even with the crouch option coupled with the move controllers. Reaching around aimlessly for minutes at a time trying to scrape a random item off the floor definitely brought a halt to the suspension of disbelief. I don’t fully blame the developers here though because they are of course limited by the PSVR headset and its immovable style because of the use of the PlayStation camera.

Visually, I think the game looks amazing for a PSVR game. PlayStation VR is known to have considerably lower resolution than it’s competitors and ‘Flat’ games, plus there is an obvious distance between this and say Resident Evil 7, yet the game looks fantastic as its eerie setting is horrifying to live inside. The lighting especially is terrifically haunting. There are so many dark corners that you’re forced to look into with sometimes nothing but a lighter and it can be very difficult to build the courage to enter that area, as you wonder what is lurking in the secrets of the rooms.

The game utilises PSVR masterfully, allowing you to experience the game in whichever comfort settings you prefer, including with Move controller or the DualShock 4, teleport or fluid movement; whatever you’re comfortable with you can adapt the game to suit you, which is a brilliant way of stopping it from feeling overwhelming. The tiny studio of Wolf & Wood deserves massive credit for being determined to make beginner and veteran VR players all feel comfortable.

The feeling of being inside those enclosed, inescapable rooms is extremely discomforting and I genuinely had to “nope” out of the headset a few times when things got intense. The audio plays a massive part in this and I would say this has some of the best audio in a horror game that I’ve ever played. With the 3D audio of the PSVR headset, the whispers, bangs and music gave me endless goosebumps. In particular, the middle sections of the game turn the horror up to 11 and I was questioning whether I could even continue – but I persevered because I had to know what was going on.

The sounds play into the unstable mental health your character seems to have and the voices you hear have you questioning your sanity – is it your mind or is there genuinely something behind you? There are some truly terrifying sounds in this game that made me freeze a few times to ask “no seriously, what the F%@ is that?” All of these factors contribute to some top-notch horror moments, which you are forced into experiencing. This is a great decision because there is nothing more frustrating when you want a game to be scary only for you to miss what was supposed to be spooking you. Even if you try your best to look away while you play, events do not trigger until the game detects you looking directly where you need to, which makes moving forward exceptionally terrifying.

Overall, this is a genuinely horrifying but encapsulating game. I’ve never wanted to push through a game that I simultaneously wanted to wimp out of at the same time, but that’s what is so brilliant about A Chair in a Room: Greenwater. I had this overwhelmingly tense sensation where I was almost paralysed in certain parts because of the atmosphere the developers have created in these little rooms. But, just as you are within the asylum, I felt trapped into seeing how the story was going to progress. While the story isn’t the most amazing you’ll experience in a horror game, it’s a satisfying enough ending that makes it feel worth persevering with in order to get there.

The technical issues do plague the game somewhat of feeling fully immersive, and the puzzles can take a frustratingly long time because they aren’t very clear. Otherwise, the game feels fantastic to play and I enjoyed every second that I had exploring these mini-environments. Wolf & Wood have raised the bar for VR horror titles and from now on I will be comparing all future games in this genre to A Chair in a Room: Greenwater and The Exorcist: Legion VR.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
A Chair in a Room: Greenwater largely delivers on what you would hope for from a Virtual Reality horror title. The story is short and engaging enough to be played in one very tense sitting and delivers some fantastic moments of terror. The puzzles can be testing but if you have the intention to inspect every dark corner of each set-piece, then you should stumble upon the answer eventually. It’s worth all those moments of frustration just for the satisfying final few areas.

It’s not the best horror game you’re likely to play but it is definitely an experience I won’t ever forget.

Three years ago, in May 2019, Asobo Studio and Focus Entertainment unleashed A Plague Tale: Innocence upon the world – a stealth-focused adventure game that combined a captivating narrative with solid gameplay and rats, a lot of rats… Today the sequel has finally arrived, A Plague Tale: Requiem – a game which continues the story shortly after the first, introducing new gameplay mechanics whilst delivering a similar experience to the previous title except there are more rats, literally thousands more than we saw last time thanks to the game being current-gen only.

I’ve had the game for a few days, completing all chapters early this morning, and I’m glad I waited until I’d finished the game before writing this review – my initial impressions weren’t the best yet by the end I had fallen in love with the game. Sure, there are some frustrations which stuck with me throughout – which I’ll get into within this review – but the narrative saved the day by delivering an exciting and emotional journey which I’ve not experienced for a while. 

So, come with me as we (once again) desperately try to stay alive venturing through streets and fields aggressively occupied by blood-thirsty rats that would love a little nibble on me and my younger brother…

Home sweet home… for now!

A Plague Tale: Requiem is set shortly after the events of the first game, Amicia, Hugo and Lucas are momentarily enjoying their quiet and peaceful life after being put through hell with non-stop bloodshed and close encounters of the rat-kind a few months prior. However, nothing lasts forever and Amicia can never catch a break, always finding herself in trouble whether she goes looking for it or it comes looking for her! The siblings come under attack leading to Hugo knocking himself out by summoning his ratty friends – kinda like Pikachu in the first episode of Pokemon…

Whilst unconscious, Hugo has a vision of an island that’s guarded by a mighty phoenix. He’s encouraged to drink the water which instantly heals him of this unhygienic curse – could this be a vision that’ll lead to the cure he’s been looking for throughout the previous game (his entire life)? He certainly thinks it is! But, his mother has other ideas as she wishes for the family to seek help from an alchemist rather than listen to the dreams of a sick little boy. 

And thus begins Amicia’s new adventure, from initially exploring dark, diseased, morbid areas of the city whilst looking for various people to help her brother, to seeking out this elusive island and uncovering the truth behind Hugo’s illness and his ancestors, her life is very eventful and never simple! Along your journey, you’ll meet new companions, make enemies with new foes, discover new abilities, and come up with new creative ways to use the rats to your advantage as they rip the flesh off those who oppose you. It’s an adventure you won’t forget for a very long time…

A skill tree based on how you play the game, how original!

GamePlay
A Plague Tale: Requiem is a stealth-based adventure game with a very strong emphasis on its narrative and storytelling. If you’re not watching a cutscene, exploring for collectables, or solving a puzzle, then you’ll be sneaking around in tall grass, avoiding the rats, or creatively killing guards that are looking for you. If you’ve played the first game then you’ll know what to expect, the gameplay in A Plague Tale: Requiem is very similar aside from a few additional abilities and mechanics that make the later stealth segments much easier and more fun to work through.

The developers have created a skill tree unlike one I’ve seen before, it’s automatic and based on how you play the game. For example, if you make your way through stealth segments without alerting any of the guards, then you’ll gain experience within the ‘Prudence’ skill, yet killing all the enemies improves your ‘Aggressive’ skill. As these increase, you’ll unlock passive skills such as increasing how far Hugo’s ‘rat-vision’ can see, unlocking the ability to push enemies when you’re attacked, and teaching Amicia to walk quietly so she doesn’t stomp around and make a lot of noise.

This is an interesting concept as it literally forces you to change your gameplay style if you’re aiming to obtain all of the trophies, you can’t just unlock universal experience and shove it into whichever skill you wish to improve.

If you’re not very stealthy, like me, then you’ll be happy to hear that there are a bunch of unlockable abilities for your trusty slight shot, as well as a powerful crossbow that can take down enemies with one hit! There are a few enhancements that we saw in the previous game and some that are new or refined. You can also insta-kill the guards with knives that you’ll often find, but Amicia can only carry one at a time and they break upon use – just like the annoying shivs in The Last of Us Part One – However, for some reason, Amicia can’t craft new ones, which is incredibly annoying as you need one to open the many secret closets in the game.

One of the mechanics I had an issue with is the lack of being able to run whenever you want. The game forces you to walk most of the time, thanks to either holding Hugo’s hand or because the game wants to play some dialogue as you go from A to B. But, when it does enable running, it’s random as to whether it’s a leisurely jog or if you can hold R2 and actually run. I know this won’t be an issue for most people, but I like moving fast when exploring for collectables, but I found myself often restricted to walking at a snail’s pace for no reason whatsoever (no dialogue was being played) –  this began to irritate me and almost put me off doing a second playthrough.

Take out the guards or sneak past them, without becoming rat food!

‘Combat’
A Plague Tale: Requiem felt like it had more stealth and combat sections than the first game, yet it also had more puzzles and areas to explore – it’s just much bigger in general. But, the combat sections were plentiful throughout the game, providing some very frustrating moments during the early parts of the game. Before you’ve unlocked various enhancements for your sling, your choices with how to make it through a stealth section alive are limited – you can use your sling to kill enemies with no helmets, but the noise will alert others, or you can toss a stone into a pile of metal objects to distract them whilst you crouch past unaware. 

The fun really begins when you’ve unlocked the ability to cause more excruciating pain to your victims! Why keep things quiet when you can fill a pot with tar, throw it at someone, then light it and watch as the unlucky person screams in agony and burn to death within seconds?! Maybe you’d rather lure someone into the darkness and then extinguish their torch to watch the rats rip the flesh off their bones? Or, once Hugo has finally remembered that he’s basically the Rat King, take control of a swarm of rats and seek out anyone without a torch and devour them until nothing remains but a crafting material and a pile of bones.

A new feature for A Plague Tale: Requiem, which makes some stealth segments a walk in the park, is the addition of companion abilities. There are two new companions that you can utilise with L1+Triangle to help you out – one of them will run straight into battle and beat them to death with his mighty sword, often asking for help when they become overwhelmed and knocked over, and the other can set alight tall grass to cause distractions when there are no convenient piles of metal objects around. The latter can also, magically, use their object to reflect light from any lit source to create a light bright enough to protect you from rats as you walk around – the game was semi-believable until this ability was unlocked!

On a side note, if you’re having trouble, or simply want to break the game and make it hilariously easy, you can enable invincibility mode in the options menu. This won’t save you from the rats, but no human can kill you now – so you can run rings around them without worrying about being taken out. Alternatively, literally run, if they can’t catch you, they can’t hurt you! I found that you can sometimes forget hiding and spending ages trying to sneak past the guards, if your destination is a door then run for it and she’ll lock it once you get in, thus skipping the entire stealth segment!

How are we going to get over there!?!

Puzzles
There are a few puzzles within A Plague Tale: Requiem, none of which are hard or challenging. The majority of them simply require you to look around for something you can use to climb higher, or a gap in the wall you can shoot through to break a chain on the other side, but some are more involved. There are moments when you must work in tandem with your companion, operating different levers at the same time or having them use something while you stand on or near the object that’s going to move. Just like the above companion skills, you can hold L1+Triangle and command them to use objects from afar – adding another layer to the puzzles.

When it’s dark, we see the return of ‘The Floor is Rats’, guaranteeing an instant death if Amicia or her companion strays into the darkness and lets the vermin get a whiff of their delightful 14th-century scent. Most of these situations can be dealt with by simply lighting fires and watching as Roland and his friends flee from the bright atmosphere, but sometimes you have to get more creative. You can throw tar into flames in order to create a short-lived brighter light, or toss a jar of tar and then set that alight to create your own fire pit of death (and light). You can also ‘cheat’ by using the above companion skill that somehow reflects a non-localised flame to create a circle of light all around you.

Although the puzzles aren’t hard, there is a setting in the options menu which you may wish to adjust. You can set how often and fast the NPCs will give you hints (or the solution) to the situation you’re currently in. I found that this had turned itself on when I dropped the difficulty due to early stealth segments frustrating me. With it on the highest setting, your companion will almost instantly tell you what to do, leaving no time to try and figure things out for yourself. Some people may find that helpful but I thought it was making the game far too easy as I didn’t have to think about anything, just look for the object or location they were talking about. So, if you want to actually have a little time to explore and discover things for yourself, make sure you adjust that setting (which I’m glad there’s a slider for).

Awww, how sweet.

The Narrative
I didn’t like A Plague Tale: Requiem at first – I didn’t hate it, but I thought it was starting off too slow and the stealth sections were too brutal and unforgiving. However, as I pushed past the 50% mark, the game really clicked with me, I was loving the narrative, the gameplay has become much more fun now I had companions and more alchemic abilities, and the locations we were travelling to were bright, colourful, and more diverse than we saw in the previous title. As I reached the final credits early this morning, the game had firmly placed itself on my GOTY list for 2022, I predicted a lot of the events which would unfold towards the end of the game, but I was still shocked and excited when I saw them play out on my TV.

I’ve seen people claim you can finish the main story within 15 hours, I think I took almost double that as I was wandering around every location looking at the world and trying to interact with everything I could – even if it didn’t impact the story or trophies. Each new location you end up in is unique, with its own townfolk, structure design, and personality. It’s just a shame that we visited as Hugo brings death wherever he goes, the little annoying child that doesn’t turn into the Hulk when he gets angry and upset, he simply unleashes a hoard of rats that leave destruction in their wake.

Also, just like the original game, the music, dialogue and voice acting are second to none here, I can honestly see Charlotte McBurney winning another award for her emotional and immersive role within this game. Everyone delivered an amazing performance, bringing these virtual models to life, but Charlotte really did pull me in and made me bond with Amicia throughout the entire game. I’m actually shocked to see that her only work, according to IMDB, is both Plague Tale games and a short film – why aren’t studios snapping her up for a role in their games?

Hugo, the rat bird king!

Birds of a feather
Hugo loved flowers in A Plague Tale: Innocence, they were the main collectable that the siblings looked out for on their grand adventure. However, in A Plague Tale: Requiem he appears to have gone off them and now favours feathers thanks to the majestic phoenix he sees whilst dreaming. As such, these have become the main collectables to look out for. However, don’t despair if you prefer flowers, there are still some scattered around for you to find and pluck from the ground. Once found, Hugo wears the feathers on his pin and Amicia pops a flower of your choice behind her ear. If you buy the game physically or buy the day-one DLC, you also unlock all the flowers from the first game which you can wear from the start.

Aside from these cute accessories, there are also a bunch of memories to be found – well, made. Interacting with certain landmarks, objects, or documents will result in Amicia and her companion (or Hugo) talking about something and creating a memory that you can listen to whenever you want. I think my favourite is when you, Hugo and a female companion are on top of a tower screaming like a bird – pausing the game and zooming in on their ‘dead’ faces as their mouths are the only source of emotion was quite funny (more on this later).

New Game+
A Plague Tale: Requiem has a few difficulties but you’re not penalised if you decide to play on Narrative difficulty (the easiest). However, should you complete the game and miss some of the secret chests (which require you to play the game again and not through chapter select), or wish to max out your skills, then you have to start again in New Game + mode. I like that this is here, as you keep all the skills you’ve unlocked and collectables you’ve found, but it has one major negative – you can ONLY play NG+ in the new ‘Ultimate Difficulty. That’s right, you’re forced to play on the hardest difficulty the second time around – sure, you now have upgrades skills, but this should be an option. I’m at this stage and I’ve turned on ‘invincibility mode’ and I have no shame about it!

You can manipulate the camera even in cutscenes – here we’re ‘hugging’ Hugo

Take a Picture
A Plague Tale: Requiem has one of the least restrictive photo modes I’ve ever seen – which is both great and bad at the same time. First of all, ‘no-clip’ is enabled, this means you can move the camera anywhere within a rather generous distance of your character – yes, you can move out of bounds and explore behind the scenes and see how the visually-stunning game is created with a rag-tag bunch of blocks and setpieces you were never meant to see. You could also use this ‘mode’ to strategically look around and see where the enemies are so you can plan ahead. However, peering into locked rooms or future locations usually gives you empty rooms as the PS5 loads them in once you open the door officially (within less than a second and with no loading screen).

I deem the above as ‘bad’ as it can result in getting some great shots but it also ruins the magic and immersion, kinda like watching a behind-the-scenes video of a film or TV show you like and finding out it was all on a green screen or a small set in a big hanger-like warehouse.

One thing I LOVED about the photo mode was the fact you can enable it at ANY TIME! That’s right, even if you’re mid-cutscene, you can turn it on and go wandering around to find the perfect shot – I’ve never seen a game let you do this as cutscenes are usually pre-rendered or running with a locked camera due to the enhanced visuals and effects. But, not A Plague Tale: Requiem – here you can stop at literally any time and enter a fully-moveable photo mode camera. Sadly, there’s not much to the photo mode aside from generic options (no filters or facial expressions), but it does the job.

This person wasn’t playing on the PS5, he was tracking his own collectables and died of old age (and a rat attack)

PS5 Features
Despite being marketed heavily by Xbox, due to the fact the game has launched in Game Pass Day-one, I’m happy to say that the developers haven’t overlooked the various unique features of the PlayStation 5. First up, A Plague Tale: Requiem supports both activity cards and trophy tracking, with a handy collectables card that lets you know what items you’ve missed. So many games don’t bother utilising these so it’s nice to see a game that has a lot of things to find making use of them both. The only thing missing is the PS Plus help videos, showing you where the items are – that would have been a great addition.

On a side note, when using the chapter select (if you’ve missed something), it clearly tells you what collectables you’ve missed so you’re not trying to guess where you need to go back to.

In terms of the controller, haptic feedback and resistive triggers are both implemented, although the trigger effect is quite weak and really needs a slider to make it more intense. As you’d expect, using your weapon offers a little resistance, but it could have been so much better in regards to simulating Amicia swinging her sling. However, when you’re able to run, if you hold R2 then you’ll run faster and you’ll feel each footstep as the trigger provides a little ‘kick’ each time your foot hits the ground. 

In terms of the haptics, they activate when you’d expect – replacing the generic rumble with a more defined experience. But, there’s a feature in A Plague Tale: Requiem which was also in The Last of Us Part One (which I’ve not seen before), haptic response when characters are talking. I don’t fully understand why this is a thing, but you can have the controller physically ‘hum’ along with the words being said (but without sound) – I imagine it’s an accessible effect for some people, but I just found it strange that I’d not seen it before and now I’ve seen it twice this week.

Challenge – count the rats! Fun fact, there’s even more behind the camera!

Shoddy Performance
It’s time to talk about the elephant in the room (if you’ve seen the ‘outrage’ on Twitter) – the performance. Since the PlayStation 5 was born, almost two years ago, we’ve become accustomed to glorious 60 frames-per-second gameplay – this is nothing new but last-gen hardly ever hit this elusive target. However, there has been a baby’s handful of games this generation which has targeted 30fps instead – The Medium, Gotham Knights, and Life is Strange: True Colours to name a few (although LiS got a 60fps patch after consumer outrage). A Plague Tale: Requiem is also a 30fps peasant on modern consoles!

Okay, let’s take a step back and not judge a book by its inability to push double the framerate. A Plague Tale: Requiem is visually stunning even though it’s only 1440p on the PS5 and Xbox Series X. However, I believe the reason why the game is set to 30fps is due to the creative decision to bump the number of rats on screen from around 5,000 to a whopping 300,000! Yes, three hundred thousand! Does the game need this many rats? Nope. But does it look awesome when they’re all there chasing you? Hell yeah! 

Also, on the PS5, when you’re outside at night, with only a few dynamic light sources (fires) and thousands of rats watching you with their beady little eyes – the framerate can drop to, what feels like, the low 20s! It’s playable but really becomes frustrating when you’re running from enemies and it feels like someone is pausing and unpausing over and over! Okay, it’s not ‘that’ bad, but you can really feel it!

There are two saving graces – 120hz and VRR. If you have a 120hz TV, A Plague Tale: Requiem will boot up in 120fps mode and set the framerate of the game to 40fps – delivering a slightly smoother experience that feels nice due to the 40fps fitting into the 120hz container nicely (go look at Digital Foundry’s videos about this). Plus, if you have a VRR TV/display, the game will auto-load with it enabled (if you have it turned on), providing full LFC support for sub-48fps gameplay. This, combined with either 60hz or 120hz mode, delivers the smoothest way to play the game as it feels a lot better (the framerate ‘may’ even be unlocked, I’m not sure) – but, you’ll still feel the big dips when it’s dark.

Left: Screen space reflection – Right: looking down

Sorry, my face is tired…
As I stated earlier in my review, there’s a ‘problem’ with the faces in A Plague Tale: Requiem. I’ve not read much about the development of this game but I don’t know if everything was fully motion-captured or not – If I was to guess, I’d say not. The motion of the characters walking, running, crouching, and during cutscenes are great, but there’s an issue with the facial animations in that there isn’t any. For example, you can often hear Hugo and Amicia laughing with one another, yet if you pause and/or move the camera around, their face is locked in a serious pose with their mouth open, as if they’re dead inside yet their mouth is still alive.

This isn’t a big issue as the team is only small, but it’s something that damped my immersion at points in the game.

Upon reflection…
My only other visual criticism would be the reflections. The game uses Screen Space Reflections when you have the reflected object on the screen at the same time as the water or reflective surface. However, as you look down it sometimes swaps to a static image which looked really silly in some places (see the image above). The PC version is getting Ray Tracing support in a few weeks, but consoles are left with what we have now.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Despite the first few chapters moving quite slow with far too many unforgiving stealth segments, by the time I’d completed A Plague Tale: Requiem I was in love with its narrative, gameplay, visuals, and outstanding voice acting and music. Although the game feels very similar to the first one, the new mechanics, companion abilities, adaptive skill tree, and new larger environments help create a new experience that’s familiar but not identical. There are some performance issues and technical flaws which will (hopefully) be resolved, but nothing hampered the enjoyment and excitement I felt throughout my entire playthrough of this GOTY contender.

To mark the 10th anniversary of the original AKIBA’S TRIP, XSEED Games, Marvelous Games, and ACQUIRE have ‘remastered’ the PSP Japan-only title and launched it on the PS4, Nintendo Switch and PC under the title “AKIBA’S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed“. The unique and addictive gameplay had me hooked, obtaining the platinum within five days, but my initial impressions weren’t the greatest as it took me a while to overlook the obvious lack of quality in regards to the presentation. If you’re looking for a full remaster or remake, you’re going to be disappointed, this release is closer to a re-release with a higher resolution – but is that a bad thing?

Originally released in 2011, AKIBA’S TRIP was a Japan-only PSP game that was quickly superseded by AKIBA’S TRIP Plus in 2012, an updated version of the game that improved various mechanics and added new features. This new 2021 re-release is the HD version of the Plus edition, from what I can tell, with a few bonuses such as the choice between being fully voiced in either Japanese or English.

With no guides to hand, no additional support, and some very vague trophy descriptions, obtaining the platinum took me just over 61 hours and seven full playthroughs of the game… It was a long ride, but was it worth it? Did I enjoy the game or was I simply obsessed with stripping random strangers as I sexually assaulted them in the street? And, did I finally manage to overcome my initial issues with the overall quality? Let’s find out…

Erm… yeah?!?

There’s an evil roaming the streets of Akihabara, not the fabled ‘scary lady targeting virgins’, but supernatural vampire-like beings who are stalking their prey in broad daylight. How do you know about them? Simple, you’re a newly converted member of their species, having been saved on the brink of death by feasting on the blood of one of these inhuman creatures. Thanks to your involuntary awakening, you now suffer the same weakness as those you’re about to be tasked with tracking down and attacking.

AKIBA’S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed‘s story branches off down various narrative pathways depending on the choices you make, the people you help, and the quests you complete, which is one of the main reasons the game took me seven playthroughs to fully complete. You can stick with the paranormal investigators who ask for your help in taking down those responsible for your ‘curse’, or you can defy them and side with your own kind and join forces against the humans.

Each narrative is fun, exciting, silly, and varied enough to make you want to see everything the game has on offer, with each completion route unlocking more bonuses and various difficulty levels. Just remember, this game technically came out before the 2014 sequel, so the gameplay and mechanics in this one are inferior to Undead & Undressed. However, that doesn’t instantly make this a ‘bad’ game, it’s just not as good as I’d hoped it would be.

Smurf Stripping!

Gameplay
The game revolves around one concept, removing your enemies’ clothes to expose their skin to the sunlight and watch as they turn to dust. Despite being very sensitive to the natural light, it only affects them once all of their clothes (bar their underwear) have been removed, so you need to target each region as you weaken the durability and then either shred, tear, or remove the clothing! Basically, enemies will wear clothing on their upper and lower body, such as a shirt and trousers, and maybe a hat or cute cat ears. As you beat these areas with whatever weapon you have on hand, they become easier to grab and yank off.

Just like the Dead Rising series, you can use pretty much any random object as a weapon in AKIBA’S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed, from a laptop and guitar to a stick or a fairy’s wand. You can also dress up your character in anything they purchase or can cleanly remove from their foes during combat (once you’ve unlocked dressing in women’s clothing). There is a sense of progression involved in this as you can’t remove clothing at first, all attempts will result in simply tearing the clothes like a rabid animal, but buying and reading skill books enables you to strip a certain type of person.

Although your main objective is to seek out and strip the vampiric enemies, you’ll occasionally find yourself stripping humans as well. The main difference is that the humans remain flesh-coloured (whereas the actual enemies turn blue as you strip them) and they’ll slap you before running off in their panties once you’ve finished undressing them. I thought the blue skin was some form of censorship at first, as I don’t recall the sequel doing that, but it was simply so the game could tell you the difference between humans and non-humans. Also, unfortunately, you can’t do a super-strip and remove the underwear in this game – panties and boxers are as far as you can go.

I can’t recall if the second game did this, but in AKIBA’S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed, you can only change your clothes on the map screen, meaning if you’ve been stripped bare then you have to retreat in order to suit up before the cops catch you and arrest you for indecent exposure. This was quite annoying, especially on harder difficulties where your clothes would be ripped or pulled off very easily, as once you’re naked then it’s game over due to the sunlight burning you… unless you have sunscreen on.

What a strange bunch!

Side Missions
Aside from the main story, there are tonnes of side missions, I can’t recall how many in total but I think it was about 70-80 per playthrough. Although all of these are optional, except a few, I highly recommend you complete as many as you can as some of the later ones are quite fun. Also, completing certain missions will help influence the ending as each mission is given to you by one of the three factions, so you can help push the game down a certain path if you strategically only complete the ones a certain group give you. 

Some of the side missions are quite bizarre, you get to fight the Wish-brand Power Rangers, a bear, lots of guys in frog suits, and even a group of people in white clothing with masks and golf clubs that reminded me of the group from A Clockwork Orange. There’s even a hidden quest in which you learn how to go prone and take upskirt photos of girls wearing skirts – no joke! I even played through a few missions based on beating up cross-dressing/transexual boys wearing their sister’s clothes… I was surprised these types of quests were present, things like this are usually removed in western releases these days.

AKIBA’S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed also contains a few minigames and side activities, such as a Tekken-like beat-em-up, a side-scrolling shmup, quizzes, and an ongoing combat tournament. If you’re going for the platinum, you’ll have to dabble with everything on offer, but they are all technically optional. The quizzes were probably the most annoying for me, you have to answer 15 questions in a row correct based on a certain subject – one of which is a fictional Anime show which is explained to you via about 10 minutes of scrolling text as your colleague explains it to the protagonist…

She may be angry but she’ll do anything if you pay her!

Your Sister
Once you’ve reached a certain point in the game, you can return home and talk to your sister at any point. What’s the purpose? You can dress up your young teenage schoolgirl-aged sister in whatever clothes you own, paying her to model them for you as you move the camera around and take pictures whilst performing various poses. Yeah, it’s about as pervy as it sounds, to be honest – it reminds me of the mode in Gal*Gun 2 where you can take pictures of the girls in their panties. It does have a purpose though, whatever she wears gains additional levels as she poses for you.

You can also ask your sister to scold you, hit you, and praise you… This is used during one of the side missions, as there’s a guy who’s very upset he doesn’t have a sister so pays you to tell him how it ‘tastes’ when your sister hits you and changes in front of you?!? However, it also increases the level of what she’s wearing, just like the above. So, although the actions are questionable and a little disturbing at times, it’s a great way to quickly boost your clothing level.

Amusingly, once you’ve completed the game you get the option to change the model of your sister, so I replaced her with an old man in one playthrough and an old woman in another. This made it very awkward when I unlocked her specific ending and the narrative was all about incest and underage love… Yeah, the game has a few questionable themes and moments, but it’s not like that all the time… Well…

Yes, he has one of those…

Questionable moments
As mentioned above, the game touches on incest and underage relationships (I presume she’s underaged) when you trigger your sister’s ending, but that’s not the only questionable thing I noticed within AKIBA’S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed. As mentioned above, you initially play as a male protagonist – this can be changed when you complete the game – and you soon unlock the ability to dress in female clothes. This leads to a few funny encounters…

There’s an event where you’re told to dress as a girl to get a discount on an item, as the seller likes girls. If you do so, he offers you 60% off if you let him touch your boobs and ‘do a couple of things’. Upon touching you, he discovers you’re a guy and quickly goes from being disgusted that you lied to wanting to ‘taste you’ and do ‘more than touch’ because he’s curious. 

There’s a mysterious woman who trains you throughout the game, showing only her sexy silhouette from behind a curtain. She’s constantly providing sexual innuendo in pretty much every conversation you have with her, but that’s not the questionable part. At one point, she asks for a ‘cherry’. You can go and buy her some cherries and get a rubbish reward, or you can bring her a school-aged boy or girl who she proceeds to have sex with (off-screen) and gives you their clothes. 

Seriously, those who were worried about the game having content removed and/or edited for the Western release, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Other than the odd thing which may have been translated a little differently, the game seems to have retained the lewd, naughty, tongue-in-cheek humour the original game and its sequel had.

Sometimes it’s best to stand back and just let them fight each other!

The difficulty
You have to complete AKIBA’S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed multiple times in order to unlock the hardest difficulties, which is okay as you can carry over your gear and items each time you start a new game. So, completing ‘Gamer’ and ‘Otaku’ wasn’t too bad, the main difference was that you had to target the different regions of clothing and inflict more damage before you could tear them off. Your character level doesn’t move over but I found you could easily bump yourself up by taking part in the combat arena early on.

Then we got to the ‘Holic’ difficulty and, Oh My God, it’s hard! In this mode, weapons and gear can be scaled up to level 999, whereas in lower difficulties it’s limited to 99, and it’s pretty much mandatory to do this if you want to last longer than five minutes. Your clothes will rip within two or three hits, your weapons hardly scratch the enemies, and a simple 30-second fight can turn into 20 minutes of furiously dodging and spamming the attack button. I almost gave up due to how brutally difficult and unforgiving this difficulty was, but I took my time and abused a few items I discovered and was able to finally beat it after many hours. 

What I found interesting is that you can go to the train station at any point and ‘leave the city’, creating a ‘cleared save’ file which you can load up and start a new game with, utilising the new items and levels you’ve acquired. As such, the game played like a roguelike for me, allowing me to jump into an easier difficulty, grind for weapons and resources I could use to upgrade my gear, then leaving and starting again on Holic to upgrade and try again. Then, if it was too hard, so I didn’t lose any of my progress, I just left the city and loaded the new save back up in an easier difficulty to grind again.

Yes, the end-game was tedious and it did annoy me on more than one occasion, but the satisfaction of delivering the final blow on the hardest difficulty and seeing the platinum trophy pop was great! It was worth it.

I can’t think why his head hurts… Maybe it’s the blurry visuals!

Technical
We have to talk about the elephant in the room, AKIBA’S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed looks pretty bad. The game is essentially a HD PSP game, that’s it. The textures are the same as the original release, meaning you’ll see a lot of sub 320p assets like posters that are blurrier than Super Seducer 3! I hate saying this, but it’s a very lazy port in terms of the visuals, on a 55″ TV it was really offputting with not only distorted images but also quite a bit of shimmy and softness due to only being (I presume) 1080p.

Thankfully, the English voices are well done and plentiful throughout the game, with only a few things not voiced as they weren’t in the Japanese voice-over either. The only issue I found was the inconsistency with the NPCs ability to correctly guess my pronouns… Once you complete the game, you can change your character model to either a guy or a girl and this results in the characters now calling you a ‘she’ or ‘her’, but some of them still refer to you as a guy and your sister occasionally calls you her brother. It’s not a big issue but it adds to the ‘this may have been rushed’ theory.

However, despite the obvious lack of quality in regards to the visuals, the game ran great with no noticeable slowdown, running at (what appears to be) 60fps and 1080p on the PS4/5 consoles. I found the combat just as addictive as the sequel and soon didn’t even notice the outdated assets as I was more focused on the gameplay and narrative. I just wish the porting team put more love into the process, updating it to modern standards.

Also, on a side note – the game DOES support an inverted y-axis, you just can’t select it until you’ve actually started the game and have control of your character.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Despite being a very simple HD re-release of the PSP original game, AKIBA’S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed has as much charm, lewd narrative, and addictive gameplay as its superior sequel. Once you get stuck into the game you’ll begin to overlook the fuzzy assets and simplified gameplay, becoming enthralled by the comedic writing, addictive stripping combat, many side missions, and questionable dialogue. There’s lots of replayability due to multiple paths, endings, and characters, with a massive list of tasks to complete, not to mention the insanely difficult ‘Holic’ mode.

AKIBA’S TRIP: Hellbound & Debriefed may not be a looker in terms of modern JRPGs, and I may prefer the sequel over this original game, but I’m glad that we finally got a chance to play it in English officially on modern consoles. If you enjoyed Undead & Undressed then you’ll enjoy this one too, as long as you can look past the very low-quality visuals.

A few generations ago, my choice of console was the Xbox 360 – mainly due to the exclusives – yet I was never really a fan of stealth, horror, or spooky games, so I never had any interest in trying out Alan Wake when it originally launched back in 2010. Since then, I’ve heard a lot of great things about the title, seen all the requests and demands for a sequel, and I’ve even played the AWE DLC for Control – yet I still never went back to see what all the fuss was about. Well, not until last week when I had the chance to play Alan Wake Remastered on the PlayStation 5 all the way through, including the two DLC expansions.

Alan Wake launched as an Xbox 360 exclusive back in 2010, Remedy wanted the game to launch on both Xbox and PC but Microsoft cancelled the latter due to presuming you’d only enjoy the game and it’s atmosphere if playing from a couch, rather than a PC monitor on a desk. After two years of pushing by the developers, the game finally came to PC thanks to Nitro Games, just in time for the spin-off, American Nightmare, which launched a few days later on Xbox and on PC in the following months.

The IP was owned by Microsoft and remained dormant up until 2019, when Remedy were finally able to acquire it. Thus, with the backing of Epic Games and support from d3t Ltd, Remedy have released the long-awaited Alan Wake Remaster, not only on Xbox and PC platforms, but on Sony’s PlayStation for the first time!

The question is, does it hold up today and is it as good as people make it out to be? Let’s find out…

What a warm welcome…

Alan Wake is a supernatural horror game staring the titular protagonist, a bestselling crime novelist who has been suffering from writer’s block for the last two years. As such, he and his wife, Alice, plan a trip to Bright Falls at the recommendation of his friend and agent, Barry. Before even stepping foot upon this isolated island, Alan is haunted by a disturbing dream filled with ghostly apparitions which can only be defeated by using lights to make them solid then finishing the job with a trusty firearm.

Clearly a nightmare isn’t anything to worry about, it may be disturbing and quite frightening, but it’s not like it’s real… right?!

Not long into their trip, things tragically take a turn for the worst – an incident occurs at the cabin, Alice goes missing, and Alan blacks out for a whole week, awakening at the wheel of his car having driven off the road at some point. He makes an attempt to reach the nearby gas station when he realises, the evil, shadowy figures of his dreams are real and they’re not friendly…

Not only are you now on a mission to find your wife, but you must also fend off these mysterious ghost-like spirits, possessed townsfolk and vehicles, and collect the pages from a manuscript you don’t recall writing yet seem to describe future events. This is gonna be one hell of a holiday, one you’re bound to remember for the rest of your life…

Burn!

Gameplay
Alan Wake Remastered is a third-person action game with mild horror jump scares and a gripping thriller narrative throughout. It’s presented as a TV show, with each chapter resembling an episode – complete with a song break between chapters and a “previously, on Alan Wake” catch-up at the start of each one. Supposedly, the developers wanted the game to be episodic but Microsoft demanded it launched as a complete package to avoid a drop in sales with each release.

For the majority of your short-term break, you’ll find yourself equipped with a torch and a selection of guns which you can swap between at will. As advised above, you can’t injure the ghostly enemies by simply shooting them, you must either shine your torch on them until they harden or lure them into the beam of a spotlight. Once they’re physical, unleash hell with a revolver, rifle, or shotgun, sending them back to where they came from.

Alternatively, you can quickly make them stiff by lighting a flare, cause them to explode with a flashbang, or insta-kill them with the flare gun. If you really want to get creative, find a car, crank up the headlights, and turn them into roadkill!

Ah shit, here we go again! (DLC)

Please sir, may I have some more?
Just like the original PC release, Alan Wake Remastered includes the base game and the two additional expansions. Both of these are a continuation of the main story, delving deeper into the events which happened following the rather unsatisfying ending – I can see why people have been asking for a sequel since it’s release. 

Each chapter will take around 1-2 hours depending on if you’re rushing through them or looking for all the collectables, with a requirement to complete both of them fast and without dying in order to grab a few tricky trophies. Thankfully, for trophy hunters out there, the developers have kept the DLC trophies as ‘DLC’ and not made them a requirement for the platinum.

These two chapters were initially created as a bridge to tie the first game with the planned sequel. However, seeing as the sequel never made any progress (although Epic Games are clearly funding it now), these two short additional experiences create more questions and confusion rather than bringing the main narrative to a conclusive finale.

I love the atmosphere!

Spooky?
The atmosphere within Alan Wake Remastered is incredible, it perfectly immerses you within the world and makes you fear the unknown dangers which could be hiding around every corner and within every bush. You hear random noises as you wander around in the dimly-lit woodlands, a short warning before the ghostly figures manifest all around you with weapons raised and no mercy in their life-less eyes. Do you stand and fight, fire a valuable flare, duck and dodge the melee attacks, or make a run for the nearest light source?

The game brilliantly builds tension and suspense, not only whilst walking around in darkness, but also when you find yourself in seemingly safe and well-lit locations – it likes to catch you when you let your guard down. The further into the game you get, the more you’ll uncover about the truth behind the cabin and lake within Bright Falls, why these spirits exist, and how you’re linked to the events that are taking place.

It’s not only the ghosts you have to worry about, vehicles can be possessed as they drive towards you or try to bulldoze you down, and even inanimate objects, such as gates and barrels, often get flung in your general direction as they aim to ‘boop’ your head into next week! Personally, I hated these IFOs (Identified Flying Objects), as my reflexes aren’t what they used to be, so Alan just stood there and took it like a man – i.e. died very quickly whenever the combat became a deadly game of Dodgeball…

Each chapter has an Activity Card.

PS5 impressions
I had a flawless experience playing Alan Wake Remastered at 60fps in 4K (1440p with temporal upscaling to 2160p). I never felt any drop in the framerate other than the cutscenes, which felt like they were running at 30fps and a lower resolution. Sure, the assets and textures within the cinematics have all been upgraded over the original PC release (which is what this remaster is based upon), but it’s a shame they aren’t as smooth as the actual gameplay.

Pretty much every cutscene appears to be a pre-rendered or cinematic in-engine event, rather than real-time animations. That’s probably why it’s limited to 30fps and why the lighting and atmospheric effects look very different, making the switch between cutscene and gameplay quite obvious at times.

Alan Wake Remastered makes use of the Activity cards, giving you one for each chapter as you progress within the story – this lets you jump straight into the one you wish to play from the dashboard but you don’t save any time as you still have to sit through the game’s title cards! Sadly, despite having a lot of collectables, such as 100 thermoses, over 100 manuscript pages, alarm clocks, and radio broadcasts (to name a few), the trophies for these don’t use the tally ability, meaning you have to look in the statistics page to see how many you have left to find.

I believe the game also utilises the DualSense controller, but mine has been with Sony for over a month. I’m having to remote in with my PS4 Pro so I can use my DS4 to play PS5 games (come on Sony, give us native DS4 support). As such, I’ll update this review on Friday once I have my replacement controller and have had time to test it out fully with the game.

Unlock the soundtrack as you play.

Additional Features?
Just like the original PC release, as you progress within the game you unlock the full soundtrack – including some licensed songs (which is why the game was pulled form digital storefronts a few years back, before returning). You can also watch all the cinematics you’ve seen, read all the manuscripts you’ve found, and listen to all the radio broadcasts you’ve interacted with, all from the main menu.

Another returning feature is one the PC version had but the Xbox 360 didn’t – QR codes. Originally, scanning these three codes took you to the Facebook page, a gif, and a hidden message. Now, scanning the new codes takes you to unlisted YouTube videos which deliver new context.

A new feature is the directors commentary. The Remaster has both the original commentary track as well as a newly recorded commentary by Sam Lake throughout the game. It does warn you, but you’re best only activating this once you’ve played the game as it does talk about spoilers that could ruin various surprises.

I have an issue with the commentary, one which I’ve raised with the PR – there’s no subtitles. Not only that, it often plays over the vocals within the game and there’s no separate volume slider, so it’s hard to hear what’s being said. Personally, I feel there should be subtitles and the option to increase the commentary volume, otherwise it’s not accessible for people with hearing disabilities and technically everyone in general (when the game’s vocals are playing).

The camera prefers sitting on the left…

Issues
Whilst I’m touching on issues, there’s also one which impacts us y-axis invert gamers. The option works fine on foot, but as soon as you enter a vehicle, the invert is disabled. Once you leave the car, invert kicks in again. It’s clearly a bug, which I’ve reported.

Another strange design choice is the way the camera follows Alan as you move about. I don’t know if this is present within the original Xbox 360 or PC version (if it is, then fair enough), but it’s very annoying and frustrating. Basically, just like any good third-person game with shooting mechanics, you can push in the thumb stick and alternate which shoulder the camera hovers over. However, it has a mind of it’s own!

I like having the camera over the right shoulder, so Alan appears to the left, but after you’ve walked around a little, the camera seems to move itself over your left shoulder. I know you only have to push in the stick to change it back, but it does it constantly and I don’t know if it’s a bug or intentional – there’s no option in the menu to disable the game swapping what side the camera sits on.

Another annoying aspect is the auto-equip function. Whenever you pick up a weapon, Alan will automatically swap to that – even if you don’t tell him to. I lost count how many times I thought I was about to shoot my revolver but then ended up wasting a flare because I’d picked up a gun from a cache and not realised. I imagine this is a mechanic from the original game but it’s a shame it wasn’t updated or gave us a toggle to disable this ‘feature’.

Even rooms full of effects didn’t make the game buckle!

Technical
Remedy did something which hardly any developers or publishers do, they published a long FAQ page which clearly advised what the technical aspects were for each platform. So, here they are:

Platform / Render Resolution / Output Resolution / target frame-rate
• PlayStation 4 – 1080p / 1080p / 30fps
• PlayStation 4 Pro (Performance Mode) – 1080p / 1080p / 60fps
• PlayStation 4 Pro (Quality Mode) – 1296p / 2160p (4K) / 30fps / 4 x MSAA
• Xbox One – 900p / 900p / 30fps
• Xbox One X (Performance Mode) – 1080p / 1080p / 60fps
• Xbox One X (Quality Mode) – 1440p / 2160p (4K) / 30fps / 4 x MSAA
• PlayStation 5 – 1440p / 2160p (4K) / 60fps / 4X MSAA
• Xbox Series X – 1440p / 2160p (4K) / 60fps / 4 X MSAA
• Xbox Series S – 1080p / 1080p / 60fps
• PC – 4K / unlimited

So, for example, on the PS5 Alan Wake Remastered runs at 1440p which has been upscaled to 2160p at 60fps. I’ve completed the game and both DLCs on the PS5 and didn’t experience any crashes, noticeable frame drops, or visual defects, and I’ve played a few hours on the base PS4 (which is 1080p/30fps). Personally, even thought the PS4 is only 30fps, gameplay still felt smooth and very playable with no obvious dips in performance, the cutscenes also seemed to feel more consistent as they ran at the same framerate, rather than dropping from 60 to 30fps (like on the PS5).

Also, Alan Wake Remastered has one of the biggest differences in install size which I’ve seen on the PlayStation 5 so far. The PS5 version is just over 29GB yet the PS4 version is almost 59GB! That’s a whopping 30GB difference for a game running with a lower resolution and quality. Not to mention, loading is fast on both platforms but is hardly noticeable on the PS5 thanks to the internal SSD.

PS5 (left) vs original PC version (right)

More interesting technical details
The FAQs answered a few other questions which I think people will want answering; such as…

Cross-buy – Buying the game on the PSN store, the Xbox Store, or picking up the physical PS4/Xbox One edition will give you both the last and current-gen versions. On PlayStation, this means you have two platinum trophies, one for PS4 and one for PS5. 

Save transfer – You CAN import your PS4 game onto the PS5. There’s no export option, you simply have the PS4 save on your PS5 and the game ‘should’ ask if you wish to import it once you boot up the PS5 version – just like Ghost of Tsushima and Jedi Fallen Order. 

Languages – The game supports English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and Latin-American Spanish voice acting, but there’s no selection in the menu – it’s pre-determined by what you set your console system settings to. However, if you have a foreign language, you have the option to enable English voices, so I don’t know why there’s no simple language selection option – it’s the same with the subtitles as well.

Visual enhancements – Alan Wake Remastered has had an overhaul in the cutscenes as well as the gameplay. Models have been updated, lipsync adjusted, lighting and effects improved, and the geometry and layout of items have also been adjusted in certain areas.

Nightmare Mode – just like the original version, you have to complete the game on Easy or Normal first, then you’ll unlock Nightmare Mode. If you’re going for the platinum then this means you’ll need to complete the whole game at least twice.

…

Personal Opinion
Do I feel this Remaster is worth picking up… yes, without a doubt. First of all, it has a reasonable price tag, at only £24.99, which is great considering there have been remasters for £50 recently on other platforms. The game itself also looks great, it’s not a direct port of the PC version and it’s not a simple increase in resolution and framerate, a lot of care and attention has gone into recreating the textures, adding in new geometry and items, and giving every aspect a touch-up.

To those worried about any content being cut or altered, the developers have confirmed that the game is 100% the same as it was when it released 11 years ago, they’ve not changed anything other than bringing the visuals up to date with modern standards – well, there’s no Raytracing or HDR, but that’s because Remedy are clearly working on their new game and d3t Ltd didn’t have the time and resources to implement and optimise these whilst maintaining a solid 60fps.

As a n00b to the series, I loved the story, gameplay, and atmosphere. It also made the AWE DLC in Control make a little more sense! I can see why the game has a cult following and why people have been asking for a sequel for so long, it wasn’t as scary as I initially thought it would be, it was more exciting, thrilling, suspenseful, and intriguing.

Fans will love the visual and performance overhaul, new comers will love experiencing the story for the first time.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Alan Wake Remastered looks and feels like a 2021 game, despite technically being 11 years old with a new coat of paint. The gameplay is solid and still holds up today, the story is interesting and keeps you hooked, and the modern visual upgrades enhance the already thick and creepy atmosphere. I’m annoyed I overlooked this game upon its initial launch, but I’m also glad that I got to experience it at its very best on the PlayStation 5 – highly recommend for both existing fans and those who have never played it before. 

These days, if a game was being made that’s based upon a movie or TV show, it usually launches within a year of the source – in order to ride on the hype and active fanbase for the IP. However, Microïds surprised us not too long ago by announcing Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo, a new interactive adventure game freely inspired by the 1958 classic Alfred Hitchcock movie of the same name. I’ve personally not watched the original film yet, something I’m planning on doing tonight, but I believe the game takes the concept of the film and uses that to create a truly unique narrative and experience, rather than a 1:1 retelling of the same story.

The developers behind this incredible immersive thriller are Pendulo Studios, the team behind titles such as Blacksad and the Yesterday series. However, Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo is different to their previous games, feeling more like Life is Strange than a modernised 3D point-and-click game, focusing mainly on narrative storytelling than puzzles and exploration. Also, as stated above, Microïds are the publisher, a studio that needs no introduction to fans of immersive 3D adventure and old-school point and click games.

I’ve just finished playing through Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo, watching as the credits roll at the end of the eleven-hour experience. I was hooked, only stopping in order to get some sleep, it was full of surprises, suspense, mystery, and intrigue, it’s been a while since I’ve been unable to figure out what’s actually going on until the game shows me…

Why’s he so angry?

You begin the game as Ed Miller, a published author who has awoken on the side of a road next to a set of skid marks. Despite being unable to recall the events which occurred shortly before waking up, you do remember being in a car with your wife and daughter, the car which is now overturned at the bottom of the ravine. As if that’s not bad enough, you spot a familiar figure on the nearby bridge, positioning themselves atop the barrier as they prepare to jump! Unable to save them (whether real or just your imagination), the event has left you traumatised and bedridden due to a severe case of vertigo.

Why is Ed confined to his bed and not being questioned about the death of his wife and child? Upon further inspection, there is no sign of any bodies or blood within the vehicle. There’s also no photographs or witnesses who can back up Ed’s story about the two victims. Is he going mad, maybe it’s a side-effect of his condition, or did something happen whilst he was unconscious prior to the incident? Either way, nothing is clear anymore, his memories are corrupted and misleading, he’s having trouble determining what’s reality or fiction – nobody believes him, yet he refuses to let go of what he determines to be the ‘truth’.

In an effort to heal and stabilise Ed’s condition, his old friend hires a psychiatrist who performs hypnotherapy as part of her recovery process. She speaks with Ed in order to hear how he perceived his memories of past events, followed by delving into his subconscious in order to untangle the truth from the rose-tinted lies. However, in order to discover what happened a few weeks ago, you must go back to when you were a child and try to find the source of the vertigo condition.

As the game progresses, you take control of various characters. You’ll run the therapy sessions as Julia, replay memories as Ed, investigate as Nick (the sheriff), and see things from a different perspective via a fourth character. At times it felt confusing, but everything eventually is answered and put into context as the various stories and memories come together.

Quantic Dream fans will have seen these prompts before!

Gameplay
Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo is a third-person interactive adventure, focusing on storytelling and the narrative rather than puzzles and action. If I was to liken it to previous games, I’d say it’s akin to the Quantic Dreams titles but without the branching pathways. That’s right, this game is a linear experience with no deviation from the main storyline (from what I could see). There are moments where you can go for a wander and either interact with objects or enter a new location to have a nosey around, but it just leads to a change in dialogue and/or responses you can give when talking to someone in the same scene. 

However, this isn’t a negative point, the game isn’t trying to advertise itself as a puzzle game or 3D point-and-click adventure, such as Beyond a Steel Sky, it’s an interactive thriller based upon the concept from the legendary Alfred Hitchcock. The game is very cinematic and well-scripted, it’s like you’re watching a film that you’re in control of at certain times. Plus, there are gameplay elements within the experience, such as when you’re analysing the memories within hypnosis in order to push aside the lies and traumatically suppressed truths.

Returning to Quantic Dreams, there are a number of ‘controller interactions’ throughout the game, similar to those seen in titles from the aforementioned developer. For example, it may indicate to push one or two sticks in a certain direction to pick something up or open a door, maybe push up then rotate the stick to unscrew something. Most of these let you take your time, but there are some which have a time limit on them, resulting in a failure or stumble if you’re too slow or press the wrong button. Sadly, there are no accessibility options to disable the timed events for those who struggle to react fast enough.

Yarrrr, Ed has a very active imagination.

Memories
As stated previously, one of the key gameplay mechanics of Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo has to be the hypnotherapy sessions. After talking to Ed, and playing out his memories as an interactive adventure, you’ll follow this up by placing him within a trance as he recalls the events in a different light. To analyse them further, you skip through the shortened version – like a videotape – and observe key moments by taking control of a semi-naked Ed as you wander around and interact with various people and objects. Doing this allows you, as the therapist, to determine the truth behind what was really said and done at the time.

For example, when jumping into the memories of your childhood, you recall being a pirate or a KGB agent, seeking out treasure and spying on the enemies under the command of your father and imaginary friends. However, are you hiding the actual events behind your creative imagination, suppressing the truth because it’s too hard to come to terms with, or are you really the murderous psychopath those around you are beginning to believe?

Each chapter has multiple memories to dive into, often leading you to questions without answers and sometimes leaving you in suspense as the game shifts over to another character whilst leaving you on a cliffhanger. But, as I said previously, everything is eventually answered and explained, it’s just not always right away – you’ll piece things together by seeing things from a different perspective, time, or character’s story. 

Despite not having multiple pathways to venture down or a dynamic story, there’s a lot going on in Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo behind the scenes. Agendas, events, and personalities change as you uncover hidden truths and view things from a different perspective. The way everything comes together is paced really well, keeping you guessing right until the final scene (which I would have never guessed!). Also, some of the revelations you uncover are quite disturbing and unexpected, constantly keeping you on the edge of your seat with suspense.

Which would you choose…

Technical
First up, I initially had an issue with the game running correctly, displaying rather severe visual defects and glitches. However, my PC setup is old, an i7 2600k with a GeForce GTX780Ti. So, I opted to install and stream it from my mother’s laptop, which is an i7 with a GeForce 1650 GPU, and it worked perfectly. So, unlike me, ensure your setup meets the minimum specs suggested on the store page to avoid any technical issues!

Issues aside, the game looks and ran great on the laptop. If you’re familiar with the developers’ Yesterday series, the character models are very similar with their almost realistic appearance. They’re all nicely animated and every one is unique, with no cloned designs from what I could see. The lipsyncing wasn’t the greatest, but that may have just been due to the streaming setup I was using. There isn’t a lot of locations to visit, as most of the memories and present-time events take place at two houses, but they’re all well-designed and interesting – you also have full control of the camera when you’re walking around, allowing you to look everywhere.

In terms of the audio, I loved the voice acting and the music. There were a few instances of inconsistent volume levels, with some characters almost shouting their lines in a scene (one of which was quite funny where one person says they’re investigating a death and the other unintentionally belts out “it’s a murder”), and the main character gets his line wrong twice. This error is regarding the same subject, he’s talking about a book called ‘The Son of the Red Corsaire’, but he says Black instead of Red. The subtitles and another scene, later on, says Red, but this particular scene seems to have slipped under the developer’s radar!

On a side note, the game isn’t only in English, there’s also voice acting in French, German and Spanish, as well as subtitles in all of these and both Italian and Russian. 

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo was much more immersive and suspenseful than I thought it would be. Rather than taking the classic movie and creating a 1:1 carbon copy with puzzles, the developers have created an interactive thriller based upon the concept yet unique in its narrative. Although there are no branching pathways or multiple endings, the story is brilliantly crafted and well-paced, requiring you to analyse all of Ed’s memories and experience everyone’s perspectives in order to piece together the truth and reality.

If you love interactive stories, such as the ‘Walking Dead’ era of games from Telltale or the Life is Strange series, then you’ll really enjoy Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo. It’s not a puzzle game like the Yesterday series or Beyond a Steel Sky, but it’ll quickly have you hooked thanks to its immersive gameplay and story.

I was a mere 1-year-old pup in 1995, the year in which this game is set – seeking to elicit vivid and happy memories from the gamers old enough to remember. I may not have been around to experience the innovation and immediate reaction to classics such as Clock Tower (1995), Alone in the Dark (1992) or Resident Evil (1996), but I have caught up with them and can fully appreciate how shocking and special they were and still are. ‘Back in 1995‘ is a game very much inspired by, and in homage to, games of that “golden generation” and while it has its own unique story and setting, largely plays exactly the same as Silent Hill, an obvious favourite of developer Takaaki Ichijo, even if that was released a bit later in 1999.

Here, you play as Kent Randall whom you really know nothing about except that he really wants to get to a radio tower that you see in the distance from where the game begins. There has been some kind of catastrophe where there are hideous and distinctly bizarre creatures roaming around forming misshapen obstacles stopping you from reaching that goal. On the surface, it’s a simple premise…

So, does this game do those classics justice and bring you right back to the good old days? Let’s see…

The story of this game is, in my opinion, its strongest aspect. For most of the game, I was confused about a lot of things while still being completely intrigued. It’s not a long game, taking around 2-3 hours at most depending on how often you’ve saved before you die, but I was gripped by its drip-feeding of information as you progress. You have very little understanding of who you are or why you want to get to the radio tower (except for guessing that perhaps you want to contact some sort of authority – minor spoiler: That’s not what you want to get there for).

The plot moves along in four chapters that basically play the exact same but in different (but not too dissimilar) settings. You meet a survivor at the start, whom you will then go on little fetch quests for before returning back to them and then moving on. It’s a little simplistic and therefore repetitive, but the characters you meet are interesting enough. They each have their own voice actors and personalities but they do however sound a bit like archetypes that are exaggerated, especially the cockney ‘GP’ Doctor that you meet early on. You’ll meet them, learn their intentions and then be sent off on your mini travels to complete a simple task. There’s not much in the way of the story here, just a quick interaction that highlights how you need to progress.

Most of the story will unfold through the discovery of notes and newspaper clippings scattered throughout the various rooms that you explore. The notes are a decent read, especially in the later sections. The first few notes are interesting but don’t really add much weight to the story – as you get further into the game though, they basically serve as the driving force of the plot where you learn more about who you are and what your intentions are. Without these notes, the story is pretty much non-existent, so depending on how much you explore you could be in for a very dull story. What I will say is that it had an ending that I didn’t expect and so was a pleasant surprise. The plot takes a very weird twist that explains a lot of things about the game, such as the reason why you can’t run or why the graphics are sometimes warped. It’s an interesting end and definitely made me want to replay the game with that new understanding.

The gameplay to me is most reminiscent of Silent Hill. To see your health you must go to your inventory where you will see a coloured indicator and percentage of how close you are to death. You can also swap between weapons here but really the pistol is going to be the most reliable option. It’s simplistic but it works just fine and definitely doesn’t feel out of place in a game designed to remind you of those early gaming days.
Back in 1995 also has that same awkward tank controls where you can only walk in the direction you’re facing when you push forward. Turning is cumbersome and can only be done effectively when you’re stood still. There’s no quick turn option and you can’t even run, it certainly captures the feel of the movement from those classic games but from this spells the game’s biggest problems, which we will now get to.

So, despite the classics having tank controls that made gameplay sometimes stiff and frustrating, they had an atmosphere that was imposing and uncomfortable. Back in 1995, unfortunately, lacks any real atmosphere at all. There are no scares, no thrill moments (I’m looking at you zombie dog window smash) and most importantly, no threat. The enemies are just as, perhaps even more so, slow and useless as you. They stumble around and are pretty much obstacles to manoeuvre around rather than monsters that cause terror. You have an abundance of ammunition and healing items if you even mildly explore and so there’s less ‘survival horror’ and more exploration horror.

The only exception is an enemy in the 3rd chapter that moves faster than you and swarms you in pairs or a group of three. The only reason they’re a threat though is that they can corner you and highlight some serious issues in the combat. Because you can’t turn quickly without standing still, you have to allow the enemies to close you down. To make things worse, if you get hit, your animation for your own attack or reload gets cancelled, meaning you can get stuck in a situation where all you can do is spam heals and the shoot button hoping you get enough shots off to get a kill. Therefore I’d recommend returning to the save room many times to make sure you aren’t left replaying entire chapters like I was. It feels extremely unfair and is a randomly huge difficulty spike, even the bigger enemies are slow enough to be dealt with fairly comfortably.

The enemies in the game do look horrifying though, not because their design is great but instead because they’re so unclear and misshapen that they’re actually uncomfortable to look at. I’m not sure if that was the intention, but it works. There are enemies that look like slugs, some that look like giant alien chickens and the first enemy that you meet looks like a floating walnut with arms. They’re very odd-looking which made me feel a little uncomfortable – so I guess they work in a roundabout way.

There are a few puzzles in the game, again like the classic games in the ’90s, but they are very minimal and basic. They usually involve finding a note, getting a code and then put the code in the lock. There’s one example using containers that is fun but it didn’t really have any substance; it didn’t seem to affect anything at all.

Graphically, the game obviously employs a heavily retro visual style, with very little detail and polygonal enemies and characters. Even for a game trying to look retro, it looks worse than it could. There are some areas where walls and floors will warp underneath the static CCTV-like camera style that are extremely uncomfortable to look at and therefore make it very hard to play through. I don’t know whether it was intentional but the music is horrific! It has some very harsh sounds which are probably the creepiest part about the game. If it wasn’t for the music you wouldn’t really know that this is supposed to be a horror game, it feels much more like a sci-fi experience.

This game is difficult to recommend because it just doesn’t have the same effect as the games it tries to replicate. It’s stuck between a game trying to excel on its own by using retro stylistic choices and a game that feels like it’s trying too hard to be the same as its predecessors. While I understand the idea to bring that ’90s nostalgia back to gamers of that time, it ultimately robs itself of being a good game itself. It does, however, do its job because when I was finished playing I immediately felt like going back and playing those old games because they were just far better versions of Back in 1995. Takaaki Ichijo leaves some comments at the end of the game that made me feel a lot better about the game when I was done, so I’m glad they’re there.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
There are some clever and innovatively retro-feeling features in Back in 1995 that I must give a lot of credit to Throw the Warped Code Out for. The game has a heart-warming incentive behind it that makes it very likeable but unfortunately, it just doesn’t stand out as a game in its own right. I think the story is eventually the strongest part of this game but it just doesn’t feel fun to play, and neither is it scary, so I can’t really recommend it.

Developers are releasing remakes now (the recent Resident Evil 2 Remake was fantastic) and removing the tank controls and static cameras for more modern mechanics, which shows that maybe some of these were limitations of the hardware rather than reasons that made the classics great. Personally, I think Back In 1995 didn’t need to replicate everything, it would have been good to see it improve on them.

All I can say is that this game does a great job of showing you how good the original Silent Hill and Resident Evil games are, so its seemingly determined choice to be ‘bad’ worked perfectly.

Certain genres I try and stay away from as they frustrate and annoy me to the point where I know for a fact that I won’t finish them and come to an honest conclusion for my reviews. However, every now and again I spot a game which I feel I have to play regardless of my preconceptions for the genre and gameplay mechanics. Bendy and the Ink Machine is the latest game which had me step out of my comfort zone and take on two of the things I really don’t like in video gaming, horror and hiding in closets! 

So, what tempted me to play this game from beginning to end in one sitting with no breaks? Could it have been the beautifully hand-drawn environments and characters? Maybe it was the creepy and uneasy soundtrack along with its rather disturbing voices and sound effects? It could even be the addictiveness of solving the puzzles whilst being chased by a deformed Mickey Mouse-style character with only a Goofy look-a-like as a mute companion who cheers you on from the sidelines? 

Whatever it was, Joey Drew Studios certainly had me interested from the moment I saw screenshots of the game, and then instantly hooked as soon as I first booted it up. So, Let’s take a closer look…

It’s like walking into a cartoon…

Bendy and the Ink Machine opens with our protagonist, Henry, being summoned to the old Joey Drew Studios. Henry is an ex-employee of this rather run-down and humble animation studio, the studio which birthed Bendy and friends for the entertainment of children all over the world. You’ve not stepped foot into this studio for over 30 years, yet you couldn’t ignore a request from your old friend, Joey Drew, who announces that there is “something special” for him to see hidden away within the building. 

However, Joey didn’t want to show you mere pictures, items, or even a cake (as there is no cake, it was a lie), you soon discover that the ‘surprise’ was in fact that the titular Ink Machine can be used to give life to the animations they created! Unfortunately, we’re not talking about the introduction of characters such as Rodger Rabbit or Bugs Bunny here, the ‘things’ it gave life to are horrific abominations. As such, you must not only try and stay alive as you unwillingly venture deeper into the unknown floors below the studio, you must also fend off possessed ink-creatures and put an end to Bendy’s torment.

I wonder if Heavenly Toys makes the actual toys you can buy in real life?

What is Bendy and the Ink Machine?
The first thing you’ll see when you look at Bendy and the Ink Machine is the gorgeous, yet twisted, visuals which are all presented with a sepia hue over the top of them to give the whole game a 1930’s vibe to it. It’s not only the hue which gives you this strong feeling of yesteryear, but the studio is also full of old fashion machinery, characters who look like they would fit in perfectly with Steamboat Willie, and an overall feeling like you’ve stepped back in time upon entering this accursed place.

As stated before, Bendy and the Ink Machine is a self-declared “first-person puzzle action horror game” which ticks off a few boxes of things I like, as well as a few I try and stay away from. As you move from floor to floor, you’ll uncover various simple puzzles which you must pass in order to either progress further or satisfy the requests of a demonic Angel. These vary but never really get too difficult or thought-provoking. You’ll find yourself pressing buttons to change the pressure on gauges, listening to recordings in order to get clues on what to do next, and scouting various objects to open up new passages.

It’s all rather simplistic in regards to the puzzles, the part that will get you slightly confused, especially at the beginning, is the…

Oh dear, someone’s been doing graffiti again…

…Environments
Bendy and the Ink Machine is a very, very beautiful game. Sure, you may be looking at the images and thinking it could do with a splash of paint or that it looks rather basic over realistic – but that’s the point. It’s like you’ve walked into the inked line-drawings of a madman, which is kind of the truth!

One downside of the various floors for some people will be its lack of hand-holding and guidance as there is no map, no indicators of where to go or what to do, and no hint options within the game. Personally, I enjoy this as I love games that make you investigate and explore without being moved from point to point like a join-the-dots image. However, I do know some people prefer it when there is a little push here and there.

Although, I did actually get stuck in the second chapter for about half an hour and have to look up a walkthrough! I know, I’m contradicting myself, but at least I’m being honest! The issue I had was, the in-game prompt of what my goal was (one of the few ‘hints’ you get) was to find my way into a certain storage room. However, I didn’t realise I had to look for a set of keys by retracing the steps of the person who dropped them. Once I saw that, I went back and listened to the various voice messages and was able to find them with no issues. That’s when I started to pay more attention to what was being said rather than running around like I knew what I was doing!

Peek-a-boo

Attack or hide?
As Bendy and the Ink Machine is touted as a ‘horror’ game, and you see various cupboards with eye-holes you can jump into, I expected that the whole game was going to involve a few puzzles and running into these seemingly invincible hidey-holes and nothing else. Boy, was I wrong! Before too long, you’ll pick up an axe – a tool which can be used to smash up various demonic cut-outs of Bendy as well as planks blocking certain paths. What I wasn’t expecting were the various onslaughts of ink-possed creatures which rose from the black goop in order to eat your soul! Clearly, the axe came in useful here as you slice them up and send them back to whatever inkwell they crawled out of!

There are a few various ‘weapons’ you can pick up throughout the game ranging from a sink plunger to a Tommy Gun! So, whenever you pick one up, it’s probably symbolising an upcoming fight which you’re certainly going to be a part of. On the other hand, the segments I dislike (hiding ones) make an appearance but they aren’t that bad. When you sense that Bendy is approaching you, quickly run and hide in a nearby cupboard until our inky intruder passes you by. I think one of the reasons I really enjoyed Bendy and the Ink Machine is because it’s a horror game for beginners – if the enemies see you jump into a cupboard, they still walk away – it’s very forgiving and not too spooky. A bit like Hello Neighbour, as I was fine with the hiding and jump scares in that game too. Speaking of which…

Oh dear, I think he’s dead…

How horrifying is Bendy and the Ink Machine?
I feel that everyone should be able to enjoy Bendy and the Ink Machine with no issues, especially seeing as I got through it without too many problems. There is quite a lot of jump scares but due to the nature of what’s giving you the scare, it’s all rather comical and done with an effective yet humous response. Also, as above, when you are being chased by either the horrific Bendy or the disturbing Butcher Gang, if you jump into a cupboard then they’ll just go away. To be honest, there is a section of the game, in chapter four I think it was, where the Butcher Gang were pissing me off as it’s a full-on stealth segment. So, once I knew where I had to go, I was just running right past them, into a cupboard, and then running to the next one. It’s not the best way to play, but it worked!

With regards to the imagery. There’s no blood, only ink, and the horrifyingly disfigured creatures are all hand-drawn and kind of resemble what you would get if you let a five-year-old draw their favourite Disney characters, 3D print them, then put them in the oven for a minute so their faces melt. As such, as long as you have a decent amount of patience and you enjoy creepy atmospheres combined with a few jump scares and some action combat segments – you’ll love Bendy and the Ink Machine.

Want. Now!

Technical
As I’ve declared a few times within the review, I love the aesthetic that Bendy and the Ink Machine has gone for. From the hand-drawn borderland-esque assets overlayed with a sepia hue, to the detailed yet simplistic nature of the floors as you descend into the unknown – it all looks great and works well to make you feel uneasy. The visuals aren’t the only stars of the show here either as the voice acting, the soundtrack, and the ambient noises all help to leave you with a sense of dread and suspense at what may be around the next corner. Personally, I went into the game thinking it would be a visually unique take on your standard horror-genre cat and mouse game, I came away from it thoroughly impressed at everything it had to offer. Well, everything bar a few combat segments.

One thing I really enjoyed, even though some people won’t, is the fact that us console gamers have received the final, full product. Bendy and the Ink Machine has technically been out for over a year on PC where it received regular updates as the game released in chapters over the course of around 18 months. Upon the final episode being posted in October, console gamers were given the chance to play this amazing game a month later on all the current gen systems. As I’ve never heard of the game until last week, I found being able to experience it all in one go was much better than waiting. However, if you’ve known about it for a while, you may have seen or read about what’s happened in each of the chapters, thus have spoilers imprinted in your mind about it!

Also, as a side note, the latest patch on the PS4 says the visuals have been ‘improved’, so I’m not sure what’s changed but I didn’t have any issues, bugs, glitches, or visual problems when I played it on my PS4 Pro. 

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
As the saying goes, I came for the imagery, I stayed for the engaging story and interesting gameplay. Bendy and the Ink Machine is on my list of ‘hidden gems’ of 2018 for sure as it’s a game which may have flown under a few peoples radars, yet it deserves a much bigger push into the limelight. Sure, the puzzles are basic, the hiding from the creatures is overly forgiving, and the combat is rather simplistic as well as a bit too unforgiving in certain areas. However, the other core aspects balance these out and end up overshadowing them.

The Borderlands-like graphics help to make what would be a rather horrific state of affairs into a more casual and less disturbing set of events, all whilst retaining the uneasiness and suspenseful emotions it wishes to portray.

Also, I’ve just seen that you can actually buy Bendy and the Ink Machine plushies, action figures, and construction sets! I saw them on Argos HERE but you can probably get them elsewhere too. I know what I want for Christmas…

To anyone who is familiar with the original trilogy – forget what you know. To those who only know about the Black Mirror TV show – don’t associate the show with this game. To those who don’t know anything about the old series or the TV show – don’t worry as this is a completely new story with very loose ties to the original game. There are similar gameplay mechanics with a few new ones thrown in, updated graphics and a darker, more condensed story. Black Mirror takes the theme of the original game and creates a new experience for you to play and enjoy.

Back in the late ’90s/early 2000s, there were a few game genres I used to love playing on my PC when I would get home from school/college, games you could boot up and instantly become lost within their world and lore. I was obsessed with mindless carnage games such as Carmageddon II, beautiful open-world adventure games like Outcast and pretty much any Lucas Arts/Sierra Point-and-click adventure game. They say imitation is the most sincere form of flattery and I’m glad companies started to imitate and expand on these genres, especially the point-and-click games as Lucas Arts focused on the family-friendly style, but this genre could work for anything, including more mature themes.

In 2003, I was introduced to a new style of point-and-click game. I was introduced to The Black Mirror, a dark horror/thriller point-and-click game that was very different from the comedic cartoony games which were dominating the genre at the time. The game had an amazing story, deep character interaction and some very dark themes (I wasn’t going to learn about games such as Dark Seed and Harvester for many years) which really stuck with me over the years. The game developed a following and spawned two sequels in 2009 and 2011. Jump to 2017 and THQ Nordic and King Art Games (The Book of Unwritten Tales and The Dwarves) announced they have acquired the rights to the IP and are rebooting the series!

Fully dynamic lighting helps build the mood and suspense!

The story begins with a vague interactive opening cutscene which does an amazing job of introducing us to our first mystery. An unknown person is running away from something we can’t see, but can certainly hear, through dense fog with screams and voices echoing in their head. The climax of the cutscene is very sudden and unexpected. Who is this person? What were they holding? What drove them to this fatal conclusion? We will uncover the truth behind all these questions and our family history as we play through the dark, atmospheric story of Black Mirror.

We receive a brief introduction to our protagonist, David Gordon. You are on your way to Scotland, to your father’s family home, in the wake of his death as you are soon to be the beneficiary to his estate and must meet up with the family lawyer to go through all of the necessary paperwork. Your only possessions are a letter from your mother telling you to not trust anyone within the Gordon household, a note from your father which contains some random words and symbols, and what appears to be a part of a broken toy in the shape of a tower.

You arrive at Sgathan Dubh, the ‘Black Mirror House’ and are quickly introduced to the current owner; Lady Margaret Gordon, who was your grandfather’s wife; Andrew Harrison, the Lawyer and Angus McKinnon, the butler. You don’t receive the warmest of welcomes which creates a feeling that something is terribly wrong here. You are the only person who believes something drove your father to his death and you must investigate to find out what that was. You set out, in the middle of the night, to explore the mansion and uncover the dark secrets which lie within in order to discover the truth, although you may find yourself with more questions than answers!

Ghostly visions will help guide you in your investigation. Just who is this unknown lady?

If you have played any modern point-and-click games on consoles; such as The Book of Unwritten Tales, The Inner World, or Silence, then the gameplay style should be very familiar. You move around in 3^rd person and if you are within proximity of something you can interact with, a prompt will appear for you to select. I didn’t have any issues with this; however, there is no ‘highlight all interaction points’ present within this game which did lead to me missing a few things until I explored them thoroughly. You also have an inventory but there isn’t any ‘inventory puzzles’, outside of the key puzzle which I’ll explain below, as the puzzles within the game are solved by reading what you pick up or see whilst exploring the house.

The Skeleton key puzzle is the only recurring puzzle and I thought it was done really well. You have a key, which you find parts of, and around the house are various locks. You must rotate the various parts of the key to line up with the lock you are trying to open. I thought this was very interesting as rather than finding various keys or having one key that fits all, you had to practically make the key for each lock you wish to use it on.

A new mechanic which has been added is the ability to manifest memories/ghosts in front of you so you can see what happened in the past. These visions are limited but are more welcomed than a generic cutscene as you have to find the important parts of the vision and examine them without the ghostly figures realising what you are doing and stop your meddling. These reminded me a little of ‘Murdered: Soul Suspect’, only these are moving and not static visions. However, are these visions real or are they being shown to you in order to distract you from the truth?

The detail on Rory’s old, tired skin is quite beautiful!

The character models and various items look great up close. I wouldn’t say the graphics are anything groundbreaking but they all look high quality for a point-and-click adventure game. I have placed a picture above of the groundsman, who you meet in chapter one, just to show you how detailed the models can get. All the light sources, such as the candles, generate real-time shadows and effects which really add to the immersion.

The sound design and voices are perfect. The music is subtle when it plays, but the main sounds you will hear are the ambient sounds of the wind whooshing by or the fire crackling in an otherwise silent room. This really helps to build suspense and makes you a little uneasy at times. The voice acting is great – everyone sounded how they looked and all the performances were delivered perfectly. The only issue I had was the majority of characters spoke in the Queen’s English. The house is based in Scotland yet only one person spoke with a thick Scottish accent, the groundsman. I can see why this would be the case as some people may not understand the Scottish accent, but it would have been nice to have more of them in the game.

One thing I didn’t like about this reboot is the location. The house is great and really detailed but in the original 2003 game, you could visit a sanatorium, a local town, a chapel and a second mansion as well as move around the Black Mirror House and its gardens. However, in the reboot, you only have access to the Black Mirror House, its grounds and one other location. I would have liked the game to allow us more freedom to explore other locations with more variety. Hopefully, this is something we will see if a sequel is created as Black Mirror 2 and 3 both moved from the mansion to a local town with much bigger environments.

What could Lady Margaret be dreaming of?

In terms of technical issues, Black Mirror has a few; however, the good news is that all of them have been reported and I have been assured they should be resolved soon, so my final score will not reflect them. First of all, the game suffers from long loading times. It takes about 20-40 seconds to load up each room, even if it’s just a hallway. This may not seem like much but when you have to go through four loading screens just to go from one side of the house to the other it can start to add up. This is worse in the latter part of the game when you are encouraged to explore in order to solve puzzles as it makes this process less enjoyable and more of a drag. Secondly the lip-syncing isn’t the greatest as the characters look like dogs eating toffees as they talk – don’t get me wrong, the voice acting is great but the actual speaking mechanic needs to be adjusted a little bit.

Finally, bugs and glitches. I had four occasions where my character got stuck when interacting with something, causing me to re-load my save file. The game auto-saves so it isn’t a big issue but it is something they are aware of and are looking into. Regarding glitches, if you re-load at certain times then items may be missing, light sources turned off, puzzles appear upside down and other strange occurrences – I was also advised these are being fixed in the next patch and they never seemed to block off progression or trophies when they occurred in my gameplay.

First 10 minutes of gameplay:

Official Game trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Black Mirror is a great reboot, it took what made the original series great and expanded on it without having to reuse the same story. It’s atmospheric and dark with a few twists and turns which you uncover as you go along, sometimes by giving you more questions than answers. Don’t expect gore and bloodshed but expect a psychological horror with thriller and supernatural themes both thrown into the mix. I can’t praise this game enough and anyone with an interest in narrative-based adventure games should definitely add this game to their library.

