Better than how I remember in some ways but still intermittently tedious and loses momentum because of its monotonous encounters. The moment the player dies the first time, any brewing tension is sucked away and what's left is studying the level design and finding "crafty" ways to escape your enemies (mostly ridiculously running around in large circles until the AI forgets you exist). There is something taut about this gameplay loop but it doesn't feel nearly as fleshed out as it should and for something so short to feel as long as it is makes for a disappointing experience. The game is a cheap haunted house attraction and for the moments it works it delivers some startlingly effective jolts. Playing half of this with a headset highlighted how effectively the developers set up particular scares. It's just one of those objects of pleasure where if one approaches it with the mindset of it being complete surface level excitement you'll come away somewhat satisfied (the whiplash of that third act is still a mess though) but the closer they look they'll see a cynical machine operated by cogs that don't quite fit the grander scheme it yearns for.

Reviewed on Sep 19, 2020


Comments