Visage

Visage is a 2020 indie psychological horror by Canadian studio SadSquare. The game is played in first person view, which guarantees a fantastic experience and lots of strong sensations. The title was realized with the help of a Kickstarter crowdfunding, achieving an amount much higher than the creators originally expected.

Story

Player-controlled character, Dwayne Anderson, ends up in an abandoned house, where he finds himself locked up. The door cannot be opened by force and to regain freedom, he must venture into the darkness of strange corridors and rooms. Although the house seems quite deserted, Dwayne soon discovers that he is not really alone here.

Gameplay

The story is quite non-linear, although the whole game plot consists of chapters. In Visage video game, however, the course of events depends on the choices and actions of the player. The gameplay is all about the exploration of an abandoned house, where horrific events took place years ago, to get to the bottom of the history hidden behind the walls of the building. Traversing the corridors in the state of panicked hurry will not lead the player to anything, but can only worsen the situation in which he already is. The game requires an intelligent approach to the problem but the house does not help at all in unravelling the puzzle, regularly distracting the player with odd sounds, paranormal experiences and the feeling of being watched from the dark.

The player can interact with various items, as well as encounter strange creatures living in the mansion. Completely unarmed, he cannot fight them and in this position, he is forced only to avoid the contact or eventually run away. The climate of terror is built very slowly and it gives the impression that all the grim madness is happening in the player's head. And who knows, maybe that's exactly what's happening?

Reception

Visage game has collected very positive reviews on Steam and the title is a sure promise of rather terrifying entertainment. Players especially appreciate not so obvious placement of jump scares and the way the plot slowly creep its way into the human mind, leaving memories of the scary gameplay for a long time. There is also the possibility of playing in virtual reality, which further intensifies the experience of desperate survival.