Gamers everywhere were being terrified this time last year when we were dropped alone in the forest with no one but Bullet to keep us company as we searched for a missing boy. The already atmospheric and intense experience of Blair Witch, by Bloober Team (Layers of Fear 2, Observer, The Medium), has now had a Virtual Reality makeover, bringing along some improvements and changes to deepen the experience and make it that much more interactive and immersive.

Even though you may have already played the game (like me), this review will be a fresh look where I’ll talk about the game in general as well as the new features integrated with the VR version. I enjoyed my first playthrough of the game a lot (non-VR), this second time, it wasn’t quite so enjoyable – but for both good and bad reasons…

*Please excuse the low-quality images, the game looks better in VR but the Occulus Quest takes very low-quality screenshots*

Story
Despite being called ‘Blair Witch‘, it’s not quite the same story as the famous found footage movie. Instead, we play through the eyes (literally) of Ellis Lynch, a former police officer and veteran. Determined to prove himself able, (both to himself and the police) he takes it upon himself to find a boy that’s gone missing in the woods. Ellis isn’t the most mentally stable person, so he relies on his trusty ‘good boy’ K9 companion, Bullet, to keep him calm.

Having a dog is both a story element and a clever gameplay mechanic, as you become more anxious the further away from Bullet you get. To go much further into the story would ruin the experience for you, as the way it progresses is through various interactive objects in a fun and unique way. For example, you can learn lots about Ellis just by opening up his mobile phone and reading through his text messages to discover random things about his relationships, his mental health and even his food preferences.

There are also collectables, of course, such as pictures, notes and video recordings, which really help immerse you in this creepy world and adds to the experience more naturally then it felt playing the game in ‘flat mode’.

In the VR version, the main story sequences and flashbacks happen in a 2D screen that appears in front of you, rather than as a full-on VR experience. This feels a little bit rushed and takes away from the immersion a lot. If you’ve played Resident Evil 7 in VR, you’ll know what I mean, as the introduction plays out as a 2D screen in that as well.

However, it’s not just at the beginning, it happens throughout Blair Witch: Oculus Quest Edition, making you feel separate from the game somewhat.

Once you get through the nightmarish woods and discover the truth about the missing boy, the game still has some replayability as there are multiple endings based upon your actions. However, one playthrough was more than enough for me as I didn’t really feel tempted enough to jump back in to try and get a different conclusion.

Gameplay
Blair Witch is a lot less about in-your-face jump-scares and more about being alone with your imagination and psychological fears, just like the movie. That being said, there are some genuinely creepy parts of the game that elevate far above the movie. For long stretches, the game is a slow burn through dense and narrow woods. With each step, you’ll hear various noises that you will slowly start to believe is something sinister, though it rarely is. The fact that your mind tells you it is though, is what makes the experience so much better (especially in VR with headphones). The game puts you in the world and with one simple question, ‘are you stable enough?’

The creepiest parts come through your interactions with various devices and objects that you find. There’s one part, in particular, involving a car which I found both creepy yet very impressively presented. The later stages of the game really starts to ramp the tension up massively, with the final stretch of the game in VR being beyond terrifying.

So what do you actually do? Essentially, you’re following a trail and discovering clues by using Bullet as your guide. It’s refreshing having such a helpful companion that doesn’t repeat voice lines or block your path, he’s just genuinely useful and (mostly, barring some weird AI glitches) works fine. Bullet can sniff out scents for you to follow, find collectables, and you can whistle him back on command. Of course, you can also pet him, feed him snacks and play fetch with him too –  you’re going to want to do these a lot because he definitely helps with the anxiety (just like a real doggie).

As you progress deeper into the woods, your grip on sanity slowly wanes and more and more horrible things start to happen to you. Weird photos of spirits lay scattered around while strange noises and screams come through the radio. The tension builds steadily but inevitably and it doesn’t relent. Amongst the silence, you will sometimes come across various creatures that will attack you. These creatures need to be fended off with light, ‘Alan Wake’ style, before they get too close. It’s a simple mechanic that is performed within VR by having to look at the creatures head-on, which is far from pleasant but definitely ramps up the horror from the original version.

You will also be solving puzzles as you progress but, in most cases, they’re very simple fetch quests to open up the next area. The more interesting puzzles are the ones where you find cameras with footage on there that you have to watch and pause in a certain spot. Getting the right frame will reveal a hidden item in the real world that you can interact with. The VR version of the game has toned down the puzzles somewhat, with only the simpler puzzles remaining. While this makes the pacing a little better, it also drains the game of any variety, limiting the experience to mostly just walking through dark areas until the next clue or story beat happens.

One frustration I had with the game when I played it in Flat mode was that it’s very easy to get lost. However, in this version, I didn’t struggle with that anywhere near as much, it felt a bit more linear overall with the removal of certain puzzles. Also, I found that Bullet simply runs in the direction you need to go, instead of wandering around, so you just listen for his bark and follow him. Being so close to the action and immersed in the world also helps as you can see more landmarks which helps you navigate.

*Press image*

What’s the VR like?
The VR itself adds a lot to the experience of Blair Witch and definitely improves the game in terms of immersion for the most part. Even the little ways you interact with objects just feels so much more involved. To flick through the items that you are carrying you literally have to reach to the corresponding pockets and pick up whichever item you want to use. For example, if it’s your phone, you reach down to your left pocket and grab, where you can then hold the phone and flick through the messages, call history, contacts and games. Yes, you can stop for a game of Snake and forget all about what may be stalking you – something I spent more time doing than I should have.

You also carry a radio, a torch and a whistle. All of these have a specific place on your body that you reach to so you can grab them. This mechanic has been used in many VR games, such as Killing Floor: Incursion, but in Blair Witch I found it a little bit fiddly. Too many times the game would grab the wrong item despite me clearly hovering over the object I intended to pick up. Once you have hold of them though, they’re mostly fun to hold and interact. What I really liked was that the tracking of the headset shows you physically moving your fingers across the different buttons on the devices you’re holding – I thought that was a nice little touch.

Where the VR falls down is obviously in visual fidelity. Despite the Quest 2’s decent resolution, the game itself didn’t exactly look amazing. Bullet especially was disappointing with some derpy faces and there being some awful textures when you get even remotely close to objects. The draw distance of the environment for some reason is massively shorter too, probably due to the limited power of the Quest 2’s Snapdragon processor, with trees and objects seemingly appearing when you’re just a few metres away from them.

I’m not sure if the AI has been altered in this new VR edition as Bullet seemed much more ‘broken’ in comparison to the ‘Flat’ 2019 version. For me, he frequently ran into objects and continued sprinting on the spot, sometimes he would jump through the floor, or he’ll have this weird glitch where his legs would raise above his head. It was definitely an immersion breaker that made me laugh moments after seeing images of dead people, so the experience was ruined somewhat.

Since it was in VR, the game should have been a lot scarier than the original but unfortunately, it wasn’t. The tension was higher for sure, especially when you play with headphones as the sounds and overbearing treelines are horrific to walk through when in your face and to scale. Speaking of, the sounds are fantastic in the game, with each snapped twig, whisper through the trees and each burst of radio raising the hairs on your body. It’s not pleasant at all. However, the actual ‘scares’ have been limited, with just a few jump scares added to make it feel more intense. Again though, they didn’t quite land with me and it was more the sound that made them scary than what was actually in front of me.

It’s strange to be saying that a horror game in VR is less scary than the Flat version, but it was. There were a few moments which felt more intense within VR but that was simply down to the format of the game (VR) and not the game itself.

Official Trailer

Final Conclusion:
Blair Witch: Oculus Quest Edition is a bit of an enigma. The use of VR adds so much in terms of tension, immersion and interactivity, that makes it feels both awesome and terrifying. Then, the removal of certain sections and the addition of very basic scares makes it feel a bit rushed as the scares don’t really pay off from the tension that’d been building. It’s only really the crazy ending that feels truly spooky while the simplistic wandering through the woods picking stuff up feels like a limited experience.

If you’ve never played the original Flat version, I still think that’s the best version to play, but it’s worth jumping into the VR edition if you’re a fan of immersive psychological horror games or the original release and want to experience some of the thrills up close and personal. Bonus: You can pet Bullet in VR –  so if all else fails, at least the game has that.

As Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is produced by Koji Igarashi and is considered a spiritual successor to the Castlevania series, I think it’s important to give a brief history to my experience of the Castlevania games. It’s a short and sweet experience which started with Super Castlevania 4 on the SNES when I was incredibly young and pretty useless at playing games. For me, it was ridiculously hard; Super Ghost and Ghouls hard. I sucked at it and soon gave up within hours of frustration and swapped it for another game with a close friend. I even tried it again recently on the SNES Mini and the frustration soon flooded back so I calmly exited the game to never play it again.

Now to my teenage years and it wasn’t until when the same friend that I swapped Castlevania 4 with, brought round Castlevania: Symphony of the Night to play on my shiny new PlayStation that I truly respected what the series had to offer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV series had also just aired for the first time and my thirst for vampires was at an all-time high. Castlevania: SOTN wasn’t just a 2D hack and slash platformer, it introduced a wide variety of weapons, spells and RPG elements through being able to level up and assign points to different attributes, that I hadn’t experienced in a game before. I wanted to be the game’s protagonist, Alucard. It’s a little sad to admit but I may have even written up a bit of fan-fic having Alucard team up with Buffy to fight vampires in Sunnydale (the town in which Buffy the Vampire Slayer is set). Castlevania: SOTN is up there with one of the finest PlayStation games that I have played. I haven’t ever gone back to playing it since my teenage years as I never wanted to tarnish my memories of it.

Back to the present day, well a few years back when Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was first announced in 2015 as a Kickstarter project, my ears pricked upon hearing its announcement and that it was being produced by Castlevania series legend Koji Igarashi. Initial anticipation and excitement were soon followed with trepidation on remembering how Igarashi’s spiritual successor to Mega Man – Mighty No.9 – turned out. Could he really disappoint again and could a Castlevania, specifically Castlevania: SOTN inspired game, hold up to today’s standards influx of more modernised games within the genre, such as Hollow Knight and Guacamelee?

I was fortunate enough to play a build of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night at EGX Rezzed in April of this year and I have to admit, I was fairly underwhelmed by what I experienced. The 2.5D visual presentation looked bland and uninspiring and the game’s protagonist, Miriam, felt way too sluggish in her movements. For the sheer volume of funds raised through the Kickstarter I was expecting more, but I had to remember it was only a demo build of the game. Now, having been able to play the final product, I can put aside practically all of my initial fears.

The premise:
Let’s start with the premise of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, since the gothic setting and excellent cast of Castlevania: SOTN was such a draw for me, would this game excel in this department too? Simple answer, yes it certainly does. I don’t think many characters can top that of the sheer elegance and beautifully-styled look of Alucard from Castlevania: SOTN. Honestly, his character design is exceptional, and therefore Miriam from Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night had a lot to live up to and while she resembles past Castlevania characters, her design is nowhere near as memorable. Miriam’s body is adorned with crystal shards within her skin to be reminiscent of stained glass, which you would think would look pretty edgy, but unfortunately just looks like she has some colourful tattoos on her body. It’s only when you see the rose on her back while crafting does the shard look more like glass protruding from her skin.

Miriam’s outfit is a slick corset styled dress garment and what I like most is that as you find accessories to equip, these actually change Miriam’s character model with headwear and scarves. Also, after a few hours into the game, you come across an NPC demon barber (a clever nod to Sweeney Todd) that will allow you to completely change Miriam’s features. This includes her hairstyle and colour, eye and skin colour, and the colour of your outfit too, which is a really nice touch.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is set in 18th Century England during the industrial revolution. Miriam is known as a Shardbinder, who are humans forcibly fused with demonically-charged crystals that attune them to their powers. Shardbinders were created by the Alchemy Guild to be used as a sacrifice to summon demons from Hell and was originally meant to be used as a scare tactic to show the wealthy leaders of England that the Guild still had power. Things didn’t quite go exactly to plan as it resulted in uncontrollable destruction that wiped out the Guild and much of England until the Church was able to banish them. Miriam, however, was never sacrificed like the other Shardbinders after falling into an unnatural slumber and only one other Shardbinder, known as Gebel, survived the onslaught.

Gebel is our main antagonist, out for revenge against the Guild. Over the 10 years that Miriam is asleep, Gebel sets about summoning demons to attack the Guild and cause destruction across England. It, of course, wouldn’t be a Castlevania game without a castle and Gebel resides in his own called Hellhold (with a name like that I would stay well clear of it!). When Miriam eventually awakens, she is accompanied by Johannes, a former member of the Guild, who watched over and protected her while she slept. Miriam then sets out to confront Gebel, as she promised him that if he ever succumbed to his demonic powers she would be there to stop him. 

Characters:
The premise is really interesting and the rest of the story doesn’t disappoint with twists and turns throughout. You’ll come across a number of intriguing characters and my personal favourite is Zangetsu, a demon hunter from the Far East and is a pretty awesome samurai that initially holds a grudge against Miriam due to her demonic nature. He was the main protagonist in the tie-in title Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon that released in May of last year as part of the Kickstarter campaign. Zangestsu is also voiced none other than by the legendary Solid Snake voice actor – David Hayter, which instantly adds extra coolness to him!

Aside from the main cast, there are some NPCs that offer a number of side quests, which pretty much result in you having to kill a certain number of enemies and collect or craft materials and food. These characters, unlike the main cast, have incredibly bland character models and the quality of the voice acting is pretty rough. A young girl you meet very early on has the most irritating cockney accent and is better-suited being in an Oliver Twist theatrical production rather than in this game.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night’s art style and presentation is still a little underwhelming, however, on a positive note, there is a vast improvement over the earlier build that I played, putting much more detail into character models and the environments, and giving it all a bold and bright lick of paint rather than the drab filter it previously looked like it had on it. There is, however, something still amiss with how some of the characters and enemies move and look when traversing the levels. I think it’s the fact that the scenery is fully 3D rendered whereas character models are cel-shaded. Also, the animation of Miriam is perfectly fine but for some of the other characters, there is a level of jerkiness to it. You only have to look at the animation of Johannes running, which looks like he has shat himself, to make you groan out loud. (Rob – I guess the game should be called “Poopstained: Ritual of the toilet”?!)

If Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night could have gone down the fully cel-shaded route, then it would have made it a much more interesting game to look at. That’s not saying that the game is ugly, far from it. Some of the scenery is gorgeous, such as seeing the blood moon in the sky as you traverse through the Garden of Silence and the stain-glassed windows within the cathedral level.

Gameplay:
The most important aspect of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is its gameplay. It’s ridiculously addictive and I could simply state if you’ve played Castlevania: SOTN you will know exactly what to expect. To say it plays identically to Castlevania: SOTN is doing the game an injustice. It does introduce some new ideas but essentially there is no getting away from the fact that it is like playing a game from a bygone era. A game that should feel stuck in the past, but actually, with the recent surge of games within the Metroidvania genre, it feels well and truly at home, cemented in the foundation of the formula itself and therefore even surpassing those that have tried to recreate it.

The variety in the gameplay is where the game excels. There is an abundance of weapons to find in chests or create, which directly change up your play style. Dagger and short swords are very quick and nimble while larger swords make your swings much slower but you do hit harder. You can even use guns and of course, it wouldn’t be Castlevania inspired without there being whips to use. Combat and platforming felt much more fluid than the demo version I played, and most importantly it’s a whole lot of fun. When you’re not attacking you can guard but I struggled to get this to work effectively, instead, you can avoid attacks by either jumping, doing a back step or even a slide.

Aside from weapon attacks you also have magic skills which come in the form of ‘Shards’. These demonic abilities come directly from killing enemies. This is an excellent system where you generally receive a power reflecting the essence of the monster it came from. Some of these Shard skills are attack-based, like having an elemental fireball or summoning a form of the monster to aid you in battle, whereas Manipulative Shards are used to directly interact with the environment to open new pathways for you to explore and progress. By using one of these skills it will drain your Magic Point (MP) bar which does slowly replenish over time or through items or drops from the enemies. There are Familiar Shard skills too that do not use MP, such as having a fairy that will support you at all times by doing the odd attack to a monster or healing you at times, and lastly Passive Shards which will give you a boost to weapons or your stats.

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has a vast quantity of different enemies (well over 100), some of which you would come to expect such as bats, gargoyles, skeleton knights and general large beastly demons, however, there are some pretty crazy ones too, most noticeably flying pigs and massive chained heads of dogs. I’m all for weird and wonderful and I guess anything could turn up as a demon. I did enjoy that there is a monster called Shovel Armour which looks identical to the gaming character Shovel Knight, which is a very clever little homage to include.

Metroidvania-style:
Generally, I found enemies to not pose too much of a threat if you have levelled well and keep on top of crafting more powerful weapons and equipment, but there is definitely a steep and jarring rise in difficulty when it comes to the game’s bosses. Quickly learning their attack patterns is a must as they take an awful lot of hits to go down and I found Miriam doesn’t always have the quickness to avoid fast-paced boss attacks. I would definitely advise stocking up on potions and food and trying not to use too many of them as you progress through the levels. If you run out before a boss you will most definitely struggle and while a potion may drop from any enemy, you will likely have to travel back to Arvantville to visit Johannes or Dominique to replenish your stock.

Thankfully, in typical Metroidvania fashion, there are shortcuts between the different stages as well as stain-glass mirrored murals that act as portals in which you can travel to the other portals that you have come across in the game world, this drastically helps to save time. Alternatively, if you are struggling with a boss it might be worth grinding a few levels to make yourself more powerful, but for the most part, I didn’t have to do any grinding really except for the hidden bosses.

As you progress through the game, you unlock new abilities which allow you to open up new areas, find hidden items and discover secret bosses. These abilities include being able to double jump, sinking in water, inverting the game’s map and even stopping time (which is a very late game, almost hidden feature). There’s one area that you can unlock, which I won’t go into detail about, but is an excellent little ‘easter egg’ to the classic Castlevania games thrown in for good measure.

Technical:
I had some minor performance issues with some stuttering when transitioning from a cutscene to gameplay and a late-game boss generated a fair bit of slow-down. Also, at times, item drops from enemies would get stuck on the scenery. These little things aren’t game-breaking and didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the game, but I would have expected to have had these resolved before release and even though the game was delayed numerous times, it really could have done with a few more months of polish. I’ve also heard that the Nintendo Switch version of the game suffers from some framerate issues but I’m not aware if these have been patched at the time of this review going live.

Something that I can’t fault whatsoever is Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night’s soundtrack. Upon loading the game for the first time I sat at the beautiful water-coloured scene of the Hellhold Castle, featured on the title screen, and listened to the eerily impressive piano score, which had me completely mesmerised. You could clearly tell from the offset that Michiru Yamane, a former Konami composer who worked on the music for several Castlevania games, was on-board for this project and so very grateful I was for this. I can’t tell you the number of times I stood still with Miriam and just soaked up the melodies playing in the background. It’s been a while since a game’s soundtrack has had me so entranced and I’ve been listening to it endlessly on repeat ever since first starting the game.

For trophy hunters, the Platinum trophy is fairly easy to achieve but it will take a fair bit of grinding and patience. The story took me just over 13 hours to complete and then there is plenty more on offer to ensure 100% completion. This includes unlocking every area of the map, completing side quests, finding and defeating all of the enemies to fill the bestiary, having to collect all the items through chests, purchasing and alchemy; and lastly collecting one of each of the shards available. If you have the drive to do all this, expect to plough another 10-15 hours into the game.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Whilst Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is a terrific game and will keep you entertained for a number of hours, I don’t think the game is worth the £34.99 price tag and I would recommend waiting for a price drop before you buy. When you think that you can purchase Hollow Knight for half that price, it’s more impressive visually and you can easily plough 60+ hours into the game, then I feel that Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, with its lack of polish, should have therefore been priced much more reasonably at no more than £25. I’m minded to say that you are paying more for the fact that the game is produced by Igarashi than its true worth.

I’ll conclude by saying that, quite simply, for fans of the Castlevania series or classic Metroidvania games, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night is an essential purchase. It may resemble Castlevania: SOTN a little too closely, but it manages to set itself apart with an interesting story and cast. It also couldn’t be called a spiritual successor to Castlevania: SOTN without at least a couple of vampires making an appearance. It’s a great game for newcomers to the genre, those who want to experience a Metroidvania game with a very retro feel, however, those more used to modern-day Metroidvania games might find it a little too stagnant and old fashioned for their liking.

I think it might be time that I pick up the Castlevania Requiem collection so I can once again play Castlevania: SOTN. It’s been a long time coming!

It’s finally here! Call of Cthulhu, the game based on the board game based on the stories by H.P. Lovecraft, arrives on the Nintendo Switch in all of its gothic splendour, allowing us to experience the full game wherever and whenever we like. Published by Focus Home Interactive and developed by Cyanide Studio, Call of Cthulhu sees you play as Edward Pierce in the same world as the board game, trying to solve a very mysterious case involving the death of a family in strange circumstances. From this small beginning, the game takes you on a dark and disturbing journey.

I haven’t played Call of Cthulhu before so the Switch version will be my first time. This will be my own view on the game but if you’re interested to see how it plays on PS4 or for a second opinion, go have a read of Rob’s review HERE.

Luckily, I made it through the other side and live to tell you about my experiences in this tale of cosmic horror…

As previously mentioned, you (mostly) play as Edward Pierce, who has been through some dark times. After returning from the war, the horrors in his mind are shrouding his working life so much that he relies on heavy drinking to feel alive and sleeping pills to stop his night terrors. Moments after receiving a phone call announcing that he may soon be out of the job because he isn’t taking on enough investigating work, he gets a knock on the door for a case he couldn’t possibly have imagined. The client’s daughter was killed in a house fire with her husband and son, however, he’s received a painting of hers that he assumes to be a message that his daughter, Sarah Hawkins, is not actually dead.

What follows is an 8-10 hour journey where you must use your detective and survival skills in order to discover just what is going on in the eerie town of Darkwater. The story is definitely engaging if a little predictable. There are some very interesting characters – the main ones are acted brilliantly. However, some of the voices felt a bit over the top but nothing truly stopped the immersion. Also, there’s some twists and turns and some disturbing scenes, but I doubt there will be anything that actually frightens you. That being said, that doesn’t make it boring, far from it. It’s one of the more enjoyable stories that I’ve played in a while. It’s gripping; one-more-chapter-before-I-sleep stuff and I didn’t want it to end. I had to know what was going on and I wasn’t let down by any story beats, even if they weren’t particularly shocking.

One criticism I have of the story is that the pacing feels a bit off later on. There are two or three chapters towards the end where you learn 3 or 4 revelations and it’s a bit overwhelming, I think they could have been spaced out a bit more to make them more impactful. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this journey of truth-seeking and the occult. As you get closer to the truth you descend further into madness; will you make it out alive and discover the cause of the mysterious events in Darkwater?

Call of Cthulhu has three main ways you’ll be playing. They are: investigating, puzzle-solving/reconstructions and stealth sections (aside from some Goldeneye-style shooting sequences very late on).

While investigating, you get chances to explore environments for clues and collectables and talk to various people for information. What might seem boring for most, I actually found the conversations to be the best part of the game. I really enjoyed exploring the various dialogue options that open up to you as you increase your eloquence and investigation skills when talking to the various characters. Each character has their own motivations and secrets and it was so fun being able to choose how I worked out what made them tick.

However, you can’t get all the information you need from people, so you must look around various environments to find secrets to help you piece together this strange and evil puzzle. You will discover hidden notes, pictures and books that you can read in detail that provides some very interesting world-building insight into the town and its people. There is a lot of history to uncover and it all feels important, nothing feels like filler or just another collectable, it all serves a purpose and that has to be commended.

Once you’ve finished searching, it’s time to put on your detective cap and go into reconstruction mode. Here, you will be scanning the environment for evidence on what events happened in the area and replay them through a series of still images based on what things you discover. There are scratch marks on the floor? Maybe there’s a hidden door or someone was dragged? It’s a very interesting mechanic that highlights the detective skills of our protagonist.

The aspect of the gameplay I personally dislike is the stealth sections. Thankfully there aren’t many; this isn’t Outlast or Alien Isolation but I still found them frustrating and long-winded. I fully understand their inclusion; they make sense in the context of the game. It’s not like you’re a super-soldier who can fight of groups of guys and demons so stealth is definitely the best option. Also, I reckon Cyanide Studios thought that a game that is only talking to people and searching environments seemed boring and honestly, to most people it probably does but I would have been more than happy with that. The reason I dislike them is that they’re just so unclear. If it was a case of “get to here by dodging enemies” then that would be okay. Instead, you’re forced to clamber slowly around the same environment over and over again to fetch items and return to interact with a previously useless item and it just made certain areas feel more frustrating than interesting. The mechanics are very simple where you basically have to stay behind them and stay crouched while still completing objectives.

Most of the autosaves in the game are actually very kind, but some of the stealth parts take you back to the beginning which makes it harder. It makes these particular chapters two or three times as long when I just want to go back to being a detective!

All of these gameplay elements are enhanced by a skill tree that affects not only your strengths but also how your game will progress. When the game begins, you are gifted some skill points to assign to your own Edward Pierce. Your choices have an impact on how your game will progress as they each give more importance to a particular skill set. For example, if you choose to increase your eloquence, you can use your communication skills to talk your way out of bad situations. Or, you can instead choose to increase your strength and just stubborn your way out of something using brute force. There are also skills that you improve without using skill points. One of these is the occult skill, where you must find and read books that give you knowledge of the occult and its dark secrets.

This RPG-style skill system makes for some really interesting gameplay moments as it affects your path through the game and the ending that you will get. It allows you to personalise the progression to your own version of Edward Pierce whilst still experiencing an effectively linear story. Pierce feels like a rough stereotype ‘bad cop’ kind of character with not much personality at the beginning but it’s in your choices of skills that make him feel like your own character, adding that sense of empathy. There’s also the replayability that this adds, as there are so many different things that can play out differently throughout the game, not just the endings.

For example, with the puzzles, there are sometimes multiple ways they can be solved. You can either be a smarty pants by figuring them out based on clues or sometimes your strength skill will dissolve any need to be smart as you can smash through that secret entrance instead. Personally, I recommend trying to figure the puzzles out though as they’re just easy enough to not get stuck and just hard enough for you to feel smug when you solve them.

One thing Call of Cthulhu absolutely nails is the atmosphere. The sense of impending horror is always there, whether it’s in the clues you read, the lies of the characters or the foreboding and overbearing settings. Every place you visit in the game, even the pub and the book store which are supposed to be happy, make you feel isolated and tense. If it’s not the people staring at you watching your every move, it’s the way things feel abandoned and unkempt, like something came and just took over. The sounds are creepy, with creaks, screams and demons all sounding increasingly threatening. The lighting is also fantastic, which you have to manage with a lighter or a lantern by filling the oil, and the greens and greys make everything feel mystical and eerie.

The game isn’t particularly scary, there are not really any jumpscares of such, apart from a scripted one in a maze-like sequence, but its more about how uncomfortable it makes you. Then there is the madness that your character endures when he experiences a phobia. If you’re hiding in a tight space or looking at a monstrosity your vision becomes blurred and you feel panicked and isolated. It doesn’t really affect the game, it’s more there to throw you off and make you feel uncomfortable and it definitely works. I just wish had an impact on the gameplay too, other than simply blurring the screen.

I didn’t notice any performance issues at all in either handheld or docked mode. There also wasn’t a difference in visual quality, however, I preferred to play it in handheld mode as I felt closer to the story and it made it more personal but this is purely a personal preference. I didn’t see any frame rate issues, any glitches or anything that made me feel like the game had been scaled down for the Switch. The only thing I noticed was that some character models looked extremely similar – I put this down to a design choice which helped the game’s aesthetic of madness. Whether this was intentional, I’m not sure, but it certainly made it feel creepier, even if it may have just been lazy design, who knows?

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
I was quietly apprehensive about trying Call of Cthulhu for the first time. I had been interested in it since its announcement but I was worried it was going to be disappointing due to the lukewarm reception last year. However, it only took half an hour after installing the game before I found out how wrong I was. The game gripped me from beginning to end and it’s the most uncomfortable I’ve been playing a game on the Switch so far. It’s a superb detective game with elements of gothic and cosmic horror that you can’t help but keep playing. Personally, the stealth parts make some of the more interesting parts feel more frustrating than exciting and the shooting section feels incredibly forced and like a last-minute addition rather than an integral piece of game design.

The story is gripping, if not particularly shocking, with the notes and occult items you find being brilliant pieces of world-building. If you haven’t already, definitely give Call of Cthulhu a go and don’t be worried about performance compromises by playing the game on the Switch – it feels fantastic. The only things you’re really missing out on are the trophies/achievements and the higher resolution/visual quality, but if they don’t bother you, the Switch is equal in every other way.

H.P. Lovecraft is a name we all know due to his stories and creations being the basis of most modern horror films and games. His most popular creation was his stories around the Cthulhu Mythos and how these unforeseen events and creatures could turn a man insane as they became closer to the mythical beast. Call of Cthulhu is based around these events as it was highly inspired by the classic tabletop RPG game of the same name from 1981 but with a different story and plotline.

Cyanide Studios and Focus Home Interactive have delivered a truly horrific and disturbing first-person RPG adventure game set within this dark and twisted universe for us to explore and investigate. The question is, we will survive the night or succumb to madness?

Finally, a case!

Call of Cthulhu opens with a rather insightful look at our main protagonist, Edward Pierce. We’re alone in our Private Investigations office with only an open bottle of whisky for company. As we look around the office we see that we used to enjoy reading and doing various activities but these days, we’re more complacent with sitting around drinking than actually working for our keep. However, a call comes in and we’re forced to take on a case if we don’t want to lose our licence. Just then, as if by coincidence, a case knocks upon our door.

We’ve been tasked with a strange case of murder-suicide involving a respected businessman, a young child, and a celebrated artist on the isolated land of Darkwater Island. The artist’s father is the one who employs us to look into the death of his daughter as he believes the disturbing painting she sent him, just before her demise, was more of a calling card than a gift due to its demonic imagery and subtle details. With little left to lose, Pierce heads off to investigate what should be an open and shut case on this small island, but is he well prepared?

Call of Cthulhu will see you explore various locations, talk to many people, discover clues and talking points with the locals, as well as discovery strange events which are happening behind closed doors. Conspiracies, the occult, cosmic horrors, and insanity all play a part in this mystery, a mystery which will push you to the limit and beyond as you search for the truth behind the Hawkins family suicide…

We seem to know a lot about death…

I know there are a lot of people out there who have been looking forward to this game, I’m one of them, and I can happily say that I feel this game was worth the wait. I feel it captures the atmosphere and mythology perfectly for what it’s trying to deliver within this adaptation, however, there are a few things I wasn’t too impressed by, which I’ll come to later on. Although, if you do pick up the physical version, be sure to update it before you play the game! There was a patch the other day which resolved a lot of issues and makes the overall experience much better to how we played it a few weeks back.

Call of Cthulhu is a first-person adventure game with horror elements and some comical FPS action later on. The majority of your time will be spent investigating and reconstructing crime scenes and discovering new clues via the multitude of books, notes, and diaries you find, and then talking to the locals about what you just found out. As this is also touted as an RPG, you have a skill sheet, as you would see in the old tabletop adventure. This part reminds me of Focus Home Interactive‘s other published game, The Council, as you start with an initial set of points that can be put anywhere and then you unlock more points as the game progresses for you to distribute accordingly. 

However, just like The Council, if you haven’t invested in the right pathway with enough points then certain events or items will be out of your reach. For example, if you haven’t reached a certain level of lock picking by the time you reach a certain chest or locked shed then you wont be able to open it, if you haven’t got a high enough eloquence then don’t expect to sweet talk your way into places, and if your occult isn’t high then don’t expect to find all references to the occult. It’s a game which is begging to be played multiple times by experimenting with the skill tree in order to experience everything that adapts to your abilities.

Damn, did he see me?

Stealth drives me insane!
As with most Lovecraftian games, Call of Cthulhu has a heavy focus on insanity and watching as your character slowly becomes overcome with madness throughout his stay in the vicinity of the cultists. this has been woven into the gameplay in a way which is good yet also kind of pointless. As you progress throughout the game, you’ll come face to face with not only monsters of the fantastical variety but also a bunch of human threats as well. How do you expect you overcome these pesky distractions? That’s right – stealth… 

You’ll be hiding in cupboards, crawling through tunnels, and just ducking out of sight as you try and avoid eye contact with the evil entities. The way insanity works in Call of Cthulhu is you become insane the more the stand around things which creates fear, such as dead bodies and horrific beasts, yet you also seem to be claustrophobic as you also begin to break out into a sweat if you get into a tunnel or cupboard. As such, if you spend too long hidden away, you begin to make noises which could actually alert the enemies and once you emerge from your hidey-hole, you’ll take a few moments to regain your composure and restore your normal vision.

However, I say the insanity is a bit pointless because it makes it seem like you’re going to die if you become mad, but I sat in a cupboard for 15 minutes and nothing happened to me. I would have thought you would die based on how the game reacts and the amount of noise it makes and the visual cues that appear on screen! Unfortunately – this doesn’t cause you to go insane and kill yourself.

Thankfully there are only a handful of stealth segments within the game – I think it was three or four throughout the game. The segments which involve hiding as well as dealing with a creature, now they’re the ones I had a little trouble with until I worked out the pattern and managed to pass them with ease. The game has a very forgiving autosave, so failure usually doesn’t result in that much of a loss.

I may or may not have pissed her off earlier!

Talk to me:
I would say about half your time in Call of Cthulhu, especially in the first half of the game, will be spent talking to the various characters and gaining intel, as well as solving puzzles and riddles. I really loved this part of the game. The puzzles are clever and well thought out with the use of riddles, images, and having to use the information you gather in documents and maps to solve them. I much prefer these over your generic puzzles which a lot of games use, not that there is anything wrong with those. Seeing some unique problems to overcome without any hints or guides online was actually rather fun and allowed me to think about things and gain a bit of satisfaction when I got them right.

Every character has their own personality as well, you never know who is going to be a friend or foe in this game as everyone has two faces, the one they show and the one they wish to hide. We have Bradley, the rather dumb police officer who seems rather helpful, Cat, the leader of the local crime gang yet also very knowledgeable on island affairs, and Doctor Fuller, the island’s psychiatrist. You’ll meet others throughout your adventure, but each and every one seems to have an alternative motive hidden deep inside of them. Also, based on your skills you invest in, things you’ve seen or heard, and notes you’ve read, the conversations you have with these people will alter as you unlock new conversations and key talking points.

I am, aren’t I?!

Different branches?
Call of Cthulhu is full of trophy specific choices which don’t really change the gameplay that much, but they alter it a little based on what you choose to do. This is a mild spoiler but it’s for the first 15 minutes of the game so you can skip this section if you don’t want to see it…

If you didn’t peek, there are quite a few instances throughout the game where you can make subtle choices which allows you to do a different action to achieve the same goal. There are a lot of missable trophies and most of them relate to picking a certain option or bypassing a problem a certain way. One such example of that is a puzzle, later on, involving a globe. You can solve the puzzle and get a trophy or find a way to disable the mechanism, if you have enough strength, and proceed. However, that means you won’t get the trophy and will have to play the game again in order to obtain it. 

You’ll also play the game as various characters through memories and the power of the occult.

Reconstruction of memories and events – quite a popular mechanic recently.

Various unexpected mechanics:
There were two mechanics I wasn’t expecting within Call of Cthulhu. The first being the ability to reconstruct certain scenes and the second a rather comical FPS mode, as mentioned above. 

The reconstruction reminded me of >observer_ as you don’t reconstruct a timeline like in Batman and Detroit, but you do uncover images based on items you find. For example, holding the two shoulder buttons will put you into a super-sleuth mode where certain objects will become visible such as blood, photos, bottles and books. If you interact with these then you’ll be shown an image of the person in question and treated to a verbal re-enactment of what went on here. This also reminds me of Blind as you did the same thing in that with static images rather than moving ones. The information you gather from these segments can be used to further question people on or just used to expand your personal knowledge on what’s going on. 

The FPS mode, or first-person shooter segments, are rather funny but mechanically sound I guess. As this is an adventure game at its core, I wasn’t expecting anything special when it came to the gunplay if I’m being honest. However, what we were given was rather ‘funny’. When it comes time to use your gun, you can’t shoot freely, you basically walk close to your victim and as soon as you lift up your gun and aim, you press to pull the trigger. You can’t really miss and you’re guaranteed a kill as long as you’re locked on – it’s gun mechanics in its simplest form. However, it kind of works with the feeling of the game as it doesn’t want to be an FPS so the developers have tried to hit a sweet spot for adventure and action games to be combined, without alienating the fans of the adventure genre. 

It’s a bit comical at first, but I’ve played that segment three times now and I’ve grown to appreciate it over implementing a real FPS mode with limited rounds and the ability to die based on missing the enemy.

The game looks great in most places!

Technical:
I had a number of issues with Call of Cthulhu initially as the game wasn’t in a good state when we received it two weeks ago. There was a lot of miss-translated text, the lipsync was out, animations during conversations seemed robotic and stiff, the characters clothing was clipping through their bodies etc… However, the patch we received the other day as improved on all of these, they aren’t perfect but they are better than they were before **Update 30/10/18 – there has been another patch tonight that has dramatically improved the animations and lipsync**. You’ll still see dresses and clothes sometimes reset as you walk close to them, like a breeze suddenly whooshed up them for a second, and some of the voices will be a little bit out with the lip movements, but it’s not a deal breaker. It does affect immersion, but for a flat game (non-VR), there is only so much immersion it could create anyways. 

My biggest complaint with the technical side is the sound levels. this is something the developers need to fix as it wasn’t resolved in the recent update. With all the audio sliders on default or the same level, there is a massive inconsistency with the two ways you talk to the people around you. As you approach people and talk whilst you can still walk around, the levels are fine – not too over-powering and match the levels you have set the voices too. Once you enter ‘frozen’ mode, where you can’t move as you talk to people and pick things to say, it sounds like the characters are shouting to each other! The volume for their voices gets stupidly high compared to the other speech elements in the game. Even if you adjust the sliders, they still shout to each other.

Other than that though, the visual quality is great, the atmosphere is really dark and sadistic, and the overall game leaves you feeling uneasy and disturbed at times, especially as you progress in the story. The music is great, it really suits the atmosphere, and the voice acting was generally quite good. I never thought anyone had phoned it in, although a few of the extras with really strong accents did sound like they were trying to imitate the Boston accent a bit too much in my opinion. We just need the characters to stop shouting to one another when they are talking. 

WTF is that!

Personal Opinion:
Despite my issues with the big-mouthed conversations, the comical ‘FPS’ sections, and the rather annoying stealth parts (personal opinion), I thoroughly enjoyed Call of Cthulhu. It was everything I was hoping it would be and more. We had the different branching pathways, even if they didn’t change a whole lot, various skills to invest into, many documents about the occult and Cthulhu to find and read, interesting environments, and a constant sense of dread. I do wish the choices you make made a bigger impact in the grand scheme of things though as most of the pathways you go down via various dialogue options will lead you to the same point in the end.

I was really pleased with the puzzles which were represented in Call of Cthulhu though. I like it when a developer comes up with their own unique puzzles or riddles for you to solve rather than relying on your standard off-the-shelf puzzles. The only downside was that there wasn’t a lot of them. It was like the reconstruction mechanic, a nice feature which we’ve seen in other games, such as >observer_ which I reviewed the other day, but this was only used a few times throughout the whole game. However, I felt I was gaining more intel during these reconstructions than I did with the ones in >observer_, so there’s that!

As a spooky game, I would say Call of Cthulhu is about a 3 or 4 out of 10. It’s not scary other than the one jumpscare which it throws at you. It’s more creepy, disturbing and unsettling than scary. Don’t get me wrong though, it’s still a great game to play this Halloween if you’re into horrific and satanic themes, just don’t expect to be too scared to sleep or hiding behind your sofa.

I would strongly advise you to play Call of Cthulhu on your own with no guide though. It’s not a hard game and it took me just under nine hours to complete the first time as a blind playthrough. Sure, you may miss out on some collectables and trophies on your first play, but you’re most likely going to need two playthroughs anyway due to the autosave and lack of manual saves. So you may as well enjoy it instead of resorting to buying the game and just following someone’s guide for your first playthrough. 

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Call of Cthulhu is a brilliant game inspired by the classic H.P. Lovecraft stories and 1981 tabletop game. Watch as our protagonist becomes overwhelmed with madness in this tale of conspiracies, lies, trust, and the occult. The investigation mechanics which range from verbal questioning to reconstructing the crime scenes are all done really well and even the oddly placed FPS segment has its own charm. The game does let itself down with some of the lip syncing and animations, but it redeems itself with its story and dialogue which may be fairly predictable but it’s still a lot of fun.

If you’re looking for a game to play this Halloween, Call of Cthulhu has you covered. It won’t scare the pants off you but it will leave you feeling slightly disturbed and uneasy. 

the game has also been released on the Nintendo Switch. Please click HERE to read my colleagues thoughts on the game.

Every 100 years Dracula comes back to life and is stronger than ever before, forcing mankind to call upon a saviour to save the day. The Belmont Clan are always up for a challenge as they are usually the first in line to help out. In the Castlevania Anniversary Collection, Konami has put together an assortment of eight classic Castlevania games that are as tough as nails, yet so satisfying to play – just like they were when I played them originally all those years ago.

These games are often used for inspiration, both visually and in terms of their difficulty, within the infamous ‘Metroidvania’ genre, so what’s so special about them?

The collection is made up of gems from both Nintendo (NES, Gameboy, SNES) and Sega (Genesis/Mega Drive). The only games omitted from this ‘pre-Symphony of the Night‘ collection are Dracula X for the SNES and Rondo of Blood. Rondo of Blood was likely not included as just a few months ago it was released alongside Symphony of the Night in the Castlevania Requiem Collection. It’s a little disappointing as I would’ve liked to see all of the early games in one spot, but hey, at least we get eight classic titles in one package!

So, what are the basis of each game of this marvellous collection? Here’s a brief description of each game:

Castlevania (NES, 1987/88) – You play as Simon Belmont who’s a descendant of the Belmont clan, a family of vampire hunters. He travels to Dracula’s castle in order to kill him via a very linear game that works perfectly as an introduction to the series.

Castlevania II: Simons Quest (NES, 1988/90) – This was my first Castlevania game and the first to explore a non-linear formula. It takes place not long after the events of the first game as you once again assume the role of Simon Belmont, who is on a journey to undo a curse placed on him by Dracula at the end of the first game (Spoilers!). The game consists of you looking for the 5 pieces of Dracula to hopefully undo the curse.

Castlevania III: Dracula’s Curse (NES, 1990/92) – This game is widely regarded as one of the best in the series due to its story and one of the best soundtracks in gaming history. For this game, you play as Trevor Belmont and it’s set long before the events of the first two games. The game is very interesting as it combines two previous mechanics, it plays like the first game but it’s non-linear like the second as you’ll have multiple paths you can follow to get to the end of the game. Fans of Symphony of the Night will want to take note that this is the first game where we meet Alucard.

Super Castlevania IV (SNES, 1991/92) – Super Castlevania is a remake of the first Castlevania, of course with better graphics as well as a stellar soundtrack. The game is also the first to let you lash your whip in any direction you want, as well as let it ‘roll’ around. Outside of Symphony of the Night, I would personally say this game is the best in the series.

Castlevania: The Adventure (GameBoy, 1989/91) – There’s not much you can say about this game, to be honest. It takes place long before the original game and our protagonist this time is Christopher Belmont. It’s much shorter than the other games as there are only 4 levels, but don’t let that fool you. This game is tough as nails as you only get 3 lives and the levels are long.

Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge (GameBoy, 1991/92) – Once again, you assume the role of Christopher Belmont. Dracula has returned (surprise, surprise) and kidnaps Christopher Belmont’s son, Soleiyu, at his coming of age feast, ultimately turning him into a demon. Using Soleiyus powers, Dracula manifests within his human form once more in order to rebuild his castle, forcing Christopher to confront Dracula once again to save his son and the world. Just like Castlevania: The Adventure, there are only 4 levels so the game is rather short.

Castlevania: Bloodlines (Genesis/Mega Drive, 1994) –  This Castlevania is one of the more interesting games of this collection for multiple reasons. This is the first, and only, Castlevania to arrive on Sega’s 16-bit platform, it also plays a bit differently to the previous games. The story takes place in the early 1900s with the antagonist not being Dracula this time around. This time it’s Elizabeth Bartley, Dracula’s niece. Through her nefarious means, she plans to bring her uncle back to life. In Bloodlines, you have the choice of playing as either Joh Morris or his best friend Eric Lecarde. Depending on who you play as you’ll have a different path ahead of you. I really like this game as it uses the ‘Item Crash’ ability that was introduced in Rondo of Blood and we would really utilise in Symphony of the Night.

Kid Dracula (NES, 1990) – This game is rather unique for those of us in the west as we never got to play the original NES version before this collection. However, it was ported to the Gameboy in 1993, but why play it in green when you can now play it in full colour! You play as Dracula’s son who has woken from a long sleep. Swiping his father’s cape, it is up to Kid Dracula to set out on an adventure to destroy the monster Galamoth. Kid Dracula carries the goth-like visuals but in a cute way. You’ll face enemies that fans of the series will recognise, but they are presented in a ‘chibi-like’ art style.

So, now that we know what all the games in the Castlevania Anniversary Collection are, I want to talk about an obvious oversight which I had an issue with. Now, before anybody jumps down my throat to remind me that Konami won’t remake these games just for a collection, I know. The games themselves are perfectly fine, but what I felt disappointed with was the menu screens for each game… I had to laugh when I saw that in each one, they left the original platform’s controls listed within the in-game menus. You’re also unable to remap any of the buttons, so each game takes a few minutes to readjust yourself with the controls.

For example, Bloodlines (as you can see above) has the controls listed as button A, B and C – on the PS4…

Lazy porting aside, there’s so much that can be said about the great things within the Castlevania Anniversary Collection. By far the best feature added is the Save State function. If you have spent any time with a Castlevania game, you know that these games are tough as nails and so having the ability to Save/Load a quick state is nothing short of a godsend.

The ‘special’ menu within each game can be accessed by hitting L2. From here you can access the save states as well the ability to change the games display settings which include original, pixel perfect, 16:9, 4:3 scanlines, pixel-perfect scanlines, and 16:9 scanlines. The Game Boy Castlevania games have dot matrix and colour filters as well!

After playing for a while, I found that you can also find the proper PlayStation controls for each game listed in the L2 menu – this basically nullifies my complaint (kind of).

Without a shadow of doubt in my mind, one of the coolest things to appear on the Castlevania Anniversary Collection is the Bonus Book. Whether you’re a longtime fan of the series or somebody that is new to it, the Bonus Book covers a ton of interesting ground that anyone can appreciate. Included in this 80-page digital book are all the box arts for all eight games along with a brief explanation of each title.

One of my personal favourite sections was the bit where it talked about the history of the series as a whole. If there is one thing that can be said about Castlevania is that they jump around quite a bit and it can hard to follow. This section clears that up smoothly. At the end of the book, there is original concept art along with the ideas that were written down before the construction of each game. I don’t know if this book can be purchased physically, but it would be a fine addition to any fans collection if Konami released it.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
The Castlevania Anniversary Collection is a fine assortment of games, presented in a way that I hope more developers mimic when compiling collections of classic games. The bonus book that is included with the game is probably one of the neatest digital books I have ever seen. The only issues I had with the game was the very little work put into porting the games themselves, as they came off as simple ROMs within an emulator.

Regardless of how they’ve been placed upon modern systems, the games are just as hard as they used to be and they’re sure to challenge old and new gamers, even with save states. Relive this classic franchise today and pick up both this and the Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood collections today.

Castlevania Requiem was brought here by humans who wished to pay the series tribute. Tribute, by stealing men’s souls and making them fans. Perhaps the same could be said of all game series’? Mankind needs a Castlevania on The PlayStation 4 such as Symphony of the Night and Rondo of Blood. What is Castlevania Requiem!? A two-game release by Konami with a pile of secrets. But enough parody of the intro! Have at this review!

The first game I played, in this retro double pack,  was Castlevania Requiem: Rondo of Blood. The original was released in the early 90’s and was exclusive to Japan. Later, it was ported to other systems, with hardcore fans of the series having their pick of which version they thought was the best. For the fans of the PSP edition, they are in luck, as that’s the edition which has been remastered. In Castlevania Requiem: Rondo of Blood, you play as the vampire slayer, Richter Belmont, who is on a quest to save his loved one, Annette. The game is 9 levels long with 4 different routes that can be taken, each one affecting which monsters and bosses you encounter.

It plays similar to other Castlevania games in that you are moving across the screen, in a linear fashion, clearing out enemies and getting to the stage’s end boss. Richter uses a whip and sub-weapons to defeat classic monsters like zombies, wolves, and of course, vampires. The stages look brilliant in this collection and I found myself enjoying even more than I did on the PSP. Though the game may be quite short, don’t think it’ll be an easy ride! Every level is a test of your wit and skill and with progression, becomes harder to complete. I died a lot.

Though I enjoyed the game as much as I did before, I had wished that there was more to it than just a graphical update to the stages and soundtrack. One thing that is different, which I wasn’t fond of, is that they have sounds coming through the controller speaker. It sounds too high pitched and annoying, especially with obtaining hearts. Speaking of the controller, it felt like there was a bit of lag between pushing a button and what happens on the screen sometimes. Sure, it felt like the classic game, but it’s a bit dated and I feel the controls should have been tweaked a little for the remaster. Some other adjustments that would have been nice would have been difficulty adjustments, new levels, or new characters. Perhaps even a gallery with videos and images of the game’s history?

Then I moved on to the powerhouse of the Castlevania franchise, Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night. Since it’s release in the late 90’s, Symphony has been on several lists in regards to favourite PlayStation games or top overall gaming lists. Rightfully so, as it took the series in a different direction and made a formula which would be imitated by other games for years to come. Symphony of the Night always remained as the best of them all though. It’s also made appearances on multiple platforms, similar to Rondo of Blood.

Symphony of the Night was the reason I was most excited to play Castlevania Requiem. I was excited to see Richter again, climbing the stairs to face Dracula for one of the most popular phrases in gaming since the late 90’s but was disappointed to see and hear that this too was the PSP port. Gone is the famous dialogue exchange between Richter and Dracula. I pressed on, though a bit heartbroken that the classic moment was gone.

The main game of Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night has you playing as Alucard, Dracula’s son, who has come to destroy his father’s castle. Upon entering, Death appears and strips him of all his gear, leaving you to explore the castle, obtain equipment to battle monsters, and find Dracula.

The Castlevania series took a whole new approach by removing the linear gameplay and opting to have an open castle to explore instead. Jumping on platforms and running through each of the rooms reveals more of the map so that the player can track areas which are yet to be explored. While progressing, there are rooms with save points that heal the player fully and creates a save up to that point. Graphically, each area of the castle shows different interiors and settings, so it doesn’t feel like one giant room. This is where the term ‘Metroidvania’ came from as these are the mechanics, along with the elements below, which a game must imitate in some form to fall under this newly created genre.

This also introduced RPG elements to the series as Alucard can equip different weapons and armour in order to boost his stats and he can also level up to increase his hit points. To help you out, areas can be grinded by leaving and re-entering rooms to kill specific enemies in hopes of good loot drops or experience points. Further progression and exploration will lead to obtaining additional skills that will help out with exploring the castle. To keep players more intrigued, there are various endings based on how much of the castle you have explored and uncovered.

Richter and Dracula’s dialogue at the beginning was a surprise to me with it not being the famous PS1 version. When the story progressed a few moments later, I was once again disappointed when I saw the very ugly video of Dracula’s castle that looked like it was a stretched PSP video to fit a HDTV – a similar issue I had with Zone of the Enders: The second Runner which I reviewed a few weeks back. Then I saw the character portraits in the game and they are also bad, represented as a blurry mess. So, the level environments look fine, but everything else didn’t seem to get a touch up at all.

While I would brush these off as a few cosmetic issues, there are also a few awkward audio hiccups and, once again, lag with the controller. With it being a remaster of such a highly praised game, I had hoped there would be a strong attention to detail being put into effect as there were so many people eagerly awaiting this release. It reminded me of Rob’s review of Shenmue which failed to impress him as well.

All these tech issues aside, there isn’t really anything new for old fans to check out, it’s just another 1:1 port (but with the PSP voices).

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Castlevania Requiem: Symphony of the Night & Rondo of Blood will have some appeal with nostalgic fans wanting to replay the game on the PlayStation 4. The lack of new features may disappoint them though. Those who are new to Castlevania, or with little interest in the series, won’t gain the disappointment I felt in regards to the voices – yet they also may not thoroughly enjoy the old-school mechanics when there are much better modern games out there which look and play much better. It’s still a decent addition to the PS4 library but will leave old fans wishing that more love and attention was put into the remaster.

I admit that you’ll rarely find me playing spooky games, especially those with tense moments or comprised of many jump scares, but every now and again I’ll dabble in the horror genre if a game looks interesting and not too stressful. Recently I’ve played through the interactive narrative horror titles Man of Medan and Little Hope, which rely on jump scares and horrific imagery to scare the pants off you, but today I’m taking a look at Clea, a stealth-based horror game which has no jump scares, only survival. 

Clea is developed by InvertMouse, a developer who has released a number of Visuals Novels on Steam previously. It seems that Clea was the first time the developer branched away from the Visual Novel genre, with the sequel (Clea 2) planned for release next year – there’s even a demo for it on Steam right now. I’d not heard of the game before we were offered it for review, but the interesting visual design and promise of ‘no jump scares’ had me intrigued.

I’ve played a few games similar to this in the past so I thought it would be fun to see how this spooky indie title compares to them. Let’s see what I thought…

Happy birthday to me…

In terms of the story, Clea doesn’t really give you much to go on. The game begins with you, your brother, and one of your house maids celebrating your birthday in a cold, dark, empty room within a massive (I presume) mansion. After querying where your parents are, the maid goes off to search for them, leaving you alone with your younger sibling. Not contempt with staying putt and obeying the carer, you decide to head out and look for your parents yourself as you hear the noise of the Chaos Servants patrolling the hallways.

Just who are these Chaos Servants and why are they wandering the mansion in search of blood? That’s but one of the mysteries which you’ll uncover as you play the game. Another mystery is presented to you within the ‘birthday room’ via a note which was pinned on the wall from your ‘daddy’. The note is for your brother, telling him to ensure his sister (you) drinks her potion once a day – refusing to do this will supposedly lead to you becoming unstable and ‘losing control’. The letter ends with your parents telling you that ‘none of this is your fault’ and that they will ‘find a solution’…

So, you’re instantly thrown into a mysterious situation with very little exposition or explanation as to what’s happening, why you’re being stalked by demonic servants, and why you need to drink a potion – not to mention what actually happens if you fail to drink it every day. All you know at this stage is that you need to move cautiously and work your way through the mansion by solving the puzzles on each floor.

As you progress through the game you’ll be presented with mini cutscenes between each chapter. But, if you want to fully understand everything then you’ll have to backtrack and find the various secret rooms that trigger playable hidden segments which explain more of the backstory leading up to the events you’re playing in the main game as Clea. These are worth seeking out, even if you use a guide to find the keys required (as some of them are well-hidden). 

Do you have a Chaos Servant?

Gameplay
Clea is a survival horror game with various puzzles you must solve whilst also avoiding being caught by the satanic servants. As such, although the game promises no jump scares, I still found myself feeling quite on-edge and stressed whilst playing the game due to the fact that one wrong move could essentially mean you have to re-do the entire chapter all over again. If playing the game as it’s intended, you can only save once you reach a birthday cake (your parents seem to have placed them throughout the mansion for you) and if you have a spare candle – just like Resident Evil with its typewriter ribbons. But, if you find yourself in need of a helping hand, you can enable infinite saves which allows you to save without wasting a candle.

Why would you want to save your candles, other than to save more often? Clea is a defenceless young girl, physically she has no way to overpower the evil beings out to get her, yet she can use a candle to cleanse the floor she’s on and banish the Chaos Servants until she moves to another floor. This appears to be her one and only means of defending herself until you unlock other modes, so not having to decide whether to save or reserve the candle to clear a floor does help relieve the stress – a little.

As you descend the mansion’s many floors and gardens, you’ll come accross simple puzzles which are enhanced with the threat that you’re also being stalked. The simple task of initially finding a blank key and two attachments to form the correct key to unlock the first door sounds easy, but considering Clea is a little miss ‘Stompy’, you find that it’s a lot trickier than it sounds. 

Basically, Clea is a horror puzzle game with stealth as its primary mechanic (if you wish to stay alive). It can be a little unforgiving and strict with the saving and difficulty, but this can be adjusted via various modes and options you unlock as you play. 

Creeping helps you stay alive – sometimes…

Stealthily does it
As stated above, Clea is all about stealth considering you have to try and move throughout the mansion without getting caught by the speedy servants. However, I think Clea’s parents have either dressed her in tap dancing shoes or boots that are too big for her as she doesn’t half make a noise whilst walking around the non-carpeted wooden-floored hallways. Thankfully, in order to aid you in your quest of escaping this spooky prison, you can adjust Clea’s movement in order to adapt to the situation you’re in.

– The default walk cycle generates quite a bit of noise, alerting any servants within your vicinity – causing them to give chase and murder you in cold blood.
– If you hold down X then you’ll creep around at half the speed as normal, not making any sound at all. Clearly, this is the best way to move but it does make you very vulnerable if they happen to see you.
– Finally, if you hold Y then you can run like your dear life depends on it (it often does). This is the best way to get away from the enemies but it also generates the most noise, alerting all servants on the floor and sometimes indirectly telling them where you’ve hidden.

That’s right – it’s not a game in which you just run away from the enemies, you can hide in one of the many cupboards which are within most of the rooms on each floor. This is a common mechanic for survival horror games which have an antagonist chasing you. You can also distract your potential murderer by flushing the toilet – the noise will summon them as you hide then run past the hallway or room they were patrolling. 

Aside from the cloaked Chaos Servants, you’ll begin to encounter other foes such as spiders you have to look at in order to scare them away (I didn’t think Clea looked that shocking) and creatures which look like eyeballs on stems which will cry out and tell the servants in the level where you are if you move when they pop up to take a peek. Seriously, as the game goes on it becomes more and more stressful due to the limited save points and faster enemies which appear.

Many doors, but where do they go?

Did you hear that?
One of the big positives for Clea has to be the sound design. The game itself has some creepy music at certain points within the game but it’s the ambient noises which fully immerse you. As such, wearing headphones is a must as the game fully utilises sound to enhance the spook-o-meter – you’ll hear the echoing footsteps of the servants as they walk around the floor your on, gradually getting louder as they approach you. Using this and the ability to look through doors (I imagine you’re looking through the keyhole), you can keep on top of where they are as you plan to avoid them whilst solving the puzzles and finding keys.

The sound itself enhanced the experience greatly, even more than some bigger budget titles with a similar premise as they tend to omit the detailed sound in favour of loud instantaneous jump scare events instead. Clea doesn’t have those moments but the suspense and anxiety it creates are far more impactful in my opinion.

The Puzzles
As stated previously, although the puzzles aren’t that difficult, they are enhanced due to the fact you’re constantly being stalked by otherworldly beings. The first ‘puzzle’ is simply finding a few parts of a key and piecing it together correctly in order to open a door (similar to what we saw in Black Mirror), but they become a little more in-depth as you get deeper, such as finding your way through a maze of doors and interacting with symbols in a certain order once you’ve found the solution. 

Nothing is too difficult or cryptic, which is great as you’ll find yourself more concerned with how to avoid the servants and find the next save point more than logically thinking how to progress.

I saw this screen a lot…

I mentioned at the start that I’ve played two games which are similar to this format, they are Detention and The Coma 2. Both of these games have a similar design and mechanics to Clea but all of them have their own reasons to play them.

– Detention is a brilliant horror game about being stuck within a school at night, trying to escape the horrors which stalk the hallways as you uncover the truth behind strange events that have previously taken place. On a side note, there is a movie based on this game and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes the game.
– The Coma 2 is similar but the game branches outside of the school and brings side-quests and more action into the survival horror aspects.
– Clea is less ‘open’ than these two games, having you confined to a mansion which seems to only have a few rooms per floor (it’s more like a tower based on the layout), but it has puzzles and I personally found it tenser due to the way it utilises the sound and scarcer save points.

Let’s play dress-up.

Bonus features
Clea begins with two difficulty levels, Light and Dark. However, upon completing these you’ll gain access to Chaos and Chaos+ modes – I’m not sure what changes in these more difficult modes but I imagine the enemies will be faster (or more alert). You also have the option to start the game with infinite saves from the beginning, with an unlockable Invisible and Arcade mode. Again, I’ve not unlocked these so I’m not 100% sure what they’ll do but I’m guessing Invisible means the enemies can’t see you (only hear you) and Arcade is all about getting points.

Speaking of ‘points’, Clea records your top scores for each chapter on Arcade mode. On Steam this is a global leaderboard but on the Switch, it’s just a local one which allows you to try and beat your own score or play against your friends and family. 

Each chapter has a set of goals for you to beat, such as completing the level without running or completing it in under a certain time, but you’re only shown these upon completing the chapter – not before. This means you’ll have to play the game once without knowing the requirements, then jump back in if you wish to achieve them all. Completing these unlocks bonus artwork for you to peruse at your leisure. Additionally, you can unlock six costumes by completing the game on various modes or viewing certain endings – you get four costumes to choose from by default, making ten in total.

For an indie game priced at £13.49, you get a lot of content for your money – especially if you love the survival horror genre and like challenging yourself to unlock more bonus content. Not only do you have the main story but there are multiple endings, bonus/hidden chapters and harder difficulties to unlock and beat in order to grab all the costumes.

Who’s that?

Technical
Clea looks great, it’s very simplistic but stylised to make it look creepy and cute at the same time. I had no issues with it running in portable or docked mode and the game scaled up to look really good in both formats. Also, the voice acting was well done with the perfect cast of voice artists that matched their on-screen personas. The music (the little it has within the game) was creepy, complimenting the scene, but the ambient noises and use of spatial audio are what really elevated the immersion in my opinion.

Finally, within the game you’ll notice a few clocks in the background – these seem to pull the time through from the system you’re playing on. I know it’s only a small thing but I thought it was interesting how it matched the time IRL as I played. 

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Clea is a very tense and suspenseful skill-focused horror game that relies on spatial sound over cheap jump scares. Although the puzzles are rather simplistic and easy to solve, this never bothered me as I was concentrating on how to avoid being caught at the same time – so simple puzzles meant one less thing to worry about! Don’t be fooled by the cute and charming visuals, the game gets pretty dark and the overall experience can be quite horrifying at times. If you like games such as The Coma and Detention, you need to give Clea a try – you’ll really enjoy it.

Close to the Sun was one of my most anticipated games of the year, I’ve been following it for a while and jumped at the chance to review it on my recently upgraded PC. The first thing you’ll most likely associate with the game is Bioshock, a similarity the developers have denied many times – even the PR information we got specifically states what the game is and isn’t, with Bioshock standing proud in the ‘Isn’t’ column. You’ll be forgiven if you get a nostalgic vibe though, the font choice, the visuals, some elements of the plot, and even some of the scenes you’ll come across will instantly scream the ‘B’ word right into your ears.

However, after completing the game and spending around eight hours deeply immersed within the chilling and rather horrific hallways of the Helios, I can 100% confirm that this game isn’t anything like the game we shall not mention (again). If anything, the game appears to have taken inspiration from narrative interactive thriller/horrors such as SOMA and Layers of Fear, more than anything else. So, let’s jump aboard and take a look at why you need to disregard the fact the game is on the Epic Games Store and buy this game today…

I guess not everyone likes Tesla!

I found the story within Close to the Sun to be short, linear, and predictable at times. Don’t take that the wrong way though, it’s nice to have an eight to ten-hour narrative horror game to play through rather than a 50+ hour open world game with a million and one collectables. A word of warning though, if you’re a bit of a scaredy cat, like me, there are a number of cheap jump scares present within the game, so try not to jump and knock your drink all over the floor when one appears in front of you – I need to take my own advice!

The story itself revolves around our protagonist, Rose, who received a letter one day from her sister who is aboard the Helios working as a scientist. The letter asks you to visit her aboard the ship at your earliest convenience, a rather strange message but best not to leave your sister hanging. The Helios is a ginormous sea vessel which has been created by the incredible Nikola Tesla. I don’t even know if I can refer to it as a boat or a ship because of the sheer size of it, once you’re aboard, is beyond anything you’ve ever seen. Not only that, the craftsmanship which has gone into it is unlike anything you can imagine – from steampunk-like machinery to early electrical contraptions, it’s all very groundbreaking and futuristic for the time.

Speaking of the ‘time’, the game is set in an alternative 19th Century, the alternative is that Tesla and the scientists he has picked up, as he moves the Helios around, have combined to push the birth of new technological advances the world has never seen. However, shortly after you dock you begin to realise that something isn’t right. Dead bodies lie all around you, their blood staining the wooden floors and once pristine decks. Not only that, your sister is alive yet being rather secretive about what’s going on, as well as another mysterious character who has intercepted your radio begging for your help. 

You must explore the Helios, discover what’s going on, what’s happened to all the people aboard the ship, reunite yourself with your sister, help out this helpless stranger, and above all, try to stay alive.

The Helios is massive!

Gameplay
The first thing that you’ll notice whilst playing Close to the Sun is that the game encourages you to run whenever you see anything hostile. This is why I likened it to games such as SOMA, Rose has no combat skills, but she can run at a decent pace. It’s all about exploration, some education, and investigation, not beating people up and casting magical spells out of your hands. So, you’ll be wandering around each area, which is broken up by the chapters, as you solve simple puzzles, look for keycards, work out a way into certain locations. and run away from the dangers. 

Speaking of puzzles, this is one element I really wished the developers would have spent a bit longer trying to implement. For example, almost every door which had a numeric lock on it, which you have to find a code for, has the code either in the same room or literally around the corner in the next room. The game also likes to tell you what to do next, as we saw in Dance of Death: Du Lac & Fey. This isn’t a big issue, but it removes a lot of the exploration when the game practically tells you where to go or you’re locked in a small room with only a few things you can interact with – thus making the solution very easy to work out. 

The ‘combat’ segments, which basically consists of you running away, were a little tedious but none of them caused me any bother. Most of them are like a memory game, you run, die, then it reloads and you try again only this time you know which way you’re meant to go. I did have an issue in terms of the technical side with a few of these segments, as my framerate tanked to single digits, but that was a technical issue on my side which I resolved last night and the game has run at a smooth 60fps ever since. 

Just who, or what, are these ghostly apparitions?

Confusing narrative
Even though puzzles aren’t a strong point in the game, the narrative was a joy to listen to and follow through – even though there are no choices or input from yourself. My problem was that the narrative got a little muddy towards the end of the game. I understood what was going on at that particular moment, but there are things which happen that aren’t answered. I don’t want to ruin the game or talk about things you may not know, but if you’ve played The Invisible Hours then you’ll know that Tesla was a big fan of practical sciences which involves electricity, such as time travel. 

Whilst wandering the silent hallways, you’ll encounter visions of people as they live out their lives and perform various tasks. However, are these visions of the past, present or future? Nobody knows. There were a few of these ‘visions’ which left me with more questions than answers and I was almost expecting there to be an eleventh chapter to clear up some of the loose ends the game leaves open. Hopefully, we’ll get some sort of DLC or maybe even a sequel to the game at some point, as I feel there’s still a story to be told once the credits roll. 

Don’t take what I’ve said the wrong way though, Close to the Sun is very much a self-contained story with a full narrative that follows through to an ending. I was just expecting more based on things I’ve seen and answers I wanted to find. However, It could be that I missed something, as there are a decent amount of notes and documents to collect, which may explain things. I’ll certainly be going back to see if I can find them all in the near future.

This guy has a splitting headache…

How scary is it?
I’m a massive wuss when it comes to horror games, especially ones which have jump scares, horrific imagery, and chase scenes. Close to the Sun had all three! However, I didn’t find it that bad, after the first few jumps. The gore is cranked right up as you’ll see people ripped in two, a leg torn from a body which is matched with the rest of the person via a long trail of blood, a guy crucified with a pole through his mouth and out his butt, and even dissected rats (for some reason). However, these horrific events occurred before you boarded the Helios, so you won’t see the actions taking place, which is probably why I was okay with playing the game.

With regards to the intensity of the chase sequences, sure, they can be intense and you can get worked up if you aren’t sure which way you need to go. However, it’s not like Alien Isolation or Outlast, where you have to constantly be on the lookout for places to hide if you bump into an evil being, these segments are their own thing which doesn’t impact your general exploration of the Helios. 

When I saw this room, all I could think of was IT.

The limitations of the Epic Games Launcher
I’m not someone who is opposed to the Epic Store, I feel more competition for Steam is great as it means they’ll start to try and compete instead of sitting atop their throne of PC Gaming sales monopoly. However, there are a few things the service is lacking which actually impacted my initial playthrough of Close to the Sun.

First of all, there is no screenshot button. I know, the majority of people won’t care, but for making a review, I love including my own images, so realising there was no option was a bit of a shock. Secondly, Close to the Sun only supports Mouse and Keyboard or an Xbox Controller – there is no support for the DS4 natively. Again, this may not matter to a lot of people, but I know a bunch of people who only use their DS4 with the PC, so I wished the game had supported it natively. Finally, there are collectables within the game, with a counter on how many you found, but I can’t see any rewards in getting them all. There’s no achievements and nothing unlocks in-game (I think). When it hits consoles, they’ll be a reason to find everything, but at the moment, games on the Epic Store have no motivation to play beyond completing the game.

However, I resolved the first two issues by simply adding Close to the Sun to Steam as a ‘non-Steam game’. I know, it seems counter-intuitive – adding an Epic Store Exclusive to Steam so I have to have both running. Although, in doing this I was able to take advantage of Steam’s built-in DS4 support, which worked perfectly with Close to the Sun, and I could even map F12 to the Share button on the controller so I could take screenshots just like I can on a PS4. 

This part of the review is purely for your own information, in case you weren’t aware you could do this. It won’t be used against the game, other than the lack of DS4 support, as it’s the launcher at fault and not the game. Although, it would have been nice if the game had an in-game achievement tracker like how games on the Switch have started to do.

Oh dear, this can’t be good…

Technical [bad things]
Before I talk about the good, let’s talk about the bad. As I mentioned previously, I initially had a lot of trouble with the game as the framerate was dropping to silly numbers during a specific chase sequence. It turns out my PC was forcing the CPU to only run at a maximum of 50% (so around 1.7GHz instead of 3.4GHz). That was an issue on my side and the game ran at a flawless 60fps with all settings on High at 1080p on my 780Ti and i7 processor, once fixed.

However, I did still encounter two errors – both of which have been reported to the developer. First up is an issue which may still be something on my end, as I’ve not heard anyone else mention it, and that’s non-loading level segments. It only happened towards the end of the game, but some areas would appear as pitch black unless I sat there and waited a few minutes for them to load in. If I walked into them whilst they were black, I fell through the world. Again, this may be an issue with my HDD (as it was a mechanical and not SSD), or possibly my RAM (as it’s quite old and not the fastest).

The final issue is if you have multiple monitors. I have two, a 4:3 monitor to my left, which is secondary, and a 32 inch TV (I use as a monitor) in front of me which is set to primary. Whenever I loaded up Close to the Sun, it would load on the Left-Hand monitor, my 4:3 secondary. Even if I resized, dragged to the correct monitor, made it full screen, played, then quit; it would still load up on the Left monitor the next time I loaded it up. It’s an inconvenience and something the developers must have overlooked, but once it’s set, it won’t change during gameplay. 

I have to admit, the reflection with the reversed image is a nice touch!

Technical [good things]
Close to the Sun is a stunning game at times. I adore the Art Deco style the developers have opted for which instantly brings to mind locations such as Rapture from ‘that’ game, yet it’s intertwined with a lot of machinery and contraptions which are based around actual designs and creations from Tesla. It means the game has a very ‘futuristic’ look to it, based on the period the game is set within, as well as allowing some rather creepy imagery with the style of posters and paintings you would expect to see aboard a ship of the time. 

Even though the gore and brutal deaths were done before your time on the Helios, it was great seeing random body parts scattered around as you mentally pictured which one belonged to the deceased bodies lying upon the ground. Some of the models were a little ‘plasticky’ to me, as in they were a little too shiny and looked like a kid had gone crazy with his sister’s Barbie dolls as he ripped off their arms and legs and then threw them into a dollhouse depicting the Helios. But, the majority of the characters, whilst combined with the lighting and atmosphere, looked rather gruesome and disturbing. 

I thought the voice acting was really well done, with distinct voices for each of the characters you’ll interact with. The developers have cast the perfect team of Voice Actors who deliver their lines with pure emotion and realism. The whole game was oozing with atmosphere and dread as the music became more intense with action and calm with a hint of suspense and terror whilst you’re investigating. If you want to play something that will give you the willies for around eight hours, this game will not disappoint.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
If you like story-driven suspenseful horror games which aren’t too scary, Close to the Sun is perfect for you. With it’s beautiful Art Deco design, horrific scenes of gore and brutality, incredible inventions from Nikola Tesla, and an engaging storyline, you’ll be hooked from the moment you step aboard the Helios. I found some of the narrative predictable and muddy towards the final chapters, but the overall experience was very enjoyable and entertaining. If you go into the game thinking it’s going to be like Bioshock, you’ll be disappointed, be open-minded and you’ll enjoy it a lot more.

Out now on the Epic Games Store and coming later this year to Consoles, Close to the Sun is sure to leave you feeling uneasy and disturbed as you explore the haunting decks of the Helios in search of answers. 

**The game is out now on PS4, Xbox One and the Switch. You can read our PS4 review HERE**

I’ve previously played and reviewed the Epic Games Store version of Close to the Sun upon launch, a review you can find HERE. However, due to my PC not being the greatest, resulting in a few technical issues on my side, I managed to get a PS4 review code so that I could finally experience the game as the developers intended. Although the game is identical, with no new additions or major differences, I had much more fun playing it on my PS4 Pro at a higher resolution with better visuals and a steadier framerate.

As mentioned previously, after taking one look at the visuals, most of you will instantly be whisked away to Columbia or Rapture, thinking you’ve stepped into a new Bioshock game. However, you’ll want to leave those thoughts and initial impressions at the door as Close to the Sun is more akin to narrative horror and thriller games, such as Layers of Fear 2 and Observer,rather than the action-based gameplay of Bioshock. Also, last time I played around eight hours, completing the game once; this time I’ve played the game in its entirety a total of four times – around twenty hours – thanks to some annoying trophies which I’ll come to later.

Alas, the game isn’t perfect as there are things which bother me and affected my enjoyment more than the trophy-less version on the Epic Games Store – however, not everything revolves around trophies so let’s give the game an unbiased and fair look over first, then talk about the things which have been a bit of a drag.

Oh, cry me a river…

Close to the Sun is the story of Rose, our brave and worried protagonist. She’s received a letter from her sister who is aboard the Helios, a magnificent ship created by the infamous Nikola Tesla which houses a number of brilliant scientists in the middle of the ocean, asking her to come and see her as soon as possible. Upon arriving at the mysterious ship, you’re instantly left in awe and amazement at the ingenious craftsmanship which has gone into creating such a vessel – the steampunk and futuristic design (for 1897) are far beyond anything you could have ever imagined.

However, things aren’t what they seem – you’re not welcomed on the dock, a place which should be busy yet it’s like a ghost town, there’s no living soul wandering around in the living quarters, there’s an ominous “Quarantine” message scribbled on the wall in a familiar red substance, and the once clinical and spotless hallways and rooms are now painted with a nice new coat of thick, red, shiny blood… It doesn’t take long to realise that something horrific has happened here, yet the only thought in your head is, “is my sister Ada okay?” Thankfully, she hasn’t succumbed to the horrors and is willing to explain everything, as long as you can find her research and bring it to her.

Soon enough you’ll realise that Rose and Ada aren’t the only living beings aboard the Helios. Aside from a mysterious character who begs for your help through the radio your sister sent you, there’s also the constant fear of being watched from the shadows and hunted down like a dog by persons unknown. So, find your sister’s research, reunite with her, help this poor soul, and try to stay alive in the process – sounds like a typical day to me…

I don’t think this guy can help…

Gameplay
As I previously mentioned, Close to the Sun isn’t an action game, it’s more akin to a narrative exploration game with a strong emphasis on running away from danger, rather than engaging it face-on. As such, the game actually has a varying playtime (which is also a trophy requirement). If you’re playing the game for the first time, I’d highly recommend you explore the Helios, read all the newspapers, go out of your way to explore and look in every room and pick up every item, and generally take your time and enjoy the creepy jump scares and disturbing atmosphere. This should take you around eight to twelve hours, depending on how thorough you are. 

There is a trophy for speedrunning the game in under three hours (I’ve done it in just under two), but in doing so you’ll miss out on all the well-timed scares and interesting dialogue. So this is recommended after your initial playthrough.

