REVIEW : Visage (XBOX Series X)
Well, it’s time to put a horror survival game under the microscope to see how well it’s portrayed. Visage is an independent survival horror game developed and published by Sad Square Studios. The developers choose a very tough genre category to make this game, it’s very hard to make a horror game that will impress players around the world and visage has done just that. The game was released on October 30, 2020.
It’s a psychological horror game that takes place inside a house that your character lives in. And this game will take your patience and puzzle-solving skills to limit and might even break them. You will be playing as Dwayne who lives in this house that was inhabited by 3 people with mental illness in the past. The whole journey/story of the game is divided into 4 chapters. Out of these 4 chapters first, 3 explain the stories of the three previous inhabitants, and the last 4th chapter just ties everything up for you. So the story of the game is that the house you are in has a very dark past. Many families were killed by their family members, many committed suicide and many just went insane. As the player, your character will relive all these horrifying moments that will leave you restless. To be honest I found this game very difficult so you should prepare yourself to face some challenges. And on top of that, the game will not give any good hints. For example, you find something and this will start a chapter, in which you have to find a lot of different things and there is no order of finding them you just have to find them. The game does give you few hints but at times these hints are very hard to crack and interpret. Apart from all this, you need to remember the places you have already been to, where things were, be careful with your resources, and here’s the kicker if you spend too much time in the dark paranormal activities will start which will consume you. It will take you quite long to complete yourself and this is a test of your patience, as you might end up getting frustrated and start questioning your puzzling solving abilities and this is the main reason why I liked this game it pushes your buttons and test your actual limits.
The horror in the game is well defined. It’s scary, it’s disturbing and packed with tension and relieving enough for players who like to enjoy the gameplay. The game has a very unique purpose which is not just to scare its players it will horrify you by taking real-life situations and molding them into something disturbing and horrifying. The game makes commentary on some elements like alcohol consumption and drugs and it will annoy you but it’s what the art of the game demands. While a lot of the messages from the game can be irritating but they are necessary for the game to work and stand out from other horror games. The representation of the theme is well. The whole game is an extended metaphor that you understand at the end of the game. It’s a slow and very calculating game with amazing graphics. The game ensures the independence of the player so that you don’t feel bound to the story. You are the center of perception in this game and the developers did a great job making sure of it. You can finish this game as fast as you can or take as long as you want to finish this game it all depends on you and how you want to play this game. Either you can give in the fear and finish the game early or enjoy the amazing and horrifying art of the game by taking a long time to solve it. Though it may create long and confusing times it allows you to live the horrifying moments of someone else’s life.
The game has a great story and the mechanics of the game are just too good. For example, the candles will burn over time, lighters will lose fuel. Some of the handling mechanics can get a little heavy so you have to vary that. The sound effects of the game are only in cut scenes and moments of intense horror, the rest of the game is silent as it suits the ambiance and the theme of the game. But when there is music it’s blended perfectly with the situation.
