Publisher: Honor Code Inc
Developer: Honor Code Inc
PS4 Review
Platforms: Steam, Oculus, Humble Store, Xbox One and PS4
*Disclaimer: I was sent the code for this game in return for a review, all opinions are mine and mine alone.
I'm a chicken when it comes to horror games so usually I try to avoid them but Narcosis was an exception, when I discovered this game I kind of knew what I was getting into due to seeing the trailer and how scary it looked but it didn't put me off like horror usually does, in fact, I was more intrigued than anything due to the setting, when we think about horror a lot of the time it takes place in a forest where a killer is out to kill anyone in their way but Narcosis has an edge, it's completely set underwater in the dark which to me makes it that much more terrifying. Whenever I watch a movie or show that has a lot of water in I find myself holding my breath but throughout the gameplay for Narcosis that wasn't the case, I guess it helped that they were in diving suits and I could walk around and collect oxygen when I was low which often becomes an issue in the game.
I dread to think how much scarier this game will be when playing in VR and honestly I don't want to find out as I found myself on edge throughput my gameplay, the game forces you right into a sticky situation and you're left pretty much alone wandering around in the deep dark ocean and testing facility you have been working at, the relationships are very unclear between colleagues but as you work your way through the game and find their bodies you will be given info on them. The game okays tricks on you, it's a psychological horror which makes you see things that aren't truly there and has a few jump scares that made me have to pause the game.
The story focuses on getting yourself to the surface even if that means leaving people behind although you find yourself looking around for your colleagues and it's kind of heartbreaking to learn their fate especially when you come across the little hamster in one of the rooms, that bit really made me sad. I died more times than you can imagine throughout this game and it took a little while to get used to the controls, using the knife was slow and at times would end up in you being killed by a sea creature but I think this was intentional have you ever tried to move your arm underwater wearing heavy gear, it wouldn't move as fast as you think it would.
Smaller creatures will choose to leave you alone but usually when you see a spider crabs in large numbers it means a giant one is not far off but at times the giant spider crabs will be walking around on their own, your best bet for getting past these is to either distract them with a flare or hide so they can't spot you, I got good at hiding from them it was the octopus which I had the main issues with, they took a few stabs before they would die and get off of my helmet. Th narrative of the game is very clear and helps you learn what happened to everyone.
That poor hamster!!!
The game pushes you to survive, there was one instance where you pushed a button and come out of the room only to learn everything has moved sideways and you have to run along the tables on their side using thrusters in order to get through the broken doorway that keeps opening and closing erratically. You have no idea how many times I failed at this part it was the most frustrating bit I ran into, you're slowly running out of battery for your torch and your oxygen goes fast when you tend to panic and to make matters worse when you start descending downwards you die!
Narcosis certainly takes you on a ride not just through the deep ocean but also through the mind of the main character, he starts to see a green diver guiding him along the way, trying to keep him from harm which felt very eery and added a lot more mystery to the game, Honor Code Inc did a great job with the suspense and the surroundings, as someone who sits and watches documentaries about the ocean then playing through this it kind of game gives you an idea of how lonely it can be in that kind of environment. I know I said I wouldn't play this on VR but I think by playing it on VR horror fans will get the most out of the jump scares and panic that the character may feel whilst.
I knew this was a short game (3/4hours) before I played it and I think this helped me in terms of playing it through as I knew I wouldn't be pooping my pants for that long, the game as a whole is a great experience one that did give me nightmares, I have very vivid dreams and tend to dream about things I've seen during the day. All in all, I rate this game 4/5 certainly would be fun to watch other people play it on VR!
Elle May
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