The game is broken down into chapters, some of which are criminally short – even when you’re fully exploring them – taking only ten to fifteen minutes to clear. Each one has its share of collectables to find and simple puzzles to solve. In terms of the puzzles, they aren’t hard, cryptic or really the definition of a puzzle, they’re more like ‘obstacles’ you need to find a workaround for. For example, if you see a panel with three buttons, look for a note with the sequence you have to punch in, the answer is always near the puzzle and not that hard to find. The most ‘puzzle’ puzzles are in the Alpha Quarters, requiring you to look for symbols and match them to shapes on the wall, as well as an optional secret puzzle of a similar nature. 

However, the lack of deep and cryptic puzzles means you can look around and take in the beauty of the Helios at your own pace, even if there are disembodied human remains scattered across the floor and creepy messages painted in blood upon the walls…

Yes, I do ‘like her’

Combat?
If you love games in which you fight giant unearthly creatures with futuristic weapons and well-placed traps which you activate with the power of your mind – Close to the Sun isn’t the game for you. Just like games such as Layers of Fear 2 and Outlast, our protagonist isn’t the type of person who likes to get into fights, she’d rather run away and live for another day. As such, the ‘combat’ and the more intense action scenes simply require you to push down on the L2 trigger as hard as you can and run for your life. 

In theory, this doesn’t sound too bad – I never had an issue with Layers of Fear 2 or Observer, so Close to the Sun should be the same, right?! Unfortunately not. Here lies my first major complaint, one which I also had with the PC version of the game upon its launch as well. These chase sequences, which become quite common the further into the game you get, almost always have a part where you must jump over a box or fallen object. As you run up to the obstacle, an icon will appear, indicating you’re close enough to initiate the jump. However, the game doesn’t always register that you’ve pushed the button – leading to unfair and cheap deaths.

This is a major problem if you’re going for all trophies as one requires you to not die once, so having this ‘issue’ makes the trophy almost impossible to obtain.

My biggest issue, despite it sometimes not registering the button, is the fact the game displays a small image instead of the standard button prompt. Why is this an issue? Basically, most of them require you to push Square to leap over, yet some of them require you to push Cross – yet the logo looks identical. There’s no way to tell them apart. I would love the developers to replace the symbols with generic DS4 button indicators – or at least let us pick that in the options – as well as tighten the responsiveness of initiating it whilst in the chase sequences.

Wtf

The Narrative
Although I was initially confused at the overall story, when I played it back on the PC, after multiple playthroughs and going back and collecting all the documents and newspapers, I fully understand the events and what happened in more detail now. As such, I really enjoyed the story which Storm in a Teacup have told here, even if the ending still has me begging for more as I really hope we can return to the Helios in the future to resolve some unfinished business. 

As the game is a narrative-heavy experience, there’s no going off track and diverting down alternate pathways to uncover new stories and branching outcomes – it’s all very linear. However, that’s not a bad thing. It’s a well-crafted and perfectly planned narrative which presents you with unexpected jump scares, the feeling of terror and dread, suspense which will have you on the edge of your seat, and you’ll be paranoid about people lurking in the shadows. 

Although a game like this usually wouldn’t warrant a second playthrough, as you now know where all the jumps are and the answer to all the puzzles along the way, I’d still recommend it. As I said, I’ve played the game about six times now, simply walking around the beautiful world the developers have created whilst taking in the interesting narrative. Also, the ‘no death’ and ‘complete in under three hours’ trophies artificially give you two more reasons to replay the game.

Bloody clowns!

Spooky or not?
I’ve started advising people how scary these games are in my reviews, as I’m not the biggest fan of horror titles if I’m being honest. So, the below is what I wrote on my PC review (as it’s still relevant here):

I’m a massive wuss when it comes to horror games, especially ones which have jump scares, horrific imagery, and chase scenes. Close to the Sun had all three! However, I didn’t find it that bad, after the first few jumps. The gore is cranked right up as you’ll see people ripped in two, a leg torn from a body which is matched with the rest of the person via a long trail of blood, a guy crucified with a pole through his mouth and out his butt, and even dissected rats (for some reason). However, these horrific events occurred before you boarded the Helios, so you won’t see the actions taking place, which is probably why I was okay with playing the game.

With regards to the intensity of the chase sequences, sure, they can be intense and you can get worked up if you aren’t sure which way you need to go. However, it’s not like Alien Isolation or Outlast, where you have to constantly be on the lookout for places to hide if you bump into an evil being, these segments are their own thing which doesn’t impact your general exploration of the Helios. 

It’s easier to do this than the no-death run!

Issues
Okay, I feel I have to tell you about the things I didn’t like in Close to the Sun, things which I deem as bugs or issues more than personal opinions. Some of which will be repeated from my above text.

1. The icons in the chase sequences don’t always register in the heat of the chase and it’s not clear which button you have to press. I feel these should be replaced with the DS4 button prompts and tweaked so that it’s more forgiving and responsive in order to help with the ‘no death’ trophy. Similarly, there’s a sequence later on in the game where you have to open a door and get through before being caught – I feel you need more distance to pull that off the first time.
2. There are a few frame drops here and there. It’s not major as I only spotted it in a real-time cutscene with a tram, but I’m on the Pro, so the base PS4 and Xbox One may be different.
3. Crouching icons. As of today (launch day), there are two ventilation shafts you can crawl through within the game – neither have the icon telling you to push Square in order to do so. As such, if you don’t know you can do that, you’ll be unable to proceed. This is an issue I reported which should be fixed in a patch.
4. Audio levels. Now, this is a rather big issue in my opinion – one which I have been meaning to send through proof of but time got the better of me. Basically, there are a lot of audio inconsistencies throughout the game with voices being much louder or quieter than others and the noise of electricity being almost deafening (especially if you’re wearing headphones). I did a speedrun last night so I’m going to compile a video of these for the developer tonight – I’m hoping they can be addressed in a future patch. I also recall the sound being an issue on the PC as well, but some of the worst ones have been ‘corrected’.
5. The speedrun trophy isn’t popping. I don’t know if this is me, or if it’s being really strict, but I completed the game last night (I put the console in rest mode for a few hours in the middle, whilst I got food) in under two hours ‘gameplay’ time. I never got the trophy.  I just achieved the Speedrun trophy. I completed the game in 1hr 40mins – I played it continuously from beginning to end without closing the game or putting it in rest mode. So, this isn’t an issue – it must have been because I stopped halfway last time and then continued later that evening.

As you can see, there are a number of ‘issues’ I spotted whilst playing on the PS4 Pro, none of these will be reflected within my final opinion and score of the game though as I feel they can be fixed post-launch and it’ll be unfair to set a score in stone based on minor inconveniences. As such, I’ll come in and cross out the issues as and when they’re fixed.

Memories of the past guide you on your journey.

Technical
Again, the below is from my PC review as I have the same opinions upon playing the game on the PS4 Pro, albeit at a higher resolution:

Close to the Sun is a stunning game at times. I adore the Art Deco style the developers have opted for which instantly brings to mind locations such as Rapture from ‘that’ game, yet it’s intertwined with a lot of machinery and contraptions which are based around actual designs and creations from Tesla. It means the game has a very ‘futuristic’ look to it, based on the period the game is set within, as well as allowing some rather creepy imagery with the style of posters and paintings you would expect to see aboard a ship of the time.

Even though the gore and brutal deaths were done before your time on the Helios, it was great seeing random body parts scattered around as you mentally pictured which one belonged to the deceased bodies lay upon the ground. Some of the models were a little ‘plastic-like’ to me, as in they were a little too shiny and looked like a kid had gone crazy with his sisters Barbie dolls as he ripped off their arms and legs then threw them into a dollhouse depicting the Helios. But, the majority of the characters, whilst combined with the lighting and atmosphere, looked rather gruesome and disturbing. 

I thought the voice acting was really well done, with distinct voices for each of the characters you’ll interact with. The developers have cast the perfect team of Voice Actors who deliver their lines with pure emotion and realism. The whole game was oozing with atmosphere and dread as the music became more intense with action and calm with a hint of suspense and terror whilst you’re investigating. If you want to play something that will give you the willies for around ten hours, this game will not disappoint.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
If you’re looking for a narrative-focused horror game which isn’t ‘too’ scary, Close to the Sun is for you. Visually the game looks beautiful, despite the piles of body parts and blood-soaked walls, with the Helios’ decorations being a brilliant replication of Art Deco interior design with a hint of Steampunk engineering. The story will have you hooked, as you go out of your way to fill in the blanks and find all of the hidden collectables, bringing you to a conclusion which I hope spawns a sequel at some point in the future. Despite the issues, which I mentioned in my review, the overall experience is one which shouldn’t be missed regardless of whatever platform you prefer to play on.

Whether you’re picking this up to play on Halloween, or you just want to pick it up for a creepy night in, Close to the Sun is sure to leave you feeling a bit paranoid and slightly disturbed by the haunting events which you’ll experience.

**As of this week (21st Jan 2020), Wired Productions has created a ‘Digital Deluxe’ version of the game on the PSN store. For the same RRP (£24.99) you now get the game, a theme and the six-track soundtrack. If you already bought the game, you can pick up the soundtrack separately for £1.69 on PSN HERE

If you’ve not bought a soundtrack before, you put a USB drive into your console and it copies over the six MP3 files into a MUSIC directory. Then you can either play them on your PS4 or transfer them to your PC.**

H.P. Lovecraft is a name which the majority of people will recognise instantly. His most popular works of fiction are based around Cthulhu, a beast with tentacles on its face who resides within the ocean awaiting the summoning from its dedicated worshipers. However, Lovecraft also wrote other fictional stories set within the same universe yet with a variety of otherworldly beings and disturbing entities. One such story was At the Mountains of Madness, a tale set within the Antartic and the inspiration for Zoetrope Interactive‘s Conarium.

Although the game takes a lot of inspiration from the novella above, it’s mainly set after the events had happened, yet you don’t need to know anything about Lovecraft’s story as you’ll uncover the information as you progress. We’ve seen a few Lovecraftian inspired games recently from Call of Cthulhu to Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics, but Conarium is the one which left me feeling the most uneasy, let’s find out why…

I love the visuals!

I don’t want to dive into the story of Conarium too much, as half the fun of the game is uncovering what has happened and wtf is going on both to yourself and others around you. However, I’ll explain the first ten minutes or so. Frank Gilman is our protagonist, a member of an expedition who had gone to the Antartic in order to uncover and research strange markings and beings which were found deep within the ice. However, upon your awakening, you find yourself in a small room with a strange mechanical device activated upon the table. It appears to be spinning and shining lights, all of which are giving you the biggest headache!

Unable to recall what had happened, you search the rest of the base for your fellow crew members yet all you can find are empty cabins and no sign of life. Well, no sign of life apart from a few ghostly apparitions which you catch a glimpse of as you explore the confined rooms. Through the documents you find, the items you look at, and the headache-inducing memories you recall, you’ll begin to piece together what the crew were up to, what you found out, what happened to your colleagues, and why you don’t feel okay and keep having visions of the past.

The puzzles vary – this requires you to match the frequency.

As previously stated, I’ve kept it vague as I believe you discovering the information for yourself will lead to a much better experience overall. However, if you’re really into your Lovecraft lore or love playing games with a supernatural and creepy vibe to them, you’re going to absolutely love what the developers have done – there is a great balance between horror and suspense along with some revelations and really interesting backstory.

But, let’s move on. As I’ve mentioned a few times, Conarium is an adventure game first and foremost with an emphasis on exploration and discovery. It reminded me a lot of the new Call of Cthulhu game only with no NPCs to interact with. As you make your way through the base and the horrors which lie beneath, you’ll be both looking for the aforementioned exposition clues as well as solving puzzles. The puzzles weren’t anything too difficult, they mainly consisted of obtaining an item to operate a device or looking for a clue elsewhere so you can figure out the combination for a lock or puzzle. 

The thing I liked about the puzzles, in general, is that they were all different and you couldn’t just guess your way through them. You need to find the solution or hints in order to figure out what you need to do. This pushed you to explore more and in turn, discover more information on the lore and backstory. You do have an inventory yet you hardly pick anything up, unlike in other adventure games. So you’ll usually only have the items which you’ll be using within that particular area. 

Such a strange creature!

If I was to compare Conarium to other games which are out there at the moment, I would say it’s a cross between Call of Cthulhu, SOMA and Layers of Fear/>OBSERVER_. How? Well, Call of Cthulhu for its strong Lovecraftian themes and disturbing imagery, SOMA for its hiding from enemies (which I’ll get to next), and the Bloober games for their immersive horror elements that draw you in and makes you all agitated and scared throughout the whole experience (without jump scares).

As mentioned above, even though this is an adventure game, there is a rather annoying combat section in which our protagonist can’t fight. There’s a trophy for not dying on a single playthrough of the game, this is the reason why I failed at achieving this trophy. At one point, an entity appears and summons some undead creatures to chase after you, it’s up to you to evade their advances and get around them and to the exit. I absolutely suck at running away from things (IRL and in-game), so this lead to countless deaths. Eventually, I got past it by unintentionally discovering a glitch you can perform to make it a lot easier!

Just before doing this review I looked up the actual solution on YouTube, to see where I was going wrong. As I thought, you just have to take your time and go about it in a stealthy way – something I’m not very good at. So, this one part of the game did annoy and frustrate me to the point where I was going to give up, but if you’re into games where you run and hide from beings (such as SOMA, Outlast, Alien Isolation etc…) then you’ll probably be much better at it than me.

Lovely painting to hang in your house…

Technical
Conarium presents us with a very surreal and atmospheric world, both in terms of the audio and visuals. Above ground, everything looks very realistic and calm as the only person wandering around the base. As soon as you go down into the depths though, things become much more fantastical, alien, unusual, and demonic. The music and ambient noises adjust accordingly to create an uneasy atmosphere and the visuals look very disturbing and creepy. In terms of the actual quality though, the game looks and feels fantastic on the PlayStation 4.

If we touch on that a bit more, the real-time lighting and reflections all look superb, the texture quality is very good, the overall aesthetic is perfect for the setting the devs were going for, and the documents you find are all very realistic. The only issue I had was in the beginning as your torch isn’t very bright so it took me ages to find the can of petrol for the generator – which I felt really stupid about when I worked out where it was!

Another feature Conarium has is full support for the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X. In the settings menu, you can opt for a boost in resolution or framerate. However, just like a lot of games recently with this toggle, there is no information on what these toggles actually do. The one request I have for all developers is, if you have a toggle for favouring resolution or framerate, add a tooltip next to the option which tells you what you’re getting/sacrificing. For example, if the resolution mode is 2160p @30fps but the framerate mode is 1080p @60fps – let us know. I switched between the two modes and the resolution toggle looked a little better and clearer but the performance felt the same on both settings. 

Thanks to Wccftech, The PS4 Pro runs at 1404p in resolution mode and the Xbox One X is 1728p – both with support for HDR10. 

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Conarium is a truly atmospheric Lovecraftian adventure game which represents the genre perfectly. Set mainly after the novella “At the Mountains of Madness”, the events that happened prior unfold as our protagonist learns of them at the same time we do through many documents and visions which are both disturbing and informative. As an adventure game, expect a lot of walking around and puzzles to solve, with a small ‘run and hide’ segment, yet the gameplay never drags as it remains suspenseful and exciting throughout the whole experience.

Fans of H.P Lovecraft, and those who just like to dabble with strange and unusual games which venture into the unknown and surreal, should check out Conarium today on either the PS4, Xbox One, or Steam.

How well do you know your neighbours? Do you think any of them are capable of doing terrible things behind closed doors, hiding behind a fake smile whilst concealing their emotions and secrets from everyone but themselves? Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View explores this concept, having you question and investigate those around you in order to discover the truth behind a kidnapping and brutal attack upon a family within your small gated community.

Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View was developed by White Paper Games, the incredibly talented team behind The Occupation and Ether One (and I’m not just saying that because they’re from my neck of the woods, Manchester). I personally loved their last game, which received many QoL improvements and updates since I initially reviewed it, and have been watching their progress on Conway since it was announced a while ago. I was looking forward to playing it on my PS5, with the option of 4K or Ray Tracing, but the console versions have been delayed – so instead I’ve been playing through the PC version on Steam for the last few weeks.

So, after completing the game in one sitting (I literally couldn’t stop playing it), and playing around 50% of it again post-patches this week, why is this game a contender for my GOTY? Let’s find out…

What does this young couple have to hide?

You are Robert Conway, an old disabled retired private investigator who lives on their own in a secluded gated community populated by interesting and secretive occupants. Life here is calm, peaceful, and slightly boring… until tonight. You’re awoken by the sound of sirens and commotion within the communal area in front of your apartment, the police are questioning your neighbour as others look on from their doorsteps – just what happened whilst you were sleeping?

You grab your camera and let your old P.I. instincts take over as you casually begin to spy on/observe everyone from the comfort of your own room, through the window. It doesn’t take long to discover what’s happened – one of your neighbours has been brutally assaulted and his 8-year-old child kidnapped, there are clues and evidence scattered around but there’s only one way to fully understand what’s happened – you need to go down and question your neighbours to see if anyone witnessed these terrible events.

Your daughter is the officer in charge, specifically asking you to not get involved as you’re too close to the suspects (literally) and could potentially disrupt the whole investigation should you poke your nose where it isn’t wanted and alert the one responsible. However, you can’t ignore the chance at uncovering who the attacker and kidnapper are, it has to be one of your neighbours as the gate was locked and nobody else had the means to enter this secluded location at that time of night without alerting those who lived there. 

So, with your notepad, camera, custom crime board, and a particular set of skills, you set out to question every suspect, investigate their houses, uncover their secrets, and find the lost girl…

Stairs, my mortal enemy!

Gameplay
Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View is a third-person narrative-driven thriller, it’s a linear adventure with puzzles, timed-based moments, and some choices which adjust the subsequent conversations and actions. However, I found that the game doesn’t really change based on your choices or the conversation options you pick, sticking to the brilliantly devised narrative without straying from the path the developers intended. However, the game has a nice balance between storytelling, puzzles, and exploration, often alternating as you explore each of the suspect’s houses for clues that’ll explain how they’re related to either crime (or none at all).

The game is split into three parts, observing, investigating, and then linking the evidence together in order to either prove the guilt or innocence of the neighbours you’ve just been looking into. Each person on your suspect list has a questionable motive and opportunity for one or both crimes committed, it’s up to you to sort the facts from the speculation and work out if the dark secret they’re hiding is related to poor Charlotte May and/or her father, or if it’s something completely unrelated which just happens to be a crime they’re also trying to keep to themselves.

The twist here though, which I’ve not yet touched on, is that your disability has constricted you to a wheelchair, limiting your accessibility not by invisible walls or small blockades, but by the fact that you can only go where ramps and lifts are available. This adds an interesting and realistic spin on the various restrictions, such as stairs and boxes clearly being obstacles you can’t manoeuvre without assistance from devices such as a working stairlift.

Thankfully, the game has a bunch of accessibility options when it comes to the controls and general game settings, so controlling our wheelchair-bound protagonist is highly customisable (which I’ll come to later).

What’s in the rug?!

My name is Robert Conway, and I am a nosey neighbour…
You’ll begin each chapter looking through your window as you zoom in and out on your neighbours going about their business. Conway will offer commentary as you snap pictures of key moments, such as your neighbour bludging something out of your view, hiding a box under their bed, stashing things under the floorboards, or getting attacked by an unknown suspect. Once you’ve seen enough, you’ll leave your apartment and try to gain entry to one of the neighbour’s homes or places of work, beginning the investigation stage.

Whilst investigating you’ll often find yourself having to solve environmental puzzles and taking note of evidence and clues, snapping pictures of documents and items so you can refer back to them later. The puzzles aren’t too cryptic or difficult, often finding the solution nearby or a clue on how to overcome it within the same area, but they are all varied and unique from one another. As the game progresses, some of the puzzles become much more involved – such as the lift in the garage and the puzzles within the manor – and completing them all without any outside help was very satisfying.

The final gameplay mechanic is the crime board that Conway has created within his office. At the end of each investigation stage, you end the day by linking your findings together – these are the pictures you’ve taken and notes you’ve made whilst creeping around other people’s houses and businesses. Here you’ll have a few key images with a question assigned to them, you must then look through your evidence and see what relates to each one. For example, you may have taken a picture of a bottle of bleach, but that bottle has five or six uses (sentences to select) upon it, you have to pick the right one and link it to the correct theory/question. 

Piece together the clues and discover what’s going on.

Elementary, my dear Watson
Out of all the stages of the game, the question board was what I struggled with the most. I didn’t realise until I was about three chapters in that you can actually ask for a hint which removes all non-related items from the board, but that still doesn’t help if you’re as stupid as me and can’t figure out what you’re looking for. The more you struggle, the more hints you can request – resulting in not only the useless evidence being removed but also useless selectable options within the remaining pieces of evidence also being removed. So, the bottle of Bleach that had multiple linkable statements will be reduced to just one.

Working out what goes where without resorting to the hints is very satisfying, similar to what we saw in both Murder Mystery Machine and Hercule Poirot: The First Cases previously. However, I’m glad there is a multi-stage hint system for those who can’t work out the answer and find themselves unable to progress without giving up and looking for a guide online. I did find myself using the hints for a later board, as there were so many things I needed to link and I couldn’t seem to get the right answer, but I did manage to solve most of them the first time or with a little trial and error.

I’m not really bothered about Steam Achievements, but if you are, you need to get every deduction right on your first try if you wish to unlock a bunch of the achievements on offer. That means you need to pick the right clue within the right image and link it to the right question without getting any wrong. Plus, there’s no manual saves or chapter select, so if you get it wrong, you’ll have to play the game again to get another shot at being perfect! I know this will happen, but I really hope the PlayStation trophies aren’t the same – you could be rewarded for so many other things within the game yet these particular trophies are screaming “wait for a guide” to me.

A rather unique lockpicking game.

The Puzzles
Each location has its own set of puzzles, unique problems which you must try and overcome by using the various objects around you and clues you’ll find. For example, when you sneak into the garage you discover there’s something you need to look for within the basement, but you can’t simply go down there as it’s flooded and your wheelchair can’t transform into a makeshift submarine. So, you must find a way to power the pump which is hooked up to drain the water, but first you’ll need to figure out how to divert and increase the electricity from another device to the lift, so you can enter the basement – as you can’t use the stairs.

A common puzzle, which I found quite interesting, is the one you’ll have to do each time you try and lockpick a door. Instead of using a method we’ve seen before, it’s more like a maze or labyrinth which is shrouded in darkness. To solve this, you have to first find the point at which your cursor vibrates then hold the action button, that’ll illuminate a cone of vision so you can see the pick. Then, you must slowly work your way through the make until a button prompt appears – at which point you hold that particular button and do the whole thing again whilst still holding the button down.

If using a controller, it’ll usually have you hold the Left Trigger, then the Right Trigger, and finally it’ll ask you to hold either the Left or Right Bumper to finish off the job. As I only have two hands, and I hold my controller normally, when I’m holding down both L2 and R2, I have no fingers near the right position to push a bumper and releasing either will undo the previous picking session. So, I found myself using my nose to tap the final bumper – this isn’t required, as you can plan your fingers in advance and leave a few spare for the final prompt, but my method was to utilise the tip of my nose as a third finger…

Robert Conway is on the case: What’s that smell?!

The story and replayability
I was hooked to the story within Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View, once I got the code to review I simply didn’t stop playing until I saw the credits roll – which took around 11 hours. The theories and predictions I was making as the game went on, all turned out to be wrong – I was left surprised, shocked, and intrigued every time I went to explore a new location and discovered something new. The whole experience was further enhanced by the brilliant voice acting and character animations, delivering a believable and immersive world that I found myself lost within.

My only complaint would be that you can’t skip anything. Even after playing through the game and starting a new one, you must sit through every cutscene and character dialogue without the option to simply click through it or skip what you’ve seen. Obviously, you don’t want to do this on your first playthrough as the story is brilliant and exciting, but when playing it a second time for the trophies, I kinda wished we had the option to skip certain scenes.

I guess another minor complaint/wish would be a chapter selection screen (which may happen as The Occupation had one added post-launch too). As it stands right now, there is no manual save as the game auto-saves at various points – this means if you get a deduction wrong on the question board, and you want the achievement, you can’t simply reload and try again to get the perfect answer achievements. Also, once you finish the game, your save file is effectively deleted as the game literally restarts – so when you next press ‘continue’, you’ll continue from the autosave that triggers upon the restart.

I believe every trophy within Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View is missable (they weren’t active when I first played the game) – so there’s plenty of replayability if you wish to try and obtain them all on your own, without the use of a guide. I’m just hoping the developers may introduce a chapter select and skip options by the time the game comes to consoles.

I love that you can play with the controls before committing to them.

Accessibility
Before I start praising the developers for their incredible attention to detail, Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View is one of the best games I’ve ever played with it comes to adjusting the controls to suit your own style and preference. Seriously, I don’t think I’ve ever smiled and given an audible appreciative “ha” whilst setting the control scheme of any game before! Also, instead of only having the various control options in the menu with a short description, the game lets you adjust the various styles on the fly at the beginning of the first chapter, so you can see how each feels and operates without having to continuously flick back to the menu to swap it around.

I shouldn’t care this much about control schemes, but those responsible for the amount of choice should be commended.

So, what are the choices? Well, you’re in a wheelchair, so this makes it a little more interesting when it comes to the movement controls – when using a controller you can:
1. Use the Left Stick to move forward and backwards, with the Right Stick controlling turning left and right.
2. Use the Left Stick to move based on where you’re pushing, like a standard 3D third-person game.
3. Swap the Sticks in point #1 above, so the Left Stick now controls left and right and the Right Stick controls forwards and backwards.
4. You can use the Right Trigger to go forwards and the Left Trigger to reverse (like a driving game), with either the Left or Right Stick to rotate (two separate options).
5. Alternatively, you can just control all four movements with either the Left or Right Stick – like old-school ‘tank controls’ (also, two separate options). 

On top of this, the invert options are very robust, allowing you to customise if you want to invert a particular Stick, only head movements, head movements and the cursor during investigations, puzzles, and the question board, and even the option to control various viewpoints with only the Left Stick or swap them to the Right one. I wish every game had such a wide selection of customisable controls

However, if using keyboard and mouse then you only have WASD in ‘tank controls’ or ‘Camera Centric’ (like option 2 above). But, you can fully customise the controls to also suit your needs, so it’s essentially the same amount of customisation but with fewer ‘options’.

That’s very curious…

Accessibility – continued
Aside from the robust control options, which are sure to allow everyone to play the game how they’re most comfortable (I played it using the triggers like I was ‘riding’ the wheelchair), there are also a bunch of options which’ll make the game more playable for certain people.

As you’d expect, you can resize all the subtitles, adjust the transparency of the background behind the text, and even have the lines coloured based on who’s talking. You can also activate an audio direction indicator, so you know where the noises are coming from if you have an issue with your hearing. Also, I found that enabling the subtitles will have the game describe the sounds (such as what type of music is playing or if you can hear footsteps), yet there’s no specific option to disable that – which was strange as there’s usually a descriptive toggle.

Other options include increasing the size of the on-screen cursor, which is great if you’re not sitting right near the monitor, disabling or increasing the length of the timers during time-specific segments, and customising the core gameplay mechanics. Things you can alter are changing tapping a button to holding it, helping/removing the lockpicking segments, adjusting quick-input segments, removing the requirement to hold multiple buttons at once, and tapping a button instead of holding it to open cupboards and operate devices. 

So, if you have issues with your vision, reflexes, holding various buttons whilst also using the Control Sticks, or hearing, then you can fully customise everything so that you can enjoy the game – again, something which I wish more developers would seriously consider implementing so everyone can have fun and not miss out.

If you have an ultrawide monitor, there are no cinematic borders.

Technical
Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View ran great on my fairly old PC (i7-2600k and GeForce GTX780Ti GPU). At 1080p and all settings on Very High, I was getting almost 60fps most of the time, with regular drops to around 55+ and a few random dips to below 30fps (most likely an issue with my system). As such, the game felt great to play and it looks good with a very similar visual style to The Occupation, the developer’s previous game. However, the textures did sometimes look a little fuzzy and soft, as if the depth of field was being a little too aggressive – I even thought that it may have some form of dynamic resolution to keep the framerate up, but I don’t think it does.

One thing you’ll have noticed with the images in this review is that the game has cinematic borders at the top and bottom of the screen. Death Stranding used these on the PS5 in order to deliver a 4K resolution image with a solid 60fps (1:1 pixel count but fewer pixels on screen due to the bars). So, I thought that Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View was doing the same thing, only rendering the pixels we see so that performance is boosted whilst still giving us a 1080p image. However, I don’t know if this is the case…

Basically, when you press Escape (or the controller equivalent), the menu appears. But, for a brief second, the borders vanish and you can see that the entire 1080p image is being rendered, it’s just placing the borders over gameplay! I queried the borders with the developer and they advised they were added intentionally to fit the cinematic nature of the game – which I have no issue with – I just don’t know why it seems to be rendering a full 1080p image when it could be adjusted to render less to boost performance a little.

To test this, I was informed that if you have an ultrawide monitor then the black borders don’t appear. So, I forced my GPU to render at 1920×822 (via the NVIDIA Control Panel) and I put the game into windowed mode – as expected, the game now played at the 21:9 aspect ratio without the black borders. I seemed to get around 2-3fps better performance than rendering at the full 1080p, so maybe the borders are just an overlay? I don’t know.

One thing which I found strange was that, despite having the borders there during 1080p gameplay, the game doesn’t keep the subtitles on top of them. Most of the subtitles are aligned on top of it, providing a nice dark background so you can easily read them, but every now and again they’ll be some which are higher up and overlap the gameplay – if the game won’t let you remove the borders, I feel the subtitles should always appear over the lower border.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Conway: Disappearance at Dahlia View is a brilliant thriller that fully immerses you as you spy on your neighbours and take a look at what secrets they have hidden behind closed doors. Each of your suspects has something to hide, but is it related to the attack and kidnapping which you’re unofficially investigating? With very little hand-holding, you must observe, investigate, and piece together just what is going on in Dahila View – overcoming your physical disability and letting nothing stand in your way of discovering the truth. Simply one of the best narrative adventure games I’ve played all year, enhanced by fantastic voice acting, well-written dialogue, and an exciting and intriguing story.

Aside from my minor ‘issues’ with having no chapter select, manual saves, or option to skip dialogue on subsequent playthroughs, I can’t express how much I loved working my way through this game – I didn’t stop playing it until I’d finished it all in one sitting and I can’t wait to play and review it again once it eventually comes to the PlayStation 5 in the following months.

Danganronpa V3 is the fourth game in the series, developed by Spike Chunsoft and localised by NIS America. The series is well known for its dark humour and a rather bizarre take on various subjects (V3 contains things ranging from brutal deaths to Incest).

The main-game Premise revolves around a killer Teddy bear, called Monokuma, who gathers a group of ‘Ultimates’ (Students who are the best in their field) and forces them to play his ‘Killing game’, this involves the students having to kill each other without being caught/found out if they wish to ‘Graduate’ (escape). The game is similar to Ace Attorney mixed with a dating sim – in that you hang out with people, explore, investigate murders and then have a court case to deduct who the actual murder is.

The games are fully stand-alone, but I would recommend playing them in the following order: DR1, DR2, DR: Ultra Despair Girls, Danganronpa 3 Anime, Danganronpa V3 – This will ensure you don’t get subjected to spoilers from the later games/anime, and can fully understand the universe you’re in.

The story begins with you waking up within the ‘Ultimate Academy’ with no memory of how you got there. You meet up with the other fifteen Students within the Gym (who also have no recollection of why they are there) and you get introduced to the familiar antagonist of the series, Monokuma. However, this time he has his ‘Monokubs’, which are five new Monokumas with their own unique personalities who refer to Monokuma as their ‘Daddy’.

Danganronpa V3 plays very similar to 1 and 2 (ultra despair girls, not included), in that the chapters are basically comprised of free-roam (exploring the school and getting to know your classmates), Investigation (investigating whatever event occurs) and the Class Trial (The main crux of the gameplay). The game is presented as a flat comic book style with the majority of interactions taking place with still images which change based on the emotions being presented; however, the free-roaming sections are performed from a first-person viewpoint with the added ability to ‘slap’ objects which are within the various rooms you encounter. This is a new mechanic in the game which allows you to explore more thoroughly than you could in previous games.

The characters and their development was one of the biggest positives of the game, for me. Usually, in a game like this, I will become attached to the main character and don’t really care about the other ‘supporting’ characters as they don’t usually interest me. However, the Danganronpa series wants you to care about each and every character within the school – from Kaede (your character who is a plain Jane with only her Ultimate Skill that sets her apart) to Miu (a rather eccentric mechanic who loves to swear and comment on her ‘assets’ in pretty much every conversation) – so much that when the first death appears in the game, you feel like you have lost something.

However, the deaths that really affected me emotionally were the class trial deaths – I’m not going to go into them too much though, as I don’t want to spoil anything. I shed a tear when the victims and/or the culprits were ‘removed’ from the game, just because of how attached I was and how I didn’t want to lose one of my ‘friends’ with who I had spent a large chunk of my time with. Especially when you hear the subtle music and the reasoning behind the outcome of the trials.

The main ‘gameplay’ has to be within the Class Trials. Whilst you are investigating the murders you will obtain evidence and statements from classmates and the environment – these can be used in the trials in various ways. Players who have played previous games will instantly recognise the non-stop debates and Truth Blades, which require you to shoot/slice your evidence at the contradictory statements. However, they’ve brought a few new mechanics into play this time which will have you driving a taxi to answer specific questions, figuring out a specific word having only being given the letters, breaking blocks to reveal a clue, and more.

The game also brings back the ‘Closing Argument’ section from previous games where you are presented with a comic book with missing panels, it’s then up to you to place the correct panels back on the pages. This works perfectly with the style of the game and even plays back to give you a full overview of the final outcome once completed, as a kind of cutscene/confirmation of your deductions.

The Class trials appear to be a lot longer than in previous games, with these taking roughly 2-3 hours per trial (on standard speed and reading all the text), with an intermission set in the middle which allows you to save your game.

Other than the Class Trials, there are also other things to pass the time such as an item machine (which gives you new items to use as gifts), a casino with a few mini-games based loosely on the trials above to earn coins to get more gifts, ‘hidden’ mini-Monokumas to find, and a few other surprise events which you wouldn’t expect in a Danganronpa game.

Endgame:
Once you finish the game you unlock 2 new games, Ultimate Talent Development Plan and Salmon Team, there is also another game that unlocks after you have played Talent Plan called Despair Dungeon – Monokuma’s Test

Salmon Team, if you have played previous games in the series, is basically ‘school mode’ but without the time management aspect. What this means is, Monokuma has decided not to hold the killing game and would rather just see which students would end up ‘hooking up with each other’ within 10 days.

The gameplay is simple – you have 2 actions per day to talk to/go on a date with any of the students to build your ‘hearts’ (relationship level) followed by the casino, which is where you can play mini-games and purchase more gifts to give the students. Any skills unlocked carry over to the main game.

Ultimate Talent Development Plan is a new feature for Danganronpa. You pick a student and basically play a board game which results in you levelling up certain stats and gaining abilities. At first, I wasn’t sure what the purpose of this was; however, Monokuma’s Test was then unlocked! Monokuma’s Test is basically a dungeon crawler where you take along the students you have trained. I haven’t got very far in it, but it looks like you can unlock students from all 3 games using the in-game currency which you gain by completing floors in Monokuma’s Test.

This looks and works really well, although it does appear to be time-consuming and probably as frustrating as the ‘Magical Miracle Girl Monomi’ game from Danganronpa 2.

These three games aren’t available until you finish the main story though as they contain a lot of spoilers regarding what happens within the main-game storyline.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
I freaking love Danganronpa V3! If you enjoy visual novels, dark humour, and puzzle-solving, then you can easily sit down and get lost in it (it took me 56 hours to complete my playthrough of this) – I can’t recommend it enough. The graphical style won’t be for everyone, but for me, it fits in with the previous games and the whole comic book/graphic novel style it is trying to pull off. The music is great and really sets the mood along with the voice acting (which I had set to English, but you can play in Japanese if you wish), however not everything is voiced, so there is a lot of reading – you get the occasional one-liner from the person you are speaking too, but full-on VO is reserved mainly for cutscenes and the Trials.

If you have played the previous games or any of the Nonary games, this should already be a purchase you have made!

If you are still on the fence though, there is a demo on Steam (the PSN one was removed when Spike Chunsoft relisted it as a title published by them) which allows you to play out a fictional scenario (this isn’t in the main game, it’s been created to introduce you to the mechanics and the gameplay of the series):

Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/app/567640/Danganronpa_V3_Killing_Harmony

Everyone has their most anticipated releases this year, some can’t wait for The Last of Us Part II, others want Cyberpunk 2077 to hurry up, and Halo fans eagerly await Halo Infinite – for me, I’ve been looking forward to Dark Nights with Poe and Munro for what seems like a lifetime! Set within the mysterious town of August, this FMV cinematic adventure presents you with six self-contained stories staring our two quirky radio presenters who we first met in The Shapeshifting Detective, the sequel to this game. Prior knowledge isn’t required, but if you’ve played both The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker and The Shapeshifting Detective, then you’ll know what to expect as you tune in to Radio August…

The developer and publisher, D’Avekki Studios, seem to get better with each adventure they produce. Not only have they now created three video games, but they also filmed a live ‘audience participation’ version of The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker over on Twitch last year (which you can watch HERE), an event that was fun to watch and well planned – the actress, Bibi Lucille, did an amazing job with her improvisation. Video games aren’t their only passion either, they’ve published a number of murder mystery party games, offering you all the tools to host your own ‘whodunnit’ experience. Who knows what they’ll venture into next?

But, today I’m here to talk about Poe and Munro, two very unique characters who are how I’d imagine the British Mulder and Scully would be portrayed, inquisitive yet slightly eccentric…

Yes, I guess we would…

Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is a collection of six self-contained stories, each one exploring a new adventure or series of events within our protagonists’ lives. However, unlike most episodic titles these days, all six of these are available right now, just like how Netflix tends to release all or their own shows at once rather than making you wait for the next episode. Each episode will take you around 30-40 minutes to work your way through yet you’ll feel the need to replay each one numerous times as, just like any other great FMV game, there are numerous choices and pathways to explore, pathways that can dramatically change the episode you’re playing.

This title reminded me a lot of The Complex, another FMV title that came out a few months back, due to the focus on giving you the chance to become the director and tell our impressionable protagonists what to do. Some of the choices you make may only change the way a character reacts or what dialogue they give based upon what you’ve chosen to do, yet others are more drastic and will change the actual events which take place and the direction the episode is going in. 

This is a big step for the developer as their previous two games have been quite linear apart from the final conclusion. Doctor Dekker had you manually typing questions to the patients as you found out more about their conditions and ultimately worked out who killed the doctor – which was random each time you played it. Shapeshifting was a bit more dynamic, introducing hidden scenes and events based upon how you reacted to the people you met – again, with a random murderer as the conclusion. But, Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is more focused on the branching narrative, offering lots of micro and major choices which can lead to alternate endings as well as different content within the episode – thus making it less linear and much more open to replayability.

Who should we talk to? Our time is limited!

Gameplay
For the most part, Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is an FMV cinematic adventure, you’ll be watching the events play out in front of you as you pick an action when presented with a choice. When the time comes to make a choice, you have wordless options appear on the screen either in the form of icons or a circle over things such as characters or objects. At first, I wasn’t the biggest fan of this process as there’s no text so you’re not 100% sure what the outcome of the action will be if you pick it, but I eventually started to love it for the exact same reason – every choice was a mystery. 

Certain episodes have more interaction than others, these are the ones that I enjoyed the most as I felt like I had more control over what was going on and how the story evolved. One such episode is about a child who has gone missing after school, the police won’t do anything about it and poor Munro can’t just sit around knowing there’s a kid out there in need of help – well, that and the mysterious phone call they receive on the radio! Taking control of Detective Poe and Munro, you can pick who to talk to as you travel around August gathering clues. As such, each protagonist talks to different people at the same time, meaning multiple playthroughs is a must.

What I enjoyed doing, as I told the developers I would, was annoying both protagonists as much as I could. However, I had no idea that both Poe and Munro could flip and turn from being ‘normal’ to rather psychotic without any warning, Poe gets rather dramatic and theatrical yet Munro is so much darker and intense than I ever realised. I think one of the funniest moments was in the final episode (which I won’t spoil) – you can either listen to Poe or Munro and I obviously ignored Poe every single time, he was getting quite pissed off with me by the end!

Sure, why not!

The humour
I briefly touched on this above, Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is a humorous game. Sure, it has dark moments and a few parts which were quite serious, but the majority of the game was really, really funny. Each and every episode had me laughing out loud to myself as I played through them, usually at the rather comical banter between the two stars or their reactions to the events going on around them. I have to say, the conversation about whether Poe would run over a bunny or swerve and hit Munro was perfect in every way – I dare anyone to play that and not laugh!

I love the small references and nods towards other games and previous episodes as well. One thing which had me was the characters mugs – they have their names printed on them, Poe and Munro. However, after an event where Poe is mistaken for the famous author, his mug is changed to “(Not Edgar) Poe”. V. Funny.

The supporting cast all provided a great experience as well, each one perfect for the roles they were playing. The Librarian was really funny with her blunt and sarcastic attitude, Millicent (in the second episode) is just the right amount of ‘crazy’, the Hypnotist was perfectly over the top and dominant, and the lovely Aislinn De’Ath returns as the seductive guesthouse owner. My only criticism in regards to the supporting on-screen actors would be that I wished we had longer with them. Again though, this is where the beauty of the game comes in, we can see more by simply replaying the game and picking different options.

One chapter sees the return of the infamous green leather sofa from Doctor Dekker, along with music, cinematography, format, and even the same tone and atmosphere. This was great, I was smiling throughout (despite the rather morbid subject matter) as it brought back many memories of that awesome game and the brilliant live stream. Those who haven’t played The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker may get a little confused with the shift in tone and mechanics, but those who have will absolutely love what Tim and Lynda have done with this episode!

Time to see the doctor…

You chose poorly/wisely?!?
At the end of each episode, you’re presented with a snapshot of your playthrough, a list of the choices you made and what everyone else who has played the game also decided to pick. This reminded me a lot of the classic Telltale games, letting you know if you’ve gone with the same options everyone else has or if you’ve been a rebel and gone down your own path. What I found interesting is that it only shows the results based on the narrative you saw, if you’d picked a different option, the story may have altered and you’d be seeing a different set of results – remember, this game isn’t linear.

I was playing the game both pre and post-launch and I thought it was quite funny that a lot of the decisions were 50/50 (or near enough). For me, this only further built up my anticipation to instantly jump back in and pick different options in order to see what changed and what new information we found out.

One thing you’ll notice as you play is that some episodes won’t make sense – or at least they didn’t to me. This is because multiple playthroughs and different choices are required in order to see, experience, and understand everything that’s going on. In one episode there was no conclusion, a crime was committed at the end involving our protagonists and that’s it – no explanation as to why someone stole what they did and what they were going to do with the information we gave them. However, I imagine that replaying the episode and picking different things will expose more exposition to us – it did in the episodes I replayed yesterday.

My one issue with this format was the lack of any sort of continuity between episodes. As they are all independent, what happens in one doesn’t appear to come up in a later one unless if it’s a mandatory plot point. I would have loved it if our choices bled into the subsequent episodes but I imagine that would have added many, many more branches and recorded footage. 

Banana!

The overall quality and technical aspects
I have to once again mention how great the actors are, D’Avekki Studios always seem to hire the perfect cast for their productions as everyone plays a very realistic and memorable persona. Klemens Koehring and Leah Cunard (Poe and Munro) return as the perfect companions, the banter they have with one another and the way they interact creates a believable ‘relationship’ and two very likeable characters. Everyone else was above the quality I’d expect from an indie-developed FMV game, even the guest vocals were great to listen to (although it did annoy Poe!).

I liked that the developers branched out and filmed in various new locations, including outside in the forest, as the last few games were limited to just a few settings due to the nature of the narratives. 

In terms of performance, the game ran perfectly on the potato I have under my TV (i3, 4GB RAM, Intel HD GPU) and bloody marvellously on my gaming pc (i7, 16GB RAM, GTX 780Ti). Basically, on my main PC, it was hitting over 2,000 fps, which is mental. Thankfully, there are a few options to limit the framerate so you don’t get screen-tearing. You can limit the fps to 60, 30, 20, or the more cinematic 25fps – the options screen doesn’t actually tell you this, as it’s labelled as 1, 2 and 3, but those are the limits respectively (25 has its own option).

Finally, if you’re looking to play the game on stream then you can disable the choice timers. Usually, you’ll have a few seconds to make a choice but that’s pointless if streaming as the option will be gone by the time your viewers see them on the screen. So, turning this on will simply pause the game so you can discuss the next step with everyone before making a decision – which is great.

On a side note, the music further enhances the overall experience, right from the moment the title screen appears. Just seeing slowly moving noir-style images of Poe and Munro, or the gorgeous colourful liquid patterns, whilst listening to the slow, calm, mysterious theme is very relaxing and perfectly sets the mood of the game. I personally hope the soundtrack is available at some point.

Official Trailer

Final Conclusion
As the third game in the DDU (Doctor Dekker Universe), Dark Nights with Poe and Munro was an original and creative FMV cinematic adventure I won’t forget. The episodic nature, which is presented as a TV show complete with title and credits, fits the experience perfectly, providing six self-contained stories of mystery and suspense. The music, dramatic camera work, humorous yet well-written narrative, and brilliant acting all combine into such a fantastic and enjoyable series of stories which I’m sure to replay numerous times. 

If you’re a fan of FMV adventure games, either cinematic like The Complex or interactive like The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker, you need to go and buy Dark Nights with Poe and Munro. The game even has full controller support if you prefer that and can’t wait for the console release later this year (hopefully). 

Have you ever felt torn between if you want to watch something on the TV or play a video game? If so, why not combine the two and experience an interactive FMV cinematic adventure, putting yourself in the seat of the director as you control the events and dialogue which plays out before you. We’ve covered a number of experiences in the genre before but this week we’ve taken a second look at Dark Nights with Poe and Munro, which has just launched on both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One (with a Nintendo Switch release coming later this year).

Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is a six-episode TV Series-like FMV game, developed and published by husband and wife developer, D’Avekki Studios. Fans of the genre should be familiar with this developer as they’re the studio behind two previous FMV mysteries; The Shapeshifting Detective and The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker. They even publish their own whodunnit murder mystery party games which you can host (once lockdown is over) with a group of friends. 

I played and reviewed this game on PC back in May 2020, yet I purposely only played it once and didn’t go back to see the alternative scenes – so that it would be fresh once I got my hands on the console version. So, here we are, almost a full 12 months later thanks to a certain global event which I’ll avoid talking about! But, did I enjoy the game as much as I did the first time or has it been overshadowed by other recent titles in the genre? Let’s find out…

Yes…

As mentioned above, Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is made up of six 30-40 minute episodes which all have their own self-contained story. However, there are a few elements that follow through, referencing previous episodes and characters as you progress. In a way, based on the theme, protagonists, and subject matter, the entire mini-series feels like the UK version of The X-Files, only with less dramatic incidents and British humour. Both Poe and Munro are the local radio presenters in August (the town), finding themselves in the middle of mysterious and supernatural occurrences – are they drawn to the town or our protagonists?

Both Poe (Klemens Koehring) and Munro (Leah Cunard) are also featured within the brilliant The Shapeshifting Detective, yet no prior knowledge is required due to Dark Nights with Poe and Munro being a prequel. If you’ve played the former game and gone down a certain pathway then you’ll understand why it’ll be impossible for this to be a sequel, unless we presume certain events didn’t happen.

This game is different to the developer’s prior FMV adventures, as mentioned in my PC review. The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker had you manually type in your questions as you interrogated patients to discover who killed the doctor, and The Shapeshifting Detective was similar to this game but more linear (although it had a cool mechanic where you could shapeshift into anyone you’ve spoken to then go back and talk to the other people, as that person). Dark Nights with Poe and Munro has a lot of missable scenes, with your choices sending you down different paths that change the narrative and information you gather.

In order to see everything, you’ll find yourself playing through each episode multiple times – not just for the trophies, but also to see what happens and how our quirky duo react to one another with their entertaining banter.

Violet is back

Gameplay
Most of the episodes are more akin to an interactive FMV adventure, having you pick what objects Poe and Munro interact with, how they’ll respond to a scene, or what they’ll do next. These choices are presented as non-descriptive icons or symbols over the choice – for example, sometimes you’ll be asked to pick one of the protagonists to either speak or react, yet you don’t actually know what they’ll do or say until you pick them. Although this sounds a little cryptic and mysterious, that just makes it more replayable as you literally don’t know what’s going to happen if you pick the other options.

There is an episode that is more interactive than the rest, you’re looking for a boy who has gone missing after school. In this episode, you’re literally in the driving seat as you get to pick who the pair go and talk to and who does the talking. In this chapter, we’re also introduced to a recurring star of D’Avekki Studios‘ games – Aislinn De’ath. All three of their games are linked in the same universe, but Aislinn plays two characters within the DDCU (the Doctor Dekker Cinematic Universe); she plays Violet, the owner of the Guest House in both Dark Nights with Poe and Munro and The Shapeshifting Detective, yet she’s also Marianna in The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker, a disturbed young lady who often finds herself naked in the sea when she wakes up in the morning…

Speaking of Doctor Dekker, Munro has a mysterious past which is brought to light in one of the episodes as the two titles merge perfectly, seeing the return of the fan-favourite leather sofa. I love how the tone of the game shifts from the sarcastic and timid personality of Munro to the dark and troublesome persona, it brings back lots of memories from when I first played Doctor Dekker many years ago.

This could have literally gone very differently…

Do the choices matter?
Each episode gives you multiple choices which can change the narrative, the events you see, and even the ending of that particular chapter. I’m not sure how many (if any) of your choices filter through to the other episodes, but in one something happened which led to a person dying, yet this was brought up and referenced in a later episode. Had I not experienced that, would it have mentioned it? I’m not sure, but I’d like to think that the game remembered my choices and adjusted certain scenes and the dialogue around them.

At the end of each episode, you get a Telltale-like infographic of how your choices look in comparison to everyone else who has played the game (if you have the feature enabled). It’ll tell you the various options you could have chose and the percentage of people who picked each one, so you can see if you’re thinking the same as everyone else or being completely unique. I tend to pick the options which I feel will distress and annoy the protagonists the most, so I found myself in the minority on most occasions!

If you’re playing the game for viewers on a streaming platform, or you have an issue that stops you from reacting quickly, you can stop the timer which usually counts down when given a choice to make. This means you can take your time and discuss it with your viewers, if applicable.

One of the big reasons for picking different options, outside of simply wanting to see how the duo react within the game, is to obtain the various trophies which are based on picking certain things. The trophies in Dark Nights with Poe and Munro aren’t too hard to figure out, there are a few guides from the PC release which you could follow. But, I’d say simply play it naturally without a guide, to begin with, exploring the various things you want to see – then come back to it via the chapter select in order to clean up later on. 

Banana!

Is it funny or serious?
The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker was quite serious, bar the responses you get for asking silly questions, and The Shapeshifting Detective was more light-hearted with a serious concept (investigating a murder) yet it contained characters with humorous personalities. Dark Nights with Poe and Munro doesn’t take itself seriously, with the duo often cracking jokes when on the urge of death or being sarcastic to one another despite the situation they’re in. I found myself laughing a lot throughout the game, despite knowing what was going to happen next due to playing it last year.

I love the small things, such as having mugs with their names on, only to have Poe’s replaced with “(Not Edgar) Poe” after an episode where he’s mistaken for Edgar Allan Poe. The cast all played their parts perfectly, slipping into the skin of their casted personas and providing comedy and high quality acting throughout. From the seductive and malicious nature of Violet in the guesthouse to the insane Millicent who invades Poe and Munro’s charity event, an event which sees the two of them share a bed on stream and raising a massive amount of money in the first 12 hours!

The game does switch over to dark humour as it enters the cross-over with Doctor Dekker, but it’s not anything that will trigger people, there’s a bit of gruesome imagery within the dialogue but no images. If you’ve not played The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker then the shift may confuse you at first, but I’d also highly recommend you pick up that game, and The Shapeshifting Detective – if you like this game then you’ll love them also. 

I found a scene which I’d not seen before, in which Poe and Munro sing to each other because they’d been told to stop talking. I found that so out of place and hilarious – the singing wasn’t bad, it was just so strange what they were singing about. However, this does mean that I now want more duets with the two of them, I know Tim and Lynda (the creators) will be reading this, so let’s make it happen! 

Ohhh, what’s going on here!?!

The quality/technical
As this FMV adventure is all filmed video, there’s little to talk about in terms of visual quality. The video looks nice on my 55 inch TV, despite being in 1080p (I believe), and the UI is nice and crisp with no sign of any stray bananas (a glitch the developers posted on Twitter a few months ago). However, there was one scene that was far too dark for some reason, I can’t remember the episode but it’s dark and you have to pick Poe or Munro, but you can’t even see them to know which is which (Poe is on the Left). Other than that one moment though, the rest of the game is shot perfectly and feels like you’re watching a TV show with a high production budget.

The music is great, the acting is perfect, and the volume levels were all spot-on. It’s a shame the soundtrack isn’t on PSN or available to listen to via the main menu (so we can sneakily record it), but maybe that’s something which’ll be considered when the inevitable limited run physical edition is created?

Also, on your first playthrough, you can’t skip any videos or dialogue, but when you replay the chapter you can push Circle to do so. However, it skips all dialogue if the option is enabled, rather than just what you’ve seen previously. I’d prefer that option as it means you won’t accidentally skip something new – a feature Wales Interactive uses in their FMV games.

There are two things that I wish were a little different/updated. First of all, all the trophy images are the same icon (the image of the duo stood back-to-back). On Steam, which has the same trophies, all the trophies have their own image. So I’m not quite sure why they’re all the same on PSN – maybe they were a placeholder and not replaced? Second, Sony needs to let developers know how to add title music to their game so that it plays when highlighted on the PS5. It’s very hit or miss at the moment with this as even some AAA games don’t have any music playing.

Yes, I’m being very picky with the above paragraph, but it’s because it’s hard to find fault or improvements for this game!

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Dark Nights with Poe and Munro is a brilliant FMV cinematic adventure, putting you in the driving seat of August’s answer to Mulder and Scully (Post X-files when they’re forced to run a radio station talking about dreams, nightmares, and the supernatural). Each episode has its own self-contained story, offering choices that will not only alter the dialogue and scenes, but also the ending of each one. There’s replayability for those who wish to grab all the trophies and/or see what the other choices lead to, often resulting in more quirky banter between our protagonists or a random piece of dialogue you’d never have expected. If you like FMV games where you’re in control of the events, you need to pick up this game today – also, go and buy The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker and The Shapeshifting Detective whilst you’re at it!

If you’ve been with us a while then you will know a few things about me – I love VR, Thrillers, Mysteries, Adventures, and Puzzle Games yet I really don’t like horror games or jump scares. So, why am I playing a horror based game in VR? Because it’s been done really well, that’s why! Dead Secret, from Robot Invader, is yet another game which crosses so many genres, it’s a Point-and-click game in VR with a psychological horror theme based on a murder mystery with the inclusion of paranormal entities who help you solve puzzles as you go on an adventure of a small building. And breathe!

Oh, and you can also play the game in non-VR mode as well if you wish to do so. My fear got the best of me and I changed from VR to non-VR towards the end and I’m glad I did!

Something didn’t seem right about this death to our protagonist – so she goes and investigates… Great idea!

Dead Secret is all about you, you are a small town girl who writes gossip columns for the local newspaper yet you dream of being so much bigger. A local scientist, who was living alone with a much younger woman, has recently died and you have been assigned to dig into the guy’s life in order to uncover some sordid details on their love affair. However, you have a keen eye for detail and you aren’t as quick to rule out this death as ‘natural’, unlike the local PD, so you set out to investigate the house and uncover what really happened and who or what caused his untimely death.

Throughout the game, you will be moving from room to room as you find out more about the story, uncover truths and optional information in the form of many articles and notes left around the house, all whilst looking out for the beings who still reside within the property. This game also loves its jump scares and time-sensitive moments, so be ready to react and think fast, otherwise, you’ll be next!

Nothing really to say here, just wanted to show this image.

I was quite surprised when I first started playing Dead Secret as I was expecting a game with free movement where you can walk around and pick things up and what not – but you can’t. It’s basically a VR Point-and-click game where you have set places you can walk to in order to interact with things. By selecting these points your avatar will proceed to move on her own as you enjoy the ride – this can get really scary later on when you don’t have control as she moves. The game operates with the ‘look to select’ mechanism which I’m not too fond of (you have a reticule on the screen that moves with your head and what you look at is what you interact with) but in this game you aren’t required to bend and twist too much – so it isn’t an issue.

In order to actually interact or turn around though, you use the DS4 controller, as usual, you just can’t use it to move as you are limited to set points. This takes a little getting used to, but once you have then it’s all fine. There is a lot of things to read in this game, from newspapers to notes left behind, there is a couple in almost every room – thankfully, the quality of the writing in VR is among the best I’ve seen on PSVR so far. All the fonts are easy to read and I had no issues at all with picking up the story and understanding what was going on – which is great as a lot of the story is delivered by things you find and read for yourself.

Whodunnit?

I stated that the game has puzzles in my opening statement and it does, only they are a little simple at times. You will tend to find something in one room which you can use in another in order to help you out, like the combination to a lock or a statute which must be matched with its pair in order to open a secret compartment. One of the earlier puzzles I enjoyed was the globe – there is a map on the wall with an X on it and you must find that location on the nearby globe in order to open it up. There is no explanation of this and no hand-holding telling you what to do, you just look around and put 2 and 2 together for yourself.

Early on in the game you will also gain the ability to hot-swap a mask which allows you to see the unseen. You wear the mask in order to see various spiritual entities as they stand there, silent and still, pointing at your next goal or warning you of something you shouldn’t do. At first, these freaked me out as I would go into this mode and there would be one right in front of me, staring right at me, but after an hour or so I was used to them popping up when you don’t expect it. What I didn’t expect was the antagonist…

The penultimate room – choose who you believe the killer is but choose wisely!

Obviously, I’m not going to say who or what the antagonist is, but you are basically trying to explore and discover things whilst something is following you throughout the house. I mentioned before I had to stop playing in VR, this is because towards the end of the game the jump scares were getting to me a little too much, so I opted to play in non-VR as I felt I had reached my limit. A decision I believe was a good one as I still got a few jumps just playing it on the TV! The game thrives on the way it makes you feel – so unsettled and unnerved. Looking in the mirror to see someone stood behind you, the lights going out and hearing noises in the dark, a painting changing the second time you look at it, it all works in the favour of the game in order to creep you out.

I feel the worst thing about the experience is the fact you can’t move like I said previously. If you had full control and you could run away from that which is stalking you, then some of the fear and dread would be lost, but because you can only move in set locations and you’re simply a passenger in the head of the protagonist, it can get pretty intense at times. It also changes the aspect of the game from a ‘run away and hide’ game to a game where you are about to encounter a being yet you must quickly look around and see where you can hide or escape and then hope you have enough time to make it once you select it. It’s really clever and I’ve not seen another game in VR use this mechanic yet.

Dead Secret has also got five different endings for you to discover. There is no Platinum trophy, but there is a trophy for each of the endings. I managed to play through all of them without too much trouble although I had to look up one of them in order to get a hint on how to unlock it. The game isn’t too tricky and you should be able to do a run through in about two hours or so. However, if you want the full experience and seek out all of the documents and hidden cutscenes, then it could last you longer, only there is no trophy-based reward for doing so.

The VR works really well and the opening shot in the mirror is the best place to try this out.

The VR effect in this game is really, really well done – especially when you look back and see it was one of the first VR games on both mobile and Steam. It does have its issues which I’ll look into but as a whole it was great. Whats the one thing that a lot of first-person flat, and even VR, games don’t bother to render? A Full body. Usually, you will have hands and maybe some feet, or breasts if you’re a woman and look down in VR (they are always there). Dead Secret fully renders the body at all times but without a head, as you’re the head. This looks great in the opening of the game where you are in the hallway in front of a big mirror and every move you make, the character imitates. It all looks seamless and smooth with no obvious joints or glitching, which is awesome.

However, when in VR mode, if you look down, you can sometimes see through your body as you’re just a head and you’re basically looking down and through the body mesh. This isn’t anything which should put you off the game, but I did notice it quite a few times when I was looking around for things – it’s basically early VR issues. Other than that though, I was really impressed with how the VR looked in terms of quality and how the developers had chosen to implement the movement, looking, interacting, and puzzle solving mechanics.

That’s taken from a video feed of the social screen – in VR the font is even clearer. Something you don’t see very often in VR games.

Graphically, I really enjoyed Dead Secret, both in VR and out of it. The only issue I would have is that when you select if you are in VR or not (as the game loads up) nothing changes other then the use of the headset. Basically, the UI from the VR – with the look to select and an inventory you have to look at to select things – is exactly the same when you play it in non-VR as well. So I feel the came could have had some tweaks to give the non-VR version its own UI. However, as I said before, everything is easy to read, easy to select, you can make out things in the distance and the VR is really clear compared to some other games out there.

There isn’t much music unless you choose to put the record on when you find it in-game – which I do recommend as it makes things seem 10x more disturbing. Instead, Dead Secret relies on the horrifying silence with noises in the distance, most of the time, which are there to unsettle you and get your heart pumping. Sure, it’s only a game, but it’s a game that messes with you. If you are used to these types of games and like the horror genre then you probably won’t mind anything this game does to creep you out, but when you jump easy, like me, this game messes with you.

On a side note, the sequel to Dead Secret, Dead Secret Circle, is out soon on PC and consoles at a later date. The trailer for that can be seen HERE – it looks just as good as this game!

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Dead Secret is a really well thought out and executed VR game with many different genres all combined in order to deliver a memorable experience. Whether you enjoy exploring for backstory, running away from unknown beings, solving mysteries, or encountering jump scares, there is something for everyone. Not to mention the fact that you can play it in or out of VR all the way through from the start. Dead Secret delivers an intriguing and immersive story which had me gripped from the moment I started playing.

Due to the twists and turns and the truths you uncover as you investigate, you won’t know who the real culprit was until the very end when you must make a choice – a choice which you could still end up getting wrong if you don’t pay attention to whats going on around you. Dead Secret is a game which mystery, horror, exploration, and puzzle lovers should own.

Last week I reviewed Dead Secret, from Robot Invader, on the PS4 + PSVR – a murder mystery point-and-click adventure game set in the 1960’s within an isolated house in the country. Upon finishing the review, I was offered a code for Dead Secret Circle, the sequel to the aforementioned game, only this time I’ll be playing it on PC as the game isn’t set for a PS4 release yet. I instantly jumped at this opportunity as I thoroughly enjoyed the first game, although I don’t own a VR headset for the PC so I’ll just be playing it on my monitor with my PS4 controller.

Dead Secret Circle is a self-enclosed title which can be enjoyed with or without prior knowledge of the first game, although prior knowledge will benefit you in terms of the back story. The premise and mechanics are similar to the prequel with our main protagonist moving around in first person trying to find clues and solve puzzles in order to investigate a mysterious killer. However, this time around the developers have made some changes to the controls and the core mechanics in order to make it more accessible and enjoyable to play. So, come with me as I become Patricia Gable once more and head to a secluded building without police backup…

**The below review will include spoilers to the ending from Dead Secret due to the story almost directly following the final outcome.**

Meet Edmund, the lovable superintendent. The first thing he does is send us on a fetch quest!

Dead Secret Circle takes place in 1971, around six years since the horrifying events which occurred in Kansas during your first investigation into the death of a local scientist. Dead Secret Circle follows the presumption that you escaped the house by choosing the correct killer, Josie, and you helped her instead of leaving her to be burnt alive. What follows is that you went on to recover and gain employment within a major newspaper and Josie wound up in a mental institute. It’s been around a year since your mother died and you beginning to suffer from strange dreams which always seem to occur during the nights of the full moon. This is down to you being subjected to the Lunar Dream Apparatus previously, which has changed the way your subconscious works.

You are having strange dreams, which you presume is the future, about an old apartment building and a horrific masked being who is armed with an old-style razor blade. The police know that this killer, who is named The Laughing Man as he carves peoples mouths open into a large smile, has killed a couple of people so far. Patricia believes the killer has actually killed more people than the police know about and wants to investigate but she has nowhere to start.

Suddenly, whilst in her flat minding her own business, someone pushes a picture of an apartment building under her door and runs away. After looking over all of her case notes from recent killings in the area, Patricia deems this apartment building is the home of The Laughing Man, or at least has some connection to the killings as it’s right in the centre of all the related deaths. With her notepad in hand and her balls of steel upon her person – she heads out on her lonesome in order to investigate and find out the truth behind this mysterious killer as well as how this relates to herself and the dreams she has been having.

Yay! the mirrors are back – I can’t wait to try them out in VR.

Dead Secret Circle takes what was good about the first game and improves on almost every aspect. My review is based on the Non-VR version of the game on Steam (the game is also avaliable in VR for the Oculus Rift via the Oculus Rift store with a Vive version currently in development) so I can’t talk about the VR aspect or the controls, although I have seen the developer play it in VR and it looks great. You even have access to both hands in this game – no more sling for Patricia! The game comes pre-setup for an Xbox One controller or the Mouse and Keyboard. I chose to use my PS4 controller because I prefer it – however, it didn’t work out-of-the-box, but you can set it up within the launch menu and remap all of the buttons so it works fine. I have had a few issues with the controller, but I’ll put all my issues towards the end of the review.

The main difference with the controls this time around is that you have free movement. Previously, it was like a point-and-click game where you would automatically move to set locations – not anymore. You can now freely move wherever you want in order to fully investigate areas. Other than that, the setup is very similar to the previous game – you can look at almost everything, pick up items, work on puzzles, talk to people, read notes etc… All the things you would expect. You even have access to the Mask, which you obtained early on in the original game, which allows you to see cryptic messages and ghostly spirits as they guide you on your journey.

I think it’s trying to tell me something…

Dead Secret focused on Patricia finding notes and stories, then piecing them all together to work out what had happened, who everyone was, why the scientist died, and who the killer really was. In Dead Secret Circle, the developers have gone one step further. As well as having over 40 pages of notes to look for and the inner monologue of you recording messages for your psychiatrist at the end of each day, you also have access to talk to living beings this time around. As I said earlier, you have your notebook in hand – literally. As you investigate the worn-down apartment building, you will interview the various tenants who live there as well as the superintendent who sleeps in his office. You question them and build up your character profiles for each of the people who reside within the building, as well as uncover new objectives to work on.

In regards to collectables, as well as the above notes and recordings you do each day, you have a few things to collect. First of all, there are other cassette tapes hidden around the building which are varied but mainly creepy messages with a sole intent on freaking you out. You also have a collection of books you can find – these are all parodies of existing franchises, such as “A Residence of Evil”, “What’s in the Box”, and “Come play with us”. Once you complete the game you are also shown the various things you could do throughout the game such as “did you do X before Y happened” or “did you find the X in the Y”? I like how the game told me these things to look out for AFTER I’ve finished the game as you can’t reload your save and go get the ones you missed out on. So now I have something to look out for in my second playthrough.

Dead Secret Circle has more focus than the original game, with each chapter split by the day you are on. Fulfil your objectives for the day, as well as any impromptu ones you add along the way, and then return back to your flat to wind down and recap on what you have learnt. That’s right, at the end of each day you will have a mini trivia quiz, just like in the prequel, where you are asked a series of questions which you must answer. I don’t think there is a penalty for getting these wrong (I never got any wrong so I can’t be 100% sure), but they aren’t difficult and they are there to keep you updated on what’s happening. You can also participate in trying to answer some quite difficult puzzles which you have delivered to your house each day in the form of a daily puzzle magazine. I was never successful in solving any of these, but it didn’t appear to change the story.

The puzzles are a lot more varied this time around.

Speaking of puzzles, there are quite a lot of them within this game. From finding an item so you can unlock a rather elaborate lock mechanism which a lady has on her workshop door, to creating a new dose of medication for a tenant who falls into a seizure. Almost every room has something in it either as a key to another puzzle or insight into what’s going on. I really enjoyed the diversity of this game and a few of the puzzles had me stuck for a while – which is great. It also helped that I’m one of the first people to play the game, so there are no guides online or any means to get help other than trying to do it for myself. Plus, the fact I was able to complete the game basically means that anyone can!

One of the things I loved about Dead Secret was the fact that the scenes with the masked killer ultimately had you choosing where you run or hide as you couldn’t move, yet you had a choice of where to go. Now that the mechanic has changed we have the standard ‘run from the killer and find a hiding spot’ mechanic instead. Unfortunately, I didn’t like this aspect as much as I did in the first game. The things I didn’t like were the speed and the lack of options.

So, what do I mean? Well, Patricia may have both of her hands in this game but it sure does feel like she’s lost one of her legs! She walks around at a leisurely pace as if she is taking a long stroll in the park. This is even when the music is in overdrive and there is a killer right behind you – you just stroll along like you have no worries in the world. The second issue, choices, is the fact that it isn’t obvious where you can hide. Most events only have one or two hiding spots, so it’s up to you to pick the right one based on trial and improvement. However, without a visual clue that you can hide behind a certain object, you may not be aware of where you can actually go.

Peek-a-boo, I see you!

In terms of the atmosphere, the developers have nailed it once again. The game isn’t horrific or terrifying, but it’s creepy, unsettling and unnerving. Yeah, you’re just walking around a soon-to-be-destroyed apartment building, but it feels so surreal and everything gets under your skin. From seeing the same creepy guy with various different facial hair in numerous paintings in one hallway to talking to a wife and husband duo where the wife keeps smiling whilst the husband stands there and stares at you. It’s not a nice place to live! This rolls into the sound design as, just like the first game, there isn’t much music within the game during normal gameplay but there is a lot of ambient sounds and atmospheric cues. There is nothing worse than hearing your footsteps as you walk down a quiet hallway then hearing a door open nearby, or going around a corner to see nothing yet as you come back the way you came you bump into someone just stood there – along with the obligatory ‘Boom’ sound effect.

Which brings me to my next point – jump scares – yup, their back and they are plentiful. If I was playing this in VR then I believe I would have screamed on more than one occasion due to the jump scares. The game thrives on them for its horror moments and the developer knows how to do them well. I also don’t feel there were too many of them as most of the time I was just worried there would be a jump scare and unintentionally made myself more scared of something that never even ended up happening.

From seeing something in the corner of the screen to turning and having someone right there, every single one got me! I really hate jump scares – I can see the appeal and they worked well, I’m just not a massive fan. The only thing I didn’t like about the scares in Dead Secret Circle was the killer scares. In most situations, the screen begins to turn red and the music kicks in when the killer is nearby – this ruined the scares for me in most instances when the killer was involved as I’ve just been given a heads up that I’m about to see them.

Hmmm, something looks familiar. Btw, these paintings are amazing!

Graphically the game looks very similar to Dead Secret. Some of the texture work looks like it’s higher quality and the paintings within the game are amazing quality as they look so realistic. Also, when you enter the dream phases and you’re within a purple tinted realm, those parts look really cool with the environment bending and coming together as you walk around. Similarly, the character design is really well done and I can’t fault the game in that aspect – everyone looks creepy and worn-down like they’re supposed to be and the killer looks mysterious and creepy. The main issue I had here is that there are some graphical issues with the game which the developers are working on which I’ll mention below.

Finally, the sound. I think I’ve covered it all, but I just wanted to mention it again. There are a few music tracks in the game, mainly when you are in the dream sequences and being stalked by the killer, but most of the game you are subjected to the ambient sounds. Also, when you put on the mask to see what can’t be seen, the creepy drone noise makes what you’re looking at much worse than it probably seems without the sound. One thing I haven’t mentioned yet is the voice acting – Robot Invader has hired the perfect voice actors in Dead Secret Circle.

There was nothing wrong with the first game, but some sequences did seem a bit muffled whereas in Dead Secret Circle every single voice actor delivered their lines convincingly and with a high quality. The only issue I had was with Edmund, the superintendent, as his accent seemed to slip at times. Other than that though, the cast was great and I seriously can’t fault any of the sound design throughout the game.

You’ve gotta love parody – and there are quite a few of them to collect.

Now, as this is an indie PC game I didn’t expect the game to be 100% perfect before launch and I know it wouldn’t have the polish that a AAA game would have. As such, I’ve reported a decent amount of issues to the developers, the majority of which have been resolved in a few patches we have received over the last few days. However, there are still a few issues which plague the game and could affect your enjoyment of the title. All of these things I’m about to tell you about are with the developer and they are actively working on them, I will remove them once the game has been updated to fix them. Also, I made it all the way through the game and managed to finish the game even with these issues present – so none of these are game-breaking.

1. PS4 Controller. As above, I am using a PS4 controller but if you have one plugged in when starting the game then Patricia will continuously spin and look up. To fix, you must Hold SHIFT as you click play, so the launch menu appears, and boot it from there – Then the controller works fine.
2. Setting the resolution and remapping the controls. This one has been resolved now, as above, hold SHIFT and press ‘play’ – this will open the launch menu.
3. Shadows. There is a graphical issue at the moment with the engine and certain shadows as they appear very dark and in places they shouldn’t. It’s distracting visually but it doesn’t affect gameplay.
4. One of the puzzles, gaining entry to the workshop, wouldn’t unlock – even with the right combination. I closed and re-opened the game and it worked the first time. This was the most game-impacting issue I had, but it worked fine upon reload.
5. There are a few other non-impacting issues like losing access to the menu and being able to fly in certain locations, but these shouldn’t be around long.

As I said, none of the above stopped me from playing the game, enjoying the story and finishing the game within around 6-7 hours. As such, my final grade below is for the game itself and my personal rating of how much enjoyment the game gave me, not including the issues I’ve stated above. I believe it will be unfair to mark down the game for these as the developers are currently working on resolving them and I was able to complete the game without any issues stopping me.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Dead Secret Circle is a great sequel to an immersive and unique game. It’s taken the formula of things which worked, the exploration, interaction, horror, and supernatural elements, and improved on almost every aspect in order to deliver yet another truly disturbing adventure game. As you investigate The Laughing Man, the tenants and the apartment building, you will discover more about the situation and the people involved than you could ever wish to know. The game doesn’t require you to find every last secret and piece of information, but upon playing the game, you’ll want to go out of your way to find everything as it’s such an interesting world.

With it’s improved controls, new mechanics and bigger environments, Dead Secret Circle is a great game for those who enjoyed the first title and people who like adventure games in general. I would say this game is more akin to an adventure game than a horror one due to the number of puzzles and investigations mechanics in place over the jump scares. If you can look past the fact the game looks a bit ‘basic’, due to it being a VR game which you can also play non-VR, then you’ll find another hidden gem here, just like the original game (which you should also get if you like the Adventure genre).

Death Road to Canada is basically The Oregon Trail but with Zombies. Oh wait, we have already got that, it’s called The Organ Trail… Okay, so the idea isn’t 100% original, but considering this game plays more like a top-down roguelite game with tonnes of action and deaths, rather than mostly consisting of random events, I would say it stands as it’s own. It’s addictive to play, great in co-op with another person, and every single playthrough will have you facing new troubling situations. This is yet another game I would add to my ‘just one more go’ and ‘have I really been playing it that long?’ lists.

The game was temporarily postponed from release due to some horrendous events which occurred in Toronto the week the game was due out, as such, I respect the publishers for doing that as not everyone would. However, the game has now officially released for PS4, Xbox One and the Switch – so let’s see what it’s like!

Oh dear… Someone should have gone to Specsavers!

The story is as basic as the beginning to any B-movie Zombie film. There has been a zombie outbreak and our protagonist has heard over the radio that everything is fine over in Canada. With a small glimmer of hope, a working car, and a survival instinct, you head out on the long trek from mainland USA to Canada thanks to your trusty car. Your trusty car which will last around 15 minutes until you’re forced to ditch it and look for another…

But don’t worry, you’re not in this alone. Along your journey, you will meet many random strangers who will offer their alliance in exchange for safe passage to this glorious haven, known as Canada! You will travel with up to three companions, who will all have their own unique stats, personalities and skills, as well as trade with various merchants for food, weapons, and money.

Not everything is as happy as it sounds though (if that sounds happy…), just like the Oregon Trail, you will also encounter random events which will damage your car or injure your companions. You also have the chance to stop off at various sites in order to loot, rescue or escape from the zombie onslaught. One thing is for certain though – It’s going to be a long journey to Canada, one which you may not all make it there alive. As such, try not to become too attached to your characters – it doesn’t end well…

Seems like cats don’t like Dan…

If you have ever played the Oregon Trail then you will instantly understand and be aware of how this game works. I know I keep bringing up the comparison, but it’s a clear one which everyone will make. The game can be broken down into three segments: Driving, Merchants, Combat.

