I hate to say it but honestly this is one of the rare games where you're just better off watching it than playing it. I bricked my save twice in a row and just honestly do not feel like starting the game a 3rd time. The game is infamous for being extremely buggy and not running properly. For example the game apparently needs a 4th patch which I'm not even sure I've found online, otherwise it tries going from world 2 to world 4 and just crashes? Not to mention I tried saving during the chalice minigame only to find out I triggered a glitch where my character could no longer place the chalice to advance the quest.
Also even with DgVoodoo, DxWnd, the modern installer, editing the batch file, etc I also couldn't force the game to run above 640x480 either which tremendously hurts the game given how atmospheric it is meant to be.
I am giving this game a 2/5, but I will say it is my favourite 2/5 game I've played funnily enough. If one watches the game instead of playing it, there is plenty to appreciate. The ambient sounds are genuinely terrifying and otherworldly. It feels like anybody could invade the world at any minute. Yet when one finds the body of another, they are simply laying in the background, be it a templar drunk at a bar or a head floating in a box. It's a feeling unlike basically anything I've experienced in a game.
I must give special shoutout to the cutscenes as well. They are like a trainwreck one cannot look away from in the best way possible. The mist area integrated cutscenes about the King Arthur legend in such a way I was compelled to keep watching them even though I was frightened like a small child pondering the bogey man's existence under my bed. I didn't want to keep walking through the mist and seeing the cutscenes, but clearly the game did something right because I couldn't stop myself from advancing, just wanting to be out of the area as soon as possible.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/1030979943494078464/Drowned_God_2022-10-15_18-44-07.mp4
And while it may be silly to put this in a review of the game itself, I have to give a special shoutout to the artwork included in the manual. I wish I could have uncovered all of the creatures in my own playthrough because what I did encounter creeped me out something fierce; something about early 3D models is just inherently spooky to me for how lifeless they seem, I suppose https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/1030980266178641950/Drowned-God-Conspiracy-of-the-Ages_Manual_Win_EN.pdf
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/1030974803810717706/unknown.png
If you're familiar with old legends and conspiracy theories, there may be plenty to enjoy from a presentation angle alone but for this spooky month I would heavily rec other horror point-and-clicks which are far more worth your time such as Clock Tower or Cosmology of Kyoto. I may write a review about the former soon so stay tuned!
Also even with DgVoodoo, DxWnd, the modern installer, editing the batch file, etc I also couldn't force the game to run above 640x480 either which tremendously hurts the game given how atmospheric it is meant to be.
I am giving this game a 2/5, but I will say it is my favourite 2/5 game I've played funnily enough. If one watches the game instead of playing it, there is plenty to appreciate. The ambient sounds are genuinely terrifying and otherworldly. It feels like anybody could invade the world at any minute. Yet when one finds the body of another, they are simply laying in the background, be it a templar drunk at a bar or a head floating in a box. It's a feeling unlike basically anything I've experienced in a game.
I must give special shoutout to the cutscenes as well. They are like a trainwreck one cannot look away from in the best way possible. The mist area integrated cutscenes about the King Arthur legend in such a way I was compelled to keep watching them even though I was frightened like a small child pondering the bogey man's existence under my bed. I didn't want to keep walking through the mist and seeing the cutscenes, but clearly the game did something right because I couldn't stop myself from advancing, just wanting to be out of the area as soon as possible.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/1030979943494078464/Drowned_God_2022-10-15_18-44-07.mp4
And while it may be silly to put this in a review of the game itself, I have to give a special shoutout to the artwork included in the manual. I wish I could have uncovered all of the creatures in my own playthrough because what I did encounter creeped me out something fierce; something about early 3D models is just inherently spooky to me for how lifeless they seem, I suppose https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/1030980266178641950/Drowned-God-Conspiracy-of-the-Ages_Manual_Win_EN.pdf
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/826960021274492948/1030974803810717706/unknown.png
If you're familiar with old legends and conspiracy theories, there may be plenty to enjoy from a presentation angle alone but for this spooky month I would heavily rec other horror point-and-clicks which are far more worth your time such as Clock Tower or Cosmology of Kyoto. I may write a review about the former soon so stay tuned!
C_F
1 year ago