Driving:
About a half of your time will be spent in this mode as a lot happens whilst you cruise the highway. If you are on your own then you will occasionally see hitchhikers who you can choose to give a gift too, or not. Alternatively, either if you are alone or not, you will stumble upon various locations and get asked what you wish to do. You can stop at merchant camps if you wish to barter for new gear or food, you can rest for a while even though there is a risk of attack, or you can head fists first into a zombie-infested area in order to look for some goodies! Also, whilst driving along, you will encounter the dreaded random events. These can be as simple as “your car has broken down, do you want someone to try and fix it” to “One of your party has injured himself, do you want to risk trying to tend to it? If so, who should do this?”. Both of those can end up either successfully or you could mess it up, make matters worse, and risk demotivating all of your party.

On a side note – there doesn’t appear to be any dysentery, so that’s a good thing!

Merchants:
These are exactly what you would expect in a zombie apocalypse. You will meet these at random camps and they seem to have a random selection of items at stupidly high prices. The majority of them will want your food in exchange for weapons, medikits or ammo yet some will do the reverse and offer a tiny amount of food in exchange for your gear. Personally, I didn’t use these as much as I should have when I played the game due to the fact I felt like I was being ripped off and refused to part with my hard-earned looted items and food.

The combat is solid in this game – you even sweat when your worn out!

Combat:
And now we arrive at the best mechanic of the game, the combat sections. In terms of the combat itself though, it’s solid and truly satisfying to participate in. It’s delivered in a top-down format where you take control of one of your team members as you run around finding items and smashing in zombie’s brains. You can swap party members in the pause screen and even choose whether the other CPU controlled characters will be defensive, offensive, or bat-shit crazy and run head first into anyone they see!

You also have the chance to equip various items on your team before you head into the combat sections – this is where you must be tactical though as you don’t want to fill up all their avaliable slots. When you’re in the field, if you find a new weapon and you have no room, you must drop one of your existing ones, thus losing it. So be sure to always have some spare slots. The weapons are quite diverse as well, with a whole toolshed of different ones to pick up. From Crowbars to an UZI, and everything in between. Be wary though, your character gets out of breath and tires easier the bigger the weapon is which you choose to use. The combat sections come in a few varieties which I’ll touch on below, including random stop-offs, survival segments, and escape events.

Random stop-offs: These are usually ‘random event’s which happen whilst you’re on the road. You will be asked where you wish to stop in order to go looting and look for new gear and items.
Survival segments: These are annoying! Again, thanks to the random events on the road, you will eventually be in a situation where you have been stranded and can’t escape. Your goal here is to stay alive as the zombie infestation gets bigger and bigger in a small area until eventually someone comes and rescues you.
Escape events: I hate these. These have taken more lives of my team than anything else. You are stuck in the sewers and you must escape by either running past or killing all the zombies. You are in a tight, enclosed area with very little room to move and very little visibility – It’s a nightmare. Reach the ladder at the end in order to escape.

Hmmm, I wonder which one?

I’ve touched on your team but not actually explained it yet! Death Road to Canada is fully customisable. Not only can you create your own character along with all of your own traits, skills and perks, but you can also create a bunch of other random people who will crop up within your game (depending on which game mode you play). You can create people with fitness perks who can run faster and tire less often, or give yourself an advantage at mechanics for fixing the car, or even make yourself a more efficient medic. It’s all up to you and it allows you to fully experiment with what works best for the team you want. One thing to be aware of though, you can only pick your starting character and a buddy, all the others appear randomly at different times.

With every positive comes a negative though – not in terms of the game, but in terms of the traits. You may be super fast and really fit, but you may also be annoying and cause a lot of demotivation among the team. As such, a strategic element comes into play and you will find yourself often turning down people on the road even though you could use a hand. Why take on the help of a guy who seems like a good fighter yet won’t stop going on about how we are all going to die and we’ll never make it to Canada?

The game also adds in a few ‘famous’ characters who have been altered slightly so that they aren’t classed as using a companies IP. From the cowboy hat guy who constantly yells “Carl!” to the green tunic wearing character with the description of “isn’t based off of anything and if he is, he is a parody.” This character also appears under one of the following names: L*nk, Lenk, Lonk, Lunk, Lank, or Leyenk – so I can’t imagine who it’s trying to take off! A full list of all the rare characters is here: http://deathroadtocanada.wikia.com/wiki/Rare_Characters – I imagine some have been legally obtained and some have had their likeness ‘borrowed’.

Various modes, three locked and three available from the start.

Once you die, you will usually have acquired some Zombo Points, which you can now spend. These allow you to purchase carry-over upgrades or skills which will be present or active during every playthrough. This makes the game more akin to rogue-lite games where upon death you can purchase things to help you in the next run. I totally missed these on my first few playthroughs as the option isn’t clear at the start, but once I found them, I was sure to use them as best as I could.

The game has a few modes, as I mentioned above. these are:
Death Road Normal Mode: Here you pick a character and a buddy and off you go.
Familiar Characters Mode: This is where you will encounter any user-created players you have made.
Rare Characters Mode: You aren’t guaranteed to meet all of the rare ones from the above list, but you have a much higher chance of doing so.
Short Trip to Heck Mode: You arrive in Canada much faster. Is unlocked upon completion.
Long Winding Road Mode: The game takes even longer to get to Canada. Is unlocked upon completion.
Deadlier Road Mode: The game is super hard and you are guaranteed to die a lot. Unlocked upon completion.

So there is plenty of modes to play, each one is randomly generated and, other than a few set events, guaranteed to be different every single playthrough. To top this off, the conversations your team have with each other is very funny, the comedy is very tongue in cheek and some of the people you meet along the way have great dialogue. This game just seems to get better and better the more I play it and uncover new things which I’ve never seen before.

At least Nicole’s fitness increased…

Graphically, we are looking at pixel-art style, which I’m not a massive fan of. Yet I found it easy enough to look at and everything looked comical and gory at the same time. The only issue is with the same thing that happens to the majority of pixel-art based games. The more things that appear on screen, be it moving zombies or the remaining guts of one, the harder it gets to make things out as you play. At times I would often think I was safe yet there was a zombie sitting on the entrails of another and I didn’t actually make them out until it jumped and hit me. Other than that though, the environments are well detailed and there is a number of diverse locations to visit.

Sound wise there isn’t much to say. the music is chiptune based and seems to make you feel all relaxed at times with cheery and happy music playing whilst you are being overrun by zombies. It does feel a little out of place, but it sounds great and there are a huge amount of songs within the game as each area sounds like it has a new tune. The sound effects are alright. They are your standard 8-bit sound effects which sometimes sound like Atari 2600 noises if I’m being honest. But who’s playing this game for the sound of smashing open the head of an undead supermarket worker?

I also had no issues with framerates, slowdowns or performance – which shouldn’t really shock anyone.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Death Road to Canada is a very, very fun game. You can experience it either in single player or in co-op with various different game modes and a deep character creation mechanic. No two playthroughs will be the same and each time you die you will want to spend your Zombo Points and jump straight back in for more. I honestly can’t think of any reason why you shouldn’t pick this game up – you have hours of entertainment, loads of easter eggs to find, thousands of zombies to kill, and random conversations in the car (which get quite funny if using your own characters). If you want a game you can jump into and play for an hour or so with no context then pick this up today.

Let me start by saying that Death Stranding is my first Hideo Kojima game – Although I have heard a lot of good things about the Metal Gear series, I’ve never actually got around to playing them yet. As such, I was really hyped for Death Stranding to finally get released on PC, by publisher 505 Games, as it meant I had a chance to experience his latest game (as I don’t own a PS4).

I’ve wanted to play Death Stranding since hearing about it when it launched on console last year, although I didn’t really have an idea of what to expect from it. Well, despite having to walk around a lot whilst delivering packages without falling over…

The End of The World?
Death Stranding introduces us to Sam Bridges, a courier (Porter) who oddly prefers to stay alone. You see, the problematic thing here is that something dangerous befell the whole world and nothing is the same as it used to be. Humans are close to extinction and besides enemies, there is barely anyone around anymore. In the very beginning, Sam happens to meet a mysterious woman and it’s immediately obvious that some sort of creature is haunting them. Despite not being able to actually see them, besides their large footprints, Sam is able to sense them. Regardless, he decides to help to connect different parts of the world, so there will be some hope left.

A Slow Start of The Plot
This game threw me right into the events with very little explanation. Even when the creatures were introduced, I had no idea what they were supposed to be as they are invisible. It’s noticeable that the beginning of the game is meant to be confusing, without giving the player a proper explanation. However, when I went further into the game, I began to understand the world of Death Stranding a lot more. 

This leads me to the next point: The plot. It was hard for me to get into the story at the beginning, probably due to the lack of explanation and really slow pacing, but as soon as I got the gist of it, it became more enjoyable. The opening five hours or so revolve around simply delivering packages to various people in the wastelands, slowly making your way across the open-world as the story is slowly drip-fed to you.

Although I had a hard time in the beginning due to the slow start, I took this time as an opportunity to get used to the gameplay of Death Stranding. That sounds a little bit odd given it’s mostly just walking around and delivering items, however, it’s not as simple as it sounds…

Is Death Stranding A Walking Simulator?
My answer would be yes and no. Whilst there are a lot of elements of typical walking simulators implemented within this game, it works differently as walking isn’t just simply pressing a button and moving around. In fact, it actually took me a while to get used to the gameplay as there are a lot of things I had to pay attention to. When travelling through the area it’s really easy to lose your balance, fall down, and damage the cargo as a result. The world is very uneven, containing lots of stones, mounds and lakes which makes Sam about as stable as a Fall Guy! Luckily, there are button prompts for when it gets tricky, so I could react to it easier, although not falling down gets harder the more cargo you carry as the physics and gravity are very realistic.

In addition to that, there are other obstacles such as rivers the player eventually has to cross – this is where I discovered that stamina is critical within Death Stranding. When crossing rivers without the use of tools, the player runs out of stamina very fast, although it’s recoverable when standing still. Additionally, when the player runs out of stamina, they can rest, as long as there are no dangers available, or go back to their private room to fill up their stats. However, I strongly advise you make use of the craftable tools at your disposal as it’s easy to get washed away within the rivers, dropping all your cargo as it floats past you right before your very eyes!

You’ll also gain access to vehicles once you’ve played a number of hours by foot, unlocking faster travel and the ability to carry more packages by piling them on your bike or shoving them in your jeep. Although this makes it quicker and easier in some instances, delivering packages to the top of steep mountains, over deep ravines, and in the middle of a rocky environment is still quite tricky and it’s easy to get your vehicle stuck or have it break down on you. This is why I always carried portable floating pallets with me, so I could empty my vehicle and carry on via foot when I inevitably lose access to (or break) my vehicle!

Enemies
Talking about dangers, as aforementioned, there are enemies present throughout the game as well as the environmental hazards. One of them would be the BTs, the invisible creatures that appear during rain. I found these types of enemies very scary and couldn’t help but feel on the edge when the weather started to change. Luckily, the player will obtain a BB quite early in the game, the infamous baby encased within a container on your chest. With its help, I could see the creatures for a short time when I was close to them, although it was still nerve-wracking to walk past them.

At times, holding your breath is critical, although it’s obvious that Sam cannot perform that ability for a very long time. When getting spotted by the BTs, they drag the player away to a small area with a mini-boss. Luckily, it’s fairly easy most of the time to escape by just leaving the area.

Aside from these fantastical creatures, there is another type of enemy within Death Stranding: The Mules. These are wasteland bandits who own areas of land which they roam, looking for stranded and unfortunate Porters to attack. Sometimes I couldn’t avoid stepping into their territory, and whilst they’re not as scary as the BTs, as they have a normal human form, I still wasn’t eager of getting spotted by them. You see, when getting hit by them they can damage the cargo and even steal them when the player gets knocked out, which turned out to be rather annoying. Luckily, defeating Mules is much easier as Sam can simply attack them normally, unlike the BTs which require actual tools such as bombs.

Death Stranding also contains some boss fights, aside from the ones you get dragged into by the BTs. I found them to be quite impressive when it comes to their designs and they made me feel nervous at times. I liked these battles, regardless of how stressful some of them were for me, and I even spotted a statue of the boss I defeated in my private room, which felt quite rewarding.

Multiplayer
After connecting with an area, the player can use constructions, ladders, ropes, etc. from other players. In that sense, Death Stranding does have multiplayer elements, but at the same time, it’s not the regular mode of playing online together. To appreciate the help of others, the player can like the objects. However, it’s possible to just disable this feature or play in offline mode if desired. This feature helped me a lot of times so it was definitely useful, although I can understand why others may prefer no additional help (to make it more challenging). Similarly, there are various difficulty modes available the player can change anytime in-game.

Graphics, Soundtracks and their Immersion
One of my favourite things about the game is its visuals. The environments look stunning and when the game zooms in the face or bodies of the characters, everything looks crisp, clear and highly detailed. I really admired the graphics during the cutscenes due to their excellent facial expressions which made the characters feel genuine to me. Death Stranding truly is a piece of art when it comes to the presentation. Additionally, the soundtrack was pleasant as well and I loved listening to the tracks when I was travelling through the areas as some of them are quite emotional.

Also, Death Stranding on PC introduced the Photo Mode (which is now on PS4). I didn’t really use it that much but it allows you to further appreciate the love and dedication which went into creating this beautiful game.

Technical Issues
Although I had no issues with the gameplay, the game didn’t properly work for me when I was trying to play it above 1080p. It was very annoying as the game kept crashing no matter what I did, so I ended up lowering the resolution. However, the game itself ran fine once I’d dropped it so the game may not be well-optimised for playing on higher resolutions? At least the crashing issues were not present at all in 1080p, but I hope I’m able to run it at 4K with no issues at some point.

**On a side note, the devs are continuing to update the game (an update dropped yesterday as well), so it’s best to check out the Steam Forums for updates on any technical issues which may or may not be present in the latest build** 

Final Conclusion:
I enjoyed discovering the world in Death Stranding and although the gameplay didn’t seem ‘special’ at first, it ended up being much more complex than I initially thought. Sadly, the story does take a while to pick up, however, as soon as my confusion got untangled it became more enjoyable for me. My favourite thing about this game is the stunning environmental and character graphics which made it a joy for me to traverse through the areas, even if I was mostly simply delivering cargo. That being said, Death Stranding is an entertaining game, with an interesting premise, which I recommend to anyone who is looking for something more unique to experience.

Despite my dislike of Kickstarter and Crowdfunding in general, the system has brought us a number of great games in the last few years, projects which actually met their goal and produced a game which resembled what was promised within the campaign. Deliver Us The Moon from KeokeN Interactive was successfully funded (HERE) back in 2016, following up with a few demos for the backers and a change of publisher, from Starbreeze Studios to Wired Productions.

I’ve played a number of space-based exploration puzzle adventures over the last few years, so I was really keen to try this one out too.

Glancing over the original campaign targets, I can see a few goals which weren’t successfully reached, goals which would have added a lot to the final product. However, does the game itself hold up to the original promise and expectations, or did it fall short? Let’s find out…

(I’ve recently taken a new look a the game on the PlayStation 4, which you can also read HERE)

Scan objects, listen to audio logs, read notes – it’s all required for the full experience!

Deliver Us The Moon‘s story is fed to us through a number of exposition points, such as notes you find, audio logs, visual recordings, and narration/conversations with Earth. As such, most of the story we’re learning as the protagonist is, so it’s a mystery to both of us. Earth has exhausted all of its natural resources, leaving the planet in a crisis which affects every living person. As such, scientists and engineers discovered they could harvest an invaluable power source from the moon and beam it back to Earth in order to deliver unlimited energy.

Everything was going fine, from the point of the people on Earth. However, one night everything went dark – Earth lost communications with the moon bases, the power stopped being delivered and the people were back in the same situation they were in before this miraculous discovery. It’s been five years since the blackout, the government has been prepping an investigation team to go and check out the reason for the lack of communications and re-establish the link. You are the investigation team, one sole astronaut on an adventure of discovery and survival.

Although technically on your own, you’ll gain support from a floating robot (ASE) who you can directly control to help you overcome the hazards and obstructions you come across during your journey. Not only will you be faced with having to survive on an oxygen-free Moon, but you’ll also have to make sense of the fragments left behind – discover what’s happened to those who once resided there and if there are any survivors to shed a light onto the mysteries left unspoken.

First or third-person, the game looks great.

Gameplay
During my time with Deliver Us The Moon I was reminded of a number of games I’ve played over the last few years. As an adventure game which focuses on its narrative, puzzles, investigation and mystery, the action may be limited to a single section with hostile robots and survival with a lack of oxygen, but the main focus is clearly the narrative and immersing you within its world. There are similarities between this game and titles such as Tacoma and The Station, as you’ll be wandering around various sub-stations and ships in order to uncover the mysteries via reading notes left behind and watching ghostly video holograms act out in front of you.

Flipping over to VR games, I was instantly reminded of games such as Red Matter and Eden-Tomorrow on the PSVR whilst playing the game, taking control of ASE in order to fly around in Zero-G and move through spaces our beefy protagonist can’t fit through. It’s a mechanic which was also prominent within the brilliant narrative-driven game, Observation. Although ASE is pretty useless in terms of its abilities, with only the process of activating certain panels as its single ability, having this AI tag along with you made the game feel less lonely and isolated at times. 

What I enjoyed was the dynamic jump from various viewpoint throughout the game. The majority of the game is played in third-person, which controls ‘okay’ on both keyboard and controller. However, some segments will switch over to first-person, with the bezel of your helmet moving in parallax with your quick movements, just like it would in real life. You also have the chance to drive vehicles on the moon’s surface and operate some rather heavy machinery during a few ‘puzzle’ segments.

Strong Goldeneye on the N64 vibes here!

The controls…
I mentioned above that the controls are ‘okay’ – I think this may be a personal and subjective opinion, but it didn’t feel like I was on the moon. The first thing I noticed was the gravity. Whilst in your ship, and within various stations, I imagine artificial gravity has been enabled – allowing you to walk around. I’m not sure what that’s like in real life but the controls felt a little floaty at times. This may be my brain focusing on movies, where gravity is 1:1 with the Earth when in space if it’s turned on, but it almost felt like maybe the gravitational systems weren’t fully operational? If that’s the case, then I take back my issue with it.

Secondly, still in relation to good old Newton, there’s stronger than expected gravity on the moon. Again, if this is something the scientists and engineers have established then I missed that note and that’s fine. If not, why is the gravity on the moon similar to Earth? Sure, as you run, you take much longer strides and it feels like a moonwalk, but as you cut off parts of a ship, drive your buggy over ramped craters, or jump from a decent height, everything falls back to the ground rather quickly – almost like it has no momentum or weightlessness. This didn’t distract from the game, but without explanation, it did remove me from my immersion a little.

Other than those two observations, I have no issues with your abilities and the controls in general. As the game progresses, you get access to a few new toys to play with, such as the ability to scan important items and log them in your on-hand computer, the adorable ASE companion, and you even get a ‘Goldeneye’ wrist laser. Everyone remembers Goldeneye on the N64, right?! Remember one of the first missions, using your wrist laser to cut off metal tabs so you can escape the train before it blows up? Well, Deliver Us The Moon gives you a laser which is almost identical in its feeling, look and purpose as the Goldeneye one – it’s awesome and very helpful.

Each area provides you with a clear set of goals to work towards.

Puzzles?
As a narrative-driven game, Deliver Us The Moon relies heavily on getting the player to interact with the environment as you look for clues on how to open some doors, find items you can use to aid progression, and optionally watch and read snippets on whats happened previously. The puzzles themselves aren’t too difficult, it’s mainly environmental puzzle platforming as you work out how to reach certain areas before your oxygen runs out, or searching for ladders or heavy objects to create a new pathway to progress through. However, there were a few which took a bit of thinking and exploration.

One such puzzle, without giving away the answer, had you stuck in a monorail station as the tram stopped working and wouldn’t move. After looking around, you discover one of the crew members (who is no longer here) has the code. So, you must find a way into their room so that you can access their belongings and discover what the code is and how to reactivate the transportation. This single situation requires the use of an environmental object, your laser, ASE and a bit of exploration. 

Although not technically a puzzle, piecing together what happened, where everyone has gone, what the remaining people were up to, and what became of any survivors on the moonbase, is almost a puzzle in itself. Sure, you can storm through the game and ignore most emails, notices, video recordings and audio logs, but if you do, you’re only getting a portion of the story. This reminds me a little of, once again, games like The Station, Observation, Tacoma and even Control, playing the game is only a part of the overall narrative – the rest is found through exploration and taking an interest in things you find.

Float through the electric wires – try not to die…

Zero-G for me!
One thing I love when it comes to space-based games is when you get the chance to go weightless and float around. Deliver Us The Moon reminded me of Detached, a PSVR title, as there are some segments with you outside of the ship, floating around in space with no oxygen. You must float as fast as you can, picking up O2 tanks as you go, trying to get back into a sealed airlock asap. You can also move in a full 360 degrees, bumping into things and watching them float off with realistic weightless physics. It’s so cool!

Kickstarter goals not met
I don’t usually mention these, but there are a few stretch goals the original Kickstarter campaign didn’t reach which I would have loved to have. I’m hoping that, with the help of Wired Productions, KeokeN Interactive can look into implementing some of these features into the game in time for the console ports next year.

1. Local co-op missions. I’m not too bothered by the lack of co-op, but it would open up the game to new experiences. 
2. Extra moon bases, vehicle and episode. The game itself is quite linear in its design, despite exploration helping you discover past events in more detail. However, I’d love to replay the game on the PS4 and discover there is a new building I can walk around or maybe even a trophy for driving around and finding things on the surface of the moon.
3. VR implementation. Before I found the Kickstarter (as I only realised it was crowdfunded when the hundreds of names appeared in the credits), the first thing I thought of whilst playing the game was, “why isn’t this in VR?” The campaign achieved 103,000 Euros, it needed 150,000 for VR to be considered. Deliver Us The Moon would be enhanced greatly if it received both PSVR and PC VR support throughout.

We have a few space-based exploration games in VR on the PS4, such as Downward Spiral, Detached, Eden-Tomorrow, Red Matter, and even The Station is getting a PSVR patch soon.

I seriously felt like Deliver Us The Moon was made for VR – I hope that one day this becomes a reality.

This is on my old PC – Imagine it with RTX and 4k!

Technical
Despite my PC being rather ‘old’ in terms of modern gaming (i7 2600k with a GTX 780Ti), I was still able to play the vast majority of the game at 1080p with all settings set to ‘high’ with a framerate of 60fps most of the time. There is an ‘ultra’ setting, but my poor GPU couldn’t handle that, so all images on this review are 1080p at high settings. The game itself looks fantastic – the textures all look nice and clean (with only a few fuzzy ones which may be based upon my settings) and the lighting effects with dynamic shadows, showing your shadow as you float around, is done perfectly. 

Deliver Us The Moon also supports RTX which I believe isn’t there yet but will be within a few weeks after launch. I’ve seen footage of the game with this enabled and if you have a card and system capable of activating it, you’re in for a treat! However, even without this new feature which everyone is now talking about (even the new PS5 and Xbox will support it via their new APUs next year), the game is visually very stunning to look at and highly detailed – even the cans of soda has the full nutrition and ingredients on the back.

Thankfully, as it was a stretch goal the developers never met, the game has full voice acting throughout the game. Not only that, Deliver Us The Moon is fully voiced in English, French and German, all of which sound great (I played about an hour in both German and French to see what it sounded like). The music is perfectly matched to the content and further enhances the fact you’re on your own in a scientifically advanced space station in outer space with only a floating robot and ghostly images of the past to accompany you.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
If you enjoy space-based adventure games or titles which encourage you to look at and read everything in order to uncover the truth, Deliver Us The Moon is for you. Visually the game looks amazing, mechanically it delivers realistic physics and situations, and the gameplay will leave you wanting more as the narrative progresses.

Despite my query over the realism of the movements upon the surface of the moon, the game is very believable and delivers a subliminal message regarding climate change and the depletion of the world’s natural resources. My only wish, I hope we get some form of VR implementation for the launch of the game on the PS4 next year – that will enhance the overall experience tenfold!

Launching at a reasonable price of only £19.99 on Steam and GoG, Deliver Us The Moon doesn’t only deliver said Moon, it also delivers a 7-8 hour narrative journey which will entertain and intrigue you throughout. 

** If you decide to pick up Deliver Us The Moon after reading our review (which you should as it’s really good), please consider buying it via GreenMan Gaming through this affiliate link HERE. The small commission we’ll receive will help out the site and you’re bound to pick up the game at a great price! **

Wired Productions have published a few exciting and memorable narrative adventures lately, Close to the Sun was a steampunk horror game aboard a ghost ship, Those who Remain and Martha is Dead are two upcoming psychological thrillers, and Deliver Us The Moon is a sci-fi thriller set in the near future. Today I’m taking a second look at the latter, thanks to it just releasing on the PS4 and Xbox One, after reviewing the game last year when it launched on PC. Although I knew the story and what was going to happen, I was hyped and excited to replay the narrative and explore the lonely hallways in search of answers one more time.

The developers of this title are KeokeN Interactive, a studio which has released one game, Deliver Us The Moon, although you wouldn’t think that as the game easily compares to titles from much bigger studios. The game actually started as a Kickstarter campaign, a campaign which just about hit its goal back in 2016, releasing on PC without the final chapters until the game was completed last year. Now, with the final game receiving praise for its story, design, visuals, and use of RTX technology, we finally get to play it on the PS4 and Xbox One, both with enhancements for their beefier counter-parts.

So, let’s grab our helmets one more time as we embark on a mission to Deliver Us The Moon…

I am the Rocket Man!

Deliver Us The Moon is set in the near future, Earth has depleted all of its natural resources – which has led to an apocalyptic state. In order to try and solve this issue, a team were sent to the moon to mine and harvest a new form of energy from the minerals which were found there, providing a constant stream of new useable power for those who remained upon the Earth. However, although things seemed to be going well, Mission Control lost all communications with the team upon the moon, leading to concerns and questions around their livelihood, the state of the mission, and what caused the blackout in the first place.

So, in order to investigate, due to the broken communication link, the only possible solution would be to send someone into space so that they can report what they see and discover in relation to the events which occurred. This is where you come in, you’re Earth’s final astronaut who has been tasked with investigating the colony upon the moon in an effort to restore the communications and help the scientists complete their mission. It really is a matter of life or death as Earth needs the invaluable resources the moon can offer.

You’ll launch a rocket, investigate deserted hallways, relive past events via holographic recordings, buddy up with a floating eyeball, and ride a buggy around the surface of the moon, all in hopes of discovering the truth and bringing hope to the people on Earth. This 7-9 hour sci-fi thriller will keep you gripped until the end as you uncover more information surrounding the events which happened merely a few days before you got there, explaining what happened to those who were stationed within the colony and those who cannot be found. Can you complete the task set before you, can you Deliver Us The Moon?

What happened in the moon colony?!

Gameplay
Deliver Us The Moon is an interactive narrative experience which fully immerses you within its world as you investigate various environments and build the story as you go. The game itself operates in a seamless first and third-person point-of-view, switching to first-person when you go into smaller rooms, and then zooming out behind your character into third-person when you enter bigger locations. I personally thought this was an interesting mechanic but I would have loved the option to play the entire game in first-person if possible – you never see the protagonist’s face, so seeing their masked body isn’t much different than seeing out of their eyes. 

Although, there are some timed segments which require you to monitor your oxygen levels, to ensure you don’t asphyxiate, which conveniently has the countdown timer displayed as a digital clock on the back of the protagonist’s suit. However, a simple timer in the HUD once looking out from a first-person view would have sufficed if we had the option.

Aside from moving forward with the story via watching holograms, reading letters and notes left behind, and observing the devastation around you, you’ll also be solving simple environmental puzzles. You may have to drag ladders around so you can gain more height, push various buttons as you try to light up all the bulbs, search for door codes, and manoeuvre across flimsy walkways as you try not to fall, so nothing too difficult or cryptic to work out. The fun comes when you have access to your two helpful tools/abilities…

Friend?

Goldeneye anyone?
Do you remember Goldeneye on the N64? I always remember the level with the train, where you have to cut open the trapdoor at the end of the stage with your watch laser so that you can escape before it blows up. Well, Deliver Us The Moon has a similar gameplay mechanic, a laser which is attached to your arm. I know it’s not much, it’s just a laser, but I always find it fun when you have something like this in games which you have to use to cut open various doors, chests, and passages so that you can progress and escape. Not only will you be using this ability to create passages for yourself, but you’ll also be using it to open up pipes for your friendly…

ASE, the floating-eyeball robot
Although not with you from the start, you’ll soon come across a damaged ASE unit which you repair as best you can. This friendly floating robot becomes your new best friend as it follows you around and helps out with your investigation. With a push of a button, you can take control of the unit and move around the station’s vents and other small areas your beefy suit won’t let you squeeze into, looking for doorways the ASE can open for you or reading door codes off left-behind documents.

Although not technically a puzzle game, there are a number of obstacles and dangers which block your patch that could be described as ‘puzzles’. As I said previously, there’s nothing too taxing or difficult so all gamers of any age or skill level should be able to overcome them without any issues. There are also a few hidden Easter Eggs and secrets to keep an eye out for – I particularly liked the Stephen King reference and the rather strange ‘developer in the toilet’…

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Enhancements

Last year I was honoured to play the game on PC for the release on that platform. Due to my PC being fairly old, I played the majority of the game on medium settings and at 900-1080p. Seeing as I own a PS4 Pro, I was hoping I could finally get to play the game at a much higher resolution and/or quality – something which I’m happy to say is an option.

First, the bad news. At launch, Deliver Us The Moon doesn’t support HDR on the PS4 (but it does on the Xbox One X) – this feature is coming soon via a patch for the PS4 platforms. However, there are two performance options on both the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X:
The PS4 Pro has a 1080/60 and 4k/30 mode (the 4k mode is 1440p upscaled to 2160p).
The Xbox One X has a 1080/60 and 4k/30 mode (this time with a native 4k).

However, after flicking back and forth between the ‘4k’ and 1080p mode on the PS4 Pro, I was a little confused and disappointed. first of all, both modes felt like they were running at the same framerate – they are smooth with no pacing issues or dips in framerate, but they both ‘felt’ like they were 30fps, even the 1080p mode which is supposedly 60. I could be wrong, but it didn’t feel like it was 60fps. Secondly, whereas the ‘4k’ mode is very sharp, detailed, vibrant, and looks fantastic (all my pictures on here are in this mode), the 1080p mode looked washed out, blurry, less detailed, and almost like it was around 900p. 

My personal recommendation, play the game in the ‘4k’ mode and leave it on there (even if you’re on a 1080p TV like me), the visual enhancements combined with the rock-solid performance is worth it over the un-noticeable possible boost in framerate. Throughout the entire game, I only experienced one performance issue in the ‘4k’ mode towards the end of the game and it only lasted about half a second.

They float, Georgie, and when you’re down here with me, you’ll float, too!

Technical
Before I start talking about the gorgeous visuals and atmospheric music, I think I need to talk about the actual technical issue which you’ll notice as soon as you play the game – the stutters. Basically, every time the game performs one of its autosaves (which are quite frequent), the game stutters – well, it stops whilst it saves then continues. Thankfully, saving only takes about one second, so it doesn’t freeze for long, but it is irritating and distracting. Also, as Deliver Us The Moon isn’t an action-packed game which is full of chase sequences, combat, or precision jumping, the micro-freezes won’t cause you to die or give the game an unfair advantage over you.

Other than that, the rest of the game ran perfectly and offered no negative input to my overall experience. The visuals and art direction are really good, especially when playing in the ‘4k’ mode as you really get to see the detail upon all of the assets. The lighting is another aspect I have to praise, the dynamic shadows and reflective surfaces all help create a very realistic and beautiful world for you to explore.

However, just like a number of games this generation – the reflections of the character are ‘off’. For example, there’s a blurry mirror in the game and if you look into it, you see the back of your head – it’s basically replicating the character model rather than actually mirroring it! It’s funny but it pulls your out of the immersion. You can also see the issue with the duck in the above image – it’s replicated and not mirrored.

That said, this is one of the games which fully utilises RTX on PC, offering some of the best uses of the technology aside from Control and Minecraft. So, maybe we’ll see a PS5 and Xbox Series X update in the future, harnessing the RTX ability for next-gen consoles?

Music-wise, the soundtrack is incredible. It really captures the emotions and events which are happening around you with its orchestrated music. Also, the soundtrack is available to buy on PSN for £7.99 (it’s almost four hours long) right HERE.

Alternatively, if you’re more into physical media, there’s a collectors edition of the game due out on August 14th for £24.99 which includes the game, soundtrack and a 100-page artbook (link is in the sidebar via Amazon). 

Official trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Deliver Us The Moon is a thrilling sci-fi narrative adventure which touches on real-world issues with a hint of fantasy. Although I’ve played the game before, I felt the same rush of excitement and intrigue the second time around, discovering things I missed the first time as I now sought out the various trophies and Easter Eggs. The music, voice acting, sound effects, and gorgeous environments all combinate into an interactive adventure which fully immerses you and pulls you into this sad, apocalyptic world. If you’re a fan of story-driven experiences with simplistic puzzles and a great narrative you uncover as you play, Deliver Us The Moon is for you.

As of today (launch day), Deliver Us The Moon is available now on the PlayStation 4, Steam, GoG, Utomik, Xbox One, GeForce Now (If you own the game on Steam), and it’s also part of the Xbox GamePass on console. 

** If you decide to pick up Deliver Us The Moon after reading our review (on Steam), please consider buying it via GreenMan Gaming through this affiliate link HERE. The small commission we’ll receive will help out the site and you’re bound to pick up the game at a great price! **

Detention is a dark and atmospheric point-and-click paranormal horror game from the Taiwan-based studio, Red Candle. I wouldn’t be surprised if you hadn’t heard of the developers before as this appears to be their first major release, hopefully, the first of many. The first thing that stood out to me, when I saw the game on Steam earlier this year, was the art style and the setting of the game.

The game is set in 1960’s Taiwan during a period which is dubbed the ‘White Terror’ in which the whole country was under martial law with authorities constantly on the lookout for communism. This terrible period lasted from 1949 to 1987 and must have been horrible to live through, however it makes a very interesting, yet eerie, setting for an adventure game. This game manages to tell its story while getting under your skin and making you feel all freaked out and engaged so much that you can’t stop playing. The game is delivered with a simple control style, quirky puzzles, graphic notes and paranormal aspects from various cultures – which, when all combined together, really interested me and made me want to experience this game even more.

Detention operates as a point and click game, but adapted for consoles, so you move around as normal and, if you get close to an item or an object, an icon will appear on screen symbolising if you can look at or pick something up. There are also some inventory puzzles, where you will obtain an item elsewhere and use it to overcome a problem. These aren’t too difficult and you should be able to complete them with no issues.

Detention begins in a classroom, Ms. Yin, the teacher, is teaching the class when one student appears to fall asleep. Ms. Yin is called out of the class by an ‘instructor Bai’, the screen fades to black and when we return to the scene there’s only one student present, the one sleeping. Upon awakening, we find out this student is called Wei and is our protagonist, we also find out that everyone else has left the school due to an incoming typhoon warning – although why everyone would leave and let Wei continue to sleep if it was such an important event is only the start of the mysteries.

Wei decides he must leave the school and get to safety. Whilst looking for a way out you are made aware that the school is halfway up a mountain, in the middle of nowhere with only one way out. The quickest exit involves going through the auditorium, however, upon entering the building, you find a girl named Fang, who is a few years older than your character, asleep on the stage. You both decide to try and leave the school together but you find all the exits are barred and the bridge has collapsed into a dark red river. You decided to get shelter from the weather inside the main school building and work out what to do next from there.

The story from here unfolds into a supernatural and paranormal tale. It has elements of a ghost story, dark family secrets and psychology. Although Detentions setting and time period drew me in, the story going forward has less to do with the setting and more in how particular events affect people and influences them to do certain things. You find notes in various locations and are shown flashbacks to make sense of whats going on and why.

Detention is presented in a way that you don’t know if it’s real life or if it’s all just a dream for your character. The various colour tints over almost greyscale visuals with a vignette effect around the edges make it feel like it’s old and eerie. Technically there is no jump scares, although I did jump about three times when I wasn’t fully concentrating and I ran straight into the Lingered (Spirits which haunt the school grounds which come in various forms) which result in an instant death.

When you ‘die’ in Detention, you are taken to a hillside which you climb and obtain a hint on how to overcome the spirit you encountered, you are then returned to the point just before you encountered your tragic end previously and are able to overcome it and proceed. There are static save points throughout the game, so if you die you can continue, but if you want the game to save where you are, you must use one of the save points.

There is no combat within the game, each of the Lingered have a specific way to bypass them, this usually involves standing still and not breathing (holding down R2), however, you also have to look away from certain ones and even distract some so you can walk past them. There aren’t many Lingered in the game, but they do sometimes randomly pop up when you’re not expecting them – the game is more focused on the story than having you constantly avoiding them though.

The puzzles themselves are really clever, I won’t go into them in too much detail but you will need to use your sense of hearing for one of them and another requires you to think logically about it. I really enjoyed trying to figure them out – it’s a nice change from having puzzles that are so easy you can breeze through them without paying attention.

There is no voice acting within Detention, it is all subtitled. The lack of voices just adds to the tension and atmosphere of each room as you carefully read the text at your own pace whilst listening to the sounds around you. Speaking of the sounds, the main atmospheric part of Detention is the one part I haven’t mentioned yet, the music and the sound effects.

You can clearly hear everything from your footsteps to your heartbeat as you walk through the empty hallways. Whilst outside you hear the howling of the wind hitting the trees and inside you hear the ringing of the phone in the distance and the ticking of clocks. This is built upon with a creepy ‘soundtrack’ – I wouldn’t really call it a soundtrack as such, but a collection of prolonged sounds that emphasise what is happening at that point. For example, at one point you are running around the halls looking for answers and the music is like a howling, scratching noise which fades away upon entering a building, where all you can hear is all of the ambient sounds around you. It really adds to the overall experience and helps build up a sense of uneasiness and terror.

Graphically, the developers have opted for a very artistic 2d-style game. The characters look very flat, but the backgrounds are so beautiful and detailed, they both blend together perfectly. As I mentioned before, the colour is almost fully drained out of the gameplay apart from a few areas and some light sources within the game, which gives the area a glow of colour. This may not be to everyone’s taste, with modern releases pushing for 4k ultra texture and ultra-realistic quality, but Detention really captures the environments which range from the classrooms to a make-shift prison to the outside fields. Each area captured the dark side of a normal environment (except the prison, that’s clearly not normal in a school).

The final aspect to touch upon is the length, I performed a playthrough of this on my YouTube channel and it took me just over three hours on my first playthrough. I only managed to get one of the endings (there are two) and I didn’t collect all of the items, so a full 100% time may be about three to four hours with the chapter select. To me, the price point for this length seems about right, it is £8.99 – so it’s about the price of a Blu-ray movie.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion
Detention is one of those rare games that you come across that not a lot of people may have heard of. It’s creepy, eerie and unsettling but thoroughly enjoyable and really interesting to pick up and read all the in-game notes and experience what it was like. I’ve played and seen people play games much longer than this which don’t ever give off the same impact – if you are a horror fan, or if you like atmospheric games, this should be one on your radar, I just hope they bring it to more regions so more of us can enjoy it.

If you wish to experience more of the story, there’s a series available on Netflix right now. Also, there’s a film based upon the game which seems to have only came out in Asia – I imported a collectors edition of the film with English subtitles and signed portraits of the main cast. I’ve not seen the show but I highly recommend the movie.

There are not many settings more mysterious than that of Noir. In the world of Dollhouse, not only will you be tasked with deciphering fact from fiction, but you also must do it in the utmost secrecy as you see yourself as a Detective tasked with solving a mystery. At at the same time, you are also playing Cat and Mouse with something that wants to see you as dead as the air that hangs over a dark Hollywood morning before a storm.

Creazn Studio has crafted a game that will keep you on your toes, but do they keep you there, or will Dollhouse be lost in Hollywood, only to be remembered within old stills?

Within the main campaign of Dollhouse, you play as Marie, who could easily be mistaken for a Dollar Store rendition of the world greatest thief, Carmen Sandiego. The game takes place entirely inside of her head due to living through a tragedy at one point in her life, involving her daughter. In this psychological state, she is tasked with uncovering her memories that have been lost to amnesia. Each map is randomly generated so that each time you play you’re presented with a unique experience with each chapter set within a visually different location. However, the maps feel very much the same, there’s just a different skin placed upon the environment. By the time I’d reached the third chapter, Dollhouse was beginning to feel very repetitive due to this, I would have loved it if there were more gameplay changes with each chapter.

In each Chapter, as you are trying to uncover your memories, you are also being hunted by different enemies. First and foremost, there are the mannequins which can be scary as hell the first time you meet them, similar to what we saw in Layers of Fear 2. Fans of Doctor Who will know EXACTLY what I mean when I say that the mannequins operate exactly as the Weeping Angels do. If you’re looking at the mannequins, they cannot move or attack you as you, however, if you turn your back, they’ll attack you swiftly and without warning.

There is a way to attack them via ‘Flashing’ them – with a torch, not by opening your long, red trench coat… Thankfully, once you do that, they are gone permanently. The same cannot be said about the creature that hunts you in each level though. For context sake, we will call the creature ‘IT’.

‘IT’ cannot die, and if ‘IT’ gets to you, your life will end immediately as it has a 1-hit kill attack. You can flash this creature in order to stun it, which gives you a chance to run away, but if you don’t get away quick enough then you’ll certainly meet your demise. Marie does not have infinite stamina and so you only have about 8 seconds that you can run away quickly as her walking pace is insanely slow. You have the ability to purchase abilities that will help you with fighting the creatures as well as carry more items, but at no point will you have infinite stamina.

You also have a unique ability called ‘Focus’ in which you can see through the eyes of ‘IT’ in order to search for more memories laying around whilst also seeing if ‘IT’ is anywhere close to Marie. This can be useful, however, the more you use the Focus, the more likely it is that ‘IT’ can detect where you are, so you always need to be careful and use the ability as lightly as possible – Just like Frodo and his legendary ring.

In each chapter, the whole focus is to reclaim Marie’s memories, these are spread throughout the level as old film canisters. After collecting enough of the canisters, you are allowed to go to a secret lost room in which you are given a special task to do in each level, such as changing each TV station to the same channel or stopping a carousel on a specific spot. After that, you’re given a master key to open your dressing room and advance the story.

Each level is randomly generated, so no two playthroughs will be the same. At the end of each level, all of the memories you have gathered, as well as other collectables, are brought to an editing room where you will edit a script as well as piece together a film trailer. It’s in this editorial section of the game where you can shape a different story each time, resulting in multiple endings to the main game, as well as opt for specific small ‘boosts’ in your next chapter such as a 1% chance some doors will be open.

If the idea of getting to play the game in a calm manner is more your thing, there is a special game mode called ‘Voyeur” in which ‘IT’ cannot harm you, nor the mannequins. However, certain trophies will be impossible to earn via using this easy mode.

There is a multiplayer option in the game in which you play as a sizeable cast of different characters with unique abilities. I will fully admit that I was unable to play the multiplayer in the game as each time I have tried to play in this mode, there were no other players online. This does include multiple attempts post game release. Maybe a cross-platform option so that the PS4 players can play with the Steam owners would be a possible solution to this?

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Dollhouse had me from the get-go with its fascinating ‘Noir’ design and interesting story of mystery. Creazn Studio went into this game with amazing ideas, and where some of them paid off well, others seemed to have fallen on their face. I felt that by the time I was up to the third chapter, everything felt very repetitive, the visuals may be different but the core gameplay mechanics of what to do in each level was very much the same. I do feel the game could be salvaged with updates but it would take quite a bit to turn this into a game which is solid from start to finish.

Outside of it being repetitive though, it was fun to play! The voice acting was very well done and the atmosphere always felt very tense and surprising. It took very little time for me to start making comparisons to Bioshock and Close to the Sun, with its visual art direction. All in all, it’s not a bad game, it just needs a bit more love in terms of making the content a bit more varied.

When DOOM was set to be rebooted back in 2016, nobody knew what to expect. Would it be a simple remake of the original game with some cinematics thrown in, would it be a 30fps narrative FPS, or would it tone down the violence in order to be more appealing for younger gamers? Hell no! What we got was a badass, violent, bloodthirsty, slaughter-fest of a game which focused on delivering a solid 60fps with integrated slowed down ‘Glory Kills’ and adrenaline-inducing combat. I’m so happy to say that DOOM Eternal did not disappoint as a direct sequel to this action-packed demonic massacre!

id Software and Bethesda have clearly set out to create an experience you’ll find hard to forget, building upon the foundations of DOOM (2016) whilst enhancing and expanding the gameplay through various new mechanics and returning fan favourites. I’ve played through the campaign to its conclusion, explored every nook and cranny of each of the massive maps, and tore apart every single demon in a number of ways – now, it’s time to tell you how bloody brilliant this game is and why you need to buy it when it launches later this week!

Thank god that giant mech killed the giant demon before I got here!

DOOM Eternal directly follows the events of Doom (2016), although previous knowledge of the story within that title isn’t really required as you’ll pick up numerous codex’s throughout the game which fills you in on any relevant backstory. The big difference here is that rather than spending the entirety of the game within the demonic underbelly of Hell itself, the fight has moved to Earth – or at least what remains of it. Basically, over 60% of the Earth has been consumed by demons, wiping out the vast majority of the human race within the first month of the dimensional invasion.

To try and counter this, military forces housed the remaining civilians within fortified structures which were cut off from all outside communications, believing this was their best approach to protect them from the onslaught of hellish creatures. As you’d expect, these safehouses didn’t last long, falling to the demonic forces which were out for blood. Doomguy, the iconic protagonist, was aboard the ARC when he picked up a signal from Earth, it was a survivor asking for help. Without hesitation, he teleports down in order to check out the destruction and madness which now plagues the surface, whilst on the lookout for the elusive Hell Priests.

These satanic demons are stations upon the Earth as a means for the invasion of Hell to continue successfully. As long as at least one of these religious monsters exists, demons can continue to invade and participate in the destruction of mankind. So, with your trusty shotgun fully loaded, your mission is to find these cultists and wipe them out, as well as anything else which gets in your way. You can use the ARC to travel to various locations around the world as you seek them out, following leads and signals as you jump in headfirst with no fear of death or your own wellbeing – you seriously are the biggest badass in the entire universe.

It’s time to kick some ass!

Just carving up my Sunday roast!

Gameplay
Oh boy, what can I say about the gameplay in DOOM Eternal? It’s fast, intense, smooth, brutal, satisfying, glorious, orgasmic, and so full of gore. If you’ve played DOOM (2016), it’s more of the same, only better. I’ve never played an FPS which felt as satisfying as this, not even any of the Wolfenstein games. The objective is simple, follow the guidance given to you within each of the areas you travel to, making your way from point A to B whilst slaughtering anything which moves along the way. Only, it’s not that simple as the levels feel like the original DOOM from way-back-when, crammed full with secret areas, collectables, combat arenas, bosses, and even some environmental puzzles.

One thing I wasn’t expecting was the amount of parkour which was present within DOOM Eternal. Pretty much every location has you jumping and grabbing onto walls, dashing through the air, climbing onto objects to gain height so you can reach secret areas, and even grabbing items mid-jump so you can jump some more and not plummet to your death. I personally really enjoyed the more flexible and athletic Doomguy, but some of the jumps and ‘flying’ segments require a lot of precision, leading to your untimely death (or at least loss of 20 hit points) should you forget to grab a wall or miss-time your boost. 

There are also swimming segments, either through water or hazardous and toxic liquids which slowly reduce your health. There isn’t many, and they aren’t difficult, but they can lead to quick deaths if you’re unsure on where to go once you get your feet wet and can’t find a hazmat suit.

One of the things I loved about DOOM Eternal has to be the abundance of ammo and health top-ups, it made life so much easier when I was in adrenaline mode trying to take out horde after horde of enemies. However, rather than simply finding the ammo scattered around (which you still can), you can gloriously cut through whatever poor soul is in front of you, causing all the ammo and health packs they seemingly have stuffed within their body to pop out. And when I say “cut through”, I mean you push Square and literally slice them in half in a number of ways with your trusty chainsaw! 

Now that’s what you call a deepthroat!

Combat
But, the star of the show here is the brutally awesome combat which feels more advanced and impactful than DOOM (2016). First of all, Glory Kills are back and they’re even more g(l)orier than ever! Deal enough damage to your prey and watch them flash, then jump in with a push of the R3 button and watch as Doomguy performs a fatality and strips the hellish demon of their ‘life’ whilst dropping much-needed health packs for yourself. I’m not sure quite how many different executions there are but it varies based on what you’re attacking and what angle you perform the attack at. That’s right, from above, coming in from the left, from the right, behind, in front, whilst dashing… – there are numerous ones for each creature.

Sticking with your hand, once you’ve slaughtered enough lost souls, you can also unleash a mighty Blood Punch, delivering immense damage which can literally cause the fleshy fiends to, sort of, explode…

In terms of accessorising, you have access to three deadly toys, a Flame Belch, Frag Grenade and Ice Bomb. The grenade and bomb speak for themselves, one blows up and the other causes anything within its range to freeze, but what’s the Flame Belch? This nifty little parrot (shoulder-mounted device) ‘belches’ out a short-range fire blast, burning your foes and delivering a few seconds of pain. But, what’s the point if it’s only a few seconds? Well, whilst slightly hotter than their home in Hell, the enemies will spit out armour packs for you to equip. 

My only problem with this brilliant tool is the button you push to use it – it’s Triangle. Could the devs have picked a button further away from the Right Thumb Stick – requiring you to move your thumb and potentially get attacked in the process whilst being unable to aim whilst belching? For me, there was one solution – I used my NACON Revolution Unlimited Pro controller, with its four back-paddles, but I imagine the official DS4 back paddles would also come in handy for this purpose as well. 

How beautiful is this gun!

Weapons
I can’t really talk about DOOM Eternal without discussing the arsenal at your disposal, can I?! Every weapon you could ask for has made its glorious return, the Shotgun, Heavy Cannon, Plasma Rifle, Rocket Launcher, Chaingun and maybe a few others such as a gun which was written by Roald Dahl 9,000 times. But, this isn’t where the buck stops in regards to the weapons you use, each one has a number of enhancements and modes you can unlock and swap between on the fly during gameplay, modes which drastically changes the secondary attack of each of them.

So, each weapon, bar three of them, have a secondary attack mode (L2) – well, they have two secondary attack modes which you can swap by pushing up on the D-Pad at any point. Such modes are explosive rounds for your Heavy Cannon, a continuous stream for the Pulse Rifle, and sticky grenades for the Shotgun. Plus, once you’ve activated these mods, you can invest Weapon Points (which you get by completing combat-related events in each stage) into each one to further enhance the impact they have and unlock new abilities such as not having to reload or wait to use the secondary attack.

Although you can boost the effects with points, the final enhancement requires you to complete a set goal in-game, such as kill X amount of Y with a particular attack. Completing these forced me to experiment and do things I wouldn’t usually try. 

Also, with the Deluxe Edition, you can either use the new weapon sounds or replace them with the original DOOM (1993) sound effects!

I’m so hot, my nipple is on fire!

Suit up!
Just like your weapons, your suit can also be kitted out to enhance your experience and prolong the time before you inevitably die. Sentinal Crystals can be found and invested to boost two things, they increase either your health, armour, or ammo, whilst also unlocking additional enhancements if you use two on the same upgrade – such as reducing the time between belches. You also find Praetor Suit Tokens all over the place, tokens which you can use to unlock a number of perks from different categories. I always opted to unlock the abilities relating to showing all the collectables on the map first, but there are ones relating to your accessories and support against environmental hazards. 

There are also Runes which you can unlock. You can equip up to three of these, granting you a specific boost or ability.

As we were kindly provided with the Deluxe Edition of DOOM Eternal for review, we were able to play the game with a new suit from the beginning – the Demonic Slayer. Suits can be found throughout the game or obtained by gaining experience and unlocking them in the weekly challenges (rotates weekly and offers a bunch of challenges to unlock various cosmetics). They don’t do anything other than changing the visual look of the Doomguy, but every single cutscene (there’s a lot of third-person ones) and the arms you see in first-person reflects the one you pick. This particular one, as you can see in the images, has flames coming off you as if you’re constantly on fire!

Just to quickly touch on this, before I move on to my biggest, and only, annoyance with the game, you can also unlock skins for your weapons and even enemies. Now, why would you want to unlock skins for the creatures? Simple, it’s not for the main game but for the multiplayer mode – something which I can’t really talk about as the servers aren’t being turned on until launch day. However, I can still access the customise menu and see that you can choose the skin, podium, weapon skins, stances, intros and victories for each character. I’ve unlocked a few variants through levelling up and I can’t wait to try them out online!

This is a hug, right?

The enemies/difficulty
I’m not going to lie, I played the entire game on the easiest setting (I’m too young to die) and I found some of the boss battles quite difficult thanks to the clear spike in difficulty which occurred. Before I talk about the son of a bitch which I can’t stand, those who love to hurt themselves will be happy to know that not only do you have an easy, medium, hard, and very hard mode (I’m too young to die, Hurt me plenty, Ultra-violence, and Nightmare), but you also have Ultra-nightmare (which is a perm-a-death mode which leaves a death marker when you die so you can see how far you made it, all whilst playing at Nightmare difficulty), and Extra life mode. Extra life is like old-school DOOM, you pick up lives as you play and once they’re all gone, it’s game over – this can be played at any difficulty.

Now, there’s one enemy which had me screaming at my TV and almost caused me to rage quit on a few occasions, the Marauder. This bastard reflects all attacks unless his eyes turn green and he runs towards you – sounds simple right? Nope. If you’re too far from him then he’ll shoot unblockable projectiles, yet if you’re too close then he’ll just hold up his shield. So, you have to hover at a certain distance and try and quickly aim and shoot (with no iron sight) but only when his eyes are green. Oh, and he has a phantom dog which he sets on you occasionally which will attack you whilst you try to aim for the main guy. It’s all very stressful.

Fighting him once was enough but then he pops up as a regularly recurring character, with the same annoying attack pattern. You have no idea how many times I simply shouted “fuck no” at the TV, put it on pause, and went for a drink in the other room before returning. Thankfully I found his weakness (right near the end of the game), so my second playthrough won’t be as bad. 

On a side note, DOOM Eternal actually has a ‘Funky Kong mode’ built into it (if enabled in the menu). If you die more than three times on a boss or arena battle, the game will ask if you wish to enable the Sentinel Armour. If you say yes (you don’t have to), you’ll take less damage for that particular fight. So, even if you’re getting slaughtered, don’t give up, the game will help you out if you need it. 

I’ll get the mop…

Other than my above nemesis, the rest of the fiends are gloriously gruesome and so satisfying to slaughter. There are a lot of returning creatures from the DOOM franchise, such as the Cacodemon, Possessed Soldiers, Zombies, and Pinky, as well as new ones which I won’t spoil for you. The funny thing is, if more than one ‘species’ of creature is in an area and they haven’t yet spotted you, there’s a chance that they’ll fight each other – some of them are quite clumsy and will also indirectly attack others whilst trying to hit you as well. I love that they’re not simply immune to the other demon’s attacks.

In regards to the bosses, each one is a challenge to overcome the first time you encounter them in DOOM Eternal. You can opt for the game to present you with helpful pop-ups as you play, but they basically tell you exactly what each of these creatures weak points are. So, if you really want a challenge, turn them off and work it out for yourself – some aren’t as obvious as the others.

If you really want a challenge though, the game has ‘Master Levels’ and ‘Slayer Gates’. Slayer Gates are located within a stage, offering the player a highly difficult arena-based challenge against an onslaught of demons, yet Master Levels are accessed from the ARC and are remixed versions of existing levels, only much more difficult. Imagine Ocarina of Time: Master Quest, only with lots of blood and entrails. 

So much better than a Funko Pop!

The collectables
I’ve mentioned them a few times, but what are the items you’re looking for and how do they benefit you? 
• Toys: These are cute-as-hell toy figurines of each of the antagonists which you’ll find scattered across all the levels. I’ve not yet discovered where Doomguy stores these on the ARC.  *update – I found where they’re stored! Once you find the toys, you can interact with them on the ARC and view the in-game character model for that creature – like a 3D model viewer.*
• Albums/singles: You’ll regularly find LPs whilst galavanting around. At first, I thought these were like the toys, pointless – but they’re not! Once found, you can interact with the relevant poster on the ARC and listen to that particular song. The songs appear to be from previous games, not DOOM Eternal.
• Codex pages: These documents unlock backstory and further information on the events which have taken place both within the previous game and on Earth, in general. 
• Cheats: Hell yeah – you find cheats which are stored on floppy discs and are usually named in homage to what they do – such as IDDQD. Basically, when replaying a mission, you can opt to enable any of the cheats you find – these DON’T disable trophies or progression, they only block access to the Slayer Gates. So, if replaying a level to find the rest of the toys, why not enable infinite Berserk mode (literally ripping demons apart with your hands), invulnerability and my favourite, have a crowd of invisible onlookers cheer every time you slaughter an enemy – yes, this is a real thing!

Also whilst replaying mission, you can enable a god-damn photo mode! It’s in beta (which is clear as it’s not very polished at the moment), but you can jump into third-person, change your stance, swap out your skin on the fly, move the camera, etc… The only restriction here is that you can’t jump into third-person if you’re mid-Glory Kill, other than that – I can’t wait to see the pictures people get from this game!

The things you come across in this game are breathtakingly beautiful!

Technical
DOOM Eternal is a masterpiece, it’s a bloody, splatterfest which showed zero moments of slow down outside of the pre-defined slow-motion kills. I’m playing the game on a PS4 Pro and other than the fan making its customary jet-engine noises, I have nothing but praise for the visual quality, performance, and level of detail the developers have created here. As far as I’m aware, the PS4 Pro is running the game at 1440p with a solid 60fps, and the base PS4 is 1080p at 60fps. In terms of the Xbox One X and S, I have notes saying it’s identical to the Pro and base PS4 but there has recently been a forum post saying it’s 1800p and 1080-900p respectively. 

Either way, all platforms are performing at 60fps with the only difference being the resolution. The big question is, what will the Switch be like as that is supposedly also pushing 60fps.

The animations and everything to do with the visuals within DOOM Eternal are outstanding and far beyond most games this generation. From the first moment you step outdoors and see the vast half-destroyed world in the distance as you’re jumping around a run-down base, to when you return to your ship and look around the well-designed interior, it’s bloody fantastic! I love that a fair amount of the cutscenes are third-person, rather than having it all in first-person where you can’t see the Doomguy. Not to mention that every single Glory Kill and Berserk ‘Tear’ are so satisfying and brutally beautiful.

The voice acting is really well done, with nothing sounding out of place, and the music fits the game so much better than the TV Spot trailer (less said about that, the better). I would have liked the music to be a bit louder by default, as the sounds of the screaming and death cries drown it out, but that was easy to adjust with the sliders. When you buy this game (and you will be buying it), pop on headphones and crank it up to eleven – your ears will have an orgasm with the combination of heavy rock and the screams of the weak who have been torn in two.

On a side note – there is no in-game Microtransaction shop (either for the single-player or multiplayer). All unlocks are earnt through shared experience which you earn by playing either mode and completing challenges. 

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
DOOM Eternal is one of the most intense, satisfying, and brutal first-person shooters I’ve played this generation – I love it! id Software and Bethesda have taken everything which was great about DOOM (2016) and built upon the foundations in order to deliver a truly outstanding game which both looks and plays like perfection. The wide range of easy-to-understand upgrades, returning and new foes to slaughter, simply gorgeous visuals, disgusting death-blows, and adrenaline-pumping combat, all come together to create one hell of an amazing game. The only thing that could make this game any better would be more cowbell!

This review is only focused on the single-player aspect of DOOM Eternal, a campaign which took me around 35 hours to complete (although I did replay a few missions and explore the locations before moving on). I imagine it’ll be hard to complete it in under 20 hours though – if you’re just speeding through it but watching the story cutscenes. I’ll follow up with an opinion on the multiplayer once the servers go live later this week, and on Doom 64 once that unlocks. I can imagine what the MP is going to be like, as I’ve already played as one of the creatures (!), but it’ll be interesting to see how it’s been implemented.

I think it’s fair to say that a lot of people have been on the fence about VR over the last 12 months, is it worth investing into a VR headset device or are there only ‘experiences’ available for it? I have nothing against the odd experience, but people want games – real, full games. In 2017 we received a few of these on PSVR; Resident Evil VII, Skyrim, Paranormal Activity and The Invisible Hours to name a few. 2017 signed off with another big title game which had made the jump to VR, Doom VFR; however, instead of this following the likes of Skyrim VR, it is a brand new experience which can only be played in VR on PC or PlayStation. The team have taken a different approach with Doom and opted for a few ‘interesting’ yet annoying mechanics which may or may not impact on your ability to enjoy the title. So, come with me as I journey to Hell as I see if Doom’s VFR is an abbreviation of ‘Virtual F**king Reality’ or ‘Very F**king Rubbish’…

The game begins, like they usually do, with a short intro which has a rather intimidating ‘Pinky’ charge at you head first and slaughters you. You proceed to wake up and as you look around, you realise that you were dead but you have had your mind implanted inside of a new cyborg body. The game quickly teaches you the default control method of teleporting around and then sends you to a training lab where you learn how to fire, use your grenades and perform finishing moves. Once you have completed your training you’re able to freely move around the ship engaging with hordes of enemies as you investigate what’s happened. The story isn’t the strongest but its Doom, it doesn’t need a story – as long as it has monsters, big guns and gibs – who cares!

The ‘choice’ of controls is where I personally am not a big fan. There are three control methods within the game, allowing for the gamer to choose which suits them best – however, none of them really suited me and thus, it impacted on the experience I had and the enjoyment I got out of the game. I’ll be critical and honest and I’ll leave my personal opinion out of the verdict, but I will tell you about my experiences as we go on. All images from here on are from the PS4 and taken by myself – in VR the game looks more detailed and a lot better, this is the ‘social screen’ which always outputs at a lower resolution.

In DS4 and Aim mode – you are transformed into a zombie with your arms stretched out constantly

Option 1: Move controllers
If you are using Move controllers then you MUST play this game stood up – this means you have to have enough room around you and not have any issues with standing for periods of time. You have the ability to teleport (which is tied into you being a cyborg and also because its VR) and you can use a speed burst to dash briefly forwards, backwards, left or right – but you can’t turn. Yup you heard that right, with the Move controllers you can’t turn left or right – you can do a full 180 degrees turn, but not to the side. This means if an enemy is to your left or right then you must physically turn around to engage with them. This may not be an issue for yourselves but I don’t have the room to stand and move about without bumping into things. The good thing about this method is the fact you have both hands separately in-game – so you can see your gun in the right hand and grenades/grenade launcher on the left. The emersion in this mode is great and would be perfect if it had the ability to turn like in Skyrim VR.

Krang

Option 2: Dual Shock 4
This is the method I ended up using, however, I turned off all the ‘safety options’ and proceded to get very nauseated. That’s most likely my fault as I don’t like using the controller and only turning in increments but you do have the option. So, you can turn smooth or in steps of a chosen size, you can opt for teleport only or moving with the sick and you can change the speed and sensitivity of the movements. Sounds great right! There is one flaw, in order to aim you must move your head. So, if an enemy is coming at you then you must move and turn with both sticks whilst you move your head in order to lock onto the enemy so you can open fire! Sounds great but after a while, your neck will hurt as you’re constantly moving it around. The other flaw is the fact that in this mode your gun hand and grenade hand are always visible and literally stuck on the side of your head. This is obvious as that’s how you aim, but still, it makes you feel like one of those floating eyeballs with an arm on each side or Krang from the Ninja Turtles.

Option 3: Use the Aim Controller
I don’t own this controller but Bethesda themselves confirmed it would be my best option for their game due to my preferences (which I’ll come to soon). However, I’m unable to pay £70-100 for a controller in order to play one game at the moment, so I’m going off what I’ve read and seen in regards to this method. This controller allows you to move about and look left and right using the stick on the controller, you aim using the gun and can either teleport or move naturally. This one sounds perfect… and then you notice a similar flaw to option 2. the Aim controller requires two hands, in-game you have two hands yet in real life you are holding one device. This results in you walking around like a zombie with both arms outstretched all the time as you play. This is purely an emersion issue though as the mechanics behind it sound solid and a lot better than the previous two options.

The return of ‘finishing moves’ is both welcomed and well implemented.

Controller Opinion
Personally, I asked Bethesda if they could change the ‘dash’ left and right on the move controller to rotate left and right instead or lower the gun models on the DS4 method – I was advised these changes won’t be implemented and the Aim controller is my best option (if Bethesda wishes to send me one then I would happily re-review the game). As such, I was forced to play the game with the DS4 as that method was more accessible. I still believe the best method would be if they gave the game Skyrim and Raw Data VR controls and let us turn as well as move freely with the left Move controller. Regardless, I still enjoyed playing the game, it just wasn’t as fun as it could have been.

One mechanic which as returned in VR, which I was quite surprised at, is the ability to perform finishing moves on the monsters. To pull it off it is incredibly easy as well, you proceed to attack the enemies until they start flashing and then you teleport inside of them and you will literally cause them to explode from the inside out as you rematerialise. This is a great mechanic and it works really well without slowing down any of the action or causing you to stop as you figure out what to do – shoot, flash, teleport, explode – simple!

In ‘Move controller’ mode you can operate both hands independently – which is awesome!

Regarding the level design, this is a brand new game – it borrows assets and settings from the 2016 hit but they have made an entirely new game out of it. However, it is much shorter and you can basically complete the game within about 4-5 hours. That is, if you don’t include the bonus ‘classic doom’ maps and also going out of your way to find all of the collectables. At times you feel overwhelmed by the number of enemies rushing at you, but that’s the beauty of doom – fast paced and full of action with no BS. I would have liked the maps to be bigger, the missions longer and the environments more varied, but the game is priced accordingly and I personally don’t think I would have lasted that much longer per level using the DS4 controller method (with no motion sickness options on) – so maybe they made the right choice?

Visually, this is up there with one of the best games I played in VR last year – you can get up close with all of your favorite Doom creatures, look at all the classic items in the holographic museum type section, and even truly feel like the Doom guy as everything looks so realistic (even though you’re not technically ‘the’ Doom guy). The VR effect works great with little to no ghosting and I never really had an issue with thinking it was too blurry or unplayable. I had to adjust my headset a few times, but once I did everything became clear (so a fault with my setup, not the game). The sound is also spot on for the game, again with many assets which were probably pulled from the 2016 game. The music is a mix of heavy metal once again and all the sound effects sound like actual screeches, bangs, pew pews and arghhhhs.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Doom VFR is a good attempt but I feel the game fell short due to issues that could/should have been resolved. What makes an FPS game great isn’t its story or the pretty graphics, it’s the controls. You need to have rock-solid controls in a game like this in order to fully immerse yourself and control whats going on around you. Having the three methods with no way to customise them let the game down and really impacted on my overall experience. The game itself, as a VR title, is one of the most visually stunning on the PSVR and the action is smooth and satisfying. If you have a PSVR and are looking for a decent game to play, you don’t want to only play horror games and experiences, and you don’t mind the controller options given then you should pick Doom VFR up as it’s cheap and is a great way to kill a few hours.

‘Walking Simulator’ is a term which I don’t like using as it doesn’t paint the right kind of picture for what you’re about to experience. However, despite my dislike of the derogatory ‘genre’, it’s one which most people understand when describing games such as Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, Dear Esther, and Draugen. Developers Red Thread Games have delivered a beautiful, yet harrowing, interactive narrative adventure in the form of Draugen, a game which has you hooked from the opening title sequence all the way through to the end credits.

Unlike their previous game, the brilliant Dreamfall Chapters, Draugen isn’t a 30+ hour adventure game in which you proceed down branching paths and solve puzzles by interacting with various people and objects. Instead, we’re presented with a short two-three hour ‘Fjord Noir’ experience which you’ll be thinking about long after you’ve seen the credits roll – thanks to its brilliant writing and immersive storytelling.

Due for release on consoles later this year, and available now on PC, why should everyone who loves a good story purchase this game? Let’s find out…

Such a delightful companion.

In Draugen you take the role of Edward Charles Harden, an American who has travelled to Norway in search of his sister who has gone missing recently. Thankfully you’re not alone, you’ve brought along with you a young energetic girl called Lissie. Together, you set out to investigate the mystery of where your sister could have got to whilst you take residence with a local family in a farmhouse atop a beautiful mountain. Despite the small village residing within a peaceful and relaxing location, cut off from the outside world as it hides away on its own island, there’s a dark side which is waiting to be uncovered.

As your search gets deeper, secrets and past events become clearer as you piece together tales from the past. The once picturesque island begins to paint a different picture as the dark clouds set in and our protagonist’s mental state begins to take a turn for the worst. Can you remain sane and find your sister or will you succumb to the psychological issues you have and lose sight of her? You’ll have to play the game in order to find out…

As Draugen is a narrative-heavy experience, relying on its incredible storytelling in order to immerse you into the role of Edward, I don’t want to discuss the story more than I have above as it’s a story you should experience for yourself.

The small village lies within such a beautiful part of the island.

Walking simulator?
Draugen is an interactive narrative adventure. As you progress through the story, watching the days pass by the longer you play, you’ll get the chance to explore the small island as you walk around and look for your sister as well as investigate a few other mysteries which have occurred previously. For those looking for a lot of interactions in the form of puzzles and dialogue trees and/or multiple pathways, you won’t find them here. Draugen is very linear in its design and is more akin to a story in which you’re simply along for the ride. Sure you can go off from Lissie and explore the various parts of the island, but other than the beautiful vistas and gorgeous art design, there’s very little to look at or do outside of what the game wants you to experience.

Don’t take that the wrong way though, the narrative within the game is brilliant and the story is held together by perfect voice acting, very atmospheric music, and an intriguing plot which changes as you proceed throughout the story. 

The narrative of the story is delivered through various means, talking to Lissie and yourself out loud allows you to speculate and formulate an opinion on events you’ve uncovered and thoughts on what to do next, and letters and documents are found throughout the various buildings which also helps build a picture of what’s going on. Most of these are found as you follow the path the game is guiding you along, but there are some things off the beaten path for you to observe and discover for yourself, this also includes a number of peaceful locations where you’ll sit down and draw the beautiful landmarks within your diary.

I always get Goats and Ghosts mixed up…

Characters
The character models and the art style is just as good as the environments around you, all of them looking very realistic thanks to their motion-captured production. Edward, the older and more mature of the duo, has a soft and caring voice which is full of anxiety and fear over the disappearance of his sister. However, Lissie is so full of energy and life as she runs around and plays in the sun, climbs on top of structures, loves to explore and constantly annoys you like a younger sibling. 

As you walk around and take in the various scenic locations on the island, you can talk to Lissie at the tap of a button in order to either gain her insight on the situation at hand or get a prompt as to where you need to go next. She’ll usually answer back like an immature young child, but she tends to have a helpful response every now and again. I found the conversations between the protagonist and his female companion to be very natural and charming, delivering a nice balance of banter and casual rapport depending on the situation. You can even call out her name in order to see where she is if you’ve lost sight of her, which is always helpful when your vision has been limited due to weather and psychological effects. 

What I absolutely loved about the character interactions though was the subtle attention to detail. If you’re talking to Lissie and she’s replying but you start to walk away, she’ll ask where you’re going and demand you return to her so she can finish what she was saying. Similarly, if you look away when she’s being emotional or saying something of great importance, she’ll question why you won’t look at her whilst she’s talking to you. I can’t recall playing a game previously where the NPC characters detected if you were actually looking at them and adapted their dialogue accordingly – it adds a level of detail to the experience which further enhances your overall immersion.

Charming…

Personal Opinion
It’s always hard to talk about a game which relies heavily on its narrative in order to showcase its deep and mysterious story, as I don’t want to resort to letting any spoilers slip. I went into the game without any prior knowledge or information on what the game was actually about, having ignored clicking on various YouTubers and Twitch streams of people playing the game.

In hindsight, I’m glad I did as this is the sort of game which you need to play for yourself the first time, without knowing the final outcome and the chain of events which happens throughout the story. As soon as the game loaded and I was sat in a boat talking to Lissie, I knew this game was going to be something special, not just because of the gorgeous visuals but the character interactions, beautiful music and overall tone the game was going for. 

As a fan of Point and Click, adventure, narrative-heavy, and immersive storytelling games, I can’t tell you how much I loved the pacing, the story, the atmosphere, and the overall setting within Draugen. I know some people may not like it due to its limited interactions and lack of ‘gameplay’, but people who enjoyed titles such as Dear Esther, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, and What Remains of Edith Finch will also love what the developers have created. Although it’s not a very long title, it’s one which will stick with you and make you want to return in order to see if you’ve missed anything as you replay the game with newly obtained information on the situation.

How beautiful is this?!

Technical
Performance-wise, My i7 with 16GB RAM and a 780ti did struggle a little throughout the game, mainly with the game crashing due to running out of video memory. I had the game set to Ultra (as it auto-detected I could) and the resolution was set at 1080p, but certain scenes were a little too much, causing framerate dips and the aforementioned crashing to the desktop with a GPU error. However, thanks to the in-game resolution scaling slider and the many customisable visual options, I was able to adjust it to an 81% resolution scale and everything worked fine from thereon. Obviously, when the game finally comes to the PS4 I’ll be picking it up again so I can re-experience the game without these PC technical issues. 

Also, as a side note – there doesn’t appear to be support for the DS4 natively, I had to use Steam to emulate my DS4 into an Xbox controller. So all button prompts, if using a controller, are displayed as Xbox prompts. I know there’s only a small portion of people who use their DS4 on the PC, but I would love it if more developers would start to implement native DS4 support within their games. 

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Despite its short length, Draugen is a narrative adventure which you shouldn’t miss out on. Visually the game is absolutely stunning, from it’s highly detailed and realistic characters to the picturesque environments within this Norwegian setting, it’s easy to get lost in the moment as you wander around and admire its beauty. Thanks to the mysterious and harrowing nature of the narrative, the story brings up questions which will stick with you long after you’ve seen the final credits roll – some of which may be answered in the prequel comic book which is due for release later this year as (possibly free) DLC. 

If you’re a fan of narrative-driven interactive storytelling, Draugen should be your next venture into this immersive medium. The story will grip you from the start, the events will surprise and intrigue you as they unfold, and the discoveries you make will leave a lasting impression on you. 

Not too long ago I reviewed Draugen on Steam (HERE), an interactive narrative-heavy adventure game which perfectly sucks you into the beautiful visuals and relaxing atmosphere of the isolated town of Graavik in Norway. However, due to the age of my hardware, the experience wasn’t perfect as I personally suffered from a few technical issues, pulling me out of the immersion at points and mildly affecting my enjoyment. This week I’ve been taking a look at this gorgeous thriller on the PS4 Pro, playing the experience how the developers intended it to be – an experience which was just as mesmerising and haunting as the first time I played it.

Coming from Red Thread Games, the studio behind the brilliant Dreamfall Chapters (which I also highly recommend to adventure game fans), Draugen is a game which will remain in your thoughts long after you’ve reached the end credits. The console version of this incredible adventure contains a few additional bonuses over the PC version, bonuses which I’ll get into later on as they are both very welcome additions to the experience.

So, come with me as I once again row down the fjord towards the small and private town of Graavik in hopes of being reunited with my sister once more…

The views in Graavik are beautiful.

You are Edward Harden, a man who is troubled by the recent disappearance of his sister, Elizabeth (Betty). Along with your young companion, Alice (Lissie), you set out to the isolated village of Graavik in order to search for her on the back of a letter you received advising you that she was there a few months ago. Together you arrive in town with the intentions of meeting up with your hosts and then questioning the townsfolk for more information, but what you discover is so much more than you could ever imagine. 

Graavik is a ghost town, there appears to be nobody home – including your hosts. As such, you both take it upon yourself to explore the village yourself, looking for the ‘breadcrumbs’ which Betty has left you to prove she was there and is waiting for you to find her. However, you soon stumble upon another mystery, a set of tragic events which could explain what happened to the people who once lived there. So, whilst searching for Betty, you also set out to uncover the truth behind what had happened and piece together the chain of events during your short six-night stay in this picturesque land.

Some may say Draugen is a walking simulator, some may say it’s an adventure game, I personally refer to it as an interactive narrative adventure – it’s more interactive than a walking simulator and encourages you to go off the path and explore your surroundings in order to progress. Although only taking around four hours to complete, the experience is worth the asking price alone…

Frost Giants?!

Gameplay
Seeing as Drauen is heavily focused on its narrative in order to push the story forward, you’ll be gently ‘pushed’ in the right direction via your perky companion, Alice. She’s always there to offer some sort of witty banter, clues, advice, or suggestions on what to do next. The game itself is split into six chapters, each one is effectively a day upon the island, with each day offering you a new goal or objective to investigate. You can ignore the calls of Alice and just go for a walk around the small village, taking pictures of the gorgeous landscapes and vistas, but she won’t be happy if you do!

As an adventure game, it’s up to you, Edward, to look at everything you find such as posters, writing, pictures, and objects. Some items will give you clues as to where to go next and others will simply unlock more banter between you and young Lissie (which is required for a trophy). There isn’t really any puzzle-solving as you’ll automatically ‘solve’ the few puzzles as long as you’ve already discovered the ‘answer’ elsewhere, it’s more a relaxing story where you’re along for the ride, watching as the events play out once you interact with things. 

The game has a bit of replayability in that you are often given choices regarding what you wish to say, or how to respond to a situation. Unfortunately, the differences are limited to a different response from Alice and no change to the story in any way. I would have liked the game to branch off in different directions based upon my actions, but that never happened within Draugen – this is a shame as Dreamfall Chapters had a lot of branches and the story in that dramatically changed based upon the actions and path you decided to take. 

LMAO, Alice is so funny…

Interaction
The thing which stood out for me whilst playing Draugen was the interactions you have with Alice. By simply tapping the shoulder button you can call out for her and see where she is located, both visually via an indicator and audibly via her shouting to you. You can also use the mechanic to simply talk to her when she is nearby, providing witty banter and sarcastic comments throughout. The AI itself is quite playful, something I wrote about in my PC review – if you walk away from her whilst she’s talking then she’ll stop and ask you to return so she can continue – followed by a sigh of disappointment before she continues when you return. She’ll also get annoyed if you don’t look at her whilst she’s talking – something I’ve not really seen outside of VR.

The actual interactions and bond between the two main characters are really special. Edward is very anxious, upset, traumatised, depressed, and confused in regards to his reason for being on the island and the whereabouts of his sister. This is brilliantly played out as you get deeper into the story as he practically begins to break down due to his inability to catch up to her. His personality and persona is almost the opposite of Alice who is a happy, bubbly, outgoing, and carefree type of girl, trying her hardest to cheer you up and see the lighter side of things. 

Although interactions with the environment and objects can be limited, each one is highly detailed and rich with lore and information. You can read newspapers, gather exposition from looking at photos, learn about the local events by reading posters, and even try to piece together the history via graves and carvings. I personally would have loved an L.A. Noire-style hand, where you can move it about and rotate the objects you pick up, but the brilliant voice acting and visuals make up for that.

Spooky!

Voice acting, Soundtrack and Visuals
Speaking of the voice acting – Draugen has some of the best voice acting I’ve heard in a while. Both Nicholas Boulton and Skye Bennett do an amazing job of bringing both Edward and Alice to life. It felt like there was a real connection in how these two delivered their lines, further enhancing the experience and the overall feeling of the game. There is a third voice actor, Jane Perry. She also did a fantastic job with her parts but she wasn’t as involved as the others (for reasons I won’t get into, because ‘spoilers’)…

The soundtrack for Draugen is mesmerising, beautiful, atmospheric, creepy and perfect for the experience the game is trying to deliver. I’m hoping that it becomes a buyable soundtrack on the PS4 once the game releases, if not then I’ll be heading over to Steam to pick it up there. If you took away all of the music then the game wouldn’t have as big of an impact as it does with the music playing – it’s an integral part of the experience. 

After playing the game on both the PC and the PS4 Pro, I can honestly say that wherever you play it, Draugen is a work of art, it’s a masterpiece of visual eye-candy. The PC clearly looks better due to the abundance of visual options you have to play with, but the PS4 version isn’t that far off with its Depth of Field effects, soft pastel colours, realistic-looking textures, HQ assets, and gorgeous art design. The only thing I wanted, which would make the experience even more immerse, would be a PSVR version which lets you wander around the village as if you’re really there.

Let’s make the game more period-correct!

Bonus Features
First of all, three’s a mode which is present on both PC and consoles (although I didn’t even realise it was on PC until I’ve just re-downloaded the game) – 1923 mode. The game is set in 1923 but it plays out in full colour, with bright and contrasting tones. However, we all know that back in the 1920s everyone was in black and white, right?! So, turning on this mode will make the entire game black and white with camera dust and degradation, as if you’re playing a cameraman or Edward has mini-cameras for his eyes which force him to see in monochrome. 

This second bonus feature is listed as ‘coming soon’ on PC, so it may unlock when the console version goes live. It’s a short comic book which gives you the backstory of Edward before he ventures to Graavik in search of his sister. As this contains major spoilers to the game itself, it only unlocks once you’ve completed the story. I read through this last night and I thought it was a nice additional piece of information as it answered a few questions I had, I just hope we see more of these two in the future!

Thirdly, the game contains a new ‘soundtrack Mode’. This, for me, is brilliant as I’ve had it playing whilst writing this. Basically, the camera moves around the village on its own, playing the music you hear in that area as it goes. So, it’s a visual soundtrack which both plays the music and shows the visuals at the same time – kind of like a benchmark test on PC. There is one issue, the launch-model PS4 Pro (which I have) makes so much noise, it drowns out the music unless wearing headphones (I’m running it on my PC via remote play). Also, as it’s a visual soundtrack, you have to have the game running to view it – which I why I hope an actual soundtrack releases.

On a side note – if you have Spotify, the soundtrack is on there – it’s Draugen by Simon Poole – HERE.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Although only lasting you roughly three to four hours, Draugen is a beautiful, yet tragic adventure you won’t forget. Regardless of the platform you choose to play on, your eyes are in for a treat as the game is truly gorgeous and designed with so much love and care. Although some of the plot points may be predictable, thanks to the subtle hints the game drops throughout, I’ve played through the game three times so far and loved every second of the writing, acting, soundtrack and narrative.

If you want something to curl up with and play at your leisure, without worrying about enemies, time restraints, or puzzles, then Draugen is perfect for you.

Daedalic Entertainment are among my favourite publishers (and sometimes developers) for classic point-and-click style games. From the brilliant, and often overlooked, Deponia series (which is now available in its entirety on modern consoles), to the deep and captivating Pillars of the Earth adaptation, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every adventure game they’ve released. So, when I saw that Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes was heading to the PS4, I had to get my hands on it and try it out as it’s one of the few games from the publisher which I’ve yet to play.

Despite once again being the second game in a series (Silence, I’m looking at you), prior knowledge of the original, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout, isn’t required in order to fully enjoy this outing. However, I’ve never understood why some developers (THQ have done it as well with The Book of Unwritten Tales 2) decide to only port over the second or third title in series, rather than the entire collection – like we saw with Deponia. Regardless, I’ve not played the original game, so I’ve gone into this game with new eyes (pardon the pun) purposely to see if it impacted my enjoyment by not experiencing the first game.

Awww, poor Lilli

Although Edna & Harvey are the titular characters and do appear within the game, neither are actually playable or the main protagonist – Think The Legend of Zelda, yet you never play as her. Instead, we take control of the innocent and well-behaved Lilli, a young orphan student who currently resides within a convent ran by a very strict Mother Superior. Despite what you may think, it appears within this world, you don’t have to be kind to look after children as the Mother Superior literally hates them with a passion – every little thing they do and say irritates her beyond belief.

To top this off, all the other children constantly pick on poor Lilli, even when she doesn’t realise they’re being mean to her. Her only friend in this dark and depressing place is the titular Edna, another orphan who, unlike Lilli, is well aware that everyone hates them as she constantly hides from the other students. 

Things take another turn for the worse when Dr. Marcel turns up at the Convent in hopes of getting the children ‘under control’ – I believe this doctor is from the first game and was the psychiatrist from the place Edna ‘Broke out’ of. That piece of information is crucial as Edna sends Lilli on a quest to destroy all evidence of her ever being within the convent so that she may plan her escape and get out of there before he clocks on.

However, things aren’t that simple. Lilli ends up the guinea pig in the control experiment and she has all her freewill and specific actions stripped from her. So, in order to overcome these restrictions, you must unlock them throughout the game, a mechanic which helps this game stand out from other point-and-click titles as it’s a mechanic which drastically changes the gameplay.

Ronald McDonald has taken a turn for the worse…

Gameplay
Harvey’s New Eyes controls great on the PS4. It’s your standard point-and-click game, with simple one or two-button mechanics, but it’s using the Deponia format. Basically, you can bring up your inventory, when you have to combine items or grab them for use in the environment or with people, or you can use the D-Pad to select them via a mini-inventory at the bottom of the screen. This is exactly the same as we saw in Deponia and it works really well, it makes it easy to quickly select items without going backwards and forwards through the inventory screen.

Conversations, of which there are many, are actually more akin to old Lucas Arts games, such as Sam and Max, as you don’t actually get worded responses or questions (as the running joke is that Lilli doesn’t actually talk, she just communicates in grunts, “ahh”, “uhmm” and “ohh”, yet everyone understands what she’s saying). Instead, you get small pictured images which are sometimes hard to make out what they represent. Although Lilli is a strange child with very little to say, all of the other characters are voiced beautifully. Now, I’m not saying Lilli isn’t voiced well, as I enjoyed hearing her mumblings, but the other voice actors, who had more than four words to say, also did a great job.

My highlight, in terms of the voice acting, has to be the narrator. He’ll regularly start talking as you play, telling you what he presumes Lilli is thinking about or about to do, sometimes with her breaking the fourth wall and staring into our soul as if to say “that’s not what I was thinking”. It was almost akin to The Stanley Parable, the narrator holds the entire game together and offers both hints and insight into the events which are happening without blatantly giving you the next place to go or thing to do.

The sunlight makes this scene very sinister!

Harvey
Okay, so I’ve not talked about Harvey yet – just who is he and why is he in the title of the game? Well, I don’t know his origins, as that may have been explained within the first game, but he’s basically a stuffed rabbit. In Harvey’s New Eyes, he’s been ‘upgraded’ by the doctor so that he serves as the hypo-device which is set to ‘fix’ the children. As such, once you’re under his spell, whenever you try to do anything you shouldn’t be doing, a ‘living’ Harvey will stroll in from the side of the screen and stop you. 

There are a number of ‘restrictions’ you have, such as picking up and using sharp objects, playing with fire, drinking alcohol, and lying to people. As you progress throughout the game, you’ll come across instances where you need to perform the actions you’ve been disabled from doing. So, you venture into your subconscious and solve a few puzzles to unlock the restrictions one by one. However, they don’t just unlock and stack, like unlocking skills in an RPG, you can only use one unlock at a time via the use of a radial menu. This adds a new level onto the adventure game as not only do you need the right items, but you also need to be in the correct ‘state’ in order to solve some puzzles.

Personally, I thought this mechanic was cool and offered a new way to look at things. It also added more difficulty to the overall experience as you had to think about multiple things in order to overcome the problems in front of you. Obviously, this difficulty can be thrown out of the window if you’re simply following a guide in order to achieve the three-hour platinum, but if you take your time and play it yourself, it works really well.

Just one of the many puzzles…

Puzzles
Speaking of puzzles, I thought there were some challenging ones within Harvey’s New Eyes. Looking online, it seems I may be in the minority here, but it’s a combination of standard puzzles reskinned into the game’s art style and some cryptic ones which require you to talk to a few people for the answers. I never got too stuck that I had to look up an answer online, but there were a few which took me a few attempts to get them right – which didn’t help with the trophies as you have to get them correct the first time on a number of them. If you do get really stuck though, every puzzle has an option to simply skip it.

Trophy hunters (or those looking for the plat in one playthrough) – There are trophies for completing the puzzles and one for skipping them all. So, save before you solve it, then reload and skip. 

Outside of the standard ‘puzzles’, there are environmental puzzles, where you use items you’ve picked up to interact with the environment and people, and conversational puzzles (not really a ‘puzzle’ but saying the right things to the right people will progress the story). 

A Rolf Harris joke… That aged well.

The writing
Daedalic Entertainment games, and a number of other point-and-click games, always appeal to me for a number of reasons. One such ‘thing’ which has to be good in order to keep me interested is the overall narrative. I’m happy to say that Harvey’s New Eyes was a joy to play and entertaining to experience. The game is crammed full of humour, references and puns, just like Agatha Knife, which keeps you invested in what’s going to happen next and what silly dialogue will be spoken. However, when looking deeper into the game, you can’t help but feel sad for Lilli as she’s become almost immune to all the abuse her ‘friends’ and superior’s gave her on a daily basis. She’s a rather traumatic individual.

Without going into Spoiler-Ville, the actual underlined narrative of the game is rather dark and disturbing at times. Thanks to Lilli being unable to comprehend what’s going on around her, as well as little to no understanding of what her actions may lead to, things get rather morbid throughout. To put it bluntly, people die, a lot of people die, all at the hand of poor, innocent Lilli. However, this isn’t a gore-fest or gruesome adventure game, it’s much more lighthearted with bright baby-pink blood covering the remains of the student who hung themselves, the one who blew up, the guy who died of lung cancer, etc… I was always so intrigued as to who was going to die next and how – it’s not disturbing, just a morbid curiosity!

The main thing which had me hooked from the very first time I loaded up the game though was the opening song. It’s called “Needle and Stitch” and was sung by the lead developer. It’s just so haunting, dark, catchy, and perfectly sets the mood for the subsequent adventure. The entire soundtrack to the game is a stand-out addition to the quality on show here. As such, I’ve just gone to steam and bought it (as the game and soundtrack are on sale until the 10th October 2019). 

I love the use of bold colours and low-detailed visuals.

Visuals
I can’t finish off my review without discussing the elephant in the room – the visuals. The entire game has a simplistic and almost child-like storybook look to it, with its bold colours, low-detailed aesthetics, and basic animations, but it all works really well for the impression it’s trying to give. The way I always imagine these simplistic games is, what would the world look like through the eyes of our protagonist? Don’t forget, Lilli is an innocent and sweet girl who has been abused and taken advantage of to the point of her no longer understanding what’s going on and why people act the way they do. As such, she sees everything as colourful characters and of childish design. 

If the visuals are putting you off buying the game (as I know a few people who think the same way), don’t let them. The gameplay buried deep below the artistic aesthetics more than makes up for the simplistic take on the genre. If you’ve played games like the Deponia series or Silence, you’ll love Harvey’s New Eyes – I’ve heard it’s a lot better than the first game as well but, once again, I’ve not played it so I can’t confirm that.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes is yet another great point-and-click game from Daedalic Entertainment. Despite its bright and humourous exterior, underneath is a dark and twisted tale of depression, anxiety, pain and acceptance. The numerous ‘restrictions’ you have to remove in order to proceed with various puzzles and interactions really adds a new level to the game, making you think about the solution in multiple ways. The music and overall narrative were spot-on for the experience they were trying to deliver, the narrator stands out as one of the best in recent years and I simply adore the opening song to the game. The port onto modern consoles is also great, with no issues or bugs that I could see.

If you’re looking for a new adventure game which will take you around five hours to complete and crammed full of humour and crazy adventures – check out Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes. Despite the simplistic visuals, the narrative and experience is anything but simplistic…

**Upon finishing the review, I found out that Edna & Harvey: The Breakout IS coming to modern consoles, it was expected a few months ago but seems it’s still not got a solid release date. So, we should soon have the chance to play the first game on modern platforms (for the 10th anniversary) after all!**

A few months ago I played and reviewed Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes on the PlayStation 4, the second game in the Edna & Harvey franchise from Daedalic Entertainment. Whilst writing the review I noticed that a full remaster of the first game in the series was supposedly coming to both PC and current consoles, yet there was no information other than a release date which had come and gone. Much to my surprise, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout – Anniversary Edition had a very stealthy launch a few days ago over on Steam – how could I resist getting hold of it and experiencing their first adventure?!

Originally launching in June 2008 within German territories (and 2011 in English), in celebration of its 11th Anniversary (I imagine development may have pushed it past the 10th year) the game has received a massive overhaul with both it’s mechanics and visuals. Seriously, swapping between both the original version and the newly remastered one (which you can do in-game) is a night and day transformation which brings the childish-like visuals more in-line with the quality we usually get from Daedalic Entertainment titles. 

With a console version most likely still in development or at an optimisation stage, I booted up Edna & Harvey: The Breakout – Anniversary Edition on my PC and absorbed myself within the weird and wacky world of young Edna. However, thanks to the toggle, I was interested in seeing if things were changed for the better or worse as I’d not played the original before. So, let’s take a closer look…

Why are we here?

Edna & Harvey: The Breakout starts off with the titular protagonist, Edna, waking up within the padded cell of a sanitarium, a building inhabited by people of varying levels of craziness. The strange thing is, she has no memories of why she is here, what she’s done, or where exactly she is (other than what kind of building it is). Although the guard at the door thinks you’re crazy, Harvey, your talking stuffed bunny rabbit, agrees that there must be a mistake as you’re completely sane!

The title of the game most likely gives away the plot of this adventure, you must break out and seek the truth behind why you were locked up and what’s happened to your family. However, things aren’t as easy as they sound as you must befriend the various madmen and utilise their questionable abilities in order to move freely through the building and organise a cunning plan to free yourself. Harvey isn’t only your best (and only) friend throughout this elaborate adventure, he also helps in restoring memories and reminds you how to perform certain abilities of your own, abilities you had suppressed within your mind that prove to be very useful as the story plays out. 

Although not as long as the second game, with far fewer puzzles and abilities throughout, The Breakout is an exciting adventure which will have you questioning your own sanity as you work out the solutions to the many rather cryptic inventory-based puzzles and dialogue choices. If you’ve never played any of the games before, or you gave The Breakout a miss due to its dated-looking visuals, now is the best time to jump in and see where it all began…
[twenty20 img1=”19645″ img2=”19646″ offset=”0.5″ before=”Anniversary” after=”Original”]

Differences
Before I look at the gameplay and the narrative, let’s take a look at the differences. I actually own the original Edna & Harvey: The Breakout but I’ve never played it before as I, as I mentioned above, was put off by the quality of the visuals (sorry devs!). However, for this review, I not only swapped between the new and original visuals within the Anniversary Edition, but I also loaded up the original game and played that for a while to see just how different things were. I’m incredibly happy I did this as one of the major complaints the original game got has been fixed but there is also a missing feature which I would love to be reinstated.

The main difference between the original and this version has to be the controls. Originally, The Breakout was a homage to LucasArts Games-style point-and-click adventure games, although it took the inspiration a little to far and had verb buttons along the bottom of the screen. These were akin to The Secret of Monkey Island, requiring you to manually pick a verb then click on something on-screen in hopes that the character would interact correctly. The remaster has removed those and now you simply hold the Left Mouse Button and pick an action from a radial of options. Sticking with the LucasArts Games similarities, the Monkey Island Special Edition remaster also had similar control scheme improvements.

Visually and technically, the original game ran at a locked 800×600 resolution and maxed out at 40fps. For me, this meant the 4:3 resolution was stretched to fit my 1080p Monitor resulting in a very blurry image and ‘fat’ assets. The remaster is 60fps and allows a multitude of resolutions in both windowed and full-screen mode. Also, the remastered art is now presented in full 16:9 glory and if you flick to the original visuals in-game, it swaps to a 4:3 display which isn’t stretched and has scaled to your chosen resolution perfectly with side borders. The only issue I have with this is that you have to go into the menu to swap modes – a simple ‘F’ button swap would have been more convenient. Also, if you flick to the original visuals, you still have the modern controls – no more verbs!

There is one thing omitted from the remaster, something I would love to be reinstated but I don’t know if it will – the developer’s commentary. When I first saw this option in the original game I immediately wondered why it’s missing from the new release, then I realised that all the commentary is in German as the developers are German. However, it would be great if Daedalic Entertainment could translate the commentary by either providing English subtitles or dubbing it with an English speaker – I’d love to hear about the ideas behind the game and the thoughts of the developers. 

Highlight all interaction points!

Gameplay
As mentioned above, The Breakout is a point-and-click adventure game which is clearly inspired by moon-logic games of the past such as Discworld and LucasArts Games titles. There are some puzzles for you to solve but the majority of your little grey cells will be used towards figuring out what item to use with certain characters, how to deliver a message to a security guard without talking to him, how to start a food fight which you’re not a part of, and how to brutally kill someone without touching them. Some of the solutions are straightforward and won’t require much thought, others will have you trying literally everything you have in your inventory on everything you can see – standard point-and-click mechanics!

Thankfully, The Breakout allows you to use a mechanic a lot of games in this genre haven’t implimented recently, you can highlight all possible interactive items and people by pushing Space. The original game had the names pop up for a few seconds then vanish but the remaster toggles the names to be always on or off, so you can turn it on then play the entire game with the helpful indicators on-screen forever if you choose to do so. Although this does make the game a little easier, I’d still recommend a bit of trial and error, clicking on things to see what they do and asking every person you meet every dialogue option you have – the writing is very funny and there are so many puns and references hidden within the story. 

One of the first things I didn’t like was the lack of a map, due to having to continuously sneak around the asylum via secret passages and ducts so that you’re not caught by the staff as you explore the other floors. However, a map in this game wouldn’t feel right as you’re a prisoner patient within this building so fast travel seems like cheating. So, although you have to manually move about on your own, it all makes sense and ultimately makes it a better game because of this. 

WOOOOOOGAAAAA!!!!

Narrative
The story within The Breakout is great although I personally preferred Harvey’s New Eyes in terms of the overall narrative. However, I thoroughly enjoyed the humour and craziness written within the dialogue and interactions during my playthrough of The Breakout. One major difference between the two games is how dark the second game is in comparison to the light-heartedness of this first game. Sure, it has its moments and there are a few scenes of death and destruction, but overall The Breakout tends to explore the humorous and silly antics which Edna and her talking stuffed rabbit get up to. 

As I said above, I’d advise you to not look at any guides or walkthroughs and try to complete the game on your own by experimenting. This is because the guides tend to take you from point A to B, allowing you to complete the game in around four hours. However, if you were to play it blind and go at your own pace, you’ll uncover tonnes of funny narrative and events which are missed through getting things right every time, opening up the game to be a 15+ hour adventure instead.
[twenty20 img1=”19649″ img2=”19650″ offset=”0.5″ before=”Anniversary” after=”Original”]

The ‘new’ visuals
I absolutely love the new visuals within the Anniversary Edition of The Breakout. Every single screen has been redrawn based upon the original images yet they look so new and fresh – it feels like you’re playing a brand new game. The colours are much more vibrant, the character models look more ‘realistic’ than their ‘Microsoft Paint’-like originals, and the shading helps the entire presentation look like you’re playing a cartoon or a comic book which has come to life. Hats off to the artists who redesigned this version, they did a great job.

The visuals aren’t the only improvements as the jump to 60fps also brought with it new animations which are much smoother and pleasing to look at. Whereas Edna crawling in the original game looked like she had come straight out of a horror movie as she jerkily crawled around with seemingly missed frames, she now moves in a more fluid motion as she squeezes through the dirty air-ducts. However, not everything is as good as I would have hoped for as there have been a number of ‘short cuts’ in terms of the animation, actions which I’m not sure were like this in the original game or not. 

The first short cut I noticed was when you knock out a guy early on into the game. There’s an animation of you lifting up the hammer but the guy then instantly appears as legs on the ground – no animation of him falling or the hit taking place, one minute he’s stood up and then, feet on the ground. There are other instances like this where you’ll jump cut instead of performing an animation. Again, these aren’t big issues and didn’t affect my enjoyment, but it would have been nice if certain actions were a little smoother and more visual.  

One of the most controversial changes (in my opinion) is the new animation and visuals for Edna’s butt! In the original visual style, walking around has Edna’s butt stick out from the back of her open hospital gown, exposing the defined crack and cheeks of her perky rear. The remaster is the same only the gown isn’t as open and she now has a butt as flat as a pancake. Personally, I’m not bothered as I’m pretty sure Edna is a teenager and her butt shouldn’t really be the focus of what I’m looking at, but it was the most obvious ‘change’ other than the new art-style and expanded 16:9 view. (Check out the comparison above – which do you prefer?)

Even young Edna loves Daedalic Entertainment!

A worthy remaster?
As far as remasters go, The Breakout sits up there as one of the best from recent years. Instead of simply increasing the resolution or porting the game to a new platform, they’ve gone back and fully remastered each and every scene along with improving all of the animations and character assets. There are a few changes which some people may not be a fan of, depending on how much they loved the original distorted visual-style, but as a newcomer to the game, I can’t really say anything bad about the overall presentation or quality. 

I feel the game would have added more incentive for owners of the original to pick it up if the developers had translated their developer’s commentary into English via subtitles or by getting it dubbed, as that’s a feature I don’t think we’ve ever had outside of German. Also, as it’s technically the 10th Anniversary being celebrated, you’d expect there to be some bonus features as part of this release. Don’t get me wrong, I love the new art style, but why isn’t there some behind the scenes, bonus artwork, information on the second game, developer bios, the soundtrack, deleted scenes etc… 

Well, there is a soundtrack but it’ll cost you £2.49 and it appears to be exactly the same as the one you can buy with the original game for only £1.99 (at the moment it’s 39p). I know the developers and publisher want to make as much as they can on this release – and I believe they’ve given us a great game at a decent price, but I feel the soundtrack should have really been part of the bundle, at the very least, due to the game being a special Anniversary Edition.

On a side note, this new version is NOT free for owners of the original game – something PC gamers have come to expect over the years (blatantly ignoring the fact that work has gone into updating the game so some form of payment is obviously required to fund the development). However, if you own the original game, you get a discount towards this new version. 

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Edna & Harvey: The Breakout – Anniversary Edition is the remaster this game deserves. Not only have the visuals been redone into a new cleaner art style, but the animations have been improved, the controls have been overhauled to become more modern, and the game now fully supports widescreen monitors. The game itself is a fun adventure into the crazy world of Edna and her talking bunny, Harvey, which is filled with strange people and eventful situations. Although some solutions may seem confusing or unbelievable, sometimes doing the wrong thing results in more fun and hilarious dialogue than getting it right! Despite the lack of bonus features for the Anniversary, fans of the game or genre will love this graphically beautiful remaster. 

Now we have the Edna & Harvey: The Breakout – Anniversary Edition released on PC (with hopefully a console release soon), as well as the second game on consoles a few months ago, I’m still hoping we’ll get a remaster of the original The Whispered World or The Night of the Rabbit at some point too.

Edna & Harvey: The Breakout – Anniversary Edition is finally about to release on consoles, after coming to the PC late last year, allowing everyone to finally experience the first adventure starting the crazy duo. Whereas the sequel, Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes, released on all platforms early last year, this graphical and mechanically remastered twelve-year-old game took a little longer due to the complete overhaul which is in a similar vein to the Doublefine and old Monkey Island remasters. Although I’ve already reviewed it on PC (HERE), I couldn’t wait to revisit this hilarious story one more time…

As stated in my last review, I firmly believe this was meant to launch for the tenth anniversary of the game, which would have been 2018 or 2021 based on your territory, instead, it’s launched in both 2019 and 2020 – two dates which funnily enough lie in between both actual anniversaries. I imagine this was by accident, but based upon how insane the game can get, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was intentional!

So, let’s once again enter the strange and unstable mind of Edna as we plan one of the biggest and most dramatic breakouts of all time in; Edna & Harvey: The Breakout – Anniversary Edition…

I’m perfectly sane, honest…

As you’d probably guessed by now, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout is all about breaking out and escaping from the ‘prison’ you’re currently a captive of – which in this case is a sort-of sanitarium for the mentally insane. However, how could you be insane? It’s not like your best friend is a walking, talking stuffed bunny rabbit who can transport you to the past in order to learn special abilities to help you in the present… Oh, wait…

However, there’s more to the story than simply coming to terms with your condition and escaping into the real world, you have no memory of who you are or what you’re doing in this place – it’s as if someone has been wiping or suppressing your memories and keeping the truth about your past from you. So, your initial quest is to discover your past, find out why you’re within this place, and unlock various helpful abilities which you once knew as a child – thanks to Harvey – and then you must plan your escape with the help of other ‘patients’ within this mental institute.

If you’ve played the previous game, Harvey’s New Eyes, you’re going to love the adventures you experience within Edna & Harvey: The Breakout, even though the game itself isn’t as long and doesn’t have quite as many puzzles and abilities. However, you actually get to play as the titular characters throughout and experience just how crazy they can be when trying to solve a puzzle or make sense of what’s going on around them. Also, thanks to the improved mechanics and massive overhaul in the visual department, the game looks and feels like a modern point and click, rather than the much more simplistic and fiddly nature of the original 2008 release.

If there’s a space, you can probably write something on it!

Gameplay
Edna & Harvey: The Breakout is a point-and-click adventure game which has been reformatted to work with a controller – as we’ve seen many times over the last few console generations. What this means is, you’re no longer ‘pointing and clicking’ with a mouse, you’re moving the protagonist around and then selecting from a variety of interaction points with the Right Thumbstick as you get close to them. There’s a wide variety of puzzle elements to solve, some requiring your to combine items, some you have to learn and utilise past abilities, and there are a number of environmental and ‘gifting’ puzzles, which involve using items on objects and people in the world.

Where Edna & Harvey: The Breakout really shines though is in its interactions with the world. Just like the best point-and-click games, you can instantly see all interaction points with the push of a button (which is a toggle in this game), allowing you to easily see who and what you can actually try and do things with. The difference between this game and other similar games is that in this one, almost everything is interactable! Edna and Harvey have something to say about (and to) everything, she’ll even talk to the plants, chairs, doors and toilets if you try.

The other thing I found surprising and creative was the number of things which can be defaced with ketchup, mustard and three styles of writing. You can literally write your name, squirt sauce on, or just scribble random things on a vast amount of objects. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a game within this genre with this much interaction possibilities just for the fun of it – Sure, there are a few trophies tied into making a mess and writing on things, but a lot of the objects you can do this to aren’t included in that particular trophy checklist.

The point of no return!

Initially, the puzzle elements are great as they’re cryptic and tricky to work out, but they all have some logic behind them. As such, working out what you have to do isn’t too difficult, it just takes a bit of trial and error when you’re being chased by a guard or constantly thrown back into your cell room. But, I found the game became a little more tedious and annoying as you get further into it, especially when you get to a point where the main hallway is being guarded. Once you’re at this point, you have to distract the guard every time you want to come in or go out of the building, trekking back and forth due to the lack of a map or quick travel. 

I also found some of the puzzles quite ‘Moon logic’-based (where it’s not clear why the solution is what it is), resorting in a lot of trial-and-error even though I’d played through the game to completion seven months ago on PC. As such, I resorted to a guide for some puzzles and I really wish I hadn’t as I missed out on a lot of the comedy and narrative the game has to offer. The guides out there simply tell you where to go and exactly what actions to do or dialogue to say, instructions which totally bypasses the extremely funny and crazy conversations you have when you’re simply picking all the options.

As such, although some of the puzzles can be confusing, and the wild goose chase for what to do in order to unlock some of the more obscure trophies is a bit frustrating, you’ll get much more out of the game by trying to solve things for yourself rather than following a step-by-step guide.

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[twenty20 img1=”25534″ img2=”25535″ offset=”0.5″ before=”2008″ after=”2020″]

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2008 vs. 2020
I touched on this in my previous PC review but I thought it’s best to mention the differences here as well. As far as I can tell, the original version of Edna & Harvey: The Breakout only came to PC, it wasn’t ported onto any console (although it did come to mobiles in the original format). As such, when I played the original version on my PC, it was locked to 40fps and an 800×600 resolution, coupled with rather rough-looking visuals, quirky animations, fiddly verb-based interactions (like the old LucasFilm and Sierra games), and the entire game was presented in 4:3, making it stretch to my widescreen monitor.

The remaster, on the other hand, has had all of its assets totally re-drawn to allow a full 16:9 widescreen presentation, it runs at 60fps, the visuals now look modern and appealing, the animations are smoother (in most cases), and the verbs have been replaced with a much more efficient ‘action wheel’. These upgrades are also present in the new console edition (obviously), delivering a good-looking remaster which is not only visually more appealing but it’s also much easier to control with the Full Throttle-like action selection wheel.

If you’re a purist or someone like me who likes to see how the game has improved over the years, you can flick between the original and remastered visuals. The issue here is that this port is identical to the PC version from last year – including the fiddly process to swap between versions. You have to pause the game, go into the settings, then swap the visual style, back out (and wait for it to save), then return to the game.

I still don’t know why this function wasn’t a simple push of the touchpad or one of the shoulder buttons? Regardless, even if you switch to the old visuals (warning, they’re rough), the control method remains as the modern action wheel – the old verb-selection is gone. This is both good and bad – it’s good because figuring out the right command was a bit tricky sometimes, and it’s bad because it means reverting to the old version isn’t ‘fully’ reverting the game, only its visuals.

Finally, another thing I mentioned in my PC review was the removal of the director commentary – this is also true in the console version. The original game had an update at some point which added the option to play the entire game with commentary, albeit in German. This has been removed from the anniversary edition and not replaced with a new track or feature. I really wanted Daedalic Entertainment to re-insert this track (as the gameplay is identical so timing and relevance will still match up to what’s being said) and re-record an English version so that we could also experience the comments the developers made as we played the game. But, as of release, this is a very bare-bones ‘Anniversary Edition’.

Just who is this man and why is he so clean?!

Good Story?
I personally really enjoyed the narrative within Edna & Harvey: The Breakout, although I prefer Edna & Harvey: Harvey’s New Eyes as that game had more ‘abilities’ and the puzzles were a little more understandable as they usually boiled down to using the correct ability to bypass a situation. But, looking at this game as its own thing, without comparing it to any other game in the franchise or genre, it was a fun and challenging experience which was crammed full of hilarious conversations and zany interactions. Avoiding all spoilers, the direction the story went in and the conclusion to the narrative was one which I found quite surprising and something I hadn’t even guessed until that point. This is actually quite rare these days as you can usually guess what the finale is going to be long before you even get there.

Should you replay it?
If you’ve played the original version of Edna & Harvey: The Breakout on PC, should you pick up the remastered edition on PC or Console (it’s not a free update on Steam)? I’d say yes. The game is much more playable now, with the action wheel, and the visuals look a lot better than the ‘Microsoft Paint’ look it had originally. However, this is a literal 1:1 remaster – the story is the same, every scene has been re-made but is identical in every way, the vocals are the same (yet still brilliant), and interestingly, the animations seem the same…

I touched on this in my PC review, it’s as if the developers have simply re-drawn the assets and inserted them over the original base code, along with the original janky animations. Now, most of the animations are fine and look much better, due to there being more frames being drawn via the higher framerate, but some are questionable. For example, there are a few instances where there is no animations and the characters simple ‘teleport’ to their final destination.

Also, another thing I picked up on last time, they’ve smoothed out Edna’s butt in the remaster – this isn’t a big thing, as she’s clearly a young girl, but it’s one of the first things I noticed when comparing the original visuals to the remaster. Everything else got a graphical upgrade, but her posterior was made flat and less-defined as it pokes out of her surgical gown. 

Sorry to be a grouch!

My only complaint
Again, I touched on this in the PC review – I feel that as an ‘Anniversary Edition’, Edna & Harvey: The Breakout is very underwhelming. I love the new visual style and the new way to interact with things is very welcome and works perfectly. However, that’s what we’d expect from a ‘remaster’, which is what this is, it’s a remastered version of the original 2008 PC game. ‘Anniversary’ to me means celebrating the game by looking back over what’s happened since the game released, showcasing unseen aspects and giving the gamer information and insight into everything to do with the franchise. 

However, there’s no included soundtrack, there’s no gallery of concept or fan art, nothing telling you about the sequel (not even a trailer), no directors commentary (which was in the original game, but in German), there’s literally nothing extra other than the remastered improvements. Now, I know this could be seen as me being picky and wanting something which wasn’t promised or advertised, but the ‘Anniversary’ tag made me envision these extras, I wanted this to be a celebration of the franchise and to get people excited to go out and play both titles and support this very funny series – so we can possibly get another title in the future. 

Aside from the negatives I have with the overall presentation and included ‘features’ though, the game and the upgrades presented are great. This is one of the few point-and-click games which have been modernised in various ways for new gamers and I applaud them for doing so – they could have just released the sequel and not the first game if they wanted (Yes, I’m still waiting for The Whispered World on consoles, Daedalic Entertainment). 

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
If you want to see how to correctly remaster a 2d point-and-click game, check out Edna & Harvey: The Breakout – Anniversary Edition. Not only are we given more polished and colourful visuals in a 16:9 aspect ratio, but the gameplay mechanics have been overhauled to make the experience much more fun and less frustrating. The level of interaction within the game goes far beyond anything I’ve seen from other titles in the genre, and the humorous dialogue and events continue throughout, even if the story does get a little dark at times. The lack of actual ‘anniversary’ bonus extras is a bit disappointing, but the overall package is brilliant and should be part of any point-and-click fan’s collection.

If you enjoy the zany adventure of Edna & Harvey, why not check out Harvey’s New Eyes and the Deponia series, all five titles are out now on all platforms, as well as Silence and the brilliant Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth.

Emily Wants to Play Too is the sequel to the viral sensation ‘Emily Wants to Play’ which was released a few years ago. The sequel plays out in a similar fashion to the original but with some new mechanics and surprises thrown into the mix in order to change things around a little. I’m not the biggest fan of jump scares, The Inpatient almost gave me a heart attack and I had to stop playing Dead Secret in VR because it was freaking me out, but I got a mate around and we played through this game as much as we could. Okay, he played it and I watched, but that’s fine – I was still jumping more than him throughout the game!

The game opens with a return of familiar faces.

Emily Wants to Play Too begins nice and simple, you are a sandwich delivery guy who has returned to his mansion of a home. Seriously, compared to houses here in the UK, this guy’s house is massive. Your first task is to find your bedroom – a simple enough task which is made a little more difficult due to the dark hallways, items all over the floor, lights which don’t seem to fully illuminate the rooms, and the fact I’m in control and have no idea where his bedroom is! Upon crashing for the night, you awake at 3 am in order to get ready for work – you take a shower, as you ignore the jack-in-a-box that’s playing away as you wash, and then proceed to the front door. As you make your way there, you will encounter old favourites from the original game who, at first, are lifeless and just sat there on the floor and chairs.

As you get to the front door, you realise you don’t have your keys and must go in search of them. At this point, the demonic dolls have now come to life and are actively turning off lights and stalking you as you look around for your keys. I won’t tell you how many times this took to pass, but it was about 5 times too many if I’m being honest. It all seemed very random and hard to predict what was going to happen, sometimes I would turn a corner and get grabbed by something, other times I would be jumped for turning on the lights. If you even get grabbed by something, you are sent back to 3 am where you must have a shower and look for your keys once more. It got a bit frustrating, but we carried on, and it’s a good job we did…

Upon finding your keys and proceeding through the front door, you find out that this whole section was actually a dream and none of it actually happened! Thanks, developers! You get dressed and head to work (for real this time) as you make a delivery at the “Central Evidence” facility. Upon entering the building, you are locked inside and you take it upon yourself to begin exploring for a way out. Now, this is the main part of the game as you are being stalked by familiar and new foes, all of which have their own process you must follow in order to avoid and escape from their clutches. Whereas in the first game you were collecting notes, in this game you are tasked with finding keycards so you can access new areas and escape. It’s a very jumpy and frightening game, but not without its flaws I’m afraid.

I hate this doll!

My first issue with the game is its controls. It’s your standard controls, as you would expect, with the control sticks to move and look and the face buttons to perform various actions, but it feels ‘off’. In order to turn on a light switch, for example, you must have it right in the centre of the screen as you press the action button. If it’s a little to either side then chances are it won’t come on. You also select options in the menus by ‘looking’ at them – a similar approach to how Dead Secret works, only that game is in VR so it made more sense. This isn’t a dealbreaker though as it’s playable, it just takes a little while to get used too.

I really didn’t like the initial ‘dream’ sequence either as there weren’t any hints (from what I could see) regarding how to combat the dolls, so it seemed like it would be best to play if you had played through the previous game and knew all of the mechanics beforehand. I usually applaud games which don’t hold your hand and get you to think for yourself as you learn the mechanics, but this felt more like you were just pushed into the deep end without any support. Once you overcome this hurdle though, the game actually gets pretty good.

To me, this is like the Driv3r of today, in that game the tutorial was almost impossible and gave very little hints, yet once you passed it you finally gained access to the real game.

Seriously, someone is going to fall and break their neck on all these items on the floor!

Where Emily Wants to Play Too shines is in its characters and the overall atmosphere of the game. Character-wise, each doll has their own behaviours which you must learn and adapt to if you wish to stay alive. For example, one doll requires you to shine your light on them in order to get them to go away, another reacts to any noise you make, and the clown plays red light, green light with you. At this stage, you will find hints around the facility on how to deal with each of the beings which are after you as well as notes and audio tapes which gives you the background and more information on each one.

Just like in the first section, if you are caught by any of these beings as you are looking for the way out/keycards, you will be treated to a jump scare and sent back to the last checkpoint you arrived at – which for me, seemed like they were more generous than the first section. The jump scares can get a little frustrating as you go along, but they also become more predictable and less frightening – so if you’re like me and end up dying a lot of times, it will eventually become easier – trust me!

There is an option in the settings menu before you start a game, which I thought was strange. It was an option to disable the jump scares! I enabled this out of curiosity and I wasn’t disappointed. Basically, instead of seeing a doll get in your face as they catch you, you see a black screen for about five seconds before the checkpoint reloads. So, for those of you out there who like the look of the game but don’t like jumpscares, you can turn them off. It isn’t as frightening or dramatic if you do, but it does save you from screaming every 10 minutes.

Kind of the opposite of FnaF, you must STOP the music box. Otherwise, this guy comes after you!

After a certain point in the game, the gameplay shifts from running away and avoiding the dolls to actually playing games with them! You will be tasked to play hide and seek, musical chairs, Chesters marathon, and freezie tag, among others. This changes the way the game is played, as no longer are you having to protect yourself and hide, but you are forced to play with them in order to keep them entertained. I found this shift really enjoyable and a much-needed addition to the game as I could see myself easily getting bored or frustrated if I was just walking around and hoping I’m not jumped from behind by an evil clown!

The big difference between this section and the previous one (and the previous game for that matter) is the size of the facility you are in. The level design is really well done and allows the dolls to move freely all over the place, which really builds up the suspense more as you don’t know where anyone is. Speaking of suspense and atmosphere – the developers know to mess with you. From the lighting effects to the subtle sounds of dolls following you and laughing all around, it really creeps you out and keeps you on edge.

There is nothing more nerve-racking than wandering around an empty building in the dark hearing a doll crying “ma-ma” as it moves and then suddenly hearing a jack-in-the-box playing music in the background. A jack-in-the-box which will spawn a 7-foot tall jester who will chase you down and kill you, if you don’t turn it off promptly. Also, don’t forget Emily, who is annoyed and jealous that you haven’t invited her to play, hence the name of the game…

Why is he looking at me funny?

Upon completing the main story, you unlock a speedrun mode. This basically records your time as you play so that you can aim to complete the game as fast as possible.

In regards to the presentation of the game, visually the game looks pretty good. The textures are of high quality and the lighting effects really help create the aforementioned suspense and atmosphere. Even though you are playing within a large facility, the level design is created so that you are also placed in small claustrophobic situations as well such as tight hallways and small offices. The dolls themselves are also well presented, with their own look and style in order to make them seem creepy and unique.

The immersive atmosphere is pushed even further with the awesome sound design within the game. You know the sound design is good when the game is no longer creepy if you mute the tv – Which I tried and it was still creepy but nowhere near as bad as playing it with the sound on.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Emily Wants to Play Too is very similar to the first game in terms of its core mechanics. You will spend a lot of your time wandering around dark environments and learning how to deal with the various enemies whilst looking for a way out. This sequel does mix things up a little with a switch in its gameplay mechanics halfway through which helps keep the gameplay fresh and entertaining. I personally had issues with the lack of direction, instruction and guidance in the first section of the game, but if you persevere and make it to the facility, then the game gets much better. Fans of the original game will love this, and so will people who enjoy jump scare games such as FnaF and SCP.

Flipping Death is another brilliant adventure game from the creative minds at Zoink Games. If you’re not sure who the developer is, they’re the ones behind Fe and the equally as awesome Stick it to the Man! Flipping Death is very similar to Stick it to the Man, but that’s not a bad thing as more of the same is always welcomed when ‘the same’ is already high quality. As Deaths newly-appointed replacement, you must help see to the needs of both the living and the dead as you struggle to solve mysteries, rescue dogs, poke people, and many more crazy tasks!

The question is, does the game have the same magic that Stick it to the Man had, and how many references to similar pieces of media can I fit into the review?

Penny, our caring and considerate funeral home worker…

Our story begins with the lovely, timid, shy and peaceful little girl named pe… Okay, maybe not! Our protagonist, Penny, is an outgoing, kind of aggressive, non-sensitive, and rather mean woman who opens the game dressed as Death. That may not sound too bad, but she’s dressed as Death whilst working at a funeral parlour on Halloween! Without ruining too much of the story, on her way home she decides to mess around in the graveyard and ultimately ends up falling to her death in a similar fashion to Beth from Until Dawn… Brutal.

Moments later, Penny is up and about as she begins to go through the five stages of death, something she refuses to believe is true (denial). She ends up bumping into a familiar face – Death himself! However, Death confuses her with the new temp he’s been waiting an eternity for and hastily hands over his cape and scythe to Penny so that he can take a trip to the moon. This part of the story reminded me of Terry Pratchett’s Mort, where Death has gone missing and his daughter has to take over in his absence. 

This is where the real adventure begins. As Penny, you must move around the afterlife as you talk to spirits and collect lost souls which allows you to take over the bodies of the living on the flip side of the screen (hence FLIPPING Death). Whilst in the living realm, you’ll also be trying to help people out and complete rather random activities which will combinate in achieving your final goal! A goal which I’m not going to mention here as I don’t want to spoil it for you!

The characters are so interesting and wacky!

Control your Death?
If you’ve played Stick it to the Man then you’ll know what to expect in terms of Flipping Death. The controls are nice and simple – in the land of the dead, you can move, jump, throw your scythe so you can teleport, talk to the deceased and collect souls. In the land of the living, you can perform various different activities based on who you are possessing (for example the fireman can put out fires), jump, talk to people, read minds and complete challenges. It works really well and each character is literally screaming with personality and charm – there are even some cameos from Stick it to the Man characters!

One of the things I didn’t like about the control aspect though is the physics. Everyone is made of paper – let that sink in for a moment. It’s like if Paper Mario and a Tim Burton movie had a baby – it would be Flipping Death. Anyway, this means the physics are a little strange and ‘off’. This wouldn’t be an issue, as it’s rather funny when you push things and they flop all over the place, but there is one point where you have to push an item for quite a distance – that’s not a fun process. The ‘object’ will bounce in the air, go upside down and refuse to move, at one point it stretched out on the screen as it got caught on something, and it would occasionally bounce in the air and go backwards, behind my character. It’s not a big issue, but it is one that frustrated me a little at that one point. 

Tina likes puppies but she also likes eating things – hmmm…

Can I help you, sir?
The aim of the game is to help people, you’re Death – it’s what he does, isn’t it? This part reminded me a little of Ghost Town with Ricky Gervais – all the dead people are asking you for help because the living can’t see or interact with them. As such, you’ll be tasked with solving murders, bringing people to justice, rescuing the remains of the dead and completing their final wishes in order for them to move on. I loved these as everything is easy enough to figure out but also requires a little bit of thinking in order to work out HOW you do the things you know you need to do.

One example is at one stage you have to go down a chimney to acquire a gift that had become stuck and then return it to the person it was meant to be for. Clearly, the solution for this was to find a creature in the undead realm, tempt it to land upon a ghostly hand so it can be brought into the land of the living, take control of a girl who can’t stop chewing, chew on the newly uncovered bubblegum machine, blow a bubble and use that to allow her to fly up and land in the chimney. Simple, right?!?

Okay, some of the ‘solutions’ are a little wacky and out there but you’re not left on your own. In the options menu, you have the ability to look at hints – these are a few images that hint at what you need to do. They don’t tell you where to go or what to do, they don’t even point you in the right direction – they simply show you an image so that it’ll spark your brain so you’ll work it out yourself. I’ve looked at three images so far and each time it was exactly what I thought it would be, I just had to do things slightly different. 

Pokeman – not to be confused with Pokemon.

The fun doesn’t end there either – each chapter has its own set of random challenges which will unlock various playing cards based on the townsfolk with information about them on the back. These are about as random as you can get – there is a guy who likes poking things who has to poke a certain number of people, a musician has to play music and create a sort of Conga line, a bird must crap on a set amount of people and many, many more mini-challenges! Seriously, the game had me laughing from the opening cutscene pretty much all the way through. 

As you progress through the story, your goals change a little as a new ‘issue’ is thrown into the mix, an issue that Penny won’t stand for and demands answers about. As such, Penny basically begins to help people not out of empathy and care for the undead but out of necessity as they withhold information until you complete their biddings. There is also a rather cool flashback sequence that you play through, which I really enjoyed, where you basically play out what would be a cutscene in any other game. Also, another highlight for me was having to kill someone so they can help out an undead person and then bring him back to life because he wasn’t supposed to die yet. That was rather ingenious and something I didn’t even think of until I accidentally did it. 

The thought that must have gone into designing some of these puzzles is quite impressive!

Don’t worry, that’s not his grandmother he’s licking! It’s his wife-to-be…

The inhabitants of Flipping Death:
One of the biggest things which drew me to both Flipping Death and Stick it to the Man is the sheer craziness and charm of the inhabitants of both games. They remind me of Terence and Phillip from Southpark with their ‘floppy heads’ which just float between the upper and lower parts of their mouth. The quirky nature of each possessed human is also rather mesmerising and enchanting in a way. We have the aforementioned Pokeman who just loves poking things with his incredibly stretchy arms. There is even a Norman Bates style guy who lives at home with his mother who hides a secret in his basement. This guy loves licking things; as such, he will literally lick everything and anything – just like Miley Cyrus – as you take control of him. 

Later on, you’ll gain access to a chainsaw loving Mermaid, a Vulture who can fly and loves lifting up shiny things into the air, and even a giant whale that may or may not have a couple of dead bodies stuck within it! The creativity of every single character and the amount of wacky stuff you see in this game makes me question if the developers are geniuses or mental! I instantly fell in love with these characters and I can’t wait to jump back in and try and unlock the rest of the trophies. Every character is also voiced brilliantly both in the real world and in their own head (via L1 for hints and random conversations).

Flipping Death is gorgeous!

Technical:
Flipping Death looks Flipping Beautiful. that’s pretty much all I need to say in terms of the visuals if I’m being honest! The art design is unlike anything I’ve seen from other studios and instantly screams out “Zoink Games” whenever I see it. From the detailed yet almost simplistic paper-thin characters to the gorgeous hand-drawn environments, everything looks like it’s come straight out of a child’s storybook. Okay, a dark, gritty, slightly twisted and crazy child’s storybook, but you get the picture! I even love the depth of field effects which is present in the foreground and background as it helps create a sense of depth in this literal 2D puzzle platformer.

In regards to Flipping Deaths audio, there isn’t really much I can add to the praise I have for its voice acting. The music is very relaxing and calm, even though the action around you may be rather manic! Both the living and the dead realms have their own soundtracks which swap around as you flip between the two plains. Even though the music isn’t a very long loop, you don’t really notice unless you’re listening out for it because of the constant flipping from one plain to the other.

Flipping Death also does something a lot of games don’t, yet I wish they would, it auto-adjusts the audio levels. This means that whilst you’re walking around the volume of the music will be normal but as soon as you engage in any conversations then the music lowers slightly so you can hear the voices perfectly! It’s a very small addition to the overall experience but it’s one which is very welcomed and makes interacting with people much more engaging. 

I don’t really have anything to say here…

Overall:
So, Flipping Death – yay or neigh? For me, this is yet another essential purchase on your chosen platform of gaming! The story is very interesting, albeit with a lot of possibly unintentional references and similarities of other media, and the dialogue is really funny and a joy to play. I found a few of the puzzles a little tricky at first but nothing was too hard that I couldn’t figure it out eventually, even if it was a case of possessing everyone first to see what each persons ‘ability’ was. On a similar note, I think the ‘hint’ option has been implemented rather well by only showing you an image so that it makes you think “how do I get that to happen” or “oh, that’s what I need to try”, rather than just blatantly stating what you have to do and locking you out of a trophy or two. It also encourages people to play the game for themselves and use the built-in hints for help rather than just looking up a guide and following it word for word – which I also approve of.

I didn’t like the physics in the game at certain points – Instead of them being ‘funny’ they just turned out to be a pain when I was trying to move a certain ‘item’ over to the junkyard. It was also rather hard trying to hit the item to smash the hospital window. Other than that though, the rest of the physics within the game seem to work fine and I had no issues with them. As I mentioned above, I found Flipping Death really funny and joy to play through – I would even say this was more fun than Stick it to the Man and I loved that game when I played it a few years ago. If you like adventure, puzzles, or quirky games, then I can’t recommend this enough to you. 

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Flipping Death is a flipping great spiritual successor to Stick it to the Man. There are plenty of undead characters to help crossover, a load of challenges for the possessed living to participate in, and countless laughs to have whilst listening to the hilariously twisted humour the game throws at you. Zoink Games have improved on every aspect of the game which was present in SittM in order to bring us yet another awesome adventure-puzzle platformer. The physics are a bit wobbly but everything else in the puzzle platforming adventure game is as solid as a rock.

Highly recommended to fans of the genre and people who loved Stick it to the Man. 

It’s October 2018 and you may be wondering why you’re getting a belated review for a game which is now 18 months old? The answer is simple, Friday the 13th: The Game is currently being given away for free as part of the PS Plus lineup for the month of October and I feel it’s time to take another look at it.

The game has changed in a lot of ways since it was released back in May 2017, so we’re going to take a look at what the game is like in its current state and why you should download it today!

The original game:
The game was developed by IllFonic and published by Gun Media and naturally, the game is heavily focused on the ‘Friday the 13th’ movie franchise. It’s a semi-open world third-person survival horror game set throughout the 1980s in a variety of locations in and around the fictional Camp Crystal Lake. A single round consists of up to eight players, all of which are human-controlled via the online service. Seven people take the roles of the fictional camp counsellors and one as Mr Giggles himself, Jason Voorhees.

Whilst playing as one of the counsellors, your job is to survive by any means possible. Depending on what map you’re on, there could be a variety of broken down vehicles which you can fix up, you could aim to try and call the police for assistance, or even escape by foot if you’re feeling confident. However, if you’re extremely lucky, you and your comrades can team up and kill Jason! The final option is extremely unlikely though as you could have Jesse Ventura’s Mini-Gun from Predator and that still wouldn’t be very effective! It’s quite hard trying to kill something that’s already dead.

The real fun comes when you get to play as the man behind the mask! As Jason Voorhees, your role is extremely easy. KILL! As you level up with Jason, you’ll be able to purchase various new ways to slaughter people, which is an added bonus, as it gets a little boring just ripping someone’s arm off after a while. These often lead to hilarious new encounters and it’s always nice to hear your foes scream in fear as you appear right behind them. Whilst playing as Jason, you can hear anybody who is communicating over the in-game voice chat. It can be easy to deceive people that you are a lowly counsellor, just like them, and you have the keys to the car.

New content?
So, what’s changed that would make everyone want to come back to the game and new people check it out today? Quite a bit actually. For starters, the maps. When the game was originally launched there were very few maps for you to play on. There are now 8 different maps to choose from which offer a lot more variety than before. Some are considerably smaller than the others which is fantastic for shorter, more intense sessions. There is also an Offline Mode which has been implemented in which you take the role of Jason as you hunt down various AI counsellors. This is a very refreshing addition to the game as it acts as a fantastic tutorial on how to play as Jason before taking to the online mode to slay your friends and randoms!

In addition to single-player material, they have also added various Challenges. This puts you in a scenario where you play as Jason and you stumble upon an event. You’re presented with 6 objectives to fulfil in each scenario, this breathes new life into the game as it makes the gameplay a little more varied. It also helps to differentiate the game from the similar Dead by Daylight, which coincidentally we received free on PS Plus last month as well!

As far as the lawsuit is concerned, as there has been an on-going battle over who owns the rights to the characters and settings which ultimately ceased all production on new content in all Friday the 13th games, we now know that their will no more material added to Friday the 13th: The Game. However, don’t let that stop you from playing the game as it has plenty to do in it already! Grab some friends and take turns playing as Jason, or just go on a mindless killing spree of random victims online. Most people who have played the game will say that they have had a blast playing this with friends, if not then they’re lying!

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Friday the 13th: The Game is a great multiplayer focused 1 vs many slaughter-fest of a game. Is it going to be something you play for years to come? Probably not. Undeniably though, it has a lot of charm and can be a blast to play with friends and family, especially those you just want to rip to pieces! There is no better experience than playing as Jason and going in for the kill as your friends scream in horror both in-game and IRL! Plus, IT’S FREE FOR THE MONTH (If you have PS Plus)!

Alternatively, the Friday The 13th: The Game – Ultimate Slasher Edition has recently been released. This version contains all of the previously available DLC, excluding the Kickstarter backer bonuses, and a Limited Edition poster. There is also a Friday The 13th: The Game – Ultimate Slasher Collector’s Edition which contains the game, the DLC, the poster, and an authentic NECA replica Jason mask from Friday the 13th Part III.

I remember when I was about 5 years old, my mom was working as a DJ late into the night and my Dad was “watching” my brother and I. He was a couple of beers in, so any kind of logic was out the door. He was watching Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives and if memory serves correctly, it was around 3/4 into the movie when Jason kills Paula and Sissy.

I. WAS. TERRIFIED.

Yet, when you fast-forward about 10 years later, I was 100% all about any horror flicks I could get my hands on, especially those flicks from the 1980s! Jason Voorhees was always special to me though because of that initial introduction. So, when Friday the 13th: The Game was released in 2017, I was ecstatic to pick the game up on the PS4 (which you can read my thoughts of HERE)! The time has come, once again, to go back to Camp Crystal Lake because Jason is here to terrorise gamers over on the Nintendo Switch!

If you never got around to playing Friday the 13th when it initially came out, then my first piece of advice would be to disregard anything you have heard about the game upon release. The game has changed a fair amount since it originally came out back in 2017. Tons of content have been added to make this game all the more special. Fans of the series will recognise many popular landmarks and places from the movies, as well as some very familiar faces. I love the fact that the developers, Gun Media, are clearly fans of the franchise and saw the potential of the format in which you can play as either the hunter or the prey.

I will admit that after spending so many hours on the PS4 version of the game, I was worried about playing this game on the Nintendo Switch. Now granted, it was not a technical masterpiece on the PlayStation 4 or the Xbox One, but obviously, the Nintendo Switch doesn’t have the ability to kick out the same visuals with decent performance. That is clear fairly quickly into the game with regards to the quality. However, what it lacks in its visuals, it makes up in the fact that it plays pretty smooth. I never witnessed any issues with dropped framerates – from what I could gather. In a game where timing is key and any kind of lag spells certain death, a decent and stable framerate is more important than the native resolution or visual fidelity.

Offline?
Now, if you played the game on its initial release and never came back then you’ve missed out on all of the great additions to the game. One of the biggest additions was an introduction of an offline mode, which allows you to play as Mr. Jollypants himself, Jason Voorhees!

You can play the standard game mode, where your only goal is to kill all the camp counsellors before they can escape. The biggest issue I’ve had within this mode is that even on the hardest difficulty, the counsellors are dumber than a box of rocks. I had a match where I faced against the maximum amount and after about two minutes, I found a cabin where four of them were ‘stuck’ in their animations. Two of them were jumping in and out of the windows and the other two were going in and out of the door. Despite being a rather funny yet buggy situation, they all made for easy pickings! Speaking of bugs, don’t they know that opening those doors can cause ants to come in the cabins?! UNFORGIVABLE!

Besides the standard game mode, there are special scenarios that you can play in the offline mode that can be a lot of fun. Again, you take the role of Jason and you’re tasked with killing the counsellors in special ways. It’s an interesting way to play the game as it adds a stealth-like element to it. For example, one of the scenarios played out like this:

A few counsellors were driving to a party and their car breaks down on the side of the road. While one guy decides to look at the engine to figure out the problem, the other guy goes out to the woods to relieve himself. The poor bastard never saw me coming up behind him as I shoved him into a branch and gave him a rather nasty splinter. Not knowing his buddy now has a tree for a spinal cord, the original counsellor was completely oblivious as I crept up behind him and threw him into the engine whilst I smashed the hood on him repeatedly. Oh, did I forget to mention how violent this game is?? Yeah, don’t play this around your kids unless you are an irresponsible parent like my Dad was…

Online
Now, the REAL meat and potatoes of Friday the 13th: The Game is the online multiplayer. Remember my concerns with playing this game on the Nintendo Switch? Well, I was able to get into a full group of online multiplayer and we experienced no issues with framerates or any other kinds of performance. Initially, it wasn’t easy to find a group to play with, but I was playing it over a week before it’s retail release date…

What makes the online multiplayer so interesting is that you never know who will be playing as Jason as it is random each time. I know other people prefer to only play as Jason, but there is a lot of fun to be had as a bumbling counsellor trying to escape. Each Counselor is unique and has their own strengths and weaknesses, so finding what you value the most is important.

As a counsellor, you have different avenues you can take to survive the night. Perhaps you want to call the police? You have to find a working phone first. Maybe you are planning on driving away? First, you need to find gasoline, the keys, and the battery. Of course, you can always try to fight Jason. Well, only if you are brave I suppose. PSA: Don’t fight Jason, I’ve never been in a game where the counsellor’s team up to kill Jason and come out alive…

As Jason, again, it is all too simple. Kill the counsellors before they can escape. You have the ability to pick from multiple iterations of Jason, all with their own strengths and weaknesses. It all comes down to what you value. Killing the counsellors gets pretty interesting as you can purchase different ways of killing them from the points you gain from each round. For example, you may not be able to do it from the beginning, but you can buy an ability where you can throw them into a fire and shove their faces into the burning logs.

Nintendo Switch version info
[Rob] The Switch version pulls together and contains all of the previously released content into a single bundle of joy for you to play. From the start, you have access to all ten single-player challenges, new maps, characters, counsellor outfits, Jason skins, additional kills for Jason to unlock, and the ‘Virtual Cabin experience’. The only two omissions in terms of the additional content are the Kickstarter and backer clothing and skin packs (which had their own controversy when the game was originally released). 

Whereas the game comes will a nice selection of kills and costumes, including Jason designs from films two through nine, each with their own specific strengths, weaknesses and brutal kills, picking up the game at retail (physically in a shop) seems to give you more for your money. The physical edition provides you with a Pick Axe, Pig Splitter and Machete kill pack, as well as a Spring ’84 and Halloween Costume clothing pack for you to utilise.

Also, just in case you’re doubting the authenticity to the movies and franchise (if you’ve somehow not heard or seen anything about this game in the last two years), the developers sought help from Sean S. Cunningham (the director and creator of Friday the 13th), Tom Savini (the FX and effects director from Friday the 13th), Harry Manfredini (the composer from various movies in the franchise), and Kane Hodder (the actor who played Jason in films 7, 8 and 9). As far as a game based on the concept of the movies, Friday the 13th: The Game is about as authentic as you can get.

Official Trailer (Same content, no Switch footage):

Final Conclusion:
I can’t stress enough how much fun Friday the 13th: The Game Ultimate Slasher Edition is. Each round you play online is unique from the last one, offering hours of replayability and exciting experiences. I don’t know how many times I would sit down to play the game and find myself saying “Ok, just one more round” multiple times as my wife would yell at me to go to bed – “Oh, I’m sorry dear, I’m just decapitating counsellors because they suck!!”. The Nintendo Switch version of the game is great as it has all the DLC and you can play it on the go.

Is it graphically inferior to the other console versions? Yes. But if that’s its only flaw, I feel like that is a major win in my books.

Happy’s Humble Burger Farm is a game that makes you realise all the horror stories of the fast-food industry were just the beginning. The core of the game involves you working a 9 to 5 job at your local fast-food restaurant that is in no way is inspired by any well-known restaurants. There is one key difference between Happy’s Humble Burger Farm and other fast food establishments, the customers aren’t the only horrific things to show up.

While this work routine makes up the core of the gameplay loop, the first scene of the game makes it very clear that what is going on with your character may not be as straightforward as it seems.

The Meat and Potatoes of the gameplay
As mentioned above, the core gameplay revolves around the daily running of a fast food restaurant that somehow keeps getting customers. This initially starts out by you having to produce three simple burgers for customers with the difficulty revolving around not burning the food and occasionally having to skip on some salad. Though things start simple, the running of the restaurant soon involves you having to cook many different meals whilst also having to deal with emergencies in the restaurant such as overflowing toilets or furry invaders. Oh, and did I forget to mention that if you fail enough of your tasks then a bloodthirsty cow appears – if you can`t make it happy with a rotten burger, be prepared to respawn.

You also need to deal with some very unhelpful guests in your kitchen, from self-destructing blobs to giant venom spewing fly men. These additions also highlight an issue with the gameplay in that after their first or second appearance they become less of a scare and just more of an annoyance to deal with. Especially in the case where they can obstruct your vision to the point where you may be unable to read the green text order on a green screen because your vision is also turned green. To put it bluntly, after your first two shifts a failed order becomes a lot more frightening than anything else the game throws at you.

The actual gameplay involves you having to pick up and throw food and drinks into various fryers, microwaves and serving bags. While the mechanics are simple, they can also be the most infuriating part of the game. This is due to the wild targeting inconsistency, you can throw a bunch of similar items in the same direction and they’ll all land in different locations. Additionally is the fact that if your item does go somewhere unintended, based on how fiddly it can be to pick it up, it will probably result in a game over.

Hidden under the surface
As I said earlier, while the restaurant service part of the game is front and centre, it is certainly not the only part of the game. Mild spoilers from this point onwards, so if you want to go into the game completely free of knowledge, skip this section…

From the very outset of the game, where you experience a scene from an operating theatre, it is clear that there is something lying just beneath the surface of what is being presented as the main game. Throughout the opening, while you are undertaking the first shifts, the game gives you clues that there is more going on with the introduction of tapes that paint a very different story to what you are being told. If you start to go down the rabbit hole of these clues, you will soon find yourself putting your serving skills to the test in much more deadly situations than just dealing with unhappy customers.

You also learn that there is a lot more to the city than just your back and forth journey to work each day. These varied environments range from a storage warehouse, that stores more than just boxes, to an underground area being stalked by very upset poultry. The game also gives you the ability to create “recipes” that give you access to important items such as keypad hackers and burger bombs. These items are then used to even further open up the map and story.

Without giving any more information on where the story goes, the game takes you to some very strange places despite its rather short runtime.

Endless mode
Once you have gotten through your first playthrough of the game you unlock endless mode, this is just you vs. the customers in the restaurant with all food options unlocked. The only goal here is to last as long as you can under the pressure, without the threat of any horrific interruptions as you serve your meals. I liked the fact that you can enable this mode and continue playing for as long as you wish, but I feel it would have been better if you could simply activate it without having to complete the game first. Although the game is interesting and challenging, I imagine there are some people who may want to just play the simulation side before they finish the game, maybe for practice?

Technical
Happy’s Humble Burger Farm isn’t the most advanced or realistic game out there, far from it. At times, it felt like I had travelled back in time and was playing on a PS1 thanks to the low-quality textures and simplistic level design. However, this was all done intentionally as it helped the game appear creepier and unsettling. I was playing the game on my PS5 via Backwards Compatability and had no issues with the stability or performance, it just took me a while to become accustomed to the visual design after playing modern AAA games prior to this game.

In terms of audio, there’s a jukebox with lots of soundtracks to choose from as well as over two hours of Talk Radio – not to mention some fun voices including Jon St. John (Duke Nukem). If you do like the music, you can pick up most of the soundtracks on Steam – however, the developer hasn’t put them on PSN. Considering how cheap they are, I’m hoping they’ll distribute them on Sony’s store as well.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Happy’s Humble Burger Farm is a simple game with some good initial scares that sadly wear off after a while. When the gameplay works it’s a smooth and enjoyable experience, but the main problem is that I found it to be quite fiddly and inconsistent at times, affecting my overall opinion. The combination of a cooking simulator and a horror game is one I’ve not seen before, resulting in an often frustrating and challenging experience. I thought that the Endless Mode was a good idea, extending the simulation gameplay, but the only problem for some is that they will have to endure through a complete playthrough in order to access it.

I was first introduced to Hello Neighbor many years ago when all the YouTubers were playing it pretty much all the time via the free Alpha version from the developer’s website. Since then, it’s been Greenlit, Kickstarted, Published, put into the Xbox Early Access program, and finally released onto the PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch and even mobile devices! Developer Dynamic Pixels have really pushed to get this game out on every device under the sun with the help and support of their publisher, tinyBuild.

However, the reviews upon the launch for the multi-platform stealth ‘horror’ game weren’t quite forgiving with many of them criticising it’s controls and inventory issues. It’s been a few months, I’ve completed the game, and it’s now part of the Xbox Gamepass for all subscribers, so let’s take a look and see what I thought of the game considering I’m not the biggest fan of this particular genre.

What’s under the sheet!

Everyone knows the story of Hello Neighbor unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years, as you couldn’t look at YouTube without seeing someone talking about or playing the game. However, for those one or two of you who don’t know what the ‘plot’ is, I’ll keep it brief.

Our protagonist is a young kid who is about to embark on a rather crazy ‘adventure’. Your neighbourhood seems to have a few issues with people going missing recently, yet your parents seem to think it’s fine to leave you home alone and let you wander around the streets playing with your ball… Anyway, you’re out playing with your ball when it lands in your opposite neighbours garden. As you head on over to collect it, you hear a noise which sounds like a scream coming from the living room! As you peer into the window, you see the old man seemingly attacking something (or someone) as it makes a lot of noise, only to be then locked inside his basement. He sees you, you run, stupidly your curiosity gets the better of you!

Your challenge, in Hello Neighbor, is to break into your neighbour’s house and find out what dirty little secrets he has hiding within that basement of his! This is accomplished by utilising a lot of inventory puzzles as well as sneaking around without him realising where you are and even smashing things to cause a distraction. One thing you need to be aware of, there are many ways to complete each puzzle/act, which is a great help as it’s very easy to accidentally ‘lose’ a key item and never see it again. So, as you can approach things in various ways, it’s not the end of the world if you accidentally hold a key, stick your hand through a door, and then throw the key inside the locked room (which a friend of mine actually did)!

That’s basically act one. Act two, without spoiling things, is the opposite as you’re now trying to get out and back to your own house. Act 3 is where things get really crazy and the game decides to mess with you as it introduces some rather annoyingly hard side-missions as you try and get back into the house, only this time you’re a young adult. Finally, the end segment is just flat out strange and fantastical. I have a feeling the last part of the game didn’t actually ‘happen’…

Make sure you don’t throw away your key!

Out of control!:
So, I guess we should address the elephant in the room first of all, one of the biggest things a lot of people had an issue with – the controls. Hello Neighbor started life as an Early Access title, it still feels like one today, three years later. The controls aren’t as tight as you’d hope and require in a game full of platforming and fiddly inventory puzzle mechanics. As such, it’s very easy to miss-jump, slide all over the place with the floaty controls, glitch though items and doorways, and possibly make your run impossible. Or at least it makes you think you’ve messed up and can’t do anything but restart the act.

As I mentioned earlier, sure, you can accidentally throw items whilst your hand is strangely poking its way through a locked door like a ghost, thus allowing you to losre things in the unknown and make them unreachable if you happen to press the wrong button. However, Hello Neighbor isn’t an A to B type of game. Sure, there are some things you must do in each act in order to progress or unlock certain things, but there is more than one way to skin a cat, so they say. When my mate threw a key through the door then gave up, he didn’t realise it was for another door, a door you can bypass by walking through a hole in the wall, so the key was useless. I also lost an item in act two yet realised there were about three or four ways to complete the level. 

So, yeah, it’s still quite buggy and the controls leave a lot to be desired, but it’s not the end of the world if you cock it up as there are a few ways to win. 

Yay, we can now glide with our umbrella like Mary Poppins!

Over encumbered:
Let’s address the second complaint quite a few people had with Hello Neighbor, the inventory. You have four slots and you can’t store things in your pockets and empty your hands. You literally have to have something in your hands at all times until you pick up another item. The issue with this is that when you combine the fact you’re always holding key items which are crucial to progressing the story, with the fact the controls are a bit fiddly, this can lead to some rather unfortunate accidents, as advised above. One such segment, in act three, has you using an umbrella to glide around the place whilst keeping a few items on your person as well. If you throw these into a place you can’t reach – head on over to the menu and hit restart!

Another point, which I didn’t really have an issue with but some did, was the fact you can only hold four items at a time and you never know what you need. For example, I was carrying around a couple of keys in act one for a very long time yet in the end, I never even used one of them. It was just sat there taking up my precious inventory space. It’s very different to your standard adventure games where the protagonist can shove everything, including the kitchen sink, into their pockets as they discover an item they picked up a few hours ago is just what they need to solve a puzzle. No, in Hello Neighbor you’re having to remember where you throw the items you don’t think you need any more, just in case things change and you suddenly need that tiny soldier or shovel. 

To be honest though, I personally thought this mechanic, or lack of, made the game more stressful and intense – in a good way. It meant you had to be careful with what you do with your gear and also remember what was where, just in case. It also makes the game a little more realistic as you’re clearly not Mary Poppins with your bottomless bag. Although, that’s the only thing that is a little realistic in this crazy game!

Hmmm, how do we get in?

Hello?
So, what do you actually do in Hello Neighbor? If you’ve seen the old Youtube videos from when the game was in alpha, it’s similar but it now contains a lot more content. The first two chapters revolve around breaking and entering via any means necessary which will see you having to seriously think about what you need to do and how you’re going to go about doing it. Truth be told, I had to look up a guide a few times as I was playing it for hours with no idea on what I was supposed to be doing! I was running around like a headless chicken as I just couldn’t see what the game wanted me to see. 

One such example of this was in the first act. It began with a cutscene which showed me where a key was – I wasn’t paying attention though, so for almost 90 minutes I had no idea what to do. All I did was run around and thrown garbage bags at the neighbours head! When I did figure out what I had to do, I couldn’t get to the place I had to so I thought I was doing it wrong and went exploring again. Finally, I looked it up and I was right, I just didn’t realise you had to use boxes to help you jump higher because the initial ‘tutorial’ was pretty poor. It took me about 25 minutes to realise you could actually pick things up!

This house is mental!

Too hard or too easy?
The final thing I’m going to moan about is the difficulty. The neighbour seems to have the eyes of a hawk and the ears of a moth (surprisingly the animal with the best hearing in the world). His encounters aren’t scary as they are borderline annoying and a distraction. The music changes when he sees you, you can hear him running up to you, and the deaths don’t do anything but inconvenience you as you keep all of your items you’ve found. The only setback is you’re returned to the starting point of the act and the neighbour will have repaired any windows your had smashed. So, for the first two chapters, where it’s you vs him, the game is surprisingly relaxed and kind of easy, other than the rather obscure solutions to the puzzles. 

However, once you hit act three, everything changes. Not only has the neighbour changed his whole house around by adding a rollercoaster and about three more floors, but the game decides to throw you some really, really irritating ‘puzzle’ rooms. Now, I love my puzzles and I don’t mind games trying something new by ramping up the difficulty, but these were borderline rage quit material, especially the classroom segment. In this part, you’re in a classroom with a load of mannequins. When the whistle blows, they go behind their desk and the teacher attacks anyone who is walking around. At this point, you have to hide in the lockers. When the whistle blows next, the dolls run around and chase you if they see you. One hit and you have to do it all over again. You can’t back out or get any help either.

This one segment must have taken me about 2-3 hours to complete! I’m not a fan of stealth games and hiding to avoid people/things. So this just frustrated me. Although, I thought the whole game was going to be like this from the start but up until this point, the neighbour was like a ‘My Little Pony’ in comparison to the students and head teacher!

There are some disturbing and creepy moments.

Personal Opinion:
Looking past the fiddly controls (which you get used to), the floaty movements, the interesting yet obscure puzzles, and the ramp in difficulty within the mini-games in act three, I actually enjoyed playing Hello Neighbor. I know, that’s probably hard to believe as it seems like I’ve been in rant overload since the very beginning, but if you look past its unpolished mechanics and controls, it’s not a bad puzzle game. I wouldn’t call it a survival horror game, I would say it’s more a full-on puzzle game with mild stealth elements – until you get to the third act where it gets more intense and crazy. Sure, when you’re in the basement there are some moments which could technically make you jump as you turn a corner and see the shadow of someone watching you, but it’s nowhere near as creepy as >observer_ for example, which is also on Gamepass on the Xbox One now. 

What I found enjoyable were the multiple ways you can complete an act or puzzle. On the flip side, the lack of any hand-holding or even any hints led to frustration more than enjoyment yet delivered a lot of satisfaction when I finally figured out what I needed to do. If I wasn’t reviewing the game then I don’t think I would have finished it, but I persevered and I made it to the end credits a few weeks back and looking back on it, I’m glad I did. The extra challenge was welcome but a bit too little too late as the game itself should really have gradually got harder with the neighbour himself in my opinion. 

Official trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Hello Neighbor is a rather interesting puzzle game with stealth and ‘horror’ mechanics present. This is another game where I’m on the fence when it comes to recommending it. It looks okay but still feels like an Early Access title with its controls and overall presentation. However, I did get enjoyment out of figuring out what I needed to do and pissing off the neighbour by throwing things at his face over, and over again. I think the game may be a bit mild for hardcore fans of the survival horror genre, but also a bit too reliant on stealth and running away for the casual gamer.

There will be a set group who loves this game, especially if you have seen it before and want to try it out for yourself. Just don’t go into it thinking it will be delivering AAA standards as you’ll be disappointed. Think of it as an obscure puzzle game where you’re being chased by a grumpy old man and you’ll get what you pay for. Also, as I said before, it’s now on GamePass so try it out if you’re a subscriber!

I’ve just seen that the prequel to the game, Hello Neighbor: Hide and Seek, is out in a month. I’ll be interested to see how that differs from the original game.

Soulsborne games are as famous for their difficulty as they are for how brutally challenging and realistic the heavy combat and gameplay can be. Not only has a new genre been created around games which utilise certain aspects from these unforgiving titles, but gamers also love showing how ‘hardcore’ they are by completing them in various ways. The latest game in the genre which I’ve been playing is Hellpoint, a game which may not be a FromSoftware developed title but it’s as close to a ‘Soulsborne’ as you’re going to get.

Imagine a science-fiction Bloodborne and you’re bang on the money. Hellpoint is a 3rd-person Action-RPG game that has a deep focus on a combat system that is challenging but rewarding. Cradle Games have come to the fore to try their hand at making a rewarding yet painfully difficult action game to rival those that inspired it, but have they pulled it off?

You wake up as someone known only as Spawn – You can name your character whatever you want but you’ll always be known as Spawn throughout the game. You’re dropped in with basically no information and left to fend for yourself and discover your purpose. A mysterious voice known as The Author talks to you periodically and explains that you’re on Irid Nova, a space station orbiting a black hole and a cataclysmic event known as The Merge has left everything teetering on the edge of an abyss.

Much of the story will be drip-fed to you with markings around Irid Novo that you can read, via notes left behind or by data terminals that have information on them. The Author guides you around the station informing you of why you were created but I won’t spoil too much as things get a little more complicated.

What I will say is that I actually preferred the story in this game to Bloodborne (one of the few Soulsborne games I’ve played). I think it’s drip-fed in just the right amount at the right times and I never felt completely confused about what I was doing other than the very beginning of the game, as I did in BB. Sure, the plot wasn’t something I went in expecting to be great, as it’s all about the gameplay, but I was left pleasantly surprised as I progressed throughout the game.

Where it’s not as impressive is within the overall setting. While the sci-fi aesthetic is cool and a fresh take on the genre, Irid Novo was just a little too plain for my liking. There are some very pretty areas, for example, there’s a scene where you look into space and a giant whale-like creature floats past looking majestic and grand, but for the most part the station is comprised of simple narrow passages and largely empty open rooms with a bland grey coating. It’s no Yharnum for sure, but then again, gothic settings are my one of my favourites so it would take something spectacular to be on the same level in my head.

Combat works much the same as it does in Bloodborne, with weak and strong attacks tied to R1 and R2 respectively. As you defeat enemies, you earn axions which is the currency to purchase upgrades. If you die, you have to retrieve them from where you fell, so that’s all very familiar for fans of the genre. I found that an aggressive gameplay style is far more favoured as you can’t parry or block attacks completely, you will always take damage. It’s better to go in for a few attacks then roll out with your remaining stamina to dodge the return attacks from the enemies.

That’s why, despite it not being as pretty or as scary as Bloodborne, I can see fans of that game enjoying Hellpoint too. The combat is tight and very tense, one mistake can be your end, but I feel it leans just on the side of being fair and is definitely the best aspect of the game.

The enemies deal significant damage but the more you hurt them, the more your Healing Methods charge – so you can heal yourself. That’s another reason why it favours being a more offensive player. Combat is methodical and precise and I found it to be incredibly rewarding for the most part. There are various weapons and armour pieces you can find throughout Irid Novo, or parts that you can use to build better ones if you find the blueprints for them. It’s just as deep as BB, if not more.

There are also various items you can discover and use that can help in different situations. For example, there are ‘Omnicubes’ you can use that provide various different benefits and functions. My personal favourite being a little torch you can have above your head for those dark corners where enemies are always lurking.

Of course, we can’t talk about combat in an action RPG without talking about the bosses in a bit more detail. The boss designs in Hellpoint range from fantastic to utterly frustrating. They’re all very varied in both how they look and in the type of attacks they perform – I enjoyed simply finding them and looking at their different forms to figure out the best methods to beat them. Where they become frustrating is when the perform certain attacks that inflict various effects on you.

For example, an early boss, known as the ‘Celestial Beast’, has an attack that stuns you – this would be absolutely fine if it didn’t then continue to stun you repeatedly so you physically can’t do anything until it eventually kills you. This boss took me much longer than many of the others since that single attack rendered me holding the controller completely pointless. I eventually decided to backtrack and grind until my character was over levelled just so I had a fighting chance against them. Frustration aside, the actual designs are really cool and on par in terms of variety with the more AAA games for sure.

There is actually a full co-op mode in the game to help you progress through the toughest sections of the game. Make a second character and you are able to have a player grab a controller and join you through the full game in either local split-screen mode or online. Or, if you’re feeling frustrated at dying over and over again, you can battle each other to the death, once again in either a local split-screen or online PvP mode.

These are both great modes which I’m glad the developers included as they add a layer of replayability and variety to the game which we rarely see within this genre. I personally haven’t tried them out much, only briefly trying co-op so far, but it’s a feature I will definitely use when helping my friends through the game.

The most unique parts of the game come from the accretion storms and Black Hole hours. These storms are, as far as I’m aware, a new addition to the genre that I found to be really interesting if a little terrifying. At specific times in the game world, these events trigger and have different effects on the world. For example, when the station is at its closest point to the black holes, accretion storms happen (twice per orbit) and spawn a hellpoint where a horde of enemies will pour out of. Clear these tough and numerous enemies out and you can earn some great rewards like materials and better armour.

Black Hole hours happen once per in-game day and last around 10 minutes, they’re occurrences that create areas that you have to defeat whilst locked into a room. These are particularly tough but well worth it if you’re up to the challenge. These features are really cool and should be used by future games in the genre to expand on the experience and add some variety to the standard Soulsborne format. I found these refreshing as when you’re sometimes stuck in an area, fighting the same enemies, it’s good to experiencing something new.

While the combat is focused and impressive, the navigation around the game is sadly not as well thought out. Whereas there are secrets to uncover around the world, encouraging you to explore and find better equipment and weapons, the game makes platforming so awkward and fiddly that you get put off from doing so. The jumping is especially very clunky, making trying to land on narrow platforms an absolute pain in the ass.

If the game had no fall damage it wouldn’t be as much of a problem, but knowing where a secret is and dying repeatedly trying to reach it is demoralising and frustrating – Especially when you have to restart the entire area just to even reach that same platforming section. The jumping works when it wants to, not all the time, and the slightest stick movement can send you completely in the wrong direction.

Then there are parts where you attach to rails to climb walls. These things are awful when you’re having to jump off them to a platform and have been genuinely the cause of more deaths than the combat has in my playthrough.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Hellpoint is far from a bad game. In fact, it more than holds its own in the genre and gripped me a lot better than Demon’s Souls (PS3) did when I started playing that. It does the important parts extremely well and despite not being as pretty or as popular as other games out there, it’s a really solid entry. The platforming required adds unnecessary difficulty but the combat, the co-op, story and bosses are all brilliantly implemented. The story is slowly drip-fed, making it not the easiest to follow, but there’s enough there for you to eventually make sense of it – more so than Bloodborne, in my experience anyway. The addition of the timed features in the game is an interesting addition to the genre and one that I think should be used more in the future.

If you’re a fan of ‘Soulsborne’ games, or indeed action-RPG games in general, then definitely give this a try. Just, of course, expect to die a lot so bring a friend along if you can and use the hints that people leave behind because they help a lot, especially when it comes to warnings of being ambushed! Does Hellpoint take the crown off the other games in the genre? Not quite. But, as a first attempt, this is an absolutely brilliant experience from Cradle Games and I wouldn’t ignore this game just because it’s not made by FromSoftware.

Last week tinyBuild and Cradle Games announced the PlayStation 5 and Series S|X edition of Hellpoint. It’s going to launch in 2021 and will support higher resolutions, higher framerates, faster loading times and a choice of two gameplay styles – Dynamic 4k @ 60fps or Native 4k @ 30fps (on the PS5 and Xbox Series X, not S). This next-gen version of the game will be FREE to everyone who owns the PS4 or Xbox One version of the game – which is a nice bonus.

Also, just so you don’t have to wait until the enhanced version arrives, Hellpoint on current-gen consoles is getting an ‘unlocked framerate’ mode so that you can take advantage of the extra power in Backwards Compatability and obtain a higher and more stable framerate once both new consoles launch.

Additionally, the Switch version of Hellpoint is coming later this year (as far as I can see) and you can pick up the physical edition on Switch and PS4 (in standard or limited edition ‘Signature’ format) from Merge Games HERE. However, the physical releases have an estimated ship date of the 29th January 2021. The Signature Edition contains the game, two pins (badges), a certificate, an art book, and the full soundtrack. 

You best put on a couple of pairs of adult diapers in preparation as Home Sweet Home is one of the most intense PlayStation VR compatible horror games released to date, and it’s ready to take you on an experience you’ll never forget. Home Sweet Home is published by Mastiff LLC and developed by Yggdrazil Group, a visual effects company primarily working on film post-production. It’s also the developers first venture into game development, and it’s a really strong first start.

The game was originally planned for mobile devices but they decided to develop for the PC market and released it on Steam back in September last year. The game launched to great reviews, especially when they added VR capabilities, so they chose to release it on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in Spooktober 2018.

There’s a lot of hiding involved…

Home Sweet Home is a first-person survival horror puzzle game. It’s fully playable, from start to end, within VR via both the PSVR or a PC VR headset. This can be confusing for people looking to purchase the game on the PlayStation Store because it looks like it’s only a VR title. While I would recommend fans of horror games try the game in that mode, it is NOT necessary to have the headset, you can play the game perfectly fine without VR and still have a very intense experience.

The story can be somewhat confusing for people that choose not to bother with picking up the assorted journal entries laying around. There are also newspaper clippings as well as radio broadcasts which offer a lot of exposition regarding what’s going on. These are crucial to understanding what is happening in the game as there is a very deep story hidden within these objects. At the beginning of the game our protagonist, Tim, wakes up and it seems like he’s maybe had a bit too much to drink the night before. You leave the starting area in search of Jane, your wife, and this leads to you trying to find out where you are before hell breaks loose (very quickly).

She looks a little different to her Tinder pic.

You have no methods of attacking enemies as the only item you have is a flashlight which you use in dark areas. Any kind of encounters you have will lead you to a game of “hide and seek” essentially, although you pray the ‘seek’ part doesn’t happen! You don’t encounter a wide variety of enemies. In fact, there are only 3 in the entire game. There are these creatures that act as watchers that will scan an area for you and if you’re spotted, they will let out a loud noise for the main enemy in the game to locate and eventually slaughter you.

The main antagonist is a very creepy looking Asian teenage girl which has the looks to give you nightmares. She is all cut up with blood all over her body. Think Zombie meets Ghost meets Teenage Asian girl. She carries around a knife and can let out a scream which will send chills down your spine. Once she spots you, you have to RUN LIKE HELL because if she catches you, there’s a high probability you’ll die immediately. Sometimes you will go into a struggle mode with her where you need to spam the X button so you can knock her down and barely make it out alive, which is a relief but also not guaranteed. This gives you a brief amount of time to try and get away and hide.

If you can get close to her while she is just roaming around, you can hear her talk. She doesn’t have many phrases, but what she does say is downright creepy, you get the sense that something really bad happened to her. When playing in VR, this is the creepiest part of the game. I found that her AI was actually very well done, but on a few occasions, she got “stuck” and would continually walk into a wall or a desk. If anything, this was a nice break from how tense the game is and gave me a good laugh.

Either he’s big or I’m small…

The last enemy you will encounter is a massive humanoid looking creature who’s the size of a building! This leads to some pretty tense moments even if he is only in the game for a brief amount of time, which I found to be semi-disappointing. You can kinda figure out what and potentially who he is, via the newspaper clippings, but this is never clarified.

Home Sweet Home is pretty short, sadly. I was able to complete the game in about 6 hours with heavy exploration. Although, if you opt to play the game 100% in VR mode, this could be longer due to the creepy-factor; and anything above 5 hours for a VR title is great in my books. Upon completing the game, you discover that this is only the first chapter in what is a planned series. I felt like Yggdrazil Group would’ve benefited from being upfront with gamers and announcing this was a series as most people, myself included, felt like this was an isolated game. Although, I am not mad about more content further down the line.

25 minutes of gameplay (no spoilers):

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Home Sweet Home is definitely a game that Horror fans do not want to skip on, especially if you own a VR headset. It provided me with genuinely delicious scares which were more often than not actual scares due to the creepiness rather than cheap jump scares. The story was also interesting enough that I’m now eagerly awaiting an update on Chapter 2 so I can go and buy some more diapers and jump back in!

The graphics, ambient music and lighting kept me glued to the game all the way to the intense ending, despite the sheer terror I had whilst playing. Standard PS4, Xbox One and PC gamers are in for a treat with Home Sweet Home but PSVR and PC VR gamers are guaranteed nightmares as the VR adds a whole new level of horror into the mix!

To briefly use its full name, Injection π 23 ‘No name No number’, is a survival horror game that lends a lot from games such as Silent Hill. It has an emphasis on survival and exploration over action and has some very cool features. The game was made by solo developer Jose Antonio Muriel from Abramelin Games and was aided by the PlayStation Talents program. The idea is that this game will be part of a trilogy of titles that will seek to uncover the mystery behind the disappearances of the people from the town and discover why there are hideous monsters roaming around the village in Malaga.

This game has some very unique ideas and despite it being very difficult, is actually very enjoyable if you can look over some of its flaws. Let’s dive in deeper:

Your story begins when your dog, called Joy, escapes from your apartment and goes missing. In your attempt to track her down you find that the town of Villanueva de Tapia, a real village in Malaga, Spain, is completely desolate. The sky is filled with ominous black clouds and there is no sign of life anywhere, that is until you meet some seriously messed up monsters. While you search for your dog you will uncover some secrets in the form of notes, files and other bits of collectables that will piece together the story. The only real plot progression takes place during cutscenes, which are intentionally blurred black and white.

It’s a bit of an eyesore and those who suffer from epilepsy and the like will most likely be affected, the developer even put a warning before the start of the game letting you know that certain scenes may not be suitable for people who suffer from epilepsy. I personally found some of these to be very unnerving and uncomfortable, even as a person without those difficulties.

While they are unclear, I actually quite like them because it fits the style of the game perfectly. Injection is designed for you to come up with your own theories and the cutscenes are no different. I would compare them to a moving Rorschach inkblot test; if you ask different people what they see you’re going to get very different answers. This is mirrored in the notes that you find too, as they point to various devious underlying mysteries. There are satanic rituals, kidnappings and torturers, and even a psychological route, it’s up to you to decide which you believe is really happening, or if it’s a combination of all of them. As such, the game is gripping enough to pull you back even though it is incredibly difficult and sometimes frustrating as we will now discuss.

Right off the bat, you are given freedom as to how you experience the game. An interesting design choice is that Injection, which I will shorten it to from now on, allows you to choose your camera perspective at any given moment. You can switch between first person, third person, a more omnipotent view, and a fixed camera that is reminiscent of the classics in the survival horror genre. This choice is great because it allows you to experience the game how you want. If you have a preference to how horror affects you then you can play it that way. Some people like their horror up close, so the scares hit harder in first-person, or you can use the fixed camera to hide the monsters around the corners, it’s a feature more games should definitely use in this genre. The only issue with this is that sometimes there seems to be a button prompt misalignment, as sometimes in first person I couldn’t interact with things that I could in third-person, but it’s not game-breaking or too much bother.

As well as camera angles, Injection utilises some criminally underused features of the DualShock 4 which I think deserves some credit. The use of the controller speaker is brilliantly creepy and is useful to let you know when you’re being chased, emitting a very disturbing and high pitched sound. There are also interactions with the light bar, where it switches between colours to signify when you are close to an object and starts flashing. This is useful and a fun addition but is definitely limited by the placement of the light bar if you don’t have a newer model of the DualShock 4. These features don’t all quite stick though, as there is a voice interaction collectable which I just couldn’t get to work at all so I’m really not sure what it’s supposed to do. Unfortunately. I think it may be due to my accent as I think it may require you to say Spanish words or numbers?

Now, on to how you will be spending your time in Injection. The crux of Injection will be spent solving puzzles and finding key items. There are some very unique puzzles that I have not seen in other games in this genre which I found impressive. There are puzzles that use codes, puzzles that use lights and even a puzzle that uses a pool table! There’s a good variety here and is very reminiscent of the early games in the Resident Evil series, as well as the combining of key items in the Silent Hill games.

The solutions to the puzzles are hidden in notes, files and sometimes in the environment and you will have to triple check all of your collected items to find the answers. This can be a huge source of frustration though because items in the environment are sometimes so difficult to see that you will miss them entirely. Too many times, I had to backtrack through the environment spamming the interact button to try and find an item I might have missed because they’re extremely small and often blend into the surroundings.

When this game opens up in chapter 3 the map is pretty huge so finding the right file can be very tricky. Some puzzles I searched far and wide for the answers but I just couldn’t find them and had to stumble upon the answers through guessing, which is a shame, but that’s probably because I just wasn’t looking in the right places. Despite this, they are very interesting and will test even the more hardcore of players who are familiar with puzzles in this genre.

The rest of your time will be spent dealing with enemies. By dealing with, I mean avoiding and luring them away from places you need to be. There is a weapon but not until halfway through the game and with the scarcity of which you will find ammunition coupled with how every enemy is a bullet sponge, stealth is definitely your best friend. The aiming can be a little wonky so you must take good care to aim shots accurately, which I actually like because it shouldn’t be easy for an average dude to shoot things like a pro. A least you can actually move while you’re aiming which is a definite improvement over older survival horror games.

The enemies themselves are absolutely horrifying and are very unique. They look like multiple nightmares fused into a single being at a time and often have lots of limbs and heads which just make them very uncomfortable to be in proximity to. It can sometimes feel repetitive avoiding enemies because you will often have to lure them somewhere to move around them, just to pick up a single item then lure them away again. This is heightened in difficulty by the very unforgiving stamina bar that depletes when you sprint. It certainly adds tension to your interactions with them and requires a lot of planning before you engage with them. For that reason, it’s certainly an effective choice but it is let down by a couple of other aspects that make it very frustrating:

The biggest problem with the enemies is how they spawn randomly near your save point. In classic survival horror games, there’s always a ‘safe’ room so you can take that much-needed breather and save your game in peace. The saving in Injection is a little too harsh. With puzzles that can take hours to figure out and long sections of stealth, it can feel completely demoralising when you die and you haven’t saved it or reached a new chapter. So, having enemies roam around your save point is a little bit strange and makes even saving quite difficult, especially when you factor in that you have to find materials to craft a save before you can even save, forcing you to explore and potentially get killed. It’s a very unnerving experience and is not for the casual gamer, it’s going to take you a lot of time to get through the story.

There are a few things I should mention about how Injection performs at the time of my review. On three separate occasions, I was doing something seemingly mundane and the game would completely crash. I’ve seen a few people complain about the same thing and I’m not sure of the cause. Also, Injection π 23 ‘No name No number’ runs smoothly most of the time and looks perfectly commendable, but there are sometimes instances where monsters and objects can disappear at very short distances until you get much closer to them. This is especially the case in the more open sections of the game when you must use the map to explore the town.

There are also multiple instances where the Spanish translation to English isn’t up to scratch. Sometimes it’s just a little unclear what is meant, such as “antidote ends with poison”. You can see what it’s trying to say but ends up meaning something entirely different. There are also parts where Spanish is written in amongst the English subtitles completely unchanged, which was a little strange.

However, to the developer’s credit, there have been multiple updates since launch where they are addressing these very issues and taking feedback on their social media pages so they are on top of these and taking things on board. There was a big discussion about how the health and stamina bars were in the form of wires that are cut when depleted which people didn’t seem to like so the developers have changed them to be more basic and also updated the map system to make it clearer, so definitely message them if you find anything else!

Personal Opinion:
For better or worse, I found myself saying “what the hell is going on?” multiple times in each chapter of Injection π 23 ‘No name No number’. Sometimes I was genuinely interested, ‘what the hell is going on, I need to know!’, then there were times where I said it because I was just baffled, whether by a puzzle or where I was supposed to go. I can fully understand how this game was supported by PlayStation Talents team in Spain because there’s a lot going for it. Abramelin Games clearly used the inspiration of gems such as Silent Hill but then added a lot of very original ideas and made a game with a lot of potential.

The game left me wanting more, so the trilogy is definitely a welcome idea and I look forward to playing those as well. The ambiguity of the story isn’t for everyone as many would like a story told for them, rather than having to work it out all out but that is entirely a preference thing. There are a lot of files to sift through and theories to flesh out but not enough games leave you with that lasting impact so I personally like it. The game is extremely tough and sometimes a bit unfair and the luring and dodging of monsters can be repetitive, especially if you have to repeat yourself due to long sessions without a save.

Official Trailer

Final Conclusion:
Injection π 23 ‘No name No number’ is a game that has many great ideas but ultimately doesn’t quite land them all as effectively as I hoped for. Although, the monsters are genuinely horrifying and there are some super creepy set pieces that make scouring through the claustrophobic alleys of Malaga a haunting experience. The difficulty will be a huge turnoff for many players, but for a game with multiple modes, tons of replayability and a lengthy campaign, the game is so cheap at £7.99 that it’s definitely worth a go.

I can’t say I enjoyed every second of the game, there were times where I wanted to give up entirely because of the difficulty, but the pay off of completing each chapter is very gratifying and despite the game’s flaws, I reckon you should give it a chance.

Injection π 23 ‘No name No number’ is also out on the Xbox One and Steam now, so you can pick it up on whichever platform you prefer!

Mobile ports on the Nintendo Switch is a common practice at the moment, many developers make the transition and bump up the resolution, add a few additional features, or simply keep them as a 1:1 copy for use with the Joycons or touchscreen. Developer Pik Pok and publisher Versus Evil have taken the highly successful mobile game, Into the Dead 2, and delivered a much more consumer-friendly version of the game, whilst also making progression much easier and quicker.

Whereas the original mobile game of the same name cost the grand total of Nothing, in order to download and play, I firmly believe that this ‘premium’ edition of the game is by far the best way to experience this addictive and challenging game. I’ve completed the game on Switch and played a number of hours on my iPad just so I had a fair comparison between the two, so let’s see why this game took over all of my free time recently…

If they get too close for comfort, stab them with your only knife!

The first thing I thought of when I saw the logo for Into the Dead 2 was The Walking Dead, there’s a similarity which you can’t deny and was most likely done purposely to feed on the success of the popular comics, video games, and TV show. However, this game has little to do with that franchise outside of the fact you’re running around killing zombies as they try to viciously rip out your guts and eat them in front of you as you black out (yes, that is a thing in this game).

Spread over 60 levels (yes, sixty), you’re on a journey to make your way through the zombie apocalypse and rescue your family, communicating with various people when you reach your goal in each area and also teaming up with othre colleagues as you progress. The story is a little generic and is essentially a narrative we’ve heard many times before, however, it sets up the current and next ‘mission’ with a bit of exposition and purpose as the gameplay is essentially the same on each and every level moving forward.

Surprisingly, the game even offers multiple endings. On my first playthrough, I got the bad ending, which was upsetting but expected, if I’m being honest. However, you can then jump back into previous levels in order to bump up your ‘stars’ and aim for the better endings – offering a lot of replayability and further adding to the playtime you’ll get out of this rather addictive and fun game. Once you’ve finished with the main game, there’s a plethora of extra missions, side-stories, DLC (which is free with the physical edition) and more, which I’ll go through below. 

Despite the game being free on mobiles, please read on to see why this version is the only version you should be playing if you own a Nintendo Switch…

Gameplay:
Have you ever wondered what it’ll be like if you combined an endless runner, like Temple Run, with a franchise such as The Walking Dead? No? Well, imagine it now… Welcome to Into the Dead 2.

The game itself was originally a mobile and tablet game, so controls are about as simple as you could ever imagine. Your character constantly moves forward, a bit like Forest Gump when he couldn’t stop running, but you have control over them strafing left or right as you progress onwards. The goal is to ultimately reach the end of the mission in one piece, which is easier said than done in my opinion. Interestingly, even though the game is similar to endless runners, each level is pre-made and has a set ending point such as a building or field, with a distance counter in the top corner always advising you how far away you are.

Before each level, you can opt to take in two weapons of choice and a companion, if you’ve unlocked any. The weapons can be upgraded over time, for a price, and you can equip various boosts and enhancements should you own any. Although the choice of weapons is totally up to you (in most instances), you do have five challenges per-level which can vary from simply completing the run alive to killing a certain number of zombies with a particular weapon class, thus pushing you to experiment and try out other guns.

Into the Dead 2 is much more strategic and brutal than you may initially perceive though, due to the limited bullets you have within each level. For example, if you start a run with a shotgun and a pistol, you may only have three shotgun shells and six pistol rounds. Obviously, completing a 2,000ft run with only that would be impossible, unless you were an all-star American Football player and able to dodge the zombies, so ammo crates are scattered throughout which you can run over and collect. However, these also only give you a few rounds per pickup. Every bullet counts so it’s up to you to prioritise on the fly which zombies are most deserving of a bullet to the face.

Which would you choose?

Your arsenal
Weapons:
As I stated above, you can choose which weapons you wish to take into any of the levels with you (bar a few) so I’m happy to say that the choice of weapons is quite big. There are a total of 29 guns from the subcategories of Pistol, Shotgun, SMG, Assault Rifle, Rifle, Special and Bow – not including the amazing Proton packs from the Ghostbusters DLC. The majority of the weapons will become purchasable with in-game credits as you progress through the story but some are locked behind obtaining a certain number of stars in the main game or completing some Side Stories. Unlike the mobile game, you don’t have to find ‘parts’ in order to make a weapon, simply buy it and it’s yours.

Each weapon can also be upgraded up to five times, again with in-game credits, in order to further enhance the power, firing rate, and reload speed. I personally got used to using the same Pistol and Shotgun throughout the entire game, only changing to the other types in order to pass a few challenges so I can gain some more stars. But, it’s best to experiment and find which weapon works best on each level as some are much better suited than others.

Boosts:
Unlike the weapons, and much to my surprise, you can’t ‘buy’ these boosts, you can only ‘find’ them. At the end of each successful run (even repeat runs in a level you’ve already beaten) you get to open a chest. Within this chest is three options, some credits and two boosts. You can choose whichever ‘prize’ tickles your fancy – unlike on mobile where it’s a ‘loot box’ style process. You also gain multiple boosts via the Arcade mode, which I’ll come to later.

Boosts are one-time enhancements for specific weapon types. For example, you can change all your pistol ammo for a particular run into explosive ammo, start off with more bullets than usual, give yourself incendiary rounds, or simply increase your reload speed. As these are one-time items and are lost upon use, I hoarded mine until I was doing my challenges clean-up and knew what I needed to do. It’s hard to get over 100 kills with a weapon if you only start with a few bullets, and killing multiple enemies at once is so much easier when they literally explode upon death!

Woof Woof

Companions:
The wastelands of a post-apocalypse zombie infestation would be very lonely if you had to venture out and face these undead creatures alone. As such, you can take a trusty companion with you into almost every level, companions which are unlocked, purchased and upgraded just like the weapons are. Initially, you’ll be given a dog, which you can name, that’ll run with you and randomly jump zombies with are in front of you, taking them down as they tear them to shreds. Throughout the game, you’ll also unlock a further four canine companions.

However, Into the Dead 2 doesn’t stop at dogs… How would you like your own Bear, Wolk, or Tiger to back you up? No? Well then, what about the evil ‘Terror Dogs’ from Ghostbusters, or even Slimer! Each creature has their own preference in what types of zombies they’ll target, upgradable attack power and speed, and some even have abilities you can trigger with the B button – one example is the wolf can summon a pack of wolves to take out multiple zombies which are in front of you.

Some missions also have human companions who will run along with you, each having an ability like above. I recall one such level having me running with a bunch of soldiers and pushing B made them go crazy and shoot everyone on screen for a few seconds, whereas they’d usually just shoot the odd zombie here and there. Also, the DLC packs, like the Ghostbusters one, has you performing your runs with the other four ghostbusters!

Nice!

Arcade mode:
If you want to try and earn a large amount of gold (as the main story trickles it to you very slowly), unlock multiple boosts, or just try out new weapons, the Arcade mode is for you. In here there are 21 additional missions for you to play through, each one requiring you to have completed the previous before you can move on. The criteria are simple, there’s three death counters and three prizes, as you hit each death counter, you’ll unlock a prize. These missions don’t actually have an end in them either – they are literally endless runners.

So, run forever and kill as many undead monsters as you can, with the gun you’ve been given, without dying. Simple, right? Well, no. Depending on how good you are with specific weapons and what the actual goal is in terms of the death count, you could be replaying these missions over and over until you finally get enough to move on. Also, the prizes are a one-time thing, so you can’t keep grinding more and more gold by replaying an easier Arcade mission over and over. 

Egon, open your eyes! Slimer is right three!

Side Stories:
Now, these are such a great addition to the game. With the base game (Digital only), you get access to three ‘Side Stories’ which unlock as you reach certain missions in the main game, Divided, Frostbitten, and Untamed. Each one is a twelve-mission long self-contained story which has its own narrative, environments, rewards and goals. They each come with two difficulties as well, Normal and Elite, with Elite only being unlocked once you’ve completed the story on Normal. The main difference between the difficulties, other than the rewards, is that the Elite mode is basically permadeath and returns you to the start of the story if when you die.

Not only do these Side Stories reward you with up to 800 gold upon completion, but you’ll also have the chance to unlock new companions and weapons. I found these greatly increased my playtime with the game, which overall has been easily 30+ hours so far, maybe more! 

However, the stand-out Side Stories are the final two, these are both contained for free in the physical edition of the game (along with the three above) or as a DLC purchase if you pick up the game digitally. These two stories are based on both George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead and Ghostbusters! Operating exactly like the base game, an endless runner confined within a narrative as you try to reach a point and stay alive, these two immerse you in a new story based around the popular franchises.

Now, word of warning for those buying digital or those wanting to jump straight into these two DLCs, you can’t. Just like the previous Side Stories, you have to complete a certain number of the main story chapters before you can access these, with Ghostbusters requiring you to complete all sixty levels before you can even select it. Also, as these only unlock towards the end of the main game, they are hard, much harder than you’ve played previously. However, the rewards are worth the effort as you’ll unlock all the Ghostbuster weapons for use in all levels, Slimer, the Terror Dogs and the guns used in Night of the Living Dead. 

Seriously, these side stories, clocking in at a total of an additional 60 levels, basically double the amount of content within the base game.

Earn EXP and upgrade your used weapons/companions with in-game gold

Mobile vs Switch:
So, the elephant in the room is, why would you pay £30+ for the Switch version when the mobile and tablet version is ‘technically’ free? Simple, there’s no additional payments or annoying in-app purchases! Now, there could be additional ‘gold’ purchases once the game goes live, but I’ve seen no indication of this happening as you earn plenty by actually playing the game.

As I said previously, I’ve played both the Switch and mobile version specifically so I could compare the two in terms of value. The mobile version has a graphical toggle, with the highest making the visuals look very similar to the Switch, so visually, there’s almost no difference, although the switch has removed touch-controls and opted for physical controls only. The Switch has also removed all forms of premium currency, timers which restricted how long you could play, the requirement to buy (with real money) dog treats so you can take companions in with you, having to find random parts in loot crates to unlock weapons and more.

The two things are missing from the Switch edition, which I would have loved but I’m not sure how they would do it, are the Daily and Event runs. These are challenges which pop up occasionally which you can participate in so you can try and unlock more currency or weapons. Instead, the Switch has the Arcade mode which isn’t in the mobile version. However, a daily rotational challenge would seriously have people coming back day after day, especially if it had a ‘gold’ reward for completing it. 

As with any Microtransaction-ran free game on the Apple Store, Into the Dead 2 had purchases of gold which ranged from £4.99 to £99.99, as well as the option to buy certain weapons for £9.99. Thankfully, the Switch version has every level, companion and mission which is within the mobile edition, with the only omissions being a few weapons as the Freemium version has 40 whilst the Switch version has 33 including the Ghostbusters gear.

So, if you look at the two versions, in terms of the value for money, then it’s clear which is best. Sure, you can play the ‘free’ version for many hours and not pay a penny, but you’ll constantly have to stop because you have no energy, you’ll be stuck using the same weapons because you don’t have the parts or gold to buy new ones, you have to buy the additional Side Stories, and gold is even scarcer due to the push to have you pay for it. The only redeeming feature which the Switch version doesn’t have is the fact you can sync a controller to the iDevice and either use touch or physical controls. However, the Switch offers so much more as part of the overall package, with no incentive or pressure to force you to pay additional costs so you can enjoy the game. 

Lovely

Technical:
This is where I would usually say that thanks to the game being ported onto more powerful hardware, the game looks and plays much better on the Switch. However, The iDevice version of the game has a built-in quality selector and I actually think that my iPad Air 2 version looks a little sharper than the Switch edition. Also, the Switch version does suffer minor slowdown when the screen is full of effects – such as when it’s night time and the zombies have been set on fire in front of you. These issues are very rare though as the majority of the game runs smooth.

Let’s not compare the game for a moment, Into the Dead 2 does look quite good, if a little simplistic at times, with decent cutscenes and good voice acting. When you get caught by a zombie, for example, you sometimes see them literally ripping you to pieces before you pass out, which is always nice. The various animal companions also look and act as you’d expect, helping you out and slaughtering the zombies for you.

In terms of controls, this is probably one of the simplest games I’ve played which has been ported from mobile, yet it still takes a little while to get used to the controls. Although you only sway from left to right, you have to fool the zombies by going one way then back on yourself, ensure you save enough bullets in case you get in a pickle, and also time your strafes so that you can easily run over the ammo dumps without getting mauled by a hungry ex-human!

Official Trailers:

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Into the Dead 2 - Nintendo Switch - Official Launch Trailer

Into the Dead 2: George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead Add On Trailer - Nintendo Switch

Into the Dead 2: Ghostbusters Add On Trailer - Nintendo Switch

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Final Conclusion:
Into the Dead 2 on the Nintendo Switch is just as addictive as the Mobile version, only with no sign of energy or in-App purchases! Despite the very simplistic controls and grindy purchase and upgrade mechanics, I found it incredibly hard to stop playing this game due to the constant progression and multitude of missions to complete. 60 levels of zombie slaughter, 300 missions to complete, 36 additional missions via three Side Stories (60 with the DLC/physical edition), and a whole host of companions, weapons, boosts, and Arcade events – this is simply the definitive edition of the game without any doubt. If you, like me, find yourself easily addicted to simple mobile games, this game will hook you and keep you playing for hours upon hours.

Personally, I’d recommend picking up the physical edition of the game, as it contains both the Night of the Living Dead and Ghostbuster DLC packs for free, but even without those, Into the Dead 2 is by far one of the better Microtransaction-ran mobile ports which have removed all premium currencies from the game. It can’t have been an easy task either, as the mobile version practically lived and breathed via the in-App purchases.

Sure, it’s a simple game at heart, but that doesn’t stop it being addictive as hell – I’m now trying to unlock the other two endings within the game – if only the Switch had trophies…

As a kid, I used to have rather vivid dreams and nightmares. We’ve all dreamt about dying or running away from something only to find you’re running on the spot and can’t get away. However, ever since our house was burgled, whilst we were upstairs asleep, I constantly used to have nightmares about the same situation only with a more morbid outcome. So, when I saw that there was a game out, called Intruders: Hide and Seek, which will allow me to face my fears and relive being a child whilst the house is being searched by deadly intruders, how could I turn down the request to review it!

The cherry on top is the fact that the entire game can be played in either VR or flat mode as well – as you can imagine, I didn’t play the entire game in VR but I did play a decent chunk of it to get a fair impression of it. However, I never gave up and I made it through to the end credits with only two trophies left for the platinum. I know it’s not much, but I’m quite proud of myself for this as the game was much more than a ‘what if’ scenario for me, it was a case of reliving a fear I’ve had for a while. So, Let’s check out this new game from Tessera Studios, Daedalic Entertainment, and PS Talents.

This kid is too brave for his age!

Intruders: Hide and Seek has a rather long introduction where you’ll be given a limited amount of control as you get tonnes of exposition and backstory crammed into your ears both directly and indirectly. As a young boy, you’re in the backseat with your sister on the way home with your mother and father. You’ve had to have a little time away whilst a Pa… pipework was being repaired within the house. Your father is always on the phone with his office and is rather secretive with what he could be talking about – the one-sided conversations you’ll hear won’t make any sense until later on into the game

After a few mini-tutorials, you find yourself within a new panic room with your sister – so that’s what the builders were doing! However, disaster strikes when you look at the monitor and see that a bunch of thugs have invaded your home and have taken your parents prisoner within the basement. You head out to investigate whilst your sister locks the door (which is nice of her) and it’s now down to you to stealthily move around the house as you try and find out what’s going on, find hidden items, talk to your parents, and hopefully make it out alive. 

The narrative itself is touted as being around four hours long, yet my playthrough was around six due to messing up and getting caught, along with a few issues I’ll touch on later on. All in all though – I’d recommend playing the game with the lights out and in one sitting for the best experience.

She looks so smug – it’s like she knows I’m here but she hasn’t told me yet…

As this is a VR game as well as a flat game (non-VR), the controls are slightly different yet ultimately the same. There is no support for the Move controllers or the Aim Controller, only the DS4. This is because you’ll be running around and having to rely on accurate controls, yet you won’t actually be picking up objects to use as weapons or traps – this isn’t Home Alone, unfortunately. To be honest, I would have loved it if it was like Home Alone as we could set up paint cans and marbles to slow the goons down, but as it stands, other than the incredible bravery of the child protagonist, I really liked the realism on display by the developers.

In order to learn the controls, Intruders: Hide and Seek seamlessly inserts the tutorial into the game, which is awesome. From learning how to operate things by turning on the fuses, to being taught stealth through playing hide and seek with your sister, it’s a well thought out introduction which is much better than a simple button prompt instructional window appearing on the screen for you to read. This is the reason why the game has a very slow start though, as the first chapter is basically you getting all the exposition and learning the controls. But, once you’re past this initial part, the action begins to sink in.

One thing I found rather strange in the tutorials is that you’re taught to calm yourself down if you’re in hiding and someone is close to you. This requires you to shake the DS4 in time to the heartbeat on the screen. However, outside of the tutorial, I never had to use it in the entire game! I’m not sure if I was just lucky, and never reached that much fear, or if the game just ‘forgot’ to initiate the mechanic in the real game?

Potty mouth!

I’m not good at stealth games, I’ve admitted this a few times previously. In Assassin’s Creed I tend to directly attack people, in Deus Ex I stunned everyone so I didn’t have to deal with anyone directly, and in Conarium I literally glitched a stealth segment and ran because I couldn’t do it! So, you’d expect me to suck at Intruders: Hide and Seek as it’s basically a stealth game. However, I thought I did okay. The 3D spatial audio within VR really helps pinpoint where everyone is and in both modes, the nasty people are constantly talking to themselves so you know when they are near. Plus, you can always try to outrun them if you’re spotted and hide under a bed or in a cupboard.

As such, I didn’t find it too difficult to move around the house without being seen, especially if you’ve been caught a few times as you’ll begin to learn their patterns – although, after every key moment in the game, the bad dudes change their paths and locations. However, just like a few games recently, I had to remap my controls slightly in the PlayStation 4’s accessibility options as one operation, in particular, wasn’t comfortable at all – running. Once again, this is another game where you have to push down L3 to run and hold it down as you’re pushing the direction on the same stick. I remapped this to L1 and it was much more comfortable and accessible.

As I said previously, I played a few hours in VR and the rest without the headset – this allowed me to find faults and advantages with both methods, let’s look at them…

Here, I’m in the hallway because I can’t peek around the corner – I hope I’m not spotted!

Visuals/brightness
PSVR is by far the prefered way to play the game. Sure, the visuals aren’t as sharp as some other recent games, but you can still make out what everything is without too much trouble. However, the game is quite dark – due to the burglars never turning on the lights, even though they have already imprisoned the two household owners. I mean, the house is about as remote from neighbours as you can get! I’ve never understood this trope, but it’s quite popular – just turn the lights on! However, the darkness does make it a little tricky to see things in VR without your flashlight.

It adds to the immersion but could do with being a tad brighter in my opinion. Personally, I thought flat mode was easier to see and offered a clearer view without getting too bright or dark.

Peeking
One of the biggest advantages the PSVR option has is the ability to look around corners without being seen. All you need to do is move your head IRL and you’ll see around corners and the evil people won’t see you as they don’t detect your head if it’s only a few seconds. However, when playing it in flat mode, you can’t peek! This means you have to shimmy your body out around corners in order to see who’s coming and if the coast is clear – this resulted in me getting caught a few times.

I would have loved it if the developers would have added a peek button, like holding down L1 and pushing left or right to peek around corners safely. 

Looking around
Now, this is a little unfair, as I know it’s a bug, but I need to mention it. I’m an inverted gamer, I can only play games efficiently when they have the Y-axis inverted (up and down). There is an option for this when playing in flat mode on the PS4 but it’s incorrectly inverting the X-axis instead (left and right). This has been reported and there is a patch on the way to resolve the issue coming soon, but as of today, it’s still incorrect. This meant that I was at a disadvantage when playing it outside of VR (as in VR you simply move your head about to look).

So, I felt more comfortable in VR than the flat mode, but that’s my preference and only because of a bug at the moment.

Nothing to see here…

The Fear Factor
The amount of fear you’ll have whilst playing Intruders: Hide and Seek will vary based on the person playing. Myself, I found it to be quite intimidating, scary, and it really got my heart pumping, thanks to my past which I talked about earlier. However, if you’ve played games such as Outlast or Amnesia before, this probably won’t affect you as much as it did me. It’s like a mild experience where you’ll certainly have a few jumps and shocks, but not as many as other games like Resident Evil VII or The Exorcist: Legion VR. 

The game is technically just a stealth adventure game yet I’d also class it as a thriller or horror as well. It does touch on some rather dark themes and subjects the more you uncover as the game goes on. There’s even a section of the house which contains a few horrific discoveries as well. Just don’t go into it thinking it’ll be like Home Alone or Resident Evil, it sits comfortably in the middle. Although, if you do get caught by the skull-wearing madman, he tends to stab you to death – did I mention that you’re a small child…

I wonder what the image is?

Collectables?
Ah yes, the one thing all VR games have at the moment is collectables and Intruders: Hide and Seek isn’t going to break that tradition. There are numerous items and notes scattered throughout the house which you can pick up as you move from room to room. These offer backstory and uncovers more info on what’s going on, but their main purpose is for PSN trophies. Also, I found that if you ignore your dad in the first chapter when he asks you to turn on the fuse, you can freely explore all but two rooms of the house and uncover a lot of these items without having the constant threat of being caught on your back!

I do have one major issue with a certain set of collectables though – the PC documents. When playing the game in flat mode, the text on the PC Monitor is tiny. I complained about the font size in Song of Memories, as that was about 2cm on my 51″ TV in some areas, the PC text in Intruders: Hide and Seek is about 1 CM or less on my 51″ TV – this resulted in me having to stand near the TV to read the emails and documents. I feel we should either have a ‘zoom’ function like some VR games have (when playing on a flat TV) such as XING: The Land Beyond or the font on the PC needs to be increased to make it more comfortable to read. 

There’s an example below, once you’re using a PC you can’t move, so you’re locked in that position. Open the image and take a few steps back – it’s really hard to read.

Tiny!

Technical
As previously mentioned, Intruders: Hide and Seek is a mixed bag in terms of visual quality. The darkness of the game hides a few lower quality textures and simplified surfaces, but you’ll be too engrossed in the gameplay to even notice that, to be honest. I had an issue with the text on the computer screen in flat mode, as it’s too small, and the darkness in VR as it was too dark. Other than that, the rest of the game both looked and felt really good to play in both modes. The animations of the characters aren’t as smooth as I would have hoped for, but they aren’t robotic like we’ve seen in some games recently, so that’s a positive as well.

In terms of the music – there is none. This was an excellent choice in my opinion. Okay, so you do have some sort of drone music/noises which you’ll hear every now and again in the background to avoid it being 100% quiet, but there’s no ‘music’ as such. Instead, you’ll hear the rain pouring down and splashing on the windows, the footsteps of the unwanted guests, the random chatter alerting you to their position, and the creeks of doors opening and shutting around you. With headphones on, in the dark, on your own, Intruders: Hide and Seek is really immersive and the whole atmosphere of the events come together into a terrifying package.

Issues
I wish I could say none, but I can’t. Other than the aforementioned PC font size and incorrect axis being inverted, there was one issue which forced me to reload a few times. I’ll call it the “half hidden” issue. Basically, you can hide in various spots – under the bed, in a cupboard, in a wardrobe, or in small cabinets. However, If you approach a cabinet (which are about chest height to our protagonist) and you’re stood up, if you click to enter it then you become stuck. How?! Well, your lower body is safely hidden inside the cabinet yet the top half of you is poking out the top like a tall person stood up in a limousine! This didn’t happen all the time but it happened a fair few times and you always have to reload when it does. 

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Intruders: Hide and Seek is pretty much a Home Invasion simulator staring some very brave children. I was constantly anxious about what was going to happen next and what was around each and every corner of my own house whilst I explored and tried to avoid the uninvited intruders. Unlike Home Alone, this game is more on the serious side with no silly traps or comical situations, but it’s also not as terrifying as the VR horror games which are out there – it sits in between the two. Bar the few issues I had with font sizes and bugs (which should get patched), the experience was beyond what I was expecting and rather interesting with its deep backstory and exposition.

I would say that VR is the best way to experience this game if you have access to the headset, yet flat mode works just as well for those who don’t. Also, for those who like their platinums, when I had done my first playthrough I only had two collectable related trophies to get, so it’s a nice and easy platinum (there’s even two, one for EU and one for NA). You also have a full chapter select if you need to go back and pick up anything you missed.

If you like Horror games and VR but feel games like Resident Evil are too much, try out Intruders: Hide and Seek instead, it’s technically not a horror but it is a bit of a thriller at heart!

I’ve always been a big fan of anything FMV, from the cinematic experiences we saw in games like The Complex and Dark Nights with Poe and Munro, to the more involved games with a little FMV such as Headspun, SIMULACRA and The 7th Guest. Jessika is the latest game I’ve been playing which plays like titles such as Her Story and the brilliant The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker, a game in which you uncover hidden FMV sequences in order to build the full story and discover what happened through the means of investigation. It’s a lot more hands-on than I was expecting, but was it intuitive and fun to play?

A word of warning, as I do with all games that touch on subjects like this, the game does contain a number of sensitive subjects and themes. I won’t talk about them in-depth within the review, but in order to discover the truth behind Jessika, you’ll have to delve deep into her thoughts and emotions which include sexual and physical abuse as well as the key reason for playing the game is revolved around discovering why she killed herself. There’s nothing graphic or in-your-face in the FMV (unlike The Bunker), but the suggestion is there and you will hear about it as you progress.

So, let’s boot up our CG laptop in our local coffee shop and see if we can discover the truth behind Jessika and why she did what she did…

Uncover the reasons behind Jessika’s untimely death.

Jessika is an investigation-based FMV adventure which plays out like The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker, Her Story and SIMULACRA combined. Instead of choosing options and progressing the story, it’s up to you to discover the FMV videos which are sored upon the virtual PC which you’re virtually gaining access too via your virtual laptop. Let me try and explain that a little better…

You are a PI, an investigator who helps discover things for people via the use of your many computer skills – you’re not like old-fashioned sleuths who walk around with magnifying glasses whilst smoking a pipe! As such, Jessika’s father has hired you to investigate why his daughter had committed suicide as he cannot fathom the reason behind why she took this approach due to her never really talking about her problems. He didn’t live with Jessika anymore, he had split from her mother at an early age and only saw her on occasions, so the secrets and life experiences she had were almost all kept hidden from him.

Your job is to search for keywords within Jessika’s PC, digging through the hundreds of video and image files which have been hidden behind various passwords in order to reconstruct the chain of events which led to this terrible event. There is no help, no hints, no pre-chosen words to search for, it’s all up to you to listen to the videos you find, take notes, act on instinct and become a true detective as you wade through the evidence to find the common words which link everything together. 

Can you find all the keywords?

Gameplay
If you’ve played Her Story or The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker, you’ll feel right at home here. Your goal is to listen to everything which is said within the FMV sequences and read the image files you find – making notes of words which you feel could uncover more files on the PC. You’ll initially start off with guesses such as “suicide” or “hello”, as you’re given very little to go off, but once they’ve returned a number of videos for you to watch, you’ll begin to expand and reveal many more keywords by simple trial and error.

Every video is fully transcribed – which is great as the English dubbing isn’t the clearest at times due to it being a German lady speaking in English (or German, if you prefer that), and all of the images are presented in German but with an English translation. As you begin to search you’ll also come across a number of encrypted files – these were a little confusing in terms of how to actually unlock them for me. Basically, the more you search, the more words get placed into your virtual password-unlocker system. So, if you find a file you can’t access, keep searching and eventually, you’ll accidentally input a word that’s triggered the password bot to unlock it for you.

This leads to a lot of back and forth between the various words you’ve already unlocked that led to files you can’t yet view due to the password. Thankfully, all of these words which actually have files attached to them are stored as a list which you can click through very quickly to scan over all previously found files. By the end of my first playthrough, which took around four hours, I had found almost all of the words and unlocked about 95% of all of the files – I refuse to read a guide though so I’m still trying to discover the final few keywords which will give me access to the final files.

Mid-investigation your colleague seems to send you images of their dinner…

Outside help
Just like SIMULACRA, you do have some external ‘help’ as you investigate the events of Jessika. There’s a chat application you can bring up and talk to your investigation team and Jessika’s father on. This section doesn’t actually let you type what you want and when you want to, unlike the search function, but you can respond with set answers when the people engage with you. Interestingly enough, you can also add new contacts which you find hidden within the images you discover whilst looking into he life, gaining access to new groups and information via this app instead.

Although this chat app doesn’t really give you too much help in terms of discovering keywords, it does allow you to expand upon the situations you uncover. For example, the father regularly asks for updates on what’s going on and what you found, expanding on the information and offering his side of the situation if you find videos of Jessika upset over certain things. This can lead to you thinking of new things to search for or even just wanting to re-watch a few older videos to see if you can read into the words a little more and uncover un-said emotions. 

You’ll also regularly receive emails but I found most of these to be pointless and there simply to make it seem like you’re working on a real laptop. A lot of the messages you get are spam emails which don’t offer anything to the investigation, yet later on, there are a few which do help out and unlock new evidence and information for you to explore. I personally would have liked it if we had more interaction with both the emails and the chat, maybe having the ability to email newly uncovered contacts or ask our colleagues about things freely by typing our questions – kind of how The Infectious Madness of Doctor Dekker worked.

About as artistic as me!

Does it work?
I personally had a fun time with Jessika, I felt like a detective as I took notes of what was being said to me, try to search for them, then discovered new video files and images which led to even more video files and avenues to pursue. I wasn’t too keen on the process of unlocking the files as I didn’t 100% understand how it worked at first, clicking on an encrypted file simply tells you that you need more data in order to obtain the password. Eventually, I realised you simply had to keep searching and finding new files in order to unlock the files you’ve found previously although I would have preferred maybe a mini-game or hands-on password decryption process.

However, despite my opinion on the mechanics, the execution of the game was done really well, allowing you to easily return to previously searched words, saving videos and files as favourites so you always had them to hand, seeing the full transcribed subtitles of a video, and further expanding on the information you find with colleagues and the father. The immersion is also top-notch as the laptop starts acting ‘funny’ later into the game, even shutting down with a ‘Blue Screen of Death’ at one point, and the spam emails simply add to the overall experience that makes you believe you’re working on an actual laptop in a cafe.

In terms of the story you uncover (without spoilers), I thought the majority of it was very interesting and the things you find out about Jessika’s life are intriguing and kept me hooked on finding the answers. However, I wasn’t too keen on the final conclusion as it left me with a few questions and I was a little confused – I even re-watched the final video about six times as I didn’t fully know what had actually happened. I think I understand the events now, after sitting back and re-watching my recording I made, but it wasn’t the ending I was expecting so it threw me a little off guard. 

The acting is very realistic and well-done.

The FMV
I can’t review an FMV game and not talk about the actual FMV segments! As stated previously, the FMV is performed by a German lady who you can have either played in German or dubbed in English with a German accent. I could understand everything being said, but for those who can’t, a full English transcript is provided for every video and image you find. Interestingly, the transcript is written as the actor reads it, so you can’t just read the whole thing until she’s acted it out – like subtitles on a live TV show. Sometimes the audio doesn’t match the written text but 99% of the time it’s the same.

The acting was good, it’s always this one woman with no other people – it’s like her own personal Vlog files with no other participants. You get to see her at various stages of her life, indicated by how she dresses, the way she reacts to certain things, and the location she’s in, all being intentional key elements to the story and narrative being presented. In terms of realism, although the laptop and the installed apps helped create this surreal environment and realistic scenario, the fragmented video files of 30-60 seconds and well-formatted cinematography pulled me out of the immersion a little. Nobody stores files like that, they’d be full-length videos and not split into small segments – but that clearly wouldn’t work for the ‘game’ side of the experience. 

I would have personally liked a little more variety with the video files, as well as a lower quality to indicate she was doing this herself and not with a production company behind her, but that’s purely for the immersion and atmosphere. It would have been nice to have more red herring and non-important videos as well, things you could discover and hear about that had no connection to anything you’re doing. I believe there were a number of these hidden within the files, such as the information on her dog, but I imagine some of the keywords in relation to that were the catalyst to unlocking other files later on. 

Overall, I thought the experience was very good and well-presented. Although the immersion wasn’t 100% there, the actress did a great job and the in-game applications helped keep up the pretence that I was on a laptop in a coffee shop.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
If you like games in which you need to manually investigate to find the answers, Jessika is for you. Nothing is handed to you on a plate or shoved into your face, you have to listen to every video, read every chat message, and examine every image you find and receive in order to uncover the hidden files that lead to the truth behind Jessika’s suicide. There’s no alternative ending or branching story, so you’ll find yourself only playing through the game once or twice in order to get everything out of it, but the experience you have is one which will stick with you for a while. Although trial and error are going to play a major part, using your own deductions and figuring out keywords without guessing is very satisfying and makes you feel like a real cyber sleuth!

If you wish to try out Jessika for yourself, to see if it’s a game you feel you’ll enjoy playing, there’s a demo available on their steam page HERE.

Killing Floor 2 is the first game, in the series, which has been developed and published by Tripwire Interactive for the current gen consoles. As far as shooters go, they don’t get much crazier or more fun than this one. You will be playing in first-person as a survivor or in third-person as whichever type of monstrosity you choose to play as in the VS mode.

There’s no campaign or story to get lost in but honestly, I think the multiplayer is so fun most people wouldn’t bother much with it anyway. Instead, most of your time (and I almost guarantee a lot of it) will be spent within the wave-based survival modes. In it, you face increasingly difficult waves of ‘Zeds’, not dissimilar to zombie modes within the Call of Duty games, before facing off against a variety of bosses that are very tough to beat indeed. Here are my thoughts regarding this pretty mental multiplayer shooter.

Characters
The characters in Killing Floor 2 are wonderful. There’s a pretty diverse mix of characters to choose from and you will likely find someone to match closely with your personality. For example, there is a robot, a knight and even a Reverend, all with some brilliantly individual personalities and witty lines. There’s no penalty for changing characters either because your progression is separate to which character you choose. This means you can always keep changing in order to experience all of them and make a decision on who your ‘main’ is (although if it’s not Olsten Jägerhorn, the guy who has a Metallica cover band, we can’t be friends). As each update rolls out, I’ve noticed more and more interactions between the characters when playing, which is a very nice touch and makes playing your favourite character feel that bit more enjoyable. This is because it becomes rarer to hear the same lines repeated. They add a nice comedic factor to the game as you are blowing away the vile creatures, which is always welcome.

To make more use of the characters, there is also a loot box type of micro-transaction in the game. As you earn dosh in your playthroughs, you earn in-game currency which can then be spent on various loot boxes to gain random bits of cosmetics for all facets of the game. There are unlockable emotes, weapon skins, items and even special effects that help stylise your characters to reflect more of your personality. Alternatively, you can just dress yourself up to look as stupid as possible; it’s completely up to you. If you aren’t happy with your cosmetics, there is also a recycling system which allows you trade the items in and have another go, which is a nice feature and very similar to the one found in Rocket League.

You can, of course, spend real money but this is absolutely not a necessity. There is no pay to win, it’s all purely cosmetic with no gameplay benefits for those who invest real cash into unlocking more things via the loot boxes. There is a huge amount of stuff to collect and some are absolutely brilliant if it’s something that you’re interested in, just don’t be that person who gets killed because you’re too busy showing off your new emote… It’s called Killing Floor, not dancing floor.

**Additionally, If you buy the Killing Floor: Double Feature at retail, you’ll also get the Mrs Foster DLC pack, worth £7.99, as an additional download for free. However, this is ONLY for the store-bought physical editions, you don’t seem to get this free extra if you pick up the digital version for some reason.**

Enemy Design
While the different enemies perform largely the same in terms of their sheer aggression, they’re some brilliantly designed enemies who look genuinely creepy, making killing them feel that little bit nicer. With perhaps the husk serving as an exception (an enemy that fires cannons from a distance), enemies largely are mindless and just rush you head on. This definitely makes things a little simpler in terms of understanding the game because you know what they’re always going to do. It would be good to see enemies have more of a varied set of programmed moves. That would give it a more tactical and unpredictable feel which would certainly add to the chaos.

The enemies are always super focused on attacking the nearest person and, despite having their own abilities with varying levels of damage and threat, are a little too easy to lead around maps. That being said, I think the enemies look fantastic and are genuinely uncomfortable to fight against. There are smaller enemies such as the crawler, a weird spider-looking creature that moves in a way that will make those with arachnophobia scream. I don’t mind spiders but those things are capital N Nasty. They move quickly and close down space to get the jump on you. They’re easy enough to kill but can sneak up on you if you aren’t aware enough.

Then there are your larger enemies, your big brutes who can soak up all that lead like an old Sherman tank. The Fleshpound, for example, is one bad mofo. He is huge and has gauntlets with spinning spikes on them and charges at you with some serious intent to mess you up. He is called a Fleshpound after all… There are a lot more enemy variants and they’re some of my favourite wave based enemies I’ve ever faced. They also have some different and interesting attack animations. The Bloat, whom I want credit for being an inspiration in character design for, as we look strikingly similar, throws up green puke which is very unpleasant.

Those are just the normal baddies though. Wait until you come face to face (or butt to face, because you will be running away most likely) with the bosses. Those are some seriously epic, yet messed up, monsters. They have very distinctive attacks and have health bars that take up the length of your screen. The Patriarch, for example, is huge and has a chaingun, a missile launcher and can charge you at breakneck speeds. He is just one of the four messed up bosses though. Seriously, they fugly.

Progression System
Let’s move on to something much nicer: perks. As stated previously, your character choice is just simply a free choice that doesn’t have any effect on the gameplay. The only thing it changes is what quirky vocal lines you will hear throughout the round. Perks, on the other hand, is where the real depth and progression of the game comes in. There is a good selection of playstyles you can take advantage of by using the perks that the game provides. You won’t notice much of a difference until a good few sessions into playing though, as you have to unlock the skills associated within that perk as you level up. The only immediate difference will be what your starting loadout is, for example, the commando perk spawns you with a pistol and burst rifle.

It takes a fair bit of grinding to begin to see the fruits of your labour but once you build a team of higher levelled players with their unique perks, the team play doors open up. Getting a good mix of various high-level perks and skills on a team is what’s going to help you beat those harder difficulties. It’s no good having six players on a team who are all the Berserker class wanting to fight everything up close with fists and swords. You’re going to need a field medic (although everyone can heal themselves and each other), some demolitions experts and some supports; it’s surprisingly deep and tactical once you get into the later stages.

The only problem is that big grind to get there. It just takes way too long to get to those perks because you could end up completely disagreeing with a perk but having just wasted hours on getting the skills. If you enjoy the game then it’s probably only a minor annoyance, but it seemed worth mentioning anyway. However, it’s commendable that you have as much freedom as you do in terms of your own progression. All perks are available from the start which allows you to just get stuck in. The perks add a brilliantly tactical way to play and team up; there’s definitely nothing wrong with that. There are 10 perks to choose from with each perk offering 5 unique skills, that’s a lot of ways to play the game. That of course, is not including all the guns and bombs you will be handling.

Each perk has guns that are best paired with their playstyle. To cement this, they are organised in the store to show which class you should be using to get the most from the gun. This is because when you use a gun for your perk, your perk gains a boost in its effectiveness, a very neat little idea. You aren’t restricted in what weapons you can use though, any class can use any weapon, which is very important and allows for more of you to get those bigger and more bad-ass weapons…

Gameplay
Since all you’ll be doing in Killing Floor 2 is shooting, Tripwire Interactive have thankfully got this mechanic absolutely nailed. The game has some of the most satisfying and realistic shooting I’ve played in an FPS game. This applies to all weapons too, which there are a lot of. Having got the platinum on this game after dozens of hours, I still haven’t tried every weapon. I’ve tried a fair amount though and every gun feels completely different and like it’s supposed to (you can’t go sniping with shotguns).

As you play through the rounds, you earn Dosh, the in-game currency which you must spend in between rounds on armour, upgrades and better weapons. This adds another layer of tactics to the game as you must decide whether to invest in more armour or more firepower. A helpful addition that you will use a lot is the auto-fill, which tops everything up instantly without you having to waste time scouring the menus. On the lower difficulties, the Zeds drop easily, even to the basic pistols; a single headshot is enough to down the simpler enemies. As the rounds progress, and the enemies toughen, you will need to invest in better weaponry. Thankfully, to Tripwire’s credit, there’s an array of choices for all of your shooting preferences such as: fully auto-shotguns, RPGs, Sniper rifles and some other weapons that are dangerously fun.

Games don’t directly make people violent (feel free to @ me if you feel otherwise) but wow, being violent in this game feels amazing. There are fictional weapons specific to the game that are as crazy and experimental as random things you can make in the Dead Rising series. For example, there is a melee weapon called the pulverizer which looks very similar to the items you can craft with bats and saw blades. Of course, this favours charging in like a lunatic, and if you enjoy that then for sure the static shockers are also for you. They are basically giant gauntlets with electricity running through them which you can land massive power punches with, making you feel like a very strange Thor and Hulk baby. If that’s not your style, you can purchase and use a Husk Cannon, a fireball spitter. There are many more weapons that I won’t spoil, seriously you need to try them.

So, with a diverse mix of weapons that feel so damn good, you’d think it couldn’t be any better in terms of gunplay. Wrong; In comes Zed time. Zed time is a randomly triggered event where time slows down for everyone in the game. In this time, you can pull off the most beautifully systematic destruction of heads, possibly the most gratifying thing I’ve ever done in a shooter. With all that time to focus on your shots, you can line up Zed heads and start popping them like nasty, gruesome balloons. The only downside to this is sometimes it can trigger at inopportune moments, namely when you’re reloading or healing, so you don’t get to take advantage of the Matrix-esque eye-candy slow-mo action.

An interesting and very useful mechanic is the ability to weld doors shut or open. You can trap yourself in rooms to buy yourself time to heal or simply trap large amounts of enemies whilst you deal with other threats. It allows so many strategies in terms of funnelling the Zeds when and where you want them, adding a lot of depth to the already impressive gameplay. If you allow the doors to be broken though, that door will remain gone for the rest of the match, so you really have to pick your moments. Be very careful where you shut the doors because this game has one massive nuisance that has caused many of my deaths. If you’re backed against a wall, reloading or with no ammo, you’re pretty much dead. Your character gets stuck and cannot get free of a lot of Zeds in your face, which becomes extremely annoying as it happens quite frequently when you’re learning the layouts of the maps.

The maps within Killing Floor 2 are also very detailed and very unique. No two maps feel the same and there are quite a lot of them, with more coming out all the time. There are wide open outdoor maps, maps with verticality and maps that feel narrow and mazy. They’re some of my favourite map designs in any multiplayer shooter I’ve ever played. Some maps have traps and barriers that you can interact with by using the environment, such as using a carousel to knock Zeds back – which is a personal highlight.

They are all varied and fun, adding another layer to the desire to just keep having “one more match”, something I and my friends have turned into many, many all-nighters on this game. It also helps that all the maps have collectables to find, which you have to shoot because it’s another excuse to squeeze those lovely triggers.

Game Modes
There are 4 game modes in Killing Floor 2 that you will be able to play either on your own offline, or online with friends or random other sickos who love gore. First of all is, of course, the Survival mode, the most basic but also probably the most popular of the modes. In Survival mode, either alone, or you and up to 5 other people online have to survive waves of increasingly difficult attacks. There are 4 difficulty modes to choose from: Normal, Hard, Suicidal and Hell on Earth. Hell on Earth is one serious fustercluck of a challenge. You have to communicate and communicate ‘well’ if you want to beat this level of difficulty. It’s not worth even trying unless you have high-level perks on every team member, but it’s a distant goal you should always aim for. Beat all of those waves and you face a random boss Zed, beat it and you win, simple! Well, simple in theory, but due to the excellent design, it becomes very difficult and overwhelming if you aren’t careful. It is a little repetitive but the game feels so good to play that it never feels it. There is so much that can happen, so many ways to play and set up that no attempt ever feels exactly the same.

Endless mode is the same as survival but you see just how long you can last, with no limit on waves. However, the other mode you will spend some decent time on is VS Survival. In this mode, there is a mixture of AI and player Zeds. The rules are the same but the Zed players are given a random monster to go cause havoc with, against the human players. It’s raucous, frantic and great fun. I would say though that the humans are probably favoured a lot more; I’ve played a fair few matches and I would say only 30% of matches are won by the Zeds. That takes a little bit away of the fun of playing as the Zeds, as it’s super cool to try them out but it becomes a little tedious when you always lose, especially if you’re against an even remotely coordinated human team.

The final mode is the ‘Weekly‘, which is just one of the reasons why Tripwire simply has to be credited for their support of the game. The Weekly is a random game mode that resets every week and adds some wackiness to the game. The Weekly I played for this review was called Up Up and Decay, where you had to shoot Zeds as they swelled up and got fat. You then had to pop them to confirm the kill, shooting up into the air upon death. It was good fun and added some comedy with the fun factor of shooting up Zeds.

Soundtrack
I may be a little biased here but personally, I think Killing Floor 2 has an amazing soundtrack. The soundtrack consists of heavy, chugging riffs and head-bang worthy drum beats that pound along with you as you blast guns to the beat provided by bands such as Demon Hunter, a very fitting band name for this game. Along with Doom, it is one of my absolute favourites, although I am a big lover of rock and metal music. That being said, even if you aren’t a fan of heavy guitars, it’s almost impossible to deny that it fits the mould of the game superbly. Just like racing games need those upbeat dance tracks to match your speed, demon slaying games just need those crunches and growls for that perfect backdrop.

Seasonal Events and Updates
Tripwire Interactive have spoilt players since the game released. This review is of how the game stands now, rather than how it was when first released as there are so many things that have been added. They continue to support this game and for absolutely no extra cost, which not many games can attest to (I can only think of Overwatch and Rainbow Six: Siege off the top of my head).

Not only was it once a free PS Plus game, opening the game up to millions of more players; they also give this game frequent updates and seasonal events that pull you back even if you’ve been away for a while. New maps are released every few weeks and are actually more detailed and interesting than the maps that came with the original release. They never feel like abandoned projects that are just thrown in, every new monster appearance, (which by the way are absolutely fantastic and often very, very different to how they usually look) is terrifying or funny, or every new map is completely unique and often brings new ideas or methods to beat the Zeds. A fairly recently added map, Monster’s Ball, is just perfection in map design. There are so many things in the environment to see and look at, so many aspects to the layout that I honestly wouldn’t mind paying for it, and I despise a lot of games for maps being released as paid DLC.

Official Trailer [Killing Floor 2]

Official Trailer [Killing Floor: Double Feature]

Final Conclusion:
Killing Floor 2 is now, for me, the standard to beat for survival-based multiplayer shooters. The shooting has no right to feel as good as it does and Zed time is highly gratifying and adds to the addictive feeling the game provides. While the progression system and perk system take a long time to get going, they eventually add a deep and meaningful reason to keep playing. The soundtrack is awesome and feels like it narrates the action as opposed to playing over it. The characters also add some charm to the gameplay with quotes and interactions that are funnier than you might expect.

The developers have promised to keep supporting the game for at least the next year, which is a testament to how they value their player base. While the game lacks a campaign and a huge variety of modes, it never truly feels repetitive. Killing Floor 2 is a wonderfully done shooter that makes a Zed-infested apocalypse feel like a playground rather than a situation to fear. I will likely continue to play until they hopefully release Killing Floor 3. In the meantime though, it’s time to jump into their PSVR release, Killing Floor: Incursion…

*This review is part one of two. Both Killing Floor 2 and Killing Floor: Incursion have just been re-released within Killing Floor: Double Feature*

Killing Floor: Incursion is a VR title available on all major VR platforms, this review was done using a PSVR on a standard PS4. This title, by Tripwire Interactive, is the first actual ‘campaign’ within the Killing Floor universe. Unfortunately for those of you who have yet to splurge on VR though, this campaign is not playable without a headset. For those of you lucky enough, this is not only another fantastic Killing Floor FPS game but also a fantastic VR game outright. As well as the campaign (4-5 hours long) to blast your way through, there is also a smaller version of the normal games’ classic survival mode, this time called Holdout. Both of these modes are playable solo or as a two-man army online.

In terms of how the game plays, at this time there is no support for a DualShock 4 or the Aim controller, only two move controllers. The game offers various methods of moving around, you can toggle between snap or smooth turning, and teleportation or full locomotion. In this game, the more times you consecutively teleport, the less distance you can travel. I’m not sure whether this is meant to be a comfort thing to stop motion sickness or whether it’s to make the game harder, but I’m not a fan. It causes many problems in fights where you simply cannot get away. Overall though, the teleport movement is fluid and responsive and suits the game well.

A nice touch to make the game run more comfortably is an option every time you play that asks if you’re playing while sitting or standing (always sitting, hell no am I letting myself be able to run when things are appearing in my face). This quality of life feature is excellent because too many games can feel like they favour standing when sometimes it’s just not possible with your set-up.

It’s time find out how Killing Floor has fared with its first venture into a story mode:

Story
As you may or may not know, Killing Floor is not necessarily known for its story. It’s always been about the guns and the monsters, even though if you pay enough attention there has always been lore that you can certainly get involved in. Killing Floor: Incursion doesn’t really lean too much into a detailed narrative but the plot is interesting enough. Don’t expect an emotional rollercoaster or something deep and meaningful because it’s not, and it’s not meant to be. It’s pretty much there to give context to you shooting Zeds – which I’m more than fine with.

After being injured in a fight against the Zeds, you’re placed into a simulation while your body is healed. The simulation is a brilliant story beat to explain how you learn certain actions even though you’re already a trained killer. At first, you undergo training to show you how to move around and shoot (although you can skip if needed) and there are some very funny lines from the outset. The few characters you meet maintain the quips and witty tone of the characters from Killing Floor 2, which I definitely enjoyed. You aren’t going to be laughing out loud but they certainly bring a smirk multiple times. The story is sort of a whodunnit, everything is attacking you and someone caused it, you just need to work out who. While you’re in the simulation, for some reason what shouldn’t hurt you is actually hurting your physical body, which is just one of the many great nods to how you, the player, are using VR to put yourself in the game.

The Campaign is fully playable in cooperative mode and works very well. It definitely adds a fun factor and decreases the difficulty somewhat with having two people working towards the same blood-riddled goals. Therefore, if you have online available to you, I would definitely replay the game on the harder difficulties whilst with another player. The story also has a multiple choice ending which allows for a little bit of replayability so you can see the different ways the story finishes, meaning you could easily put a good 30 hours into this game – which is great value for money for a VR game.

If you’ve played the other Killing Floor games, this game should give you a bit of an insight into what the thousands of Zeds you’ve been fighting against actually are and where they come from, which I was glad about. Enough about story though, let’s get technical.

Performance
As expected, the game doesn’t look as good in PSVR as Killing Floor 2 but that’s mostly down to the limitations in resolution via the headset. There are a lot of textures that are completely missing or altered, for example; instead of objects such as skulls looking like 3D carvings, they look like cheap wallpaper slapped on to the areas that you walk through. It’s not all bad; there are some very nice vistas with realistic lighting and a decent variety of locations for a pretty short game. There is a creepy farmhouse which was reminiscent of how some sections of Resident Evil 7 felt, dark and narrow catacombs and even a lovely picturesque Paris. It looks as good as it needs to and no more or less.

The game never suffered from any frame rate drops or anything game-breaking. The only glitch I saw was that sometimes enemies would appear in front of you or come through walls, but the developers have a sneaky way of getting around this by using the story as an excuse (enemies appearing in a simulated world so physical objects don’t matter).

The sound in this game is largely fine and guns sound real and powerful. The creatures sound the same as in the other games but this time there’s no heavy guitar soundtrack overpowering the story. My one little caveat with the sound is that the dialogue is very quiet. I would definitely recommend turning up the sound a lot or playing with headphones on as I sometimes missed an important story beat just because I couldn’t quite make out what was being said.
VR Integration
Now onto the part you really need to know about: how is VR integrated? To put it simply, pretty damn brilliantly.

Killing Floor: Incursion is made specifically for VR and that is what makes it such a great game. Almost every design choice is clear that it’s been to make this as fun and fluid as possible whilst maintaining a degree of pretty high difficulty. A great example of this is how you pick items up. Many VR games require you to physically pick up items, whether it’s on the floor or on a table, sometimes leading to glitches and camera placing problems. Killing Floor: Incursion knows that it’s not possible for you to have time to do that as 90% of the time you will be being attacked from one monstrosity or another.

To solve this, Tripwire Interactive gives you a much more simple point and click mechanic. If you’re close to a weapon or item of interest, if you aim your hand at it you can press the equip button and it pops up straight into your hand. If you’re feeling really flash, you can even throw weapons up in the air and catch them (try it, it’s so fun). I tried this in co-op and was swapping guns with a complete stranger who I wasn’t talking to by throwing our weapons through the air – which just felt so cool.

I did have a very slight issue with this though, which may or may not be because I was quite slow to learn. The Move controller controls are slightly different depending on which controller (left or right) you use. The reload and equip buttons are swapped around and that sometimes makes thing a bit confusing in the heat of battle. While it feels more realistic because of having opposable thumbs, it was sometimes very frustrating trying to pick a weapon up but realising too late that I was using the wrong button for the wrong controller. As a bit of advice, I eventually agreed in my head that “outside is equip, inside is reload”. If you stick to that concept you should get the hang of it quicker than I did. If not, you can do what I did and just throw your arms around in panic and punch them to death, a perfectly viable option in my head. 

Another issue I had with the pickup system is that you can’t pick up health or ammo when you have both hands full. The process is the same as equipping a weapon, which is very annoying, as in the middle of a fight when your health is low it can cause A) mass panic or B) certain death. I’m not sure why the developers felt it necessary to aim and pick these up, but not make you reload your weapon manually, as in games such as The London Heist on the VR Worlds collection. Instead, it would have been much better to ditch a bit of the realism in favour for more accessibility, allowing you to pick stuff up by just teleporting or walking over them. This is especially true with teleporting since the more you do it, the less distance you can travel with your next movement, so being precise enough to be safe in combat but also pick up health is a bit too challenging and uncomfortable for my liking.

After those discrepancies, let’s move on to the fluidity of the VR action. Rather than flicking through menus and weapon wheels to equip weapons, Killing floor: Incursion has my favourite way of using weapons in a VR shooter so far. The upper half of your body is basically your inventory and can be accessed so fluidly that you feel like an absolute badass. You have two gun holsters on your waist, a torch holder on your chest and two larger gun holders on your back (accessed via either shoulder). The feeling of whipping out two pistols, emptying the magazines and then casting them to the floor to make way for two axes, was single-handedly the best thing I’ve felt in VR so far. If you’re familiar enough with the controls, it is so responsive and allows you to make fast adjustments for those nervy moments when you’re being overrun. Couple this with the return of Zed time, (the Killing Floor equivalent of Bullet time from Max Payne) and you’re in for one (bullet)hell of a time. Zed time was satisfying in Killing Floor 2, so just imagine how it feels in VR! Or I’ll just tell you. F-ing awesome.

So how else is this fluidity achieved? With the PS Move controllers, you place your ‘hands’ by your holsters and use the equip buttons to grab any variation of two things in your inventory at any time. A very helpful mechanic is that whatever you have in your inventory can be thrown to the floor, causing it to reappear in its original holster –  this is one area where the accessibility is favoured over the realism and definitely helps a lot.

You can be any of your favourite action heroes; Leon Kennedy? Grab the torch and the pistol and cross them over; Deadpool? Whip out those knives or fire axes from your shoulders; Lara Croft? Dual wield pistols baby! Or you can even be a nutter, like me, and try to dual wield sniper rifles! However, that failed miserably as then you can’t reload with no free hands. The absolute best combination though (which you get a sweet trophy for) is that you can pick up a dead Zed’s limbs and beat them with it. It says a lot about me that I would enjoy that as much as I did but I think you will too if you’re already reading this.

The game tries to be as realistic as possible, making weapons such as snipers and shotguns require both hands to use them effectively. While it feels absolutely awesome pumping a shotgun to blast away some Zeds, you can be left defenceless if you aren’t fully comfortable with the controls. When in a busy fight, I often neglected to use the weapons that required both hands because they just didn’t feel comfortable or powerful enough to make up for not having a free hand or two single-handed weapons. The feel of them is fine; they just aren’t practical enough and actually make fights harder in my opinion.

That being said, my favourite weapon in the game was the sniper rifle because it felt as real as the Move controllers in my hands. As you bring the scope up to your face, the picture is genuinely blurred, meaning you have to close your eye to see through it clearly! I had a little pause and clap moment when I first experienced this and was truly blown away by how fun it felt. You even have to grip and yank the bolt back ready for your next shot, which adds to that incredible suspension of disbelief.

The Zeds in the game are exactly the same as from the other games within the Killing Floor series, performing in very much the same manner. Only, in VR, even the basic enemies known as the ‘Cysts’ look terrifying. While the game isn’t necessarily a jumpy game, there were quite a few moments where I would give out a little “AH!” as I turned and there was some ghoulishly messed up creature headbutting my headset. This made the fights feel tenser and made the success of killing everything that little bit sweeter, so the VR definitely adds something more to the game, even if it doesn’t necessarily mean to.

Puzzles
Another way the VR is utilised is pairing your new perspective with the torch that you carry for the purpose of puzzle solving. Your handy (pun not intended) little light can be held in one hand allowing you to lean your head around corners and over obstacles to search for answers to puzzles. As well as a normal torch, your light has a UV setting that allows you to see hidden objects and patterns to help you solve puzzles. While this does feel nice and allows for a couple of very fun puzzle sections, I think this idea does get slightly overused somewhat. I would have liked just maybe one more way of solving a puzzle rather than using your torch to unearth most of the answers. Sometimes I felt a bit lost, waving the torch around at ceilings and over edges looking for the answers. This definitely extended the playtime and unfortunately the frustration, quite a bit. Thankfully you have a very cute little robot that can give you subtle hints. If you summon him and press the clue option, he can take you to the general area that you need to be in, so there’s that.

Holdout
Holdout is the secondary mode within the game. It’s basically a case of surviving as long as you can and is best played in the cooperative mode. It’s funny seeing a little avatar of a floating torso in place of the other player in both the campaign and Holdout modes, but it’s also a clever way of allowing you to see through them and what Zeds are behind them. There are some differences within this mode, as opposed to the standard campaign such as powerups like unlimited ammo that feel amazing, allowing you to go all Rambo on those Zed blighters and makes for an entertaining, yet shallow, mode.

There’s not much depth to it at all but it certainly will improve your reactions and your aim if you need practice to beat those bosses in the campaign. You’re basically trying to earn as many points as possible and making multiple headshots in a row gives you multipliers; a sick but very effective way of making you improve. It makes for a less pressured endless wave of Zeds to kill if you need that de-stress when you’re home from work.

Official Trailer [Killing Floor: Incursion]

Official Trailer [Killing Floor: Double Feature]

Final Conclusion:
Killing Floor: Incursion is a fantastic showcase of how good PSVR can be. When gunplay is done that smoothly and in such a badass way, it’s an absolute treat and needs to be experienced by all fans of the FPS genre. I can honestly say it’s the most awesome I’ve felt in a VR headset. While there are other games that use VR in more innovative ways, Tripwire Interactive has made a game that truly feels like you’re playing the lead role in an action movie like Hardcore Henry.

The story is good, albeit not amazing, with a puzzle that I won’t spoil which is an incredibly clever reference to the story. The puzzles can be frustrating and take longer than necessary: not because you don’t know what to do, but sometimes because it’s unclear on where to look. While the sniper rifle feels amazing, because you’re playing at a distance, sometimes the shotgun just doesn’t quite have the same impact. Also, the game is fluid and very smooth but sometimes it can still feel overwhelming having to move, drop guns, reload and pick stuff up at the same time.

The problems I’ve listed though are largely minor and are because I’m sulking that they take your time away from what the game does excellently: shooting stuff. If you have a PSVR headset, go and stick your head inside and blast away Zeds in this crazy and excellent shooter, you seriously won’t regret it.

*This review is part two of two. Both Killing Floor 2 and Killing Floor: Incursion have just been re-released within Killing Floor: Double Feature*

There’s a certain genre I’m not the biggest fan of, the horror genre. I don’t get any thrills or sense of enjoyment out of running away from things I can’t fight whilst hiding under the table until they casually walk on by. However, a few months ago I reviewed >Observer_ on the PS4, a psychological thriller/horror game from Bloober Team, which I loved. So, when I saw that Layers of Fear 2 was coming out next week, the sequel to their hit 2016 game, I had to play it. 

I played the game as everyone else should, as soon as it turned dark I turned off all the lights, put on my headphones, and ensured my drink was in a bottle with a lid (for when I inevitably knock it over with sheer fright). Almost six hours later and I was still shaking as the credits rolled on my first full playthrough of the game. Not only did this game push me to my limits in terms of jumps and horrific imagery, but the game also made me fear my own surroundings, I no longer felt safe in my own home without any of the lights on. Let’s see why…

I’m the king of the world!

Layers of Fear 2 is set aboard a large luxury oceanic liner on its maiden voyage. Our protagonist is a Hollywood actor – which we don’t find out the identity of until the final cutscenes – who has been summoned to perform as the lead role for a film whilst the ship is on its journey. However, things aren’t as they seem – the hallways are stripped of life, the walls are painted in blood, and the atmosphere is creepy as heck! Thankfully, you have a rather nice cabin which you are assigned to, so you eagerly await further instructions here, within the safety of these walls. 

After watching a rather confusing video which was delivered to you, and taking inspiration from your director (Candyman himself, Tony Todd), the customary mindfuckery which Bloober Team are well known for begins to take place! Just who are you? Why are you actually here? Who are the two children who guide you around the ship with chalk? What the hell is that disfigured creature chasing you around the depths of the ship? And most importantly, Why has the entire ship layout changed as I simply turned around? WTF is going on?

Taking everything the original Layers of Fear did great and expanding on that to deliver a truly terrifying experience, Layers of Fear 2 had me screaming, scared to turn around, and swearing very loudly at my TV for the majority of my playthrough. Regardless of how I felt though, the show must go on…

Such a nice place to work…

Gameplay
Layers of Fear 2 isn’t your standard 100% horror game – or at least not what I would class as a horror game. It’s down as a psychological thriller and I believe that’s the best way to describe it. The gameplay itself is broken up between linear exploration, puzzles, stealth and running like your arse is on fire! In a way, I would actually liken this game to Close to the Sun as it has a very similar tense atmosphere aboard a very restrictive ocean liner – only Layers of Fear 2 messes with your head when doors vanish as you turn around, and walking through a door could technically lead you right back into the room you thought you just left…

In terms of the actual ‘horror’ elements, the parts which had me scared to look behind myself in real life, the game delivers them both physically and via the audio. Headphones amplify the atmosphere tenfold, as you’ll hear noises all around you as well as the rather disturbing noises coming for God knows what in the distance. Physical horrors come in the form of everyone’s favourite horror trope, mannequins. Although the ship is absent of any living ‘human’, it’s got plenty of substitutes via hollow statures who’ll appear out of nowhere, sneak up on you, move when you blink, and generally creep you out. There’s nothing worse than reading a note about something horrific then turning to walk away and having a seemingly lifeless doll in your face, staring into your soul.

There is a segment which is too frequent which I wasn’t too keen on – the chase segments. This is the same as we saw in Close to the Sun (almost identical), as a creature chases you for a short while as you run like hell to try and escape. These weren’t too long but you got at least one in each of the five chapters, some containing two or three of them. Thankfully, the autosave is really good, so when you do inevitably get caught, you’ll usually be right before the chase begins once more. I’m not going to lie – these frustrated me a few times as the game was too dark in certain levels, so finding the correct path to run down was tricky. But, a bit of trial and error never hurt anyone, especially when the reload time is only a few seconds.

I had one issue with the controls – when you’re holding R2 to open/close things, such as doors and cupboards, moving the Right control stick (to perform the open/close motion) also moves you camera viewpoint. This resulted in me having to constantly readjust my camera as I would always end up looking at the floor when opening doors (as I invert the y-axis). I’m hoping this could possibly be fixed so that interacting with things no longer moves your view. 

A shining example of a reference done well!

Puzzles
Layers of Fear 2 had a number of puzzles which all felt really good to complete. None of them was that difficult (as I managed to do them all), but they were the perfect distraction from the horrifying moments within the game. I especially like the film slide puzzles, as the whole game revolves around filmography. In these, you flick through various slides on a projector and look at the images being projected onto the wall. If you see something which looks out of place, leave it on that slide and go take a look. Some slides cause new doorways to appear or alternative exits from the room you’re currently trapped within. Later on, you’ll also have to switch between multiple slides as you systematically create and then unlock a door to get out. 

There are various stealth segments which were very similar to what we saw in >Observer_. I even got through some of them in the same way as I did in that game, simply run all the way until I got to the safe point and just ignored any collectables or notes within the region! I’m not very good at stealth. Although, there is one of them within the gardens which was quite interesting. You have to be stealthy as something is out to get you while you’re within a maze. Not only that, as soon as you start to get chased and you turn around – the layout of the maze changes, making it even more intense and exciting!

Personally, I love Bloober Team and their unique approach to games within this genre. I love how they create a threat, force you down a rather linear pathway, then laugh at you as you’re now faced with having to figure out how you’ll get out of the situation alive – either through a puzzle or running like hell. Despite my own personal dislike of running away from things in games, Layers of Fear 2 is one of the best examples of this mechanic working in a game like this. The chase sequences aren’t too long, the puzzles aren’t ridiculously hard, the jumpscares still get you even though you’re expecting them, and the faceless creature still scared the crap out of me right until the end of the game!

Kinda how I felt a few times!

The narrative
I think my biggest issue with Layers of Fear 2 was my own inability to grasp onto the narrative. I knew the basic premise and I was reading every note I picked up and listening to everything the various characters were saying throughout the game, but I never truly ‘got it’. This is most likely down to me, as I was playing it quite late at night, but the narrative felt like it was a little all over the place as I struggled to keep up with what was going on and why things were now happening when in reality, they shouldn’t be. The ending explained a few things for me, although there are three endings to uncover so maybe I need to go back and play the game a few more times in order to fully understand what’s happening?

Speaking of replaying the game, upon completing all five chapters (which should take you around six to ten hours depending on your skill level), you’ll gain access to a level select. This is handy for those hoping to collect everything the game has to offer as there are a number of collectables for you to find such as movie posters and various notes from the crew. I did a pretty good job on my first playthrough as I only missed two posters, so they aren’t hard to find, but some do require you to go off the guided path and explore a little more. 

That leads to my final point about the narrative – Layers of Fear 2 is a very linear game. Before you think I’m being negative, I like linear games as it means you’re experiencing the story the developers have spent many, many hours piecing together. However, those out there who like exploration as they wander around various rooms and look for hidden items and info, there’s not a lot here. Sure, there are some rooms and passages you can take a detour into and look around, but the vast majority of the game is locked until the narrative wants you to enter a specific room or hallway.

Just look at those imperfections! It’s perfect!

Technical
As soon as I started playing Layers of Fear 2, I was in awe. The visual quality is far beyond anything I’ve seen within a game like this, especially on consoles. The textures on every single item look immaculate, the handwritten notes you’ll find all look like they’ve scanned in actual notes, the various objects all have different texture materials, and the visual effects come together to create an overall terrifying atmosphere. Another thing which caught my eye and had me love this game, even more, is the defects upon various items. Just like I saw in Red Matter, if you look at a door or wall at an angle with a light source, you’ll see various scuffs and dents in the textures. This really helps pull you into the immersion as the light casts real-time dynamic shadows, which look realistic, upon the imperfect structures. 

As Layers of Fear 2 is based on filmography, you’ll seamlessly transition between various visual styles as you play. From the bright and colourful tones of OZ (from the Wizard of Oz) to the black and white aesthetic of Film Noir movies, you never quite know what direction the game is going to take as you step through the next door you encounter.

Another thing I noticed, as I always go into the settings before I start a game to invert the y-axis, was a rather curious framerate toggle. I’m on the PS4 Pro, so I’m not sure if this is on the base console as well, but you can toggle between 30 and 60fps at any time. From what I gather, changing this doesn’t appear to change the resolution, so no 4k@30fps (I think), but I imagine the 60fps mode isn’t 100% 60fps all the time. I tried both modes, 30fps is fine, it works great, but the 60fps mode is what I settled on – although you’ll have to increase your controller sensitivity, as it’s far too low. I never noticed any obvious frame drops or slowdown throughout the whole game – there could be some, but I genuinely didn’t notice any. 

To complement the picture-perfect visuals, you’d want amazing sound quality and voice acting. Thankfully, that’s exactly what we get. There are only a few speaking characters within the game – as the mannequins tend to keep quiet – but those who talk have been well cast and deliver their lines with a lot of emotion and depth. Obviously, Tony Todd makes a perfect narrator with his dark and gritty tone. I’d highly recommend playing the game with headphones if you can, it’s still great on standard speakers, but sat all alone in the dark with headphones on is clearly the best way to experience this masterpiece.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Layers of Fear 2 is yet another terrifying masterpiece which will fuck with your mind from the amazing Bloober Team. It finds a perfect balance between jump scares, chasing and stealth segments, puzzles, and following the narrative so that everything feels exciting, suspenseful, and thrilling. Although I found the overall narrative a little hard to follow at times, the action and gameplay you experience throughout your six to ten-hour playthrough will more than keep you engaged – even if you get a little lost in the story.

With the option to play in 60fps and the photo-realistic textures and imperfections on the various structures, the immersion is right up there with games such as Observation. If you’ve played and enjoyed the original Layers of Fear, enjoy horror-based narrative puzzle games, enjoy mystery-thrillers with a hint of the supernatural, or you just like good games, picking Layers of Fear 2 should be a no-brainer.

I’ve owned the original Little Nightmares for a while now, had it sat in my library on the PS4 staring at me every time I’m looking for something to play. However, as I’m not a massive fan of stealth and running away from things, I never actually got around to playing it due to knowing it would trigger some form of anxiety when I come face-to-face with one of the abominations. But, after playing the demo for Little Nightmares II, I was blown away with just how creepy the game was, quickly becoming a fan of the art style and gameplay, so playing and reviewing this sequel became an essential event.

Tarsier Studios are back, they’ve taken everything great about the first game (which I have now played, after completing the second game) and enhanced it to deliver a truly terrifying and F’ed-up experience unlike anything else I’ve played on the platform recently. Bandai Namco is, once again, the publishers of this spooky series, delivering various versions which I’ll get into later – for the review, we were given the Digital Deluxe edition and I’ve been playing it on the PlayStation 5 through Backwards Compatability mode. However, a full PS5 (and Xbox Series) version is coming later this year, free of charge to owners of the last-gen edition on both platforms.

So, considering I’m not a fan of the two core gameplay mechanics within Little Nightmares II, why have I played through the game twice and loved (almost) every second of it? Let’s find out…

He seems to love shoes.

Where do I begin with Little Nightmares II, I have to tread carefully as I don’t want to reveal aspects of the game which could be taken as ‘spoilers’, yet I was so confused and unsure of what was going on that I’m actually finding it hard to think about and form an overview of the plot. 

So, let’s give this a bash and see how vague I can keep the overview… Little Nightmares II is the story of Mono, a new miniature child who has awoken within a dark and twisted world which is full of Big Nightmares, nevermind little ones. Explained through the art of atmospheric exploration, no verbal communication, and grotesque imagery, our goal in this horrific world slowly begins to come together – there’s a distant tower which is letting off a hypnotic ‘hum’, distorting the monstrosities and inhabitants into hostile freaks.

As such, with the help of a friendly companion which you find early on, the girl known as ‘Six’ from the first game (it’s on the official Steam listing page), you set out to discover the dark secrets behind this tower, picking up hats and bumping into static-memories as you go. Just like the first game, expect lots of tense moments, horrifyingly large boss-like creatures, stealth segments, and a creepy art style which will haunt you in your sleep. But, has the gameplay improved over the first game or is it a carbon-copy with a few skin-swaps? Let’s take a look…

Quietly does it…

Gameplay
Did I mention I’m not a fan of stealth and running away from things? I think I did, but it’s worth emphasising this once again. Horror games are my most avoided genre, if I’m being honest, I love psychological horror games but they always seem to have chase sequences which stress me out or stealth moments where I just can’t remain hidden and end up dying over and over again. Little Nightmares II is a game built around stealth, running away, and problem-solving – I like problem-solving. However, aside from a few very frustrating and border-line ripping my hair out moments in the game, I actually really enjoyed the overall experience, all thanks to how well the game had been put together and paced out.

Little Nightmares II basically has the above three gameplay mechanics presented in a rotation. You’ll first enter an area which is dark and creepy, often with ambient noises which’ll make you question your sanity, yet you won’t be able to progress due to a locked door, switches that are too high, a dead end, or some other form of natural road-block for our tiny protagonist (seriously, he is really small, like a gnome – but not a ‘Nome’ as they’re also in the game with Pyramid-head hats). In order to work out how to proceed, you need to step back and think outside of the box, see what objects you can move, can you climb anything, is there an object (usually a shoe) you can pick up and throw, or can Six give you a boost?

The game features no hand-holding at all (well, aside from the adorable feature that you can hold Six’s hand and pull her around with you so she doesn’t feel abandoned), requiring you to both work out what the obstacle is and how to overcome it yourself. Yes, I did get stuck for a while at one point in the game, subsequently shouting at myself when I realised there was a climbable surface on the wall which led to the next room! Because of this, the game is incredibly satisfying once you find the solution all on your own after sitting there for a while thinking about what you need to do, it’s so much better than literally being pointed in the right direction.

Overall, I loved the exploration and problem-solving aspects of Little Nightmares II, wandering around the dark and creepy hallways with very little lighting really pulls you into the world and leaves you vulnerable for the next two gameplay mechanics…

Come to mummy!

In each chapter, you’ll eventually come across the disturbing boss-like creature which will haunt you from then until you reach the next chapter. I’m not going to talk about all of them, but I was personally creeped out by the teacher – she’s an old wrinkly strict woman whose neck can extend longer than Mr. Tickle’s arms! There’s no point hiding in a vent, under a desk, or in the rafters, if she’s heard you, she turns into Inspector Gadget’s demonic twin and thrusts her neck out like it’s a snake as her head searches every nook and cranny. There are other beings which are just as bad, but she was the one which creeped me out the most.

Avoiding these monsters usually involves stealth, both doing the duck-walk and sneaking past them, or throwing something as a distraction whilst you make a run for it in the other direction. Despite my hate for stealth games, I didn’t actually find these moments too bad as they’re quite forgiving and I didn’t mind taking my time because it meant I had the chance to stop and look at the brilliantly disgusting visuals every time I stopped and hid behind a box or under a table.

The frustration kicked in for me when the game moves into its chase segments – usually following a difficult or intense stealth part. These aren’t impossible, and I had fun playing them, but I always get anxiety and sweaty thumbs when I’m being chased down a small corridor by something straight out of Jim Henson’s rejection bin! These are very strict with their timings, easy to mess up, and if you die then you’ll usually have to complete the whole segment again – unless if you’re lucky enough to hit a checkpoint. As you probably imagined, I died more times than I cared to count whilst doing these, usually by miss-timing a jump, not dodging harassing hands as they break through the doors around me, forgetting which way I’m meant to run, and being distracted and not even realising I’m in a chase segment!

But, after going back and playing the first game, I actually think the chases in Little Nightmares II are a bit more forgiving and well-designed than the first game. Well, until the game introduces smaller and more annoying enemies!

Hidden in plain sight!

Know your enemy
Again, I’m not going to talk in detail about all of the people and things you’ll encounter, but I am going to talk about two of them – the puppet children and the mannequins – oh sweet Jesus, the mannequins…

The puppet kids are a little bigger than our petite protagonist, yet they’re about 1,000 times more hostile and deadly. These pesky pupils will chase after you if you make a noise in their class or they make eye contact with you, not stopping until they tear you apart and have themselves a new toy to play with. As such, you need to pick up standard-sized weapons, such as hammers, and thrust them with all of your might into their stupid faces, causing their head to shatter into a thousand pieces.

This process is just as stressful as the running segments (especially with other enemies you encounter later) as they move whilst you attack very slowly, often opening yourself up to a counter-attack and death. But, even though they can cause frustration and indirectly make you swear at the TV every time you miss and get ripped apart like a piece of paper, it’s incredibly satisfying to watch their head explode when you land that perfect swing…

Now, have you ever seen Doctor Who, the episode with the Weeping Angels (also in the Doctor Who VR game we covered HERE)? Well, the mannequins follow the same principle – if you stop looking at them then they’ll come to life and begin to move. Okay, it’s a little different as they’ll move if you’re not shining a light at them, but that’s almost the same as looking at them as you shine your torch forwards. These, apart from the teacher, were the things which freaked me out the most.

You don’t know fear until you’ve turned off the lights and begin running through a whole hoard of these horrors, trying to make it to the end alive before one of them grabs you and turns off your light for good!

We’ve upgraded!

A ray of light (controls)
To keep things simple, the developers have kept the same controls as the first game – as in, they’re literally the same. This is both a good and bad idea, due to how the mechanics differ slightly in this latest title. Basically, in the first game, you had a lighter which you could whip out whenever you pushed Circle, lighting up a small area around Six and used to activate various candles and lanterns which are scattered around. In Little Nightmares II, you don’t have the practical Zippo to hand, you’ll actually spend the majority of the game with nothing to light the darkness around you.

However, in a few chapters, you’ll thankfully be given a torch which you can, once again, activate with the Circle button. But, unlike the lighter, a torch emits a ray of light in a specific direction, not a cascade of light which surrounds you like a bubble. Why is this an issue? Remember those Mannequins which I hate, the ones which require you to shine a light at them? Well, you aim your torch with the combination of the Left Stick (to face them) and the Right Stick (to aim or swivel the torch). But, in one segment you have to aim at them so they can’t grab you, whilst also running through them to avoid being caught – run is Square. 

If you’ve ever used a PS4 or PS5 controls, imagine moving with the Left Stick, aiming with the Right Stick, and holding Square – all at the same time. You’re forced to hold the controller like one of those silly “which way do you hold your controller” meme images on Twitter!

My solution, I was able to remap the run button to a rear paddle on my NACON Revolution Unlimited Pro controller, on the fly. This made it much more playable for me. However, not everyone will have a programmable controller – or the DS4 rear paddles (which will also really help) so what can you do? If you find the pre-defined controls too cumbersome (as you can’t remap them in the game), simply go to the dashboard of your PS4/5 and then go to Settings. In there, head to Accessibility then Controllers (it may be a little different on the PS4). In here, you can now enable Custom Button Assignments and swap around the various face buttons to other buttons or triggers.

Personally, I set run (square) to the L1 trigger when I wanted to play with my DualSense – just remember to disable the CBA when playing another game, otherwise, you’ll get confused as to why your character isn’t doing what you want them to do!

Looks like a scene from Resident Evil 7!

Is it scary?
As someone who tries to avoid horror games unless they really catch their interest with other mechanics and visuals, I am very vulnerable to jump scares and gruesome imagery. Put me in VR and turn on Rush of Blood and you’ll hear me screaming like my pants are on fire for the vast majority of the 10 mins I’ll be able to handle. So, it may shock you to hear that I wasn’t phased or triggered by most of the encounters in Little Nightmares II – that’s not to say that they weren’t freaky, shocking, disturbing, and grotesque, because they were, I just didn’t find them ‘too’ horrific.

I did, however, find myself shouting at the TV in frustration when I slipped up within a chase sequence, pulling faces and asking myself “WTF” when the on-screen creatures first appear, had a debate with myself over if the game was being fair or not when an enemy dodged one of my hammers, and constantly found myself confused throughout in regards to the story. Speaking of, I’ve played the game twice, I think I know what was happening and why (but I won’t say due to spoilers), but I still remain confused over a few things. But, I imagine they’ll be plenty of “Little Nightmares II: story explained” videos on YouTube within a few days of release.

The way I saw it, I was a strange child-like mini-me, with a cute companion, solving puzzles and running away from people who clearly wish to either eat me or do terrible things to my body. That was enough motivation for me to move from left to right as fast as possible!

The atmosphere, which is created by the subtle music, the ambient sounds, the echos of you calling out to Six so she doesn’t get ahead of herself, and strange noises randomly occurring in your ears, is brilliant. It all combines, with the smokey visuals, to deliver a haunting and creepy game without having to resort to cheap jump scares that go “Booom” every time a door opens or you walk into a new area. It’s a subtly horror game yet delivers its promise of embedding enough messed up imagery to cause you to have little nightmares.

It may only be three beds, but it’s gorgeous!

Technical
I played Little Nightmares II on my PS5, meaning I technically played the PS4 Pro edition of the game on the PS5 via Backwards Compatability. As such, there are various limitations and cutbacks which I hoped wouldn’t be there – especially after playing the PS4 Pro version of the first game.

First of all, the game is 30fps. Seeing as games like God of War and The Division 2 have recently enabled a 60fps mode for new-gen consoles, I would have loved for this game to do the same. But, we have been promised that a PS5 and Xbox Series version will launch later this year – free to owners of the game on the PS4 and Xbox One consoles – so I imagine that’s the version which will fully unlock the framerate to 60fps (maybe even 120). Similarly, the resolution is whatever the Pro version is – it looks nice and sharp but I have no numbers. To me, it appears to be 1620+ (maybe even full 4K if it’s a dynamic scale).

We’ll have to wait for Digital Foundry to tell us the numbers, I think.

Framerate and resolution aside, Little Nightmares II is very clean and sharp, in comparison to the blurry original title, allowing you to see the small details much easier and truly appreciate the care and attention which went into every single design within the game. The various hats you pick up all look super cute upon your head, with some also changing the way you look as a whole once you don them. The visuals, music, audio, silence, and gameplay, all combine to create a brilliant experience which stands out as a very unique and original piece of art.

This is the Nome’s DLC – I had no idea!

Bonus content
For our review, we were very kindly given the Digital Deluxe edition on the PS4. This edition contains the game (with free PS5 upgrade), The Nome’s Attic DLC, a Digital Soundtrack, a Digital Artbook, a Dynamic Theme (PS4), 2 Avatars, and the Mokujin Hat (although this may be only for pre-orders). The Art Book and Soundtrack are downloaded via PSN, allowing you to look at and listen to them on your TV or download the images and MP3s to an external USB drive for use wherever you wish. 

The one thing I was confused about – and I’m sorry for pestering the PR with questions about this – is the Nome’s Attic DLC. Seeing as the previous game had actual DLC levels, I thought this was the same thing – it isn’t. All this DLC does is enable a puzzle early into the game which gives you the Nome’s hat. Seeing as the Deluxe edition gives all of the above for only £10 more, it’s fine, I just thought the DLC was actually going to be some form of DLC expanding the game. I imagine that’ll come later in the guise of a Season Pass or something.

If you’re into your physical editions, as well as the standard release, there’s a ‘TV Edition’ which you can pick up at various retailers. However, picking it up at the Bandai Namco store directly (HERE) will bag you a 3D Lenticular Art as an exclusive item, alongside the other items – which are: A really good looking Mono and Six Diorama, the Game, a themed box, the Soundtrack both digitally and on a CD, a physical Art Book, a Steelbook, Stickers, and both the Mokujin Mask and Nome’s Attic DLCs

Which one are you picking up?

Official Trailer

Final Conclusion
Little Nightmares II is a great continuation of the grotesque exploration puzzle series. The game is a solo adventure, yet you’ll be joined by the protagonist of the previous game, both working together to discover the reason behind the strange signal and put an end to its hypnotic control. Some parts can get frustrating when trying to run away or solve a puzzle with a timer before you get slaughtered, but this only leads to a lot of satisfaction upon completion. Aside from a few issues with the controls, there’s very little to complain about within this brilliant no hand-holding horror game.

Whereas the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in terms of the gameplay, the updated visuals, immersive sound, confusing yet interesting story, and new gruesome freaks, all combine to ensure that after playing Little Nightmares II, you’ll be having ‘Little Nightmares’ of your own…

There is a demo for Little Nightmares II on all platforms, just search for the game on your preferred device. It lets you play around the first 30-40 minutes, giving you a taste for how the game looks and feels.

Lucius III is a sequel which I never thought we would get. The first game in the series was almost a recreation of the Omen movie, where Lucius had just discovered he’s the son of the devil and must kill everyone in his household without getting caught. The second game followed on and had us begin our ‘adventure’ within a hospital which we were placed into after all of the horrific ‘accidents’ which occurred at our home. The third game also takes place immediately after the conclusion of the second game. So, as far as a trilogy goes, everything all seamlessly binds together, yet the gameplay style seems to change as we jump from one to another.

The series is best known for it’s glitchy and physics-breaking gameplay – Lucius came out two years prior to Goat simulator, so ‘dodgy physics’ was a new thing at the time. The games always felt low-budget and very amateur in mechanics, yet lots of fun to play when you get into the later portions of the game. Who doesn’t like making nurses slide into an open elevator shaft or firing a saw blade at someone to slice off their head?

However, we’re here to look at the third game today, something my PC doesn’t seem to want to run correctly, so, I’ll let Nicola continue the review and share her thoughts on it.

David Bowie?

Let me start by saying I’ve not played the previous Lucius games, so I’m coming into the series without much knowledge of what’s happened previously or what to expect from Lucius III. So I apologise to any hard-core Lucius fans out there if I get anything wrong in this review.

The story so far

There are a few lines of text which quickly gives you a summary of the story so far but honestly, it didn’t give me the best insight and I would have preferred a few cutscenes from the previous games to set the scene. From what I can gather, Lucius acquired some supernatural powers and killed a lot of family members in his house which was part of a prophecy. Then, he got sent to an insane asylum to prevent the next part of the prophecy, which is where he killed even more people. Evil little bastard, honestly kids freak me out as it is so this kid is not going to become one of my favourite gaming heroes anytime soon. Lucius III continues on directly from the second game, which isn’t helpful if you haven’t played it as it doesn’t explain how you come across a certain scroll or what you are about to do.

The story continues

Lucius III opens up with the classic song ‘The House of the Rising Sun’ instantly getting me in the mood and expecting great things of what’s to follow. Lucius, our child ‘protagonist’, is in a yellow school bus being driven by his guardian Detective Jack McGuffin through a dark windy road in the woods. As the song comes to a close there is suddenly a man standing in the middle of the road and the bus swerves to avoid him and heads down the mountain side.

Luckily, you are both ok and the man who announces himself as Gabriel (as in the archangel Gabriel) is standing over Lucius, cigarette hanging between his lips and looking anything but heavenly in a nasty beige suit. He looks more like Constantine from the TV show of the same name actually. Gabriel had planned to kill you both but changes his mind seeing there is some hope for Lucius after all and will let things play out for now.

There’s a lot to see this time around.

Gameplay
You now take control of Lucius for this new instalment of his narrative experience/adventure and get a short tutorial on how to run, jump and use your supernatural powers as you both make your way on foot down to the town jumping and moving the many obstacles that are between you and your destination. This was where I first started getting frustrated with the controls. After fiddling with the settings to turn up the sensitivity so it didn’t take me a full minute to look around myself, I carried on. I then spent a good ten minutes trying to jump over a gap that should have been an easy jump but instead I kept plummeting to my doom. The only upside to this was I seemed to unlock a few achievements for being such a massive failure.

Once you arrive at the bottom of the hill, and into your old hometown of Winter Hill, you swing by a neighbourhood BBQ to be introduced to the town folk and you are given a Polaroid camera to take some pictures of them, thus showing you how to use different items in your inventory. This inventory system is dated as in the last item you pick up is the one that is your default item to use. This means that after each photo the Polaroid becomes your active item rather than the camera so you have to go back into the inventory to reselect the camera in between each photo – which is annoying! After getting to meet everyone, you return to your new temporary home to settle in and have a look around and then retire for the night. This ends the prologue of Lucius III and will be as much of the story as I will go into detail about to prevent spoilers.

McGuffin trying to work things out.

Once in your room, you will get access to a notepad which will act as a journal. In here you paste your Polaroid photos and keep notes on the town members you’ve met as you search for who could be the four horsemen (something that isn’t explained, so must be carried over from the previous game). You can also get hints on what you need to do next and a reminder of what you have done so far to help you on your quest in Lucius III, oh and also a very useful map which is probably the most colourful thing in this dark game. Sadly, the journal seems very buggy and will regularly delete the next steps and instead show you ones that you have already completed as if you haven’t moved past that part in the story. This isn’t the only bug either, sometimes after completing an action Lucius just wouldn’t move, I had to interact with an object to free him up again.

You can collect the hearts of crows in your inventory and this allows you to morph into a crow and fly around the map, which is quicker than walking, but if you morph back when you are too high in the air you will die upon impact and get sent back to where the autosave last kicked in, which was rather irritating if you had travelled a long way. I much preferred using the fast travel which you could activate from the map in your journal, as long as you had already visited a location. There were some very long open roads with nothing on them, so having to keep walking along them would have been a nightmare without the fast travel option.

Occasionally, in Lucius III, you will come across collectables to pick up in the form of bobbleheads (wait am I playing Fallout?!), I believe there to be about 30, all of them look exactly the same so its not a very exciting collectable, but at least you know what you are looking out for if you want to get them all!

I did like the references to some old movies from my childhood throughout the game. The first chapter is called ‘If you build it they will come’ which is a line from Field of Dreams. Later you get to use a Sultan fortune telling machine, which is out of the Tom Hanks movie Big and just in case you didn’t get the reference or thought it was a coincidence the achievement name clears it up.

I don’t think that’s how you hold a phone…

The Technical stuff

I played Lucius III with a PS4 DualShock 4 controller. Trying to play with the controller didn’t work in regular Steam mode, but worked ok in Steams big picture mode. Sadly, it thought it was an XBOX controller so I had to ignore any on-screen button prompts and remember the XBOX button layouts, which I’m getting used to with Steam games.

I keep hearing how gaming PC’s are so superior for gaming, though I’m yet to find a PC only game that I find looks and plays really good. Lucius III reminded me of a PS2 game that had been remastered. Honestly, I expected a bit more with the game being on its third outing. I guess I will always just be a true console gamer, I just want to start a game without having to mess about changing settings and have it just work and play as it was meant to be played.

Lucius III instantly reminded me of the game Deadly Premonition which I had tried to play on the PS3 as it looked weird and different, but I struggled with how dated both games felt. Some games age well and are still highly playable generations later and some just don’t. I just don’t expect the same issues with new games. I guess not all games come from big studios that use the best engines and this is usually represented in the price so I shouldn’t be too picky as it means more developers can get their games to an audience. This is the case with Lucius III which is developed and published by Shiver Games an independent game developer from Helsinki, Finland who focus on peculiar and unique horror games. Since they were founded in 2010 they have just released games in the Lucius franchise so are obviously very committed to the Lucius brand.

Some visuals aren’t bad, it’s just some stand out more than others.

The soundtrack for Lucius III is composed by Johannes Aikio who also did the score from the previous games and is available on Spotify if you like it. Personally, I found the audio in Lucius III is barely noticeable after the opening cutscene as outside of cutscenes there didn’t really appear to be any background music. I had such high hopes after ‘The House of the Rising Sun’ which isn’t even included on the soundtrack on Spotify! The voice acting is lousy and Lucius III suffers from lip syncing issues, although it’s an indie game so it’s not like they have the budget to hire great stars or talent so you have to expect that I guess.

The graphics are, as mentioned previously, dated and there are frame rate issues especially if you turn the sensitivity right up which causes stuttering. The environment is supposed to be dark and creepy to set the mood and even during the day it’s very much like a dreary wet day in the UK, so that works well. However, sometimes Lucius III was just too dark for its own good, you couldn’t see any detail as you were plunged into an overly shadowed area.

I found the controls and movement in Lucius III heavy and clunky. I often felt it was giving me a headache and giving me some motion sickness, especially when coupled with the aforementioned darkness, which put me off playing for more than an hour at a time.

Official Trailer:

Final conclusion:
While I try to have respect for indie games, they are just not always to my liking. I work full time so don’t get as much gaming time as I would like and so I want to spend my time playing games I’m going to enjoy. I thought I would enjoy Lucius III as it looked like my type of game but sadly it fell short of my expectations. Basically, it’s probably one of the worst games I’ve played in a long time. The developers clearly had big ambitions for Lucius III but they were in over their heads and couldn’t deliver on their vision with their resources.

However, if you have played and enjoyed the previous games then I have no reason why you shouldn’t get Lucius III to continue his journey, even if he doesn’t really say anything.

Rob – As someone who thoroughly enjoyed the previous two games for their quirky nature, silly physics, strange story, and over the top gameplay; I’d recommend fans of those games pick up Lucius III. I managed to get it working on my computer, albeit in ‘potato’ mode at 720p due to my ageing GPU, and I had fun with it. However, I agree with the points Nicola made in her review, the series is very niche but fans of the franchise will get the most out of this game. 

I love Dungeon Keeper, with its micro-management and general upkeep of minions, yet I also love Prison Architect for its unique art style and fun building mechanics – if only you could combine the two in a sort-of Frankenstein experiment… Wild Factor also had a similar idea and has made me very happy by bringing us MachiaVillain on PC. MachiaVillain is a management sim where you must build the house of your nightmares as you entice local humans to come and hang out whilst you devour their bodies and cook their brains. It’s super addictive and fun to play, but it feels a little Early Access in some areas even though it’s version 1.0.

MachiaVillain started life as a Kickstarter campaign back in 2016 and was successfully funded by 553 backers for the sum of €24k. The page advises what they hoped would be in the final game and overall, I was pleasantly surprised and happy with the game as It managed to keep a lot of the things they said would be there, as well as a few extras, but there are also a few noticeable cutbacks on certain things.

There was a Kickstarter only minion, which is unfortunate for people like myself who never saw the original campaign yet on the other hand it’s great that they are keeping it Kickstarter only as I’ve seen a lot of devs instantly put things like this up for sale day-one.

This Clerk reminds me of the secretary from Monsters Inc.

The story of MachiaVillain is a nice simple one, you were once a minion yourself who worked for an evil boss who used you as his slave that killed for him – you were even forced to even clean up after yourself! You strived for more, YOU wanted to be the boss and you knew you had the skills to become better than an entry-level evil minion. One night, an owl flew into your window carrying a letter address to you! What could this be? Upon killing the adorable owl, you realise that you have been summoned to the Department of Evil Domains, from the League of Machiavellian Villains, in order to receive a plot of evil land to erect your own evil mansion upon. This is a nightmare come true! You grab your things, and the last toilet roll from your ex-bosses toilet, and head off to claim your land!

You arrive at the Department and thus begins your wait, a wait that will take many, many years as you watch all of the others before you crumble into dust and rot away. Eventually, you are finally in possession of your own Deed! You are given a plot of land and three minions, to begin with, and the Evil Machiavellian League of Villans gives you a probation period to pass a few specific quests (basically the tutorial).

That’s about it for the story and the narrative as the game is now all up to you. It’s basically an endless open sandbox where you must see how far you can go until all of your minions are defeated and you have nobody left to serve you. This is all whilst appeasing the League by completing their ‘rank’ quests in order to obtain new minions and bonus payments. I don’t usually play open-ended games as I much prefer games with a set narrative and goals, yet MachiaVillains has something about it which had me addicted for just over 12 hours straight! Plus I haven’t even really got to the in-depth parts of the game yet!

Yup, the gangs all here – I’m the ruler, they are my minions!

If you have ever played Prison Architect before, imagine that but with mummies, zombies, killer clowns and vampires instead of guards, and the food delivery trucks as regular human beings. If you haven’t played or seen that game before, this game is a building and resource management sim with very precise micro-management options so that you can plan out and ensure everything is working exactly how you want it to.

Let’s begin with your minions, as you were once one so you know how to command them right? Well, kind of. The minions you will be getting aren’t full of free will like you, they are braindead and empty on the inside. They won’t do anything at all unless you tell them to, which can be both a good and a bad thing. You can initially pick up to three to join your team, all of which have different ‘skills’ yet they can all level these up in-game anyway so the traits are the important part. Some of them are lazy and move slower, some are more resistant to various status effects, and some are faster at working. Once you’ve grabbed your initial motley crew, you must assign them roles…

Even though they are braindead, your minions will act on their own once given a task. For example, if you pick the role of ‘supply gatherer’ then that minion will run around picking up any logs, rocks, dead bodies etc and placing them in any storage chambers you build. However, if you tell someone to chop wood or mine stone, they won’t do anything unless you have first plotted out which area to mine or chop. You can also allocate minions to certain rooms – so you may have a chef/butcher who chops up the bodies yet also has the task of cleaning up so that he washes the floor afterwards.

One thing to take in here is that you can’t select an infinite amount of tasks, each minion is different and can have from 2-5 tasks selected at a time, so you need to ensure you have everything covered. You can also change the priority of each task with each person as well – did I mention there is a lot of micro-management?

When victims are coming, you hide in a room so they can’t see you.

Once your little guys and gals are defined, it’s on to the fun part – building your mansion. Okay, so looking at images online of other peoples buildings, I’ve gone for the minimalist style and I’ve not really embraced everything you can do yet, as mine looks more like a collection of porta-cabins rather than a mansion! But that’s the fun of it, you play, learn, then start again – only this time you make it better. The building is simple though, each room must have four walls and a floor plus at least one door – that’s it. Then, you place various ‘room specific’ items within a room in order to give it its role. For example, if you drop a bed into a room then it becomes a bedroom, a table will be a kitchen and a TV will become a victims room. You do have a few non-specific items as well such as the storage containers which can go anywhere you want them to be – I tended to put them near the room/item which needed those resources the most.

You initially have the ability to build pretty much every room type, providing you have the right amount of resources, but you won’t be able to build the ‘advanced’ parts of these rooms until you have done some research. By ‘advanced’ parts I mean a secondary crafting table or extra accessories. For example, you can research and build a fridge and a smoker in order to preserve the food longer in the kitchen (otherwise it rots after a few days), the factory gets a new unit which can make other resources for building, and the office can gain a PC or printing press for bigger victim enticements.

Even though the options here aren’t quite as diverse as I would have hoped, with only a few room types on offer, I never grew bored in my entire 12 hours of playing as I was constantly moving things around and making myself more efficient and better at what I was doing. This brings me to the main aspect of the game…

That’s a lot of blood! I’ve just chopped up about 4 bodies in a row 🙂

It’s so much fun killing men, women, fathers, mothers, children and virgins (who isn’t always the child, surprisingly). At first, you don’t really have any means to kill other than jumping out and beating the crap out of everyone who steps foot into your mansion and then serving their head on a platter. You can’t risk the humans seeing you though, so just before they arrive, you must stop your current jobs (via a handy button) and move everyone out of sight into a hidden room or behind trees. If you are spotted, they may try and make a run for it or call for help

However, as you gain more resources and become more comfortable with the game, you can make murder rooms. These are called ‘victim’ rooms and are there for you to entice the civilians to stay and ignore all the death going on around them. From having a TV for them to watch so they don’t see you taking out their friends behind them, to a jacuzzi for them to relax in and call their friends in order to lower the suspicion of the venue before you kill them. It’s all fun.

Later on, you can also get more advanced traps set up, such as paintings on the wall which rotate as someone is looking at them in order to push the unsuspecting viewer to their death on a custom-built conveyor belt inside the walls. Again, the variety is limited in what you can and can’t do, but there is enough to have fun with it and see what works best for you. I would love it if they either added more items or even allowed Steam Workshop so that the community could provide their own traps and accessories. You also receive more experience points if you follow the simple horror story rules, such as killing them on their own, don’t let anyone live, killing the virgin last, and never killing the dog. So, if you have Virgin Detectors and a fire hydrant for the dog, then you can skillfully plan all of your deaths in order to get the best possible score.

The game can basically be as complicated and deep, or easy and basic, as you want it to be.

Yup, the merchants sometimes sell loot boxes!

There are two things I’ve not really touched on yet and that’s the resources and how to get more. There are six resources you can collect from the moderately sized map, Wood, Evil Wood, Stone, Gold, Metal, and fruit/mushrooms. The wood is from trees that grow back over time, even inside of your mansion for some reason, the Evil Wood comes from Evil Trees which come back at a much slower rate, the Stone, Gold and Metal comes from non-respawning rocks, and the fruit is randomly re-spawning. So, the question is, what do you do when you have exhausted the map of all of its stone and metal? There isn’t a role to plant/create more and there isn’t an item that offers infinite amounts of mining. At the moment, you have two options. Either start a new game (which would be annoying) or buy them from a merchant.

The merchants will randomly show up, or you can call them on your phone to come at any time. They sell things for almost rip-off prices, but if you need them then it’s the only option. Plus, by the time you get to the stage where you have nothing to mine, you should be rolling in gold! These merchants will not only sell resources, but some will sell food (such as brains and blood) as well as new minions and captured humans. One even sells you up to 20 rotting corpses, although he always seems to drive over the ones he drops off, thus auto-destroying about 10-13 of them every single time!

As you progress and begin to go up through the ranks of the League, you will also unlock new minion slots. I made the mistake and instantly filled them all up every single time I got one – that’s great if you have a constant flow of fresh humans to slaughter, but if not then they just end up eating all your food, so you have to be strategic. If you don’t have enough food then your minions get upset and start smashing up your rooms and the items within – and you don’t want that to happen!

My lovely ‘hidden walls and UI’ glitch – this made me start over and I’m fine with that, my design was rubbish anyway!

Finally, I just want to touch on the technical aspects. The game runs at a locked 60fps and it ran fine on my dated PC at 1080p, even whilst recording footage at a full 1080/60 via OBS at the same time. The graphics are a cool design which appears to be a mix of Prison Architect crossed with Don’t Starve with the same race of characters having a few slight variations in-game and in their avatars. The music is a nice fit for the game and is easy to listen to whilst playing for long periods. The voice-over actor is also great for the role and easy to understand.

Also, the reason my review is a bit late, as I originally had one planned to go live for release, is because in its pre-release state last week I ended up with a corrupted save. All my walls vanished and my minions wouldn’t listen to me. This was fixed by the developer and by me loading a previous autosave, but I decided to wipe the save and start again upon version 1.0, which I’ve had no issues with. However, some people are saying they have also encountered the issue of the vanishing wall, so it may still be present but the devs are aware of it.

There are also a few spelling/translation errors in the game as well, but I have also provided the developers with the ones I have spotted – these don’t impact gameplay though.

All in all, I had a great time playing the game and I really lost track whilst focused on my mansion. I wish it had a few extra room types, more creatures, purchasable land, a demolish tool (rather than one thing at a time), and more of a story about it, but as a sandbox jump-in, jump-out game, it’s really fun.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
MachiaVillain is a fun sandbox-style open-ended building and resource management game that can get as complicated as you want it to. There isn’t a massive amount of variety but what it does have, it does really well. Micro-management is the key here, if you would rather set a task and ignore your minion from then on, then this probably isn’t for you. You must always stay on top of what’s happening if you wish to run a successful dead-and-breakfast venue. There are a few bugs and glitches present in the game at the moment, but the developers are focused on resolving them as soon as possible. If you like management sims and/or classic horror movies, then this is a game you will really enjoy.

Maid of Sker has been on my radar since it was announced. I’ve never played a game developed by Wales Interactive before but they’re here with their second attempt at a horror game, this time using inspiration from a novel of the same name from the late 1800s and from British folklore. The game is a first-person survival horror game that borrows from other games in the genre, some of it good, some of it not so good, but with some differences to make it stand out from the pack.

It only takes around four hours total to get through it, depending on how many times you die (if you’re anything like me, then a lot), but it feels like the perfect length for this particular experience. So, did the game live up to the hype and first impressions the trailer left on me as a spooky horror game? Let’s find out…

*In a recent update, the developers have added an option to play the game with an uncapped frame rate. On the PS5, this means you can play the game at a locked 60fps*

The game opens up with you reading a letter from your wife Elisabeth Williams. She had been called home to become the new ‘Maid of Sker‘ at Sker Hotel, taking over from her mother. This means that she was supposed to be the new singer of the music halls, that is until a strange event happened that meant she was captured and restrained. You play as Thomas Evans, a composer who decided to go and try to save his partner from the hotel and the people that inhabit it.

Of course, things aren’t that simple and there are some twists and turns along the way, but we won’t get into those. It’s a really interesting premise and one that had me hooked from the beginning. Once you reach the end, there is a decision that can be made that alters the ending. It doesn’t seem like anything else alters the ending but that final decision. I like the story, it’s simple and engaging that is paced very well in its fairly short playtime. However, it’s the setting that really gripped me.

Victorian Wales looks really pretty and the opening feels like you’re walking straight into a classic horror novel setting, it’s really well done. It’s not the most fantastic looking game visually, but it has a very beautiful style and one that really hammers home the feeling of being trapped in some mad hotel. What really stands out, in terms of the visuals, is the lighting as it’s very well done throughout the entire experience. There’s always just a hint of light in all the right places, which definitely enforces the feeling of isolation.

Once you’re inside the hotel, the plot progresses through notes, phonographs and phone calls with Elisabeth, the latter being the most original and interesting. They all combine to drip-feed the events of the hotel since Elisabeth returned and it’s really easy to piece together and understand what’s been going on prior to your arrival. The notes, as usual, are optional, so you will probably miss some along the way, but they aren’t necessary to fully understand the plot, they just help at filling in some gaps. There is a lot of subtle environmental storytelling that really add to the experience. For example, in one room of the hotel, you can stumble into a bed that sends spikes straight up through the mattress! How f$%ked up is that? Screw staying there.

The phonographs in Maid of Sker are essentially your equivalent to the Resident Evil typewriters, acting as places to save the game. They also offer some more tidbits of information which is a nice touch, so every time you find a new save you solve a bit more of the mystery. It’s not the only thing this game has in common with Resident Evil though, as you’ll see later on…

As I said before though, the conversations with Elisabeth are the most interesting story beats, as she calls you from her hiding place, in the attic (just going to ignore the fact that she seemingly knows where you are at all times despite this being set in the 1800s, there’s no ‘find my iPhone’ here), and talks you through how she’s feeling and telling you what you need to do to get to her. In these conversations, there are dialogue choices, although you can usually hear all of them if you just ask them all in no particular order – so they’re not really ‘choices’. This highlights a major problem for me in the game though: Thomas Evans is the most lifeless protagonist of a game I’ve ever played…

Your character is almost entirely mute, which makes it incredibly hard to relate to him and emotionally link to how he’s feeling. He only seems to make a sound when he’s falling down or struggling when you’ve been grabbed. The fact he doesn’t talk at all is really off-putting. I want to feel his fear, I want to know how he feels, I want to become Thomas and be fully immersed within this dark world. I would love to know how he is so silent when he’s witnessing people being burnt, being smashed through windows, and observing menacing enemies with sewn up faces known as The Quiet Ones.

Ironically, they make more noise than Thomas and they’re called ‘THE QUIET ONES’, that doesn’t seem right!

So, how does the game actually play? Think of the first half of Resident Evil 7 mixed with Outlast or Remothered: Tormented Fathers and you’re pretty close. You will be slowly progressing through the floors of the Sker Hotel by dodging the blind enemies and solving puzzles, sometimes backtracking to open previously closed areas. It’s a complete mixed bag experience, with some great mechanics that are dragged down by sheer repetitiveness and some extreme AI inconsistencies. The developers have released a patch that targets some of these inconsistencies, along with some other bugs, but I was still having the same problems.

The AI is sometimes very dumb, to the point where you can walk past them within a few meters and they ignore you completely. Then, other times when you’re two rooms away and crouched, having not barged into any objects at all, the ‘Aha, found you!’ music plays and they’re suddenly running through doors and come straight up to you, even though you haven’t done anything. It’s very bizarre and, more than anything, very frustrating. The game is monotonous as it is without having to replay the same difficult sections over and over due to some strange super sensitive AI.

I played on normal difficulty and overall, it did feel fair. But, there were definitely times I was punished for doing nothing wrong, pulling me out of the experience and immersion.

The stand out mechanic of the game is the ability to hold your breath. As you’re sneaking past enemies you need to try to not make a sound and this mechanic allows you to do that. Of course, you can only hold it for a short period of time but it’s a really important and interesting feature that I’ve personally never used in a game before. It’s the only feature in the gameplay that actually adds to the tension in a positive way, as sometimes timing is absolutely everything. One second to early and you could run out just as you’re next to the enemy, where you then need to take a large loud gasp of air. One second too late and you may already be heard and hunted down. It’s a really interesting balance and is my favourite part of the gameplay for sure.

The other option you have is to defend yourself is a device that you find that can buy you a few seconds of respite. Saying what it is would be venturing slightly into spoiler territory, so I won’t, but you have to find ‘ammo’ for it and it’s in very limited supply, so should only be used when you’re really in a pinch. In most cases, you can take a bit of damage as you can find healing drinks scattered around, but with so many things out to get you, it’s best to try to avoid all damage if possible. I’m a little surprised that there’s no option to hide in cupboards or under beds as they even look like objects you can jump into and under. I’m not sure why that wasn’t included but I think it would remove a lot of frustration, as sometimes there’s just not enough space in a room to hold your breath and stay out of an enemy’s path.

As you progress through the hotel, you will also face a different type of enemy that changes the playstyle considerably. This enemy is a blatant ‘Mr. X’ rip off and despite it being an attempt at a different challenge for variety, it ruined my experience quite a bit. This enemy knows where you are at all times, it doesn’t matter how quiet you are. They will stalk you all around the floor, stopping you from being able to look around for both collectables and story progression items. It’s a very trial and error experience that will wear a few people down into not finishing the game. The endless sneaking is very repetitive, but I would take more of it over this absolute menace. The worst part? This enemy insta-kills you. The only way you can go round them is to use some vents to sneak through rooms but it’s not like it doesn’t know where you are, so it’s a very brief second you buy yourself, not really enough to look around.

This meant I wasn’t able to fully explore the floor as much as I would have liked, as I was forced into rushing to an objective just to get past this part, as it was annoying me so much.

Finally, your time in Sker Hotel will be spent occasionally solving puzzles, which I found really fun and I kind of wish there was more of them. There’s stuff such as pulling beer taps in a particular order, rushing around in an enclosing room to find an escape, and the absolute best being a puzzle that’s based purely on audio design. The solutions are always within sight, you just have to look around the environment for the clues and then use them to figure out how to solve them. It was a nice change of pace when the puzzles came and I’m glad they were included.

As I said, the best puzzle, in my opinion, was a part where you had to follow your ears. The room is completely pitch black and you had to manoeuvre through the darkness by listening to various sound cues to reach a source of light before moving on to the next one. It’s very creepy and disorienting and was one of the very few real ‘horror’ parts of the game in terms of creepy content.

This puzzle only works because of the excellent sound design. The audio in this game is quite something and it makes the game feel a lot scarier than it actually is. Strap on a decent pair of headphones when playing this game, trust me, it transforms the experience. The footsteps of The Quiet Ones haunt the hallways, the moans of creaking wood behind you as you stand and talk to Elisabeth are bone-chilling, heck, even the occasional jump-scares are only effective because of the sound that accompanies them – it’s all brilliantly done.

If wearing headphones you always get a strong sense of where the enemies are walking, giving you a much greater chance of surviving. The visual and audio design is definitely to be praised, it’s eerily pretty to look at and unnerving and claustrophobic in what envelopes your ears. They’re the two strongest aspects for me.

Speaking of jump-scares, despite giving me a little fright they, unfortunately, didn’t always quite hit the mark. There’s only a handful of them throughout and they’re good in the sense that they don’t feel forced, they feel completely natural and I commend Wales Interactive for not overdoing it. They’re far apart enough to let you relax into the stealth and feel shocked by them when they happen. That being said, an effective jump-scare usually has me pausing my game needing a rest, that only happened once for me in the game. One reason for this is that I only caught a couple of them at the edge of my screen, which completely removed the shock factor. I realise this is not likely to happen to everyone but their positioning means that sometimes they won’t have the desired effect for everyone on their first playthrough.

My biggest problem with the game, more than the repetitive sneaking and dying, is that it’s just not as scary as I was hoping. Sure, there’s some dark imagery and the hotel is an eery and brilliant setting, but once the sneaking starts the game just doesn’t feel scary. However, it did overall feel very tense but all stealth sections in games feel tense, that’s kind of the point of them. But the reason they felt tense in Maid of Sker is mainly because of the spaced-out and limited save locations, meaning if you mess up it’s usually a long way back to where you met your demise. I was expecting to feel terrified about what was around the corner but instead, it was more a case of “I wonder where the next blind enemy is”, which just isn’t the same.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Maid of Sker scratched my horror itch for the year so far for sure. Despite some of my criticisms, it’s not a bad game, far from it. It’s just let down by a very few glaring issues that stop it from being a truly great game. I still really enjoyed my time with it, mainly due to its incredible setting and references to folklore. The story progresses in a very natural way and feels just about the right length at around four hours. The Quiet Ones are an interesting enemy type and their presence in the game is explained brilliantly through the excellent world-building that’s throughout the floors of the hotel. The only problem is that the story of them limits the gameplay experience somewhat to a repetitive sneaking trial and error game and that can get very frustrating, especially when it’s let down by strange AI problems. The puzzles in the game are very fun to work out and feel just as fun to do as the puzzles in a Resident Evil or Silent Hill game. The visuals and sound design are really quite something and lift the experience somewhat, which tells me that there’s potential for a fantastic horror experience to come from Wales Interactive.

Maid of Sker is a showcase that tells me Wales Interactive is a studio to keep an eye on, providing a refreshing take on a focused horror game that does enough to stand out from the pack. The breath-holding mechanic is a foundation to build on in the future and I really can’t wait to see what they come up with next. For now, Maid of Sker just didn’t do enough for me to love it. I’m holding my breath for the next adventure though.

If you’re more into buying physical games, rather than digital ones, then Perp Games are publishing the physical editions on the PS4 and Xbox One HERE. As of right now, there is only the ‘Vinyl’ edition, which contains:

• The game (on either platform)
• A limited-edition Vinyl soundtrack
• Digital artbook
• Digital map
• A signed inlay from the team at Wales Interactive.

If you’ve not had a signed game from Perp Games before, the game is still sealed and new, but you also receive a signed inlay separately for you to showcase or swap once you’ve opened up the game.

**Only the first 115 orders will have the signed inlay though**

In July last year, Wales Interactive released the incredibly tense and scary Maid of Sker, a horror game in which you must explore an abandoned hotel whilst avoiding blind enemies with enhanced hearing abilities. I initially gave the game a go, found myself becoming too frustrated and scared, so I gave it to my colleague to review for us instead (HERE) – I’m not great with immersive horror games that involve stealth and wearing headphones! However, today’s the day that the native PS5 and Xbox Series edition launches, so I decided to give it another go and see if I can make it any further whilst looking at the enhancements and the new game modes.

Wales Interactive are both the developer and publisher for this title, a studio we’ve worked with many times, which are probably more well-known for their publishing of FMV games on all platforms. However, this isn’t the first horror game in recent years which they’ve created, Don’t Knock Twice was also one of their games, playable in both Flat and VR modes (I’m glad Maid of Sker wasn’t VR, but a VR mode would be so much more intense!). Speaking of, the story and plot for Maid of Sker were crafted by people who had worked on Don’t Knock Twice, SOMA, and Battlefield 1 – with that talent, you know you’re in for a ride with this game!

So, having not played it in full the first time around, how did I manage with the newly upgraded version? What’s different between this version and the last-gen? And are the new modes any fun? Let’s step inside the Sker Hotel and see if we can find the answers to all of these and more…

Welcome to the Sker Hotel…

Maid of Sker is a horror game, set in 1898, that requires you to focus heavily on sounds and stealth. You’ve come to the Sker Hotel to find your lover, Elisabeth Williams, who has been trapped within the attic, unable to escape for reasons unknown. She advises you not to come and find her until you’ve created a ‘counter song’ to the tune within her locket, a strange request yet one which you agree to do before jumping on a train to the isolated Sker Island, where all that remains is the run-down abandoned Sker Hotel.

After briefly exploring the grounds and the reception area, one thing is clear – there’s something not right here, something unnatural. Then you see it, or at least, you see something. A man screaming for his life as he’s thrown through a window then dragged away, leaving a blood trail across the floor that leads to his soon-to-be murdered bloody body. If this was modern-day, and the protagonist had a mobile phone, I’d have to give the hotel a less than favourable Yelp review – when I stay somewhere, I don’t want to see people being tortured and murdered!

Without getting too much into the story, you soon discover that the hotel has become overrun by ‘people’ who can’t see. They roam the hallways and the gardens with, what appears to be, potato sacks tied to their heads, listening out for the slightest noise so that they can home-in and target their prey (in this case, you). So, you must work your way through the hotel silently, utilising the Apple of Eden a device that makes a sound to distract them when you can’t possibly work out how to avoid them without getting grabbed. 

Can you make it to the attic and find your lover? Will you simply give up and jump back on the train (I wish this was an option)? Or, will you become food for the bag-head creatures? It’s all fun and games as you search for the Maid of Sker…

What is this strange device?

Gameplay
As mentioned above, a few times, it’s all about stealth in Maid of Sker. The enemies may not have sight but they have an acute sense of hearing, allowing them to target the smallest of noises. As such, you have a few mechanics to help you avoid being heavy-footed and stomping around the place like a toddler running for candy. First of all, you can crouch to lower the noise you make, along with pushing the control stick very gently, this will allow you to sneak right past those pesky ‘things’, just don’t bump into them or it’s all for nought.

Secondly, you can use the aforementioned device to produce a sonic blast and deafen your foes momentarily as you casually walk or run past them. The ‘ammo’ for this is limited though, so it’s best to only use it when you’re really stuck and can’t work out a more silent approach to the situation. Also, there’s a trophy for never using this tool, so if you’re looking at getting them all then you’ll have to shove it in your pants and never pull it back out.

Finally, you can use noises to your advantage, commonly seen in movies where someone throws something to lure the guards to the wrong location. In this case, however, you can ring bells or generally make noise in one area, watch as the stupid bag-heads run towards it, then you peacefully walk behind them and get on with your life. Although these beings are deadly and wouldn’t like anything more than brutally beating you to a pulp and ripping the limbs of your body, they aren’t the brightest enemies out there.

Stealth, is that it?
No. Maid of Sker reminds me of early Resident Evil games in that you have to find certain keys to unlock doors so you can venture further into the hotel. Another nod towards the Resident Evil series is that you can only save in set locations, interacting with a gramophone (remember, it’s 1898) within the ‘safe rooms’ lets you hear recordings from the imprisoned lover and her family whilst also recording your progress so far. You also need to answer the phone to communicate with Elisabeth whilst you’re snooping around, as you do in The Occupation, but if you’re not careful, something may grab you from behind mid-call!

Time for some revenge!

Challenge mode
As of today, the Challenge Mode has been added to the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game, launching as part of the PS5 and Xbox Series editions by default. This is a collection of four challenges that require you to escape the hotel – it may sound familiar but there’s one major difference… you have weapons! An axe, Shotgun, Rifle, and Revolver are here to make your life a little easier, although the halls are full of enemies who really don’t want you to leave!

Each of the challenges are slightly different, one gives you all the weapons, the next is the same only there’s no light (only a flashlight), the following gives you only an axe, and the final one has its difficulty cranked right up. I braved the first challenge and actually managed to complete it in just over an hour (video below), yet it was the tensest and scariest hour of my life! You would think that having a gun makes it easier… nope. You can hear the groans and footsteps of the enemies around the corner, but you can’t see them, hoping you have enough bullets to take them down before you become overwhelmed!

Thankfully, unlike Resident Evil 8, the enemies aren’t bullet sponges. One shot to the head will take down the simple enemies, setting in rigour mortis as their bodies become stiff and they make rather amusing poses on the floor or propped up against an object. However, later enemies require many more bullets, such as ones that fire frickin’ laser beams out of their face, a fatty that spews fire at you, and a rather dapper young lady who likes to vanish and teleport every time you hit her! Considering bullets are uncommon and limited, this mode gets very intense really fast!

As advised, this mode is now in all version of the game (PC got it a while ago). If you have the last-gen edition, there is a patch today that adds it. If you grab the new current-gen edition, it’s already there and you can play it straight from the menu. There are three ‘DLC’ trophies regarding this, all of which are going to be quite tricky to earn in my opinion. But, they’re just DLC ones, so you don’t need them for the platinum.

What a beautiful sceneic location!

The Enhancements
This is what you’re all here for – what’s been enhanced and is it worth the (free) upgrade? First of all, the upgrade is free, so yeah, it’s worth it. But, does it take advantage of the PS5 and Xbox Series’ additional power? Yes, obviously…

Visuals
On the Xbox Series X and the PS5, you have two visual and performance options. The game can run at a native 4K on both, albeit at 30fps. I tried this mode in my video below and it stuck to 30 without any major dips. However, you can also run the game at 1440p with a 60fps cap instead (again, on both) – this provided a silky smooth framerate without any obvious dip in visual quality outside of the raw resolution. My advice – play the game in 1440p mode.

A previous patch in the last-gen edition added a 60fps mode toggle for the Xbox and PS (last and current-gen) consoles – this is still here. So, you ‘can’ play at a native 4K with the framerate uncapped, but this results in an inconsistent framerate, so I wouldn’t recommend it. You also have settings for film grain, motion blur, an FOV slider (which you don’t usually see), and even the option to pick from four different Anti-Aliasing types. 

The textures have also received a bump in quality over the last-gen edition, resulting in things looking even creepier and spooky up-close. So, overall you’re getting a nice smooth experience with enhanced visuals. Sure, you could still play the last-gen edition through BC mode on both consoles, activating the 60fps unlock to give you smooth gameplay, but I believe that version is only 1080p and wouldn’t come with the following DualSence enhancements…

Feel the impact of every shot, even against this cute drawing!

The DualSence
Maid of Sker takes advantage of the DualSense controller in a few ways. First of all, Wales Interactive have decided to use the lightbar to indicate how healthy you are – which is great. The game has no HUD, indicating your life by presenting a red-blooded banner around the screen that gets more intense as you become closer to death. However, if playing on the PS5, you can simply look down and judge if you should use a health potion based on the colour of the light, going from green to red via a number of stages.

Haptic feedback is also used to immerse you within this creepy world. As you walk, your footsteps can be heard, as the game is all about sound. But, if you’re using the DS controller, you literally feel each footstep as the haptics alternate the tapping of your feet from your left hand to the right, in time with the steps in the game. This is awesome to feel, it’s not ‘rumble’, it feels like the controller is literally tapping your hands with each step. The haptics also help enhance the gunshots by providing different impacts per weapon, and when you bump into things.

Similarly, the Adaptive Triggers have been put to use for the phonic modulator and the weapons. Each weapon has its own resistance, making it feel more realistic to play. It’s not as strong as other games I’ve played previously, but you can feel the force during the challenge mode. 

Who’s a good boy?!

General PS5 enhancements
In regards to the loading times, it’s good but not as good as the original press release stated. It claimed the game has one-second loading times on the PS5. However, loading a saved game from the menu or recovering from death takes around 4-5 seconds – it’s still faster than the PS4, but not as snappy as Resident Evil 8. Also, the game uses a single Activity Card, allowing you to ‘quickly’ load your game from the dashboard, but they’ve kept the unskippable title cards in there, so it takes a whopping 40 seconds to load your game via the use of that card. 

Devs need to take advantage of the quick resume option by having that feature skip everything and simply load your most recent save. Again, Resident Evil 8 does that and gets you back into the game within 7 seconds. If the game has to show the title cards, a warning, then load the menu followed by your save, you’re not really saving any time by using the feature.

Regarding the Activity Cards, there is only one of them, showing the progress you’re making in the single-player campaign. There’s no PS Plus help, no breakdown of the trophies, and no description of what your goal is. This would be fine if it was just a single-player experience, as we saw with Manifold Garden, but why isn’t there an Activity Card for the four Challenges? If they scrap the title cards and have four additional quick-play options to load straight into each of the Challenge Modes, I think it’ll make it more appealing to jump in for a quick game here and there.

What the hell have I stumbled upon now?!

Technical
After playing both the PS4 and PS5 version (on both the PS4 and PS5 via BC and natively), it’s clear to see that the PS5 version is the best way to play the game (obviously). The developers have used most of the technology available to them during the enhancement, giving us a more polished game at a solid 60fps (or 30 if you want to play in 4K), and a more immersive experience with the controller. I never encountered any crashes or technical issues (other than the enemies turning as stiff as a board instead of rag-dolling – but that may be intentional).

In terms of audio – play this game with headphones. Seriously, the game is based on sound and being aware of your surroundings, headphones amplify this a thousand times due to being able to pinpoint where the enemies footsteps are coming from and using that to your advantage as you devise a strategy of avoiding them. I don’t think the game takes advantage of the 3D audio within the PS5 hardware, but it still sounds great and delivers realistic directional audio.

Although most of the game is silent, relying on the ambient noises and terrifying footsteps, there is a decent amount of subtle music within the game, as well as some lovely songs that play visa the cylinders you have to collect and creepy music coming from various wind-up music boxes. As such, you can actually buy the soundtrack for the game on PSN – something I wasn’t aware of – for only £3.29! To find it on the PS5, search for ‘Maid of Sker‘ or ‘Soundtrack’ and move to the ‘games’ tab – it should be listed there. Alternatively, if you have the game installed, click on the three dots next to where it says Install or Play, and you should see it in there. 

Don’t forget, this native PS5 edition is FREE to all owners of the PS4 version. The same is true with the Xbox Series X edition and owners on Xbox One. It ISN’T the patch that dropped today – that just adds support for the Challenge Mode – it’s a new version with a new set of trophies.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
If you’re looking for a game that’ll make you afraid to turn out the lights, Maid of Sker is for you. The constant fear of bumping into something and alerting the blind bag-heads makes the game very tense and nerve-wracking. This enhanced edition provides silky-smooth gameplay, immersive DualSense controller support, upgraded visuals, and introduces us to the new Challenge Mode, although having a gun doesn’t make the experience any less frightening or anxiety-inducing. Considering the game is only £19.99 for both versions, I highly recommend you pick this up if you like horror games – it’ll scare the pants off you!

Alternatively, if you prefer physical media, Perp Games released the physical edition of the game on both the Xbox One and PS4 (and the Switch), currently selling for £14.99 on Amazon – this version also includes the free next-gen upgrade.

Additional Alternative (I’ve just spotted this) – Limited Run Games are publishing the physical edition of the PS5 version. So, if you’d just like the PS5 edition on disc, for preservation and ease-of-use (no need to download the next-gen version) then you can pick it up here: https://limitedrungames.com/products/ps5-limited-run-maid-of-sker– Pre-orders go live on the 4th of June.

Here are a few videos I’ve knocked together – an hour of gameplay from the main game in both 4K/30 and 1440p/60 (I swap halfway), an hour playing the Challenge Mode, and me facing the boss of the Challenge Mode a second time. The first two videos are recorded in full 4K/60 directly from the PS5 (the final one is only 1080p/60), so I’d advise you to watch them in either 1440p or 2160p as YouTube doesn’t compress those resolutions. I hope you enjoy them and be sure to subscribe to us for more PS5 videos going forward!

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[PS5 Version] Maid of Sker ~ Main Game, 4K and 1440p modes - PS5 Gameplay [4K/60fps capture]

[PS5 Version] Maid of Sker ~ Challenge mode (Guns!) @ 1440p/60fps - PS5 Gameplay [4K/60fps capture]

[PS5 Edition] Maid of Sker ~ Challenge Mode boss, take two! - PS5 Gameplay [1080p/60fps capture]

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I loved The Town of Light, a psychological narrative adventure game based on real events and situations which took place within the horrific mental health institutes back in the 1930s. It was a thriller that relied on its brilliant writing and atmospheric environments in order to pull you into the dark and depressing story it was trying to tell. So, when I heard that the developers, LKA, were creating another game with a similar dark and disturbing narrative, I knew I had to check it out. So, over the last week I’ve played through Martha Is Dead multiple times on multiple systems and via multiple visual modes – and no, the PlayStation version hasn’t been ‘censored’…

They say that no press is bad press, but in the case of Martha Is Dead, there have been a number of YouTubers and websites speculating on the content within this game based on a tweet sent out by the publisher. I’ll talk about this later, but the TL;DR is that the PlayStation version contains all of the same gruesome and disturbing scenes as the other platforms, you just don’t ‘play’ these scenes via a QTE – they play as a video instead. Personally, I’m fine with that as you still get to see everything, so it’s technically not ‘censored’, just had a minor adjustment.

My review will be based upon the PS5 version of the game running in 4K/30fps mode (including the images) until I talk about the 60fps and PS4 versions towards the end. Also, the PS5 version hasn’t yet received its day one patch, unlike the PS4, so I’ve played through both to see what issues have been fixed and which remain – which I’ll also get to later on. So, after completing the game four times and subjecting myself to certain horrific scenes, what did I think of it? Let’s find out…

*update – the day one patch allows you to import your PS4 saves. Simply open the PS5 version and if it detects PS4 saves on your console, it’ll ask if you wish to import them.*

R.I.P

Martha Is Dead is aptly titled as the story is about a young girl named Martha who has been tragically murdered, leaving behind her mother, father, and twin sister, Giulia. The sisters were identical in looks but not in personality or ability, Giulia was a talkative girl with a passion for song, music, and photography, whereas Martha was traumatised as a child and hadn’t spoken in over fifteen years, nor could she hear due to her deafness. Sadly, the differences don’t stop there as Martha was her mother’s favourite child, always getting what she wanted and treated like an angel, with Giulia often receiving abuse and blame that severely affected her mental health and wellbeing.

Giulia was the one who found Martha’s body, floating peacefully in the river – a river that has a sad and haunting tale attached to it regarding a ‘White Lady’ that preys on women as she looks for her lover who was taken away from her. Despite the death being ruled as an accident, or at least nothing suspicious, Giulia is convinced that foul play was the reason for her sister’s untimely death, but without any evidence or support from people who believes her, she must search for the truth alone.

Despite being your parents, they often had trouble telling both sisters apart, with the only ‘tell’ being that Martha is deaf and dumb. As such, when they find you next to your sister, speechless due to the situation, they instantly confuse you with Martha, embracing you for the first time and actually treating you like a human being. As such, you play along and don Martha’s identity whilst you look into her death – how long can you put up this charade without arousing suspicion and being found out?

Not only will you have to investigate the mysterious folklore that shrouds your small farmland and nearby woods, but you’ll also experience the horrors of war between the German and Allied forces that also inhabit the woods and nearby fields. Set in 1944 Italy, the war is ongoing and nobody is safe, especially considering your father is a German General and the Italians had turned on the Axis Forces in 1943. 

I grew to love this ‘puzzle’

Gameplay
Martha Is Dead is a narrative adventure game, you walk around (or jog at a rather slow pace) as you explore the house, woods, and nearby locations. It’s a horror game but it’s not all about jump scares, instead it focuses on psychological horror delivered through brilliant writing, terrific voice acting, and an atmosphere so thick you could cut it with a knife! That being said, there are a few jumps in regards to the supernatural side of the game, but that’s not the main focus. The game even references the Asylum featured within The Town of Light, which is a nice nod towards the developer’s previous game.

The game itself is a linear experience that has defined key moments that progress the story, meaning if you’ve not found items or performed certain actions before you trigger the chapter’s main event, you can’t go back unless you reload or start a new game. There are a few things you could miss, mostly relating to trophies, but nothing will directly impact the story.

Some of the side missions will require you to try new things, such as riding a very janky bike, travelling by boat and my ‘favourite’, deciphering morse code… This initially stressed me out as it took me a long time to understand, even though it’s super easy – I actually resorted to typing in the morse code into an app in order to read it until I realised how stupid I was being! You have a guide that tells you how to read and reply to morse code messages (see above). You have to read from the top and move left or right depending on if it’s a dot or a dash – it’s quite an intuitive guide and I actually enjoyed this side mission. 

The only issue I had with the morse code, and the phone numbers next to the phones, is that the text is incredibly hard to see at certain times of the day when there’s little light. Simple solution – crank up the gamma. 

It may seem like there’s nothing there, but there is…

Photography
A big part of Martha Is Dead is the initiative photography mechanics. Giulia is an avid photographer, a hobbyist who really loves taking and developing her own pictures in the basement darkroom. Initially, you’ll be taking pictures of wildlife, objects of interest, and clues, placing them within your photo album for future reference. But, after a short while, you’ll begin to find additional components such as zoom lenses, coloured filters, and even an infrared attachment, which not only enhances your photos but also allows you to see things that aren’t visible to the naked eye.

That’s right, a few of the additional objectives you can uncover revolve around following clues to locations where you can take an IR photo of a seemingly empty space which, when developed, shows ghostly figures or hidden riddles leading to other spots. 

Developing the images has been made nice and simple – pick your image, adjust the focus, then place it in a solution for ten seconds before you pull it back out. The game tells you that it’s made the process much easier and streamlined compared to how it works in real life, but I would have actually liked the option to make the process realistic – I’ve played quite a few games which make you use all three liquids and time the process yourself.

One thing I really wanted the game to do, but it sadly doesn’t, is for it to actually place the developed photo on your PS console as an actual photo (as if you’ve pressed the Share Button). Very few games actually do this, Yakuza instant springs to mind as that creates actual photos every time you take a photo in-game. If this was how the camera worked within Martha Is Dead, I would have spent much longer taking pictures and developing them, rather than focusing mainly on the ones required to progress the story.

One of the scenes posted all over the internet – it’s all here…

Horrific moments – it’s not ‘censored’
As mentioned in the opening paragraphs, Martha Is Dead has received a lot of press lately regarding the ‘censorship’ of the game. I can finally tell everyone that no, the PlayStation versions have NOT been censored in regards to the content – despite what websites and YouTubers were speculating without actually playing the game. The only change is in regards to how you view the scenes affected – instead of holding a Shoulder Button and pushing the Thumbstick as you perform disgusting self-mutilation and graphic bloody penetration of dead bodies, you watch a cutscene of the same content.

Thankfully, for the squeamish out there, all versions of the game come with a ‘Censor’ button within the settings menu. If this is enabled, the screen will fade to black just before the above actions take place, returning momentarily with the end result – so you don’t have to watch the ‘gameplay’ if you find it too disturbing. Also, the day one patch has introduced the option to push triangle to skip the scene if you have the censorship turned off but you don’t like what you see.

I believe there are four or five scenes that have been turned into a non-interactive element on the PlayStation consoles – I’m not sure if you can also have them as watch-only on Xbox and PC or if they’re Interactive or skipped. The game also includes a naked dead body with boobs, fully naked dolls, talk of rape, and a bunch of sensitive subjects such as miscarriage, murder, suicide, and dismemberment. The game has a lot of scenes that are clearly there to shock and disturb you, it’s not best played if you’re sensitive to these subjects, it also explores mental health and touches on animal abuse later into the story.

On a side note – no, downgrading the PS4 version to version 1.0 (or installing off the disc with no update) DOESN’T give you access to the interactive cutscenes – the PS4 version we had for review was version 1.0 (the disc version). This is most likely why the physical discs have been delayed, so they can be pressed with a new 1.0 version (I’m not sure about the PS5 disks as we were on 1.030). *update – it appears one conversation was removed, referencing masturbation. Other than that, the above is correct*

4K | 1080p

PS5 features and platform quality
The PS5 version of Martha Is Dead is incredible. You have the option to either play the game in a full 2160p (4K) at 30fps or 1080p at 60fps – I highly recommend you play it at 4K. The game itself is a very slow-moving exploration experience, no fast reactions are required as you uncover the truth behind what happened to Martha. As such, although 60fps is nice to have, it isn’t essential and the extra pixels really enhanced the visuals on a 4K TV. I have put a comparison image above, you can slide to see how the difference between both visual modes.

The trophies aren’t yet live on PSN, so I don’t know if there are any Trophy Cards, but the game does make use of the controller’s Haptic Feedback and Adaptive Triggers. The Haptics alternate pulses to coincide with your footsteps, as well as provides HD rumble as you explore the area, whereas the Trigger Support is quite minimal and simply creates tension as you interact with objects. 

There are a few visual issues in the pre-patched version (which are also there on the patched PS4 version). For example, in one of the chapters the basement goes pitch black, when it shouldn’t, which also affects the darkroom by making it almost unplayable without cranking the gamma all the way to max. But, the majority of the issues I had, such as movement bugs, world holes, and events not triggering, seem to have all been fixed in the upcoming update.

PS4 | PS5 (4K)

The visually unattractive PS4 version
I’ve just finished playing through the entire game again, for the fourth time, on the PS5 via PS4 BC. Why? The PS4 version got the day one patch last night but the PS5 hasn’t yet, so I wanted to see if any of the major issues I had have been fixed (which I’ll talk about next). Sadly, the experience on the PS4 Pro version was far below that of the PS5 (which you’d expect), the framerate was a stable 30fps but the visual quality was really, really bad, even when played on the PS5 via Backwards Compatability.

Let’s start with the most jarring issue on the last-gen console, the textures don’t load in a lot of places. Martha Is Dead has a lot of detail within the world, names on a monument in the graveyard, a picture in a stone wall within the woods, fully-written articles in the newspaper, and nicely decorated walls – all of these examples are as clear as rubbing your eyes with vaseline and holding a magnifying glass up to your face! I don’t know if it’s an issue with the latest update or if the developers have purposely downgraded these textures to the point where they’re simply a blob of colour with no detail?

PS4 | PS5

One example is the monument in the cemetery, I stood in front of the image for five minutes and it never loaded, so I believe it is a bug rather than a streaming issue (image above).

Another issue I had with the PS4 version is stuttering, when the game is loading a new area the game momentarily freezes or stutters for a second or two – this isn’t present on the PS5 version. I also found the text within the puppet scenes hard to read due to the clearly sub-1080p resolution the game runs at. Finally, the lighting within this version is nowhere near the quality we see within the PS5 – again, this is expected but you can really see the difference when you have two images next to one another, the PS5 version has more depth and detail whereas the PS4 version often looked flat.

My advice – if you have a PS5, play the game on there – only play it on the PS4 if that’s the only console you have. It performs well enough but visually it’s a big step down (hopefully the issues are only bugs though, and they’ll get fixed). *update – according to the FAQ (HERE), the PS4 version is 4K/30 – I’m finding that hard to believe.*

Four button presses required (PS4 image)

Technical and assessability
The developers have provided some good accessibility options but missed a major one which will restrict some people from playing and enjoying Martha Is Dead. First of all, I love that you can change the head bob amount, get a visual aid showing how big your subtitles are going to be within the menu, have full control over every volume slider, you can invert the Y-Axis, and have the option to censor the gruesome parts. But, there’s no option to simplify the QTE moments.

Why is this an issue? There are a few moments where you have to hold L2 and R2 whilst pushing both the Left and Right Thumbstick at the same time. Some people will find it hard to activate all prompts together so a simplified single-button option would have been welcomed. Thankfully there’s no time limit on any important QTES – only ones based on if you wish to respond – but I’m hoping the multi-button prompts can be adjusted via an update.

On the PS5 I had zero crashes for the entire 29 hours I played. I became stuck on a few objects and had to reload the last save (it saves every chapter), but it didn’t crash. The PS4 version, however, crashed twice within six hours. but, thanks to the helpful autosave, I never lost any progress. 

The game starts up with Italian selected as the vocal language, with English subtitles. You can change this, as there are a few different fully-voiced languages, but I recommend playing it at least once with the native language selected.

One final wish, which I want all developers to be aware of, is there’s no option to delete your save files – only overwrite them. On the PS4 this isn’t too bad as you can individually delete them via the PS4 itself if you really want to, but the PS5 bundles all the saves together into one file. This means you’ll end up with a save failed around 500MB which you can’t reduce unless you delete the whole lot. I just found out, you can delete your saves, you have to go into the ‘load’ menu and then you have the option to delete them.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Martha Is Dead was more disturbing and shocking than I thought it would be, delivering a brilliant story with gorgeous (if rather gruesome) visuals and a hypnotic soundtrack. The photography mechanics were implemented well, allowing you to capture every moment – it’s just a shame the photos didn’t manifest as actual pictures on the console. Despite the commotion pre-release, the game is fully uncensored if you wish it to be, you just can’t participate in the horrific cutscenes via interactive QTEs, which doesn’t affect the game in any way. If you like slow-paced psychological horror games with an interesting story that’ll have you hooked until the credits roll, check out Martha Is Dead today.

What version will you pick up today? On PSN, you can pick up Martha Is Dead for £24.99, the Digital Deluxe (which includes The Town of Light) for £32.99, or the Ultimate Edition (which includes The Town of Light and the Martha Is Dead soundtrack) for £36.99. It doesn’t appear that the soundtrack is available to buy on its own (on PSN), which is a shame. The soundtrack is on PSN, it’s just hidden (unless you’re on a PS4). You have to search on your PS5 for Martha Is Dead, go to the sale page (click View Product in the three dots if you own the game), then click the three dots and you should see the soundtrack – it’s £7.99

If you’re more into your physical versions, you can buy the PS4 (and PS5 upgrade) or PS5 versions direct from Wired Productions (PS4 | PS5). These have the game, a reversible sleeve, a double-sided A3 poster, downloadable tarot cards, and a sticker sheet, for only £24.99! 

Or, if you really want something special, you can pick up the physical PS5 Collector’s Edition for £125 HERE. This includes the game, a triple vinyl soundtrack and download copy, a steel book, an art book, ‘The White Lady’ book, a graphic novel, physical tarot cards, a coin, double-sided poster, the game map (which would have come in handy in my playthrough), stickers, a presentation box, a numbered certificate (there’s only 1000 of these), and a digital code for the game on Steam.

Also, if you want the triple vinyl soundtrack, you can also pick that up HERE for £50 (only 500 have been made for sale).

A few weeks ago 4A Games and Deep Silver released a free ‘next-gen’ edition of Metro Exodus, an upgrade that takes advantage of the new consoles in order to deliver the game that the developers envisioned without last-gen hardware holding it back (visually). We were lucky enough to get a review code to take a look at the enhancements and see just how much it changes the look and feel of the immersive open-world FPS. Let me start by saying that this is a review of the improvements made in the Enhanced Edition of Metro Exodus, rather than a review of the game itself.

Also, as I reviewed the PlayStation 5 version of the game, this platform and its features will be the focus of this review. However, the free upgrade is out now on PC, Xbox Series S and X, with the PC offering more in terms of ray tracing features, the Xbox Series X being very similar to the PS5 edition, and the Series S version trailing behind whilst still delivering a great looking game.

Firstly, the most in-your-face improvement you’ll notice within Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition comes has to be the graphical overhaul. The Enhanced Edition delivers a 4K image (~1512p with Temporal upscaling) at 60fps with ray tracing which leads to some of the best visuals I have seen on the, admittedly, very new consoles. From the open area sections, that show off amazingly rendered landscapes, to the enclosed sections benefiting from the improved lighting effects, this game is gorgeous… in an isolated post-apocalyptic way.

The effects are most noticeable when paired with the stealth mechanics the game encourages you to use. One key mechanic is extinguishing lights in order to hide your presence from enemies; Turning them off leaves you in near-complete darkness with only a small amount of light coming from other sources, giving you patchy visibility at best. Then, when you relight the fires/lights, you watch as the light spreads from the source to fill all of that area surround it naturally.

This may not sound like much, but in a game based around stealth, hiding in the dark, and travelling through dimly-lit areas, it really adds an extra level of immersion to the already tense sections.

While on the subject of how the Enhanced Edition improves your immersion, there is no better time to talk about the DualSense integration. I have to say that I found the haptic and adaptive trigger use frustratingly fantastic. When the haptics and trigger feedback line up perfectly with the actions within the game, the result is a removal of the barriers between you and your character, real-life and the virtual world. Examples of the haptic feature include a pulsing sensation when you’ve taken serious damage and when you have to force yourself through small gaps, feeling much more than a simple ‘rumble’.

As for the adaptive triggers, some personal highlights include the feeling of pumping up the pressure of the pneumatic rifle, using the crank to recharge your torch battery, and the feeling of resistance while you have to row a boat.

However, with all these positives in mind, it should be noted that there are some drawbacks to these unique features. As I said, when they are present they work incredibly well, which leads to the issue that their absence is extremely noticeable. As stated, at some points in the game when you take a lot of damage, the controller reflects this via haptic motion, however, this isn’t always the case. There was no rhyme or reason as to why there were moments when the added features worked in one area yet not in others. Honestly, I’d say this is a compliment for how well the DualSense features are being used, it’s just quite jarring when they’re absent.

Another strange issue with the vibration happened in a section where you’re crawling through some debris. At this point, the controller was heavily vibrating to indicate you are struggling (which is great). But, when I stopped moving, the controller continued to shake – as if the game was predicting I’d be continuously moving and not taking a breather. Then, when I carried on moving, the vibration ran out before I made it to the end of the tunnel, leaving me feeling no feedback for the final stretch. It was strange, maybe the game simply had a set ‘time’ for the vibration rather than actually watching what I was doing?

Moving on to a more consistent positive of this free upgrade, the loading times – or almost lack thereof – has to be discussed. While I don’t have the exact loading time figures for the base version, anecdotal experience suggests that the loading in the Enhanced Edition never exceeded 10 seconds, with an average of around 5 to revive you after death. This again highlights how Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition is optimised to remove any barriers between the player and the game.

A further PS5 specific feature of Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition is the activity cards that accompany the game. Having played a number of games that utilise this feature, experience suggests that some developers barely incorporate these, whilst others put more effort into them. It is pleasing to say that 4A Games have put a lot of effort into making the tip cards useful and detailed, whilst at the same time not giving every aspect of the game away.

A final area of the game worth discussing is the sound design. At this point, it is worth noting that I played the game whilst wearing the official PS5 Pulse 3D headset. The result of this being that I am unsure exactly whether the praise should lie with the game or the technology. With this in mind, the combination of the headset and the new hardware resulted in some of the best sound effects and design I have experienced in a game in recent times.

The tension that builds when you turn out the lights and can hear the enemies approaching in the dark is a perfect partnering of the visual and sound effects. Other examples of this fantastic sound design include when you are in enclosed spaces, such as tunnels or dilapidated buildings, and you can hear the irradiated creatures moving all around you on other floors or in adjacent rooms. Put it this way, the sound is that good it had me looking over my own shoulder thinking there was someone or something behind me, even in a locked room.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition has to be one of the best Next-Gen (Current-Gen?) upgrades to date. It takes full advantage of the newer technology in order to improve visuals, load times and the general game experience. If it weren’t for the inconsistent use of the haptics and adaptive triggers, I would have said it should be the new bar for PS5/Xbox Series upgrades.

Here are a few details about the New-Gen upgrade.
• If you own the game on the PS4 or Xbox One (physically or digitally) then you get the PS5 or Xbox Series upgrade for free.
• If you’re buying the game physically, the PS5 physical copy (the ‘Gold Edition’) only contains the base game on the disc and the two DLC campaigns are download codes (due to how Sony only lets you mirror the digital version on physical media). I’m unsure about the Xbox version.
• You can’t import your PS4 save into Metro Exodus: Enhanced Edition on the PS5, but you can unlock a chapter select without playing the game. The issue with that is, if you choose to unlock it then all trophies are disabled on that save slot.
• There is no higher quality 30fps or lower quality 120fps mode, just a 60fps mode that has a 4K output (which is done via Temporal upscale from around 1512p).

It’s been a good few years for Lovecraft fans as there have been a number of games based upon his horrific creatures and lore, such as The Sinking City, Call of Cthulhu, and Conarium, how about one more? Moons of Madness takes the genre away from disturbing towns surrounded by hallowed waters which house demonic beasts and vile creatures, and it places us upon Mars, a waterless, desert planet which is about as isolated as you can get – I mean, have you seen the movie The Martian? So, with a new setting and spin on the popular theme, just how well has it been pulled off?

From developer Rock Pocket Games, it seems like this type of game is a massive departure from what they’ve created previously, having released Shitflings, a colourful puzzle platformer, as their only console title prior to this narrative horror experience. However, don’t let that sway your judgment on Moons of Madness as they have gone all-in when creating this game, complete with jump scares, horrific creatures, beautiful visuals, and interesting puzzles. 

So, let’s head off to Mars and see how good the Lovecraftian horror set in space was to play through…

WTF is this doing here?

You are Shane Newehart, an engineer who has been stationed on Mars in order to maintain and fix any issues which may arise at Trailblazer Alpha before the transport ship Cyrano arrives with a new team. However, due to the limited clearance you have of the facility, you know very little in regards to the true purpose of this isolated research outpost. Suddenly, a few days before they get here, crucial systems begin to shut down, you begin having nightmares and visions, the greenhouse is contaminated with an unusual mist, and your colleagues haven’t returned from their mission – what’s going on?

Thanks to the forced isolation of being on a distant planet, your only option is to set out and investigate the facility and single-handedly fix the broken machinery upon this desolate planet. That’s when the paranoia and fear sets in, you begin to see things which may or may not be there, experience flashbacks of your youth, and try to remain sane whilst freaky shit is going on all around you. 

Can you uncover the truth behind the research which was going on here? Will you even begin to understand the creatures and visions you’ve been seeing both whilst awake and asleep? And, will you ever see your crewmates again, alive? It’s up to you to figure out the answer to these questions and many, many more, as you investigate the Moons of Madness…

I think someone is trying to tell me something?

Gameplay
Moons of Madness is an exploration horror game with puzzle mechanics and an interesting narrative. If I was to liken it to recent games, I’d say it reminded me a lot of Close to the Sun, Layers of Fear 2, and The Blair Witch Project. Two aspects from those titles reared its head within this game, mechanics which I’m not the biggest fan of; stealth and running away from things. I’ll cover these in more detail later on, but they’re not as bad as I’ve seen previously, although they do drastically change the feeling of the game, turning it from a nice jump-scare and psychological horror title into a more stressful and frustrating one. 

The majority of the game sees you walking or running around, finding out new information on what happened whilst you solve puzzles and automatically drive the Rover. This is where the game shines in my opinion, there’s a lot of backstory within the game, delivered through flashbacks, PC terminals, and interactions with the crew. However, to progress the story, you’ll find yourself having to solve puzzles via remote controlling objects with your arm-PDA, resetting frequencies, finding key items and information all around you, and completing some logic-based puzzles as well.

My only nitpick, other than the stealth and running away mechanics, was the Rover. Whereas games like Deliver us the Moon lets you manually drive the vehicles around the surface, exploring and discovering new locations, the Rover in this game simply self-drives to the next location with no input from you after you turn it on. Moons of Madness is a linear experience, so I can see why it automatically takes you to the next place – as they want you to stick to the path – but it would have been nice to have the chance to mess around a little. 

I’ve seen a lot of people bring this up, so I thought I’d mention it as well. Moons of Madness is split into two parts, the first is focused on setting up the story, introducing you to puzzles, having you explore the base, and feed you a lot of exposition and background. The gameplay for this half is quite slow as it’s building up the story and suspense. The second half of the game is when it becomes more action-orientated and involved, requiring you to be on your guard as well as work through the aforementioned stealth segments. Personally, I like this approach as many other games have used it, slowly easing you in then unleashing the ‘crazy’. As such, although other critics didn’t like the switch in pace and mechanics, I thought it was done well as it reflects the characters experiences and emotions as the game progresses – Calm to WTF.

Don’t mind Mr. Alien goop, it’s just having a poop…

Stealth and Running away
Okay, so what’s my issue with these two mechanics? If you’ve read my review for Close to the Sun, you’ll know I didn’t like the chase sequences in that game because they were really fiddly and almost impossible to complete without dying due to the QTEs you had to perform. Similarly, Layers of Fear 2 stressed me out as I kept getting caught by the creature due to running the wrong way. Thankfully, Moons of Madness is a lot more forgiving and there are no trophies which require you to complete the game without dying or getting caught (the way it should be).

The actual chase sequences aren’t too often and the route you have to take is rather obvious, plus the thing chasing you is quite slow as it waddles towards you. So, this particular mechanic didn’t annoy me as much as I thought it might have, even though it does add stress and tension into the gameplay (which in this case, isn’t a bad thing). 

The stealth segments are similar, not too bad but also quite a contrast to the gameplay up until that point. Without giving away any spoilers, there’s a segment which requires you to hack security cameras with your gear in order to face them away from you so you can run past them. If you’re spotted (as they return to their original patrolling pattern after a few seconds), then an enemy will emerge which will chase and kill you. Now, I’ve seen people play this on PC and they had the chance to run away once they were caught – I never got this to work on PS4, they just kept picking me up and slapping me about until I died. 

There are also some stealth segments where the enemies are already patrolling AND there are security cameras, requiring you to hide, move the camera, wait until the guard goes by, then run out and hope neither sees you. Again, I fully understand the mechanics and concept, it made me all tense and stressed out due to being caught a number of times. But up until now, the game has been an exploration horror game, I wasn’t expecting any stealth at this point. Looking back on the game (I’ve completed it twice and have the platinum), if you’ve played and like games such as the ones I mentioned previously, which have stealth and chasing sequences, you’ll like Moons of Madness – it’s a lot more forgiving and ‘easier’. 

Remote control puzzles – fun!

Puzzles
When you’re not running away, hiding in the shadows, or reading the large amounts of backstory and exposition upon the various computer terminals scattered around the facility, you’ll be most likely trying to solve puzzles. These range from interacting with the environment by finding and using power cores or activating magical orbs, to more logic-based conundrums such as lining up mystical stones, creating a weapon, or solving a number-based distribution puzzle. Each one is fun to solve and not too challenging to work out, so it doesn’t distract you from the overall narrative.

There are also some interesting remote-based puzzles which require you to use your arm-based PDA to both interact and operate various machinery. One of the fan favourites has to be the pipe-based puzzles which we’ve seen in games ranging from Bioshock to pretty much every Artifex Mundi title, a puzzle which requires you to connect A to B via the use of pipes. However, this one is a little different as you also have to go through various plus and minus numbers in order to regulate the current so that it equals the same number stated on both ends of the pipe. In short – it’s a more advanced version of the classic puzzle.

Another format which you’ll see throughout the game is the frequency puzzles. These require you to rotate various satellites left, right, up, or down in order to find a strong signal. These were fun.

I personally thought the balance between the horror, puzzle, narrative, stealth, and exploration aspects of the game were done very well. I never felt like I was being overwhelmed with one particular mechanic as it mixed them all together into a big narrative-adventure pie. Sure, I felt the forced stealth parts were a bit annoying, but they added an extra level of fear and suspense on top of a well-developing story. The only other thing which got me a little frustrated was the jump scare moments as I’m not a fan of those. Don’t get me wrong – they worked perfectly within Moons of Madness – I jumped every single time, even when replaying the game – but I’m just not generally a fan of them as a whole. 

Creepy AF! Where’s the light switch?

The atmosphere
To all those who are currently going crazy and stressing out over the lockdown which is in place over COVID-19, imagine you were isolated on another planet with nobody around to talk to or interact with… We have it easy, Shaun was beginning to positively go insane, cooped up all alone within this abandoned facility without his crew members or any other signs of life outside of the nightmares he was having! Moons of Madness perfectly represents this with his visions, dreams, flashbacks, the music, the visuals, and the overall narrative of the game. Although loosely based on Lovecraftian elements, the effects of the events within this game, and the direction the game goes in, is very different to games such as Call of Cthulhu or The Sinking City.

Trophies/The road to platinum
It took me 1.5 playthroughs to obtain the platinum within Moons of Madness due to a missable trophy which I, obviously, missed. However, for those who are wanting to complete the game once and obtain everything with ease, it’s perfectly doable without the use of any guide or help, you just need to glance over the trophies beforehand. Unlike Games such as Close to the Sun, there’s no speed run trophies, none requiring you to perfect the game without dying, and none revolved around running away from enemies, it’s all about exploring your surroundings – discovering what’s going on, and working your way through the story. 

I can’t recall the time it took to get the platinum, or at least play through the game once, but I think it was around the eight-hour mark. I know people have completed it in as little as four, but again, in reference to Close to the Sun – that game took me around five to six hours to complete yet you ‘could’ finish it in around 90 minutes if you rushed through it. So, take your time and enjoy the experience and you’ll get more out of it.

The game has moments of beauty among the horror.

Technical
As stated above, I really enjoyed the way the developers brought the world to life and made it feel very immersive and realistic through both the visual and audio design. Visually, the game looks fantastic, the lighting in the dark hallways, the creepy figures both far away and in your face, and the realistic textures of every-day items, they all combine into a beautiful-looking atmospheric horror game set within fantastical, yet realistic, locations. I did notice a few blurry textures on things, such as books when you look at the back of them, but everything else was crystal clear on the PS4 Pro.

Speaking of books, there’s one with a visible barcode within Moons of Madness – so I looked up the UPC barcode number. The number relates to a game published by Funcom, the publishers of this game. I’m not sure if it’s technically an Easter Egg or simply used because it’s to one of their own products (rather than a random item).

What I was really surprised to see is that all the voices were done by three people, despite being more than three characters. Shane was David Stanbra, who has been in a number of TV shows and video games; all other male characters were Christopher Swindle, who has also been in a number of video games and animated films/shows; and all the women were voiced by Mona Marshall, a very high-profile voice actress who is most well known for portraying Sheila Broflovski in South Park! As such, the voice acting is great in Moons of Madness – literally nothing to fault as each actor played their various roles perfectly.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Moons of Madness perfectly balanced the various gameplay mechanics to create a creepy, cryptic exploration-adventure horror game. The audio and visual quality helps immerse you within the dark fantastical world the developers have created, making you feel like you’re all alone, isolated from everyone around you other than the nightmares which live within your head. The story is engaging, the scares will make you jump, and the puzzles are fun to solve, what more could you want from a Lovecraft-themed horror game set on Mars? 

I love ‘whodunnit’ mysteries, whether I’m watching a film or TV show, or playing a video game, I love piecing together the clues and coming to a conclusion of who did what, where, and why. More often than not I’m wrong, but that doesn’t stop me from becoming engrossed within the story, process, and thrill of the chase! Last week I had the absolute pleasure of playing through Murder Mystery Machine on the PlayStation 5 (via PS4 BC), putting me in control of uncovering evidence, clues, and leads, then using them to create a timeline in order to serve justice – it truly was a very unique experience.

The developers are Blazing Griffin, a studio best known for the incredible “The Ship” – a multiplayer murder party in which you have to try and eliminate your target without anyone seeing you. Murder Mystery Machine is quite different, focusing on an engaging single-player experience that requires you to make use of your little grey cells, rather than the art of stealth assassination, yet it’s just as exciting and incredibly satisfying. The publisher is Microïds, the creators of the incredible Syberia franchise and many other brilliant old-school point-and-click adventure games.

So, with these two studios working together, I went in expecting a brilliant experience that would immerse me and unlock the hidden sleuth within myself… But, did it? Let’s find out…

Great, a nice easy case to start with…

Murder Mystery Machine puts you in control of Cassandra Clarke, a rookie in the District Crime Agency who has been assigned to help out Nate Hudson, a reluctant burnt-out detective. Instead of easing you in gently, your first case is to investigate the murder of a prominent politician, a crime which may look like a botched robbery at first yet turns out to be much more. As such, you’ll progress through eight cases comprised of five or six chapters, each with a focus on a new part of the investigation, such as a new murder or key suspect.

As you progress throughout the main narrative, you’ll begin to uncover the truth behind the events which happened and why they took place, interlocking many separate events into a single agenda seamlessly. You can proceed to the next chapter having guessed, or worked out, the answers to the key questions asked within that chapter, but in order to achieve the highest score you’ll need to find and link every piece of evidence and clues correctly – which is much harder than it sounds.

Upon completing the game, you’re then free to backtrack and replay any chapter you wish in order to see if you can achieve a better grade than you originally obtained. However, whilst playing for the first time, you can not replay previous chapters so you’re encouraged to be as thorough as you can if you’re aiming to try and get the best possible result. So, there is plenty of replayability if you wish to try and unlock all of the trophies and costumes within the game, a feat that will prove to be rather difficult unless you resort to taking a cheeky look at an online guide.

Everyone in this bar looks suspicious…

Gameplay
Murder Mystery Machine is a mystery game that focuses heavily on its main key gameplay mechanic, uncovering evidence and clues then linking them together on an interactive crime board. I’ve dabbled with mechanics like this before, in games such as Phantom Doctrine, but this game requires you to use your head and think outside of the box more often than not as it isn’t always obvious what should be linked. As you correctly associate clues and theories, you’ll unlock new dialogue options with your partner, suspects, and witnesses, allowing you to uncover even more information to place upon the crime board.

The game has two main gameplay elements, the above process of using the things you’ve discovered to uncover new information and conclusions, and actually walking around the location as the protagonist, talking to people and looking for new evidence. The investigations take place in rotatable dioramas which are beautifully created, allowing you to see from every angle as they smoothly spin whilst the walls fall and rise based upon the angle you’re looking at them from. It reminded me of Captain Toad, you have to view the location from all angles in order to see things hidden from other views.

Each chapter asks for a few key answers in order to complete that particular scene. Sometimes it wants to know a ‘who’, or a ‘what’, and maybe a ‘why’ related to the events that have taken place. Only certain points on the crime board can be linked to these questions, you can’t assign the name of a person to a ‘location’, for example. Sometimes finding the answers will be simple and fast, other times you’ll have to drill right down into the spider’s web of clues in order for your character to finally come to the right conclusion and place the answer down so you can link it.

Can you work out how the various clues and evidence connects together?

Crime board or Crime bored…
I love the concept of the crime board, uncovering evidence and clues as you wander around the various locations, then bring up the board in order to link the points together and uncover the correct conclusions. However, it’s not without its flaws. The game does try to give you a subtle hint by placing an icon over the key points you’ve uncovered, so you know they should be linked to something else in order to achieve the highest score and unlock new dialogue points, but that’s about as much help as you’re going to get without losing points in the process.

Some clues are easy enough to figure out what they should be associated with, such as the name of a suspect and the fact you found their prints on a gun. The easier connections will result in a prompt appearing saying that a new dialogue option has been unlocked, indicating that you’ve chosen wisely, but simply finding these connections won’t bag you anything above an A. If you’re going for an A+ (required for the costumes and trophies), then you have to use your little grey cells and link everything that’s relevant, whether the game has given you a blue hint icon or not. 

This can be quite tedious as you only find out what your score is and how many things you’ve correctly linked AFTER you’ve completed the chapter, meaning if you missed one or two deductions then you’ll have to replay the entire chapter again. It would have been nice if it was like the Frogwares Sherlock Holmes games, letting you return to the point before you submitted your answer so you can try and achieve the maximum points – maybe not on the first playthrough, but certainly when replaying it via the chapter select post-completion.

Sounds like your typical ‘Karen’…

The story
I found the story quite enjoyable, each case focuses on a new mystery that ultimately ties into the underlined narrative, linking everything together into one long, drawn-out case – kind of how TV shows like The X-Files we presented in later seasons. You are given the option of two choices at the end of each case, allowing you to decide what happens to the person responsible for the crime or how you’ll co-operate with a third party that phones you regularly. However, I never quite understood how these choices made any difference to the game, either in the narrative or dialogue – maybe I missed the subtle changes?

The characters you talk to are all very one-dimensional. They’ll answer the questions you ask them but that’s it, I would have liked a bit more personality and maybe a few red herrings and lies thrown into the mix so that the conclusions were harder to uncover. However, considering how messy the crime boards can get, with all the red string, I imagine the addition of lots of false positives would have made it even more difficult to see what’s going on. 

The game is also missing voice acting, which affects the immersion in my opinion. Murder Mystery Machine originally came out on Apple Arcade as an episodic release, so omitting voices is fine as you may be playing it on the go or in places where you can’t have the volume up to listen, but it would have been much better had they managed to bring in some voice actors for the console and PC releases. This isn’t a major fault, as I play many Visual Novels which are either voiced in Japanese or not voiced at all, but the inclusion would have helped present the NPCs personalities more, maybe allowing us to hear when we’re possibly being told a lie, as we see in games like L.A. Noire.

Answers were removed to avoid spoilers – I almost had the A+!

Difficulty
Each chapter presents you with a rank, The lowest I’ve got is a B and the highest is an A. Achieving a B is very easy as you can spam the Triangle button and get a ‘hint’ whenever you need a push in the right direction. The problem is, no matter how many hints you get, it only ever seems to knock you down to an overall B grade, even if you’ve done nothing but push that and copied the answer given to you on the screen. An A rank requires you to find the correct answer, link most of the clues correctly, and not ask for any hints, with the A+ rewarded for doing everything perfectly with nothing missed.

If you’re casually wanting to play through it and aren’t too bothered about the trophies, then the addition of the hint button is great as it means you can always have the next step shown to you without having to consult an online guide or walkthrough. However, as mentioned previously, if you’re going for an A+ in all cases then you’re either required to play each chapter multiple times until you’ve done everything or you’ll have to look up a guide online.

I believe the developers are looking at possibly adding a way to easily track your progress and score (based on the Steam forum), so a future update should make this more accessible.

I firmly believe the game is currently easy enough for anyone of any skill level to pick up and play without any frustration or difficulty. Obviously, completing a chapter without using any hints and obtaining a good grade is very satisfying, but if you do get stuck then help is merely the push of a button away. 

The light should blend but there’s an issue in later chapters at the moment.

Issues
I played Murder Mystery Machine on my PS5 via PS4 Backwards Compatability – was this a smooth and bug-free experience? For the most part, yes, it was faster to load than the PS4 Pro (I played it on both eventually) and it only crashed three times during the later chapters – but that could be my console, so I’m not pinning that on the game. However, there was an issue that I’ve mentioned to the developers on Twitter, the lighting…

On both the PS5 and PS4 Pro, once you reach case five you’ll begin to see an issue with the lighting – as it’s also on the PS4, it’s not a BC issue, as I originally thought. Instead of the light bleeding smoothly around the edges of the diorama when in the bright park, you get an obvious gradient with a blocky non-blended glow. This is very different to what I saw on Youtube from people playing it on PC. This offputting effect transitions inside of buildings with certain light sources, such as the bar and the desk in the newspaper office – it’s like playing a game in 8-bit colour mode (if you’re old enough to remember what that’s like). 

The above doesn’t take anything away from the gameplay, it just distracts you from the otherwise beautifully designed environments and characters within this semi-cartoon world. I’m hoping that it’s an easy fix and can be patched to correctly disperse the light on the various assets, but it’s not a flaw that should stop you from experiencing the game. 

After a hard day at work, it’s time to relax on the office deck chair.

Technical
What I love about Murder Mystery Machine are the art style and detailed gameplay. The characters and environments are semi-cartoon, as mentioned above, almost caricatures of humans yet not too over the top. The protagonist, for example, is a sassy-looking black woman with an afro about three times as big as her head. Each of the locations are also realistic enough to recognise yet very colourful and simplistic in design. My only disappointment is that I wish the chapters were full of things to find and uncover which aren’t highlighted for you, allowing you to determine what is and isn’t a clue in the case without the game only letting you obtain things that the protagonist believes are important. 

There’s a lot of ambient noises within each chapter that helps immerse you within that particular area, with subtle music in some which you can hear in the background. It’s a shame there’s no voice acting throughout, requiring you to think how you expect each character would sound in your head, but it’s not a big issue if you play a lot of Visual Novels or read books. 

In regards to the performance and quality, I have no idea what the resolution and framerate are. It feels like it’s 30fps (which is a shame as the PS5 could have easily run the game at 60fps), and the resolution looks like it could be 1080p. However, due to the art style used, it looks very clean and sharp on my 4K TV. There were no performance issues but the game does have a strange control ‘issue’. Every now and again, usually when you’ve just talked to someone or looked at the evidence, the protagonist won’t move for about 2 seconds – even if you’re pushing the Thumb Stick. She’ll eventually move, but it is a little annoying.

One thing I do love is the fact you can zoom right in or out on both the crime board and investigation screens. This means you can actually read the text (which is very small sometimes on a 4K TV) and get a closer look at the creative characters and environments as you walk around. 

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Murder Mystery Machine is a thought-provoking puzzle game that requires you to think outside of the box if you wish to obtain the best grade. Rather than having you solve the crimes committed by simply talking to and arresting the suspects, you must piece together the who, why, where, and how through the use of the initiative crime board mechanic. However, in order to get the best result, you must leave no stone left unturned and ensure you link every possible clue and conclusion to the correct reason and motive – which is very hard, even for veteran puzzle gamers. It delivers an interesting story over eight cases, full of suspects, clues, red herrings, beautiful dioramas, and victims, but can a rookie solve one of the biggest cases of her career?

If you like mystery puzzle games that require you to think about everything rather than having it handed to you on a plate, then Murder Mystery Machine is for you. Sure, there’s a button that literally shows you what to do next, but if you restrain from using it then completing the chapter is much more satisfying and rewarding. I may have felt lost and confused on a few occasions, but going over previously found evidence and talking to the people in the area allowed me to logically work out what I should be doing next – I’ve not played a game quite like this before.

A long time ago I played a game called Pinstripe, a beautiful and dark puzzle platformer with a simply outstanding amount of polish and charm to it. Once I’d fallen in love with that game, having completed it multiple times before writing my review, I discovered that the creator, Thomas Brush, had another game under his sleeve, Once Upon a Coma. As time went on, this new game was delayed, improved, and rearranged, until it slowly grew into the game we now know as Neversong.

Just like Pinstripe before it, Neversong was funded by the fans via a Kickstarter campaign – once again hitting its initial goal within the first 24 hours of going live. A few stretch goals were unofficially added via the updates and, from what I can tell, everything which was promised has been delivered – this isn’t a simple HD remake of COMA, an old flash-based browser game from the developer (although that is a DLC in the Steam version), this is almost a sequel, or a re-imagining if you will. It’s nice seeing a crowd-funded campaign get a lot of well-deserved love and seeing the creators live up to the promises and plans they originally presented to potential backers.

So, having now played the game on both the PC and the PS4, does Neversong live up to the self-created hype which I’ve had boiling up inside for the last few years? Let’s find out…

Sounds like a fun club…

Neversong is a Metroidvania-lite game, a psychological horror filled with moments of grotesque and disgust, and a solid puzzle-platformer with a hint of hack-and-slash thrown in to keep you on your toes. You play as Peet, a young boy who found himself falling into a coma whilst he was out with a female friend he really likes, all thanks to a strange creature which appeared and apparently placed him within an immobile state of shock and terror.

Upon awakening from this haunting nightmare, real life isn’t any better – similar to those coma patients recently who finally awoke to find that the world is in the middle of a massive pandemic! However, in Peet’s world, the catastrophic event he’s awoken into is that all of the adults have gone missing, leaving the children behind to rule the town however they see fit. Unable to accept this as the norm, you set out with your trusty pet bird in order to find out what’s happened to not only the grown-ups but also the girl who was with you just before you fell into your deep sleep.

Embark upon a journey which will pit you against hordes of small minion eye-ball creatures and big, horrifically grotesque bosses, as you travel above and below ground in search of answers and purpose within this creepy and Tim Burton-esque land. Although the overall experience isn’t very long, just like Pinstripe, you’ll have the urge to revisit the game over and over again, searching for the hidden collectables and trying to obtain the absurdly hard trophies. I’m on my fifth playthrough at the moment and I’m still loving every second of it, let’s find out why…

WTF is that?

Gameplay
Neversong is, what I would call, a Metroidvania-lite game. You need to venture out and discover songs, ala Ocarina of Time style, then return to the piano within your house so that you can recite them and unlock new accessories so that you can access previously unobtainable areas. For example, the first ‘tool’ you’ll acquire is a baseball bat, which can be used to smash things and crush the enemies to smithereens. Your life hearts also increase quite considerably in numbers as you collect the sparkly residue left over from the demise of your foes. Later on, you’ll gain new abilities which make travelling around faster and you’ll be able to climb and swing on various objects.

There are a decent amount of environmental puzzles which will make you think about how you’re going to approach the task at hand – flicking switches in a certain order to lower posts, using moving objects to pass lasers safely, and even picking the right human organs in order to create a home-made drug. This is mixed in with the satisfying combat as you slap your big, long, wooden bat in the face of anything you see, watching as they become nothing but puss whilst exploding in front of you. 

The bosses are probably the most challenging part of the game, especially if you’re trying to get the platinum (which I’ll get to soon). Thankfully, they operate like old-school bosses, they all have their own patterns of movement and attacks, so it’s just a case of learning what they’re going to do and then reacting accordingly. Combat-wise, I really enjoyed these battles as the creativity of the enemy designs are so grotesque and twisted – they look simply magnificent. However, the final boss did give me a little headache due to the incredible amount of screen shake – if that sort of things hurts your head, or brings on things like epilepsy, then maybe get some help as it does get quite intense.

Just a typical adult I guess.

The road to platinum
Pinstripe didn’t have a platinum trophy, yet only 1.1% of people who own the game have got all of the trophies. Why? Thanks to a single trophy which is annoying and also slightly broken (or at least it was when I last played it). This trophy required you to play the entire game without getting hit once – the broken part was that it had to be a brand-new game, not NG+ where you can equip an OP weapon to aid you. Why am I talking about Pinstripe? Well, you guessed it… this trophy is back within Neversong!

That’s right, play the entire game without getting hit once – a feat which is going to be tricky as the game auto-saves all the time. Thankfully, you can complete the game in under an hour – which is rather conveniently another trophy you need to achieve. So, after managing to do this after three attempts, I’ve learnt a number of shortcuts and even how to bypass an entire boss fight and a few of the more complex and time-consuming puzzle segments – which is useful.

On a side note, there’s even a trophy for being a cheater – yet another mechanic/option which helps you out in the speedrun and no-hit runs.

Other than all the other trophies, which are quite straightforward as they just require you to kill the bosses in under five minutes each, there’s a currently unobtainable trophy. There are a bunch of ‘Coma Cards’ to collect, some of which give you access to new hats or wings to place upon Peet as a cosmetic extra. But, there are three cards missing – as in, they’re not in the game. I spent about four hours looking through a load of “All Coma Cards” videos, only to find they actually meant “All Coma Cards, except the three that nobody else can find”. The developer is now aware of this and they will be issuing a patch soon, I’m guessing it was an oversight or something?

I found this cosmetic hilarious, it made Peet ‘tubby’!

Technical
The visuals are simply gorgeous within Neversong, despite the unusual and sometimes horrifying character design. Everything looks very dark and twisted like they’ve jumped right out of a Tim Burton animation, only slightly more grotesque and sinister. My only ‘complaint’ with the game would be that the viewpoint is very far away, resulting in Peet being rather small – this meant I couldn’t fully appreciate and enjoy the various cosmetics I unlocked due to him being far away – I can’t imagine how small he’ll be on the Switch (Ori was also very small and left me with a similar opinion).

However, on the flip side, having the game zoomed out this far means that you can see everything which is going on and fully appreciate the sense of scale when you’re facing the big bosses. It’s swings and roundabouts, but I would have maybe liked the ability to zoom in a little, especially when there’s no benefit to having it zoomed out.

Whilst I’m on the subject of good things which I wish were slightly different, cutscenes. Each time you meet up with the antagonist, a graphic novel-type effect appears as the narrator reads out a poem that explains what’s going on and how you’re feeling. However, these are all unskippable – even on your second playthrough via NG+. They don’t take long to play, but they do count when going for the ‘under one-hour’ trophy, so it all adds up and affects your time. For context, my successful short-cut enabled run was 0.9 hours – I literally ‘just’ made it!

Also, loading times between areas seem to add to the speedrun trophy and they are quite long in my opinion.

Now for another positive, the music and voice acting were second to none. I loved the piano-themed music and the various songs you learnt as you beat the bosses to a pulp. Unlike Pinstripe, which had various YouTubers voice the characters (such as PewDiePie), Neversong is fully voiced by professional voice artists this time, delivering a very high quality which nobody can complain about. Also, Dick Terhune, who voiced Mr. Pinstripe, returns as the narrator and antagonist in this game.

As this game was originally Kickstarted, various people have paid to appear within the game. You’ll see portraits of backers throughout the town and even a secret graveyard where a number of people lie peacefully. An additional bonus for completing the game is a mini-movie about how the original flash-based browser game, COMA, became Neversong, complete with rather funny narration from the developer.

This reminds me of The Path of Motus as that game had a 40-minute video hidden in a hut from the developer, he thanked you for playing the game and talked about the inspiration which went into creating it.

Official Trailer

Final Conclusion:
Neversong, the video game formally known as Once Upon a Coma, is a gorgeous journey through a twisted and deranged mind of a silently suffering coma patient. Although the puzzles aren’t too cryptic, and the combat is rather straight-forward once you’ve learnt the patterns, I couldn’t help but return to the world Thomas Brush created numerous times – it absorbed me and I didn’t want to leave its strangely grotesque beauty. The story is delivered through incredible voice acting and stunning cutscenes, although I will admit that I was a little confused in regards to the conclusion. But, that just gives me another reason to replay the game and once again become a prisoner to its charm.

As stated above, Neversong is actually a reimagining of COMA, a flash game from over ten years ago. The Steam version of Neversong has an additional £3.99 DLC, a HD remaster/remade edition of the original game as an actual application, rather than being flash-based. This doesn’t appear to be on consoles but it would be great if the developers found the time to also port that over, either as a stand-alone title or DLC.

I know that a number of our readers prefer physical releases over digital. If that’s you, then you’re in luck (kinda). PlayAsia are taking pre-orders for a Japanese double-feature release on both the PS4 and the Nintendo Switch, due to launch in October this year. Although it’s a Japanese cover, it does state these languages are selectable within the game: Japanese, English, French, Italian, German, Spanish-Spain, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Portuguese-Brazilian, Turkish

So, if you want both games on the same disk or cartridge, complete with three B4 posters, three coasters, piano sheet music, and the digital Neversong soundtrack, then check out the pre-order HERE. (Affiliate link, you won’t be charged any extra but our site will earn a small commission)

‘Tis the time of year where we torture ourselves by sticking on a scary movie or start playing that game you’ve heard was a spooky one but never got around to playing. I personally don’t mind thrillers and psychological horrors, when playing a game, but horror/intense games with stealth segments usually put me off and makes me give up before I reach the ending. However, as it’s Halloween, I was kindly given >observer_ to take a look at due to Bloober Team recently releasing a double pack containing this and their other hit game, Layers of Fear.

So, I turned on my PS4 last night at 6pm, loaded up >observer_ and turned out the lights. I didn’t stop playing until the credits were rolling around six hours later. I know it’s not much but considering I made it all the way through, with a few jump-scares and horrific imagery, without having to look up help or hints online – I was rather impressed with myself. So, just what is >observer_ all about and why is it a perfect Halloween game?

**You can also check out my review for Layers of Fear 2 HERE**

Just another day on the job…

I’d seen parts of this game when it originally released back in late 2017, but I’d never really looked into the story which was being told as I thought it was going to be rather generic based on the screenshots I’d seen – I don’t think I could have been further from the truth though. The year is 2084 (I would say that’s a nod to 1984 by George Orwell), crime had reached such a high level that a corporate-funded police unit, known as the Observers, was created in order to seek out suspects to a crime and hack into their minds for evidence and motive. 

Our protagonist is Daniel Lazarski, one of the elite detectives within the unit. Little is known about our protagonist at the beginning other than we know he had become estranged from his son due to complications with his mother (your wife). So, receiving a call from him asking for help was not only surprising but also worrying as well. You track him down to a seedy apartment building in the Class C slum district, a building which is barely standing and houses some rather questionable residents. 

Soon after you enter and are reunited with your son, the building goes into lock-down and all access to and from the building is obstructed by thick steel shutters. Whilst locked up, you uncover a series of crimes which have been committed and it’s down to you to investigate the crime scenes and hack into the minds of the dead in order to relive the past. The issue is, as you dive deeper into other peoples minds, you’ll slowly begin to relive not only their darkest fears but also your own as you seek the truth. The question is, how far will you go to discover the truth?

These visual modes enable quite thorough investigations

First of all, I just have to say that I love this setting the game is based in – rather than having a horror game set in the past or in a creepy building, like the teams previous game was, >observer_ is set in a dystopian neon-lighted, tech-reliant futuristic timeline where people rely on technology even more than they do today! Sure, the apartment building is creepy and a bit spooky, but the atmosphere the developers have created is sick and twisted with a hint of horrific and disturbed thrown into the mix. I would say I felt uneasy more than I was scared whilst walking around the halls on my lonesome as everyone’s door had become locked in the lockdown.

In terms of Dan, he’s like a cross between Batman and Connor from Detroit: Become Human. You’re technically half man, half machine as you flick between four visual settings. You have your normal vision, which is ‘normal’, Nightvision for looking in the dark, Organic View for seeking and analysing organic substances/items, and Mechanical View for seeking and analysing machinery. The latter two modes are used primarily within the various crime scenes you’ll discover, but you can technically turn them on whenever you want if you wish to have a nosey or get more info on a certain item or person. 

Dance time!

The scene of the crime:
That’s right, just like the latest Batman games and Detroit: Become Human, you can observe and log what you see in a crime scene. Unlike those games though, >observer_ doesn’t give Dan the ability to reconstruct the movements which happened – so you’re limited to just finding out what you think happened based on wounds, blood splatter and the objects which are lay around the scene. However, one of the things you can do in >observer_ and not in the aforementioned games is hack into the minds of the suspects/victims and try and piece together what had happened which led up to their untimely demise.

This is where >observer_ gets very trippy and confusing. As you enter the dying subconscious of a deceased body, via their implanted memory chip, you’ll begin to work your way through their corrupted memories. In some instances, this may involve stealth segments as you evade gigantic beasts with represents what the host is scared of, and other times you’ll be walking around and shifting from vision to vision as you gain broken fragments of what could have led to this event. The craziest segments I saw were rooms spinning and turning upside down as you walk, a giant version of your host begging you not to kill them, your height growing and shrinking to symbolise you’re in the memories of a child, and even being stuck in a VR unit as you seek a way out. 

Seriously, I can’t put into words how strange and crazy this game gets – especially if you uncover the game inside the game near the end of a playthrough – it’s like the mind of a gamer!

My little piggy friend. What would you do?

I have a question:
Other than freelancing for the dead within your unintentional prison, you’ll also have the ability to talk to almost every person who has an intercom on their door. They won’t open the door but some of them lead to new side missions, offer hints on various room codes, or just want to chat as their scared because they can’t leave the apartment. Don’t forget, you a new breed of cyber-cop, so questioning and making people answer you is second nature. I’d strongly urge you to talk to everyone and participate in every side mission as well as they can be just as crazy as the memory hacking segments.

I don’t want to spoil the side missions for you, so I won’t give them all away – however, there is one which stuck with me that I really want to talk about. After a bit of investigating, memory hacking and finding the code to a door, you find yourself in a black market organ farm! Anyway, you discover that it also houses a massive pig which is being used within this process. I’m not quite sure what is happening but it seems like things are being pumped into the swine and making it incredibly fat. Now, you have two choices, 1. Turn off the life support and end the hogs suffering or 2. Reboot it’s VR headset (did I forget to say the pig was wearing one?) so the pig thinks it’s on a farm and doesn’t suffer as much, but the process continues. 

There are a few multiple choice options within >observer_, they don’t seem to change the story but I guess it’s up to you which one you would do in terms of your morality. 

Looks like PSVR is still around in 2084…

Horror, Stealth or FPS?
I was a little thrown back by >observer_ at first, in a good way. As I’ve played Layers of Fear a few years ago (well, I was in the room whilst my mate played it), the controls all felt very natural. It plays like Amnesia, and Layers of Fear, where you walk around in first-person and hold the R2 trigger as you move the Right Stick in order to open doors, move objects, slide panels etc… You have no weapons, so if anything comes after you, run. However, there are a few annoying stealth segments within a few memories and towards the end of the game. Not annoying as in they are bad but annoying as in “I don’t like them”.

Saying that though, I managed to get through them by only getting caught about a dozen times – so that’s not bad – plus the checkpoints are really good as you get one almost every time you progress a little further. I was also kind of happy with the number of jump-scares the game threw at me – again, not a big fan of these. It seemed like there were only a few but they were done really well as each one made me jump and swear at the TV for a few minutes before moving on, rather than the game being solely based around the jumps.

As a whole, the creepy nature of the environments, dynamic shadows, disturbing noises, horrific imagery, and constant fear of “what’s coming next”, is what made this game really intense for me.

The bright colours in this scene were wonderful, just not long lasting…

Technical:
>observer_ is a mixed bag, but not in a good way I’m afraid. Let’s start with the positives – the visuals look amazing – everything is textured really well, little to no clipping issues, fantastic aesthetic, and a really cool way of looking at the dystopian future. Similarly, the sound design is perfect. I had on headphones as I played the game – not the best idea for someone like me – and you could really hear all the sounds coming from all directions as you were in the stealth missions as well as the growls and screams as you walk down the hallways. I wish this was all I had to say as I was really impressed with the level of detail put on display in these two areas, however…

>observer_ isn’t a ‘smooth’ game to play. Let’s back up a little, I’m on the PS4 Pro, I have Supersampling on and Boost mode as I don’t believe that >observer_ has any form of PS4 Pro support included. Unfortunately, even with those enabled, as you run around the apartments, go through doors or up and down the stairs, the game gets really, really sluggish. If I was to guess, I would say 10-15fps in terms of the framerate. Does this impact gameplay? No. When you’re in the segments where you have to move fast, it runs perfect. However, you’ll lose some immersion within the game as you try and go upstairs and the framerate suddenly drops right down with no warning. 

I’m not sure if Bloober Team is still supporting >observer_, as it’s a year old now, but I would love it if they added Pro support to iron out the framerate issues on the console. 

Keeps it nice and blunt!

Personal Opinion:
As I stated above, I’m not a massive fan of horror game, especially ones which require stealth by hiding or running away from danger. However, >observer_ drew me in with it’s original and interesting story and then it kept me hooked with the memory hacking mechanics and wanting to discover the truth. By the end of my play session with the game, at 1 am this morning, I didn’t even care if the game threw another stealth segment at me as I was ready for it and I had the determination to overcome it as I was so close to finding a certain thing in-game. When a game can flip my opinion on a  mechanic I don’t like all because of its story and engagement it’s created, that’s a massive positive in my book.

For myself, the framerate drops which I occurred on the stairs and in various rooms didn’t impact my enjoyment of the game – sure, they were annoying, but at least the game didn’t crash or corrupt my saves as some games have previously. I do need to do a second playthrough at some points though, as I only collected about 10% of the collectables and there were a few side things I missed out on, so I really hope the team can do something to resolve the drops so everyone can enjoy the game at it’s best . Even if it’s just enabling Pro support so it uses the full GPU and extra CPU power to stabilise the game – as boost mode only enables half of the Pro’s GPU.

I’ve played a few games this Halloween which have been quite spooky but this one is the one which actually had me jumping a few times. This isn’t as disturbing as Death Mark, but it was certainly more intense.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
>observer_ is a fantastic cyberpunk horror game with a hint of stealth and mind-fucking. The story is all about finding out the truth, leading spontaneous investigations, and trying to lift the lockdown on the building. However, this will require you to hack into the memories and nightmares of dead bodies as well as explore the run-down apartment building as you scourer for clues and evidence. Not everything is as it seems, some things will disturb you, you’ll get hit with moral choices, and you will get creeped out.

The only thing holding the game back is the poor performance in certain areas, other than that, >observer_ is a really freaky game which should be played by everyone who loves the horror genre.

**You can also check out my review for Layers of Fear 2 HERE**

I was very excited when I saw that Paper Dolls: Original was coming to the PlayStation 4. It originally released as a VR title on both the PC and PSVR headsets last year, albeit with a few changes to make it more suitable for VR. Although I love the horror genre, I’ve only dabbled with the first-person ‘run and hide’ format recently, with games such as Home Sweet Home and Dollhouse. Personally, I’m more into games such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill, third-person survival horror games with a nice balance of puzzles, action and gore. However, I’ve seen gameplay from games such as Amnesia and Outlast, where the idea was to not fight but to hide from your foes, and it always intrigued me.

Naturally, when I saw that Paper Dolls: Original was releasing soon for all PS4 owners, it caught my eye. There’s something about Asian culture that can really amplify the horror experience, and with the screenshots I had seen provided by Beijing Litchi Culture Media Co., as well as YouTube clips of the original release on the PlayStation VR, I knew I needed to sink my teeth into this game and see how it compares to the original game.

It almost feels like there is a template for horror these days as the intro to Paper Dolls: Original felt like I’ve seen it before within many films and games. You play as Yang Ming-Yuan, a father that appears to suffer from depression. In the opening of the game, Yang is driving his daughter to her mother’s house and it would appear that while he is having deep mental thoughts, they get into a car accident. Upon waking up, Yang finds himself in a situation where he is no longer in a vehicle with his daughter, but rather in a large home from the Qing Dynasty. You are seemingly alone and you don’t know what’s going on…

Paper Dolls: Original is very interesting as it’s a game full of puzzles that are meant to stop you dead in your tracks. It offers you no direction as to what you are supposed to do next and despite finding a map at one point, you don’t actually get to keep it? Or maybe it was just that I never figured out how to use it? I know that fans of immersive games will love this level of realism as you explore the house for the first time, but personally speaking, with the size of the house and the massive amounts of backtracking, it’s very easy to get lost. Besides trying to avoid enemies, you will be on the lookout for hidden items that may be in a desk drawer, or in a bookshelf. You are always looking for items that can be used to advance to other areas.

Taking a look at the differences between the PSVR and PS4 versions (as they are two separate purchases with separate trophy lists and no toggle in-game to swap between them), there appear to be a few differences. Whereas the story and the outcome are the same as the VR version, some puzzles have been altered and the visuals have clearly been cleaned up to support higher resolutions over the PSVR headset. As I’ve not played the VR version myself, I can’t tell you exactly what’s changed, but the publisher has advised that there are differences – so people who owned the VR version and enjoyed it should get new challenges if they pick up this one too.

Depending on how fast you can solve the puzzles, or if you have played the game more than once, you may have a widely different experience with Paper Dolls: Original. According to what I have seen online and experienced myself, the game generally takes players about 8-9 hours to complete. If you know what you are doing though, the game can be over in about an hour and a half. I did alright for the first half of the game, I was sitting around 4 hours, but then I got to a puzzle that left me so stumped, I had to take to the internet for help. In that regard, I really feel like the developers really drop the ball in regards to giving you ANY kind of help or nudges in the right direction.

There is absolutely NO denying the beauty of Paper Dolls: Original. From the first time you’re attacked by a ghost, and you get an up-close look at their faces, to simply exploring a room and looking at the amount of detail of a desk and the surrounding objects, the higher resolution of the game being non-VR is stunning at times. However, it’s in the essential and mandatory exploration that I found a lot of frustration. The house is naturally very dark, despite the fact you’re given a flashlight at the beginning of the game. Even when setting the Brightness settings all the way up, and using the flashlight, I still found the game to be very dark and certain key objects quite difficult to make out!

However, I become accustomed to the gamma levels and managed to make my way through a decent chunk of the game until the main issue arose – I couldn’t see the ghostly apparitions until they were up close and I didn’t have time to run and hide. Who knows, perhaps this was the purpose as the jump scares are pretty good and I did get caught unaware a number of times thanks to the limited view. although, it could just be down to unfair lighting which, for the developers benefit, increased the surprise elements quite a bit.

Official trailer:

Final Conclusion:
I really wanted to like Paper Dolls: Original, but unfortunately, the things I don’t like about the game really dragged down my experience. If I may, I want to compare this game to a cake… All the ingredients are present to make a delicious birthday cake with yummy frosting and cream. The problem is that the directions were not followed correctly, so instead of a splendid cake, we ended up with a lopsided and deflated desert. Paper Dolls: Original is remarkable, in terms of its graphics, I just wish I could see them properly with or without the help of my low-wattage torch! Despite the lighting and difficulty of the puzzles though, when the enemies are up in your face they are terrifying, with the sounds building up suspense and terror perfectly!

However, the lack of help, in terms of directions, and poor storytelling are both very important key factors that were not done well and for that, it makes the game ok at best. 

Pinstripe is a successfully Kickstarted game from developer Atmos Games and publisher Armor Games. This is the second Kickstarter born game I’ve had the chance to review in the last few weeks with the other being Timothy vs. the Aliens – However, Pinstripe hit its initial goal of $28k within the first day the project went live. The game is an atmospheric puzzle-platformer that was created over the course of five years by one man, Thomas Brush, which presents us with moral choices, humorous dialogue, great voice acting, and beautiful environments.

So, with the console port arriving almost 10 months after the PC version, let’s see if it’s worth picking up.

The narrative is really funny in this game, even though the game itself is dark.

Pinstripe opens with our protagonist Teddy, an ex-minister, and his three-year-old child, Bo, aboard a rickety train. Ted reminds me of Jack Skeleton from a Nightmare Before Christmas with his long, thin arms and legs along with his tall, slim body. Before long, Bo is taken from you by the sinister, yet impeccably dressed devil, who is the namesake of the game, Pinstripe. The train is now littered with floating balloons that are filled with oil, oil which causes anyone within its vicinity to become high and easy to manipulate.

Without a second glance, you follow Pinstripe into the frozen afterlife as you venture to find and rescue your daughter. Early on you will receive a sling-shot, your only defence against the sentient balloons and other monstrosities in the depths of hell. Ted must solve puzzles, collect frozen oil (the currency), perform a fair amount of platforming, and interact with the locals if he is to ever see his daughter again. the question is, what’s real and what a fantasy – what’s the truth behind Ted’s past and just who is the sleazy, demonic nemesis whom we know as Mr. Pinstripe?

Armed with your trust sling-shop, can you recover your daughter from the sinister Pinstripe?

The gameplay mechanics are fairly simple for an indie puzzle-platformer. You have the ability to run, jump, shoot with your sling-shot and that’s about it. The shooting mechanic is a little different though, you press the R2 button to ready your weapon, move the aiming cursor with the right stick and then tap R2 to fire. As you move, the aiming reticle stays where you placed it – this means if you are attacking the balloons then you can run around without having to constantly re-adjust your aiming. I found this a little strange, to begin with, but I thought it was really well done after using it a few times.

The game is more focused on telling a story than your usual gameplay – which isn’t a bad thing at all. The game appears to have a balance of the two but I feel the story comes across a lot more than the gameplay elements. The main objective of the game, for me, was discovering all of the hidden items and building up the story. Some of the items were sat there, in plain sight, whilst others were rewards for completing certain mini-games or buried under the snow. The game also has set puzzles such as combinations for chests and doors but you are unable to input the answer until you have discovered and seen the answer on an item first – so you can’t just rush to the end without experiencing it first – I also strongly suggest you play the game with no walkthrough or guide as it’s there to be experienced, not rushed.

The only downside in regards to the game is that I feel it’s too short. Your first playthrough will take about two hours with subsequent playthroughs being less than an hour due to certain benefits you get after you complete the game. There is a speed-run trophy to complete the game in under an hour – I think my second playthrough was about 40 minutes at most once you know what you are doing. In no way take this as a bad thing though – the story, the content and the overall package more than makes up for it, but I just wanted to make you aware of the length.

This image doesn’t need a caption…

In regards to the mini-games – as this is a Puzzle-platformer, there are bound to be some puzzles in here for you. You will encounter puzzles such as a target shooting event, spot the difference, a reaction button tapping lock, flappy-bird style locks and some which I won’t go into so you can work them out for yourself. None of them was difficult and none of them requires you to think too hard about them but they were all well thought out and work really well within the game. I would have liked there to be more puzzles but for the length of the game, I feel there were plenty.

One of the stand out features, which I wasn’t expecting, was the inclusion of dialogue options. Not just multiple options of things to say, but a nice or sarcastic answer you can give to people. The story won’t change, and a few seconds later the dialogue is back to normal, but I still can’t get over how I told an old woman she smelt like pigeon farts and then when questioned about it by my talking dog, I just told him that I only said that because it was true, she smelt like farts. Depending on if you answered most people with the good option or the sarcastic one will change the ending slightly and bag you a different trophy on PSN – this means the game has instantly created a reason for you to replay the title.

Mmmmm Pie! Wee bull? [will anyone get this?]

As I briefly mentioned above, frozen oil is the currency of the afterlife and you will need a lot of it. On your first playthrough, you are literally forced to check and pick up every last one you find in order to progress further as they are limited in numbers. Throughout your game, you will see vendors from time to time who will try and sell you a coat for your dog, a pinstripe suit and even a machine gun. You literally won’t have enough frozen oil to purchase any of these on your first playthrough. None of these items are required for you to finish the game, but the machine gun, in particular, comes in handy towards various enemies. You can even unlock a ‘vintage mode’ if you find all five hidden films throughout the game – one of which I was only able to find on my fourth playthrough with the help of a guide.

Once you have completed the game for the first time, you have the option to go back and perform a kind of New Game+ mode. you keep whatever frozen oil you had left and you receive a key, a key which opens up three secret rooms full of oil. This means that on your second playthrough, you can purchase the machinegun, suit and coat – you can also take this as an opportunity to collect all of the butterflies for the second ending as well as possibly picking different dialogue options to unlock the trophy regarding that as well.

What else would you call the home of Pissy the Piss snake?

Graphically, I absolutely love Pinstripe! From the gorgeous backdrops to the interesting character design, the whole thing feels like an illustrated storybook. The use of the bright, bold colours contrasting with the characters who contain hardly any colour is a great effect – along with the creepy, atmospheric environments and settings. Everything is stylised and designed in such a cute yet terrifying way and you can really tell that the developer has poured a lot of love into this project. there are even a load of particle effects like birds, lights that wobble or go out when you get near them, snowflakes, and even out of focus objects in the foreground which gives the game an extra layer of depth.

Sound-wise I’m lost for words. I’ve only just found out that the voices are well-known YouTubers such as PewDiePie and JackSepticEye – yet the voice acting was great! It all sounded professionally done, it sounded clear and crisp and nothing was phoned-in. There is another popular game that came out a few years back that used YouTubers as voice actors and the acting in that was terrible, this is why I was genuinely surprised when I realised these were also YouTubers. On top of that, Thomas also created all of the music within the game which is dark, creepy, terrifying yet also mellow and relaxing in parts. I’m going to pick up the album for the game soon as well over on the official Bandcamp site as I’ve had it on whilst writing this and you know how much of a sucker I am for great soundtracks.

Official Trailer:

Final Conclusion:
Pinstripe is an amazing little game that I’ve played through four times so far. The narrative had me in tears with laughter at times due to the humour and laugh out loud moments – when you pick up the game look in the mirror a few times and talk to your child. The gameplay aspect is nice and simple with decent puzzles thrown into the mix to spice things up and keep the gameplay diverse. The graphics and the soundtrack are great and really work well with the story the dev was trying to tell. The game may be a little pricey at the moment for the amount of gameplay you get, but personally, I feel it’s fully justified as I had more enjoyment out of the 4-5 hours I’ve spent in this world that I have in games which I’ve spent about 30+ hours in so far.

I’ve played a lot of games over the years, seen many movies and one thing always stuck out – zombies, why are they always trying to eat brains? What’s their reasoning? I wouldn’t find it very appetising, so why would an undead version of me relentlessly crave the mushy organ? What if once you become a zombie, you develop a craving for all the things you wouldn’t dream of liking whilst you were among the living; Brains, flesh, Justin Bieber… What would then happen if, as a reanimated corpse, you feasted on things the living enjoy such as burgers, pizza and shrimp? What if eating these things actually cured the zombie virus and made you human once more?! I believe Q-Games have discovered this unknown anti-virus and have decided to enlighten us in their new game, PixelJunk VR Dead Hungry.

Dead Hungry doesn’t really have a story as such, but instead a total of 30 missions, all possessing the same goal whilst expanding your arsenal. That goal is to cure all the zombies whilst stopping them from getting hungry and gobbling you up. Q-Games are known for taking popular genres and mixing them up or trying something new to make them more fun in the process. In regards to Dead Hungry, they have taken a format like Cook, Serve, Delicious and mixed it with a hungry horde of zombies and job simulator. The result is enticingly exquisite.

The gameplay premise is simple, you are an employee of a burger van. You’re surrounded by patties, cheese, buns, fries etc… as well as drinks, an oven, a fryer and a stove. Upon opening your van, the zombies begin to slowly make their way over to your counter and you must serve them the best food they’ve ever had in their (undead) life. Burgers are cooked on the stove, pizzas in the oven and fries in the fryer but don’t leave them on the heat for too long as everything is prone to burning, which isn’t very appetising! Once a zombie has had enough food (indicated by their health bar) they will turn back into a living, breathing human and be on their way without even leaving a tip!

Your workstation is set all around you so you can easily operate everything without moving

The game wants you to play standing up which I was unable to do due to an injury so I played it sitting down. The game was still 100% playable, it just meant I was hitting the floor when trying to open the oven on my first few attempts. The game starts off fairly simple, with only burgers and fries to make, however, it soon becomes quite manic and stressful once the number of hungry zombies banging on your van creeps up. If you get hit three times by the same zombie then it’s game over.

The twist that Q-Games has pulled off here is that your burger doesn’t have to be made out of purely the edible food you are cooking – you can grab literally anything in your van and use that on the burger buns and deem it “edible”, and I mean anything! At one point I had a burger made out of the clock, a cat ornament, salt, pepper, ketchup/mustard bottles and four ‘cups’ of coke – the zombie loved it and instantly turned human.

The game is fully controlled with two move controllers, making it really simple to pick up and place the various food items. You can even throw things around! You can grab the burgers and toss them over your shoulder onto the grill to speed the process along a little, given you are accurate enough of course! Your character is perfectly positioned as well. You’re situated in the middle of everything so tracking of the PSVR is never lost as you turn to pick up the various items and everything is within reach.

You can swap out the cassettes if you want different music!

As you progress through the 30 levels you will receive rewards upon completion such as a new component to put on your burgers or an ornament for your van (which can also be used as food).

The levels will also sometimes mix up the gameplay a little like offering fat zombies that take more food to convert or making the zombies faster but weaker. There is a fair amount of variation but I found I was building very similar burgers and pizzas on each stage after getting into the swing of making certain things.

One thing I did notice is the location where your van is placed. You are always on the same street, overlooking some other vendors (who don’t seem as popular as you as nobody goes to them!) which never changes. I would have liked to see more locations within the game and maybe a wider variety of zombies as they were pretty much the same, outside of the different zombie types.

The music in the game is great, it’s like a cheesy rock soundtrack which you can change by picking up the boombox and swapping out the cassette with ones you find in the van which I thought was a nice touch. The sounds the zombies make and the fact you can set timers on all your food so it gives you an audible alert was also very charming and adds to the immersion.

Gameplay footage:

Official Trailer:

Final conclusion:
PixelJunk VR Dead Hungry is a great game for showing off the brilliance of VR. It has all the things you’d want: use of move controllers, fully interactive environments, realistic-looking reality, and rock-solid mechanics. However, the gameplay itself doesn’t vary much as you progress, adding only a few more options and bumping up the difficulty, meaning you just have to get faster at doing the same things. I really enjoyed playing this and can see it being a great game to challenge your friends within.

Back in 1998, I went to a wholesale warehouse with my dad in search of new supplies for his shop. As he wandered the grow-up aisles, I found myself among a whole host of big-box PC games, two of which instantly caught my eye – Carmageddon 2 and POSTAL. Despite only being 14-years-old, my father bought both these for me; one was a game about running people over and destroying other cars, and the other was all about mindless violence and killing innocent people for no reason – I had a very happy childhood.

In 2014, Running With Scissors announced they were remaking POSTAL in Unreal Engine 4, expecting it to launch on PC, Mac, Linux and the PS4! However, the PS4 version was cancelled in 2017 due to “lack of sales for the PC version”. My hopes of ever seeing the game on the console were gone, until late last year when MD Games ported the Redux edition of the game to the Nintendo Switch – could this mean we’ll eventually see it on the PlayStation? The answer is yes – POSTAL Redux finally got its PS4 debut earlier this month on the American store, with a European store release planned for later this year.

As you may expect, I’ve played the game through to completion on both the Switch and the PS4 over the last few weeks, reliving my childhood and having a rather sadistic form of enjoyment in this brutal murder-simulation. This review will be focusing on the PS4 edition (via BC on my PS5), but the Switch edition is pretty much identical, bar the resolution. 

Each stage has a simple, happy introduction

Going postal is an American English slang phrase referring to becoming extremely and uncontrollably angry, often to the point of violence, and usually in a workplace environment. The expression derives from a series of incidents from 1986 onward in which United States Postal Service (USPS) workers shot and killed managers, fellow workers, and members of the police or general public in acts of mass murder.

POSTAL Redux is a simple game at heart, you play as ‘The Postal Dude’ who has been evicted from his home. The story itself is very vague and ambiguous; you’re simply a man who has gone quite insane, thinking that the people of the town have gone mental, taking out your rage and hatred on anything that moves. Due to your fatal actions, the army and local police won’t hesitate to shoot you on sight, further adding to your built-up frustrations with the world as you unleash hell upon them via the help of the weapons you obtain throughout the game. 

Due to the protagonist’s clearly mental condition, he feels no remorse or emotion should he decide to slaughter the innocent people and animals within the town, killing both the armed defenders and unarmed bystanders alike. Some of the stages you make your way through are quite disturbing and questionable, especially considering real-life events have happened which mimic these quite closely, but I honestly don’t know if the game is depicting real events for The Postal Dude, or if it’s all in his head. Either way, if you’re sensitive to mass shootings and killing innocent people in public places, you may want to give this a miss.

In terms of content, POSTAL Redux combines the game and the expansion pack, allowing you to either play the original 17 stages, the 6 expansion stages, or all 23 stages in chronological order. There have also been some new weapons and visual filters added which, as a fan of the original game, I really enjoyed playing with. I’m quite surprised that Sony allowed the game, considering their recent stance on certain games, but I’m so happy that more people will now be able to play the original controversial game – hopefully we’ll get Postal 2 at some point a well.

There’s nothing like enjoying a marching band… then killing them!

Gameplay
POSTAL Redux is a top-down isometric twin-stick shooter with a locked perspective and viewing angle. You move with the Left stick, aim with the Right, fire with R2, throw with L2, and swap weapons with L1 and R1 – your standard controller setup. The game feels very responsive and easy enough to control, owing greatly to the fact controller support was added to the PC version previously, allowing you to easily line up your shots and hit your target with ease. 

Each level has a single goal, kill over a certain percentage of ‘hostiles’ and then escape the map via the indicated exit. Each stage is crammed with ‘targets’, some are hostile and will attack you on sight, some are innocent bystanders who will run and scream if you open fire near them, and there are a few levels with ostriches in them… Technically, you could avoid the animals and pedestrians, and only target the hostile enemies, aiming to reach the desired number of deaths so the exit appears, but there’s no penalty for literally killing everyone, spilling their blood for no reason other than for the fun of it.

You come equipped with an unlimited-ammo Machine Gun, but you’ll find weapons as you kill enemies and simply laying around on the floor. These include the Shotgun, Spray Cannon, Missile Launcher, Napalm Launcher, Flame Thrower, and a Revolver, there are even a few secret weapons such as the Balloon Gun which makes the noise of a squeaking balloon as you fire it. These weapons, along with the throwables such as dynamite and grenades, allow you mindlessly butcher anyone you come into contact with, spraying their blood all over the floor as you pile up the bodies one by one.

Big head or little head?

Modes
As mentioned above, you can play the 17 levels, the extra 6, or all 23 in a single campaign. But, that’s not the only mode. You can also play Rampage, a mode in which you can play any of the levels in the game with the objective being to kill as many people as you can and rack up your score. On consoles, this mode is single-player only and the leaderboards appear to also be locally-based, rather than being online like the PC version, but you could still play against your friends or family and see who is the best murderer.

Speaking of single-player, POSTAL Redux on PC introduced an online co-op mode, allowing up to four players to play together, as well as an online death-match mode. Both of these are not included in either of the console versions, making them both single-player only. I’m not bothered by this, as I don’t think I’d ever play it online, but it is a shame that a mode that a lot of people seemingly love has been taken out.

Changes
There are a few changes from the original game in this new Redux edition (I say new, it’s about five years old now). The most notable has to be the removal of the elementary school level, which has been replaced, the soundtrack has been remade from scratch, and the final cutscene is now voiced by Corey Cruise – The Postal Dude from the third game (which everyone pretends never existed).

I think I over-cooked them…

Controversial?
When Postal came out, you can imagine how the press and certain people took it. It’s a game that has a very vague story other than you’ve gone ‘postal’ as you kill random people for no reason. 24 years later, does it still have the same impact it once had on youthful me? Personally, I think you get games with more gore these days, but the subjects some of these scenes depict could be deemed as being quite controversial. For example, one level has you enter a supermarket, mowing down shoppers with your weaponry, leaving a mess on aisle 5 which nobody will want to clean! 

Considering there have been real-life mass shoot-outs in America that have taken place in supermarkets – if this wasn’t a port of a remastered game from the 90s, I don’t think it would have been allowed.

If you’ve not played Postal before, you may be more accustomed to Hatred, a very similar game that came out on PC in 2015. That game was supposedly a spiritual successor to the original Postal game, due to its emphasis on the mindless slaughter of innocent people simply because the protagonist hated everything around him, but it wasn’t actually linked to this series outside of the inspiration. The developers behind POSTAL Redux, instead of taking issues with this imitation of their game, decided to embrace the new-found exposure and actually collaborated with the developers to bring some of the Hatred assets and design into POSTAL Redux!

Check out the visual styles below: