I enjoy psychological thrillers, stories where you’re just waiting for the rug to be pulled out from you. As for Hitchcock, I’ve seen a lot of content about his filmmaking style and really appreciate his style and what it did for cinema, but I’ve not seen any of his films. I guess I’m a bit of a poser in that regard. I saw this game advertised on Facebook, which is where I seem to get most my ads for lesser known PC games nowadays, and it looked engaging.
First thing, I noticed and assume was this game was very Telltale inspired, most notably in the art style. The characters are that sort of angular artistic style that Telltale often seemed to favor. It does make the game feel unoriginal in that regard, but I also enjoy that art style so it didn’t bother me that much. The color palettes are also nice, the forest community where this game takes place looks very warm and picturesque, like I’d like to visit there. There’s also a neat trick where the world goes red when the psychopathic tendencies come out in one character.
This game is called Hitchcock’s Vertigo, but it is not a retelling of the Jimmy Stewart movie. The game is more a love letter to Hitchcock in general. The game is a modern take on his stories, which I really appreciate them updating his style. The world also has a sorta “Archer” vibe, where it’s both modern and a bit retro. There’s lots of artistic cinematography. There were definitely points where you could tell the developers just wanted to make a movie. The music is the mot Hitchcockian thing, besides the dolly zooms. It’s got a classic Hollywood orchestral score, which took me by surprise at first, as you don’t hear those in games often. I grew to enjoy it as it added to the vintage Hitchcock vibe.
The gameplay mimics a Quantic Dream game more than a Telltale one. You interact with the world by moving the analog stick in certain directions, ala Heavy Rain. There are a few quick time events, but they are rare. You can choose your responses in conversations, and only a few are timed. How much you can really change the game with your input, I would need a second play through to decide. There’s a little bit of world exploration, but most of the game has you locked in place having conversations. I would’ve appreciated a bit more exploration to spice up the game every now and then.
The characters and writing in this game is what you’re paying for, it is top-notch… usually. This game is from a, I believe, French developer and it’s been translated into English. The grammar is fine, but the pacing in conversations can feel off. Lots of long pauses of people looking around or making crazy expressions. But given this game’s artsy intent, I can’t tell if that’s just bad conversation pacing or an intentional style choice. The characters also have a certain realness to them. Ed Miller, one of the main characters, has some childhood trauma he’s burying up and as a result has become a bit cynical and misanthropic, just all around an unlikeable protagainst. His Aunt Claire initially seems to be a bit sinister, but later on we learn she was just a woman out of her depths in a situation she couldn’t handle.
So, let’s just get to the story, it will contain spoilers. Ed Miller, a writer, wakes up to find his car went over a bridge with his wife and daughter inside, but no one else believes they existed, the start of our mystery. He gets a bad case of Vertigo from it and Dr. Lomas, another main character, is called in to help him. A lot of this game is told via flashbacks. First Ed relates the story of first meeting his “wife” Faye. Then we spend most the first act diving into his childhood. He remembers his family as a loving one, his dad was a writer just like him. Turns out his father was actually a drunk and a failure as a writer, and his mother was cheating on him. It is the kinda backstory that’s used as a comedic cliche, literally Stan Smith’s backstory in American Dad. I think they had something with the “good” version of the dad. He was a wash up, but he was a bit more subtle and manipulative towards Ed. He had him get his “secret treasure” from the garage, which was a Pringles can (I totally expected it to be his weed stash), but no it was actually a liquor bottle.
Once Dr. Lomas is convinced Faye is real, she works with the local sheriff, Reyes, another main character, in trying to find this woman and clear Ed’s name and conscience. Reyes initially has no love for Ed, as he had an affair with Ed’s mother that resulted in a baby girl, who Ed’s father killed.. by driving the family car off a bridge. I liked playing as Reyes the most as he’s got an old cop, Longmire vibe going and I enjoy investigations. We also get glimpse back in time where we play as Faye, the last main character, that show she’s not as innocent as she seems, but is actually a wee bit crazy. We learn she had a life-long vendetta against Ed and studied his life to inflict the most pain on him and drive him crazy. Her reasoning for doing this is a little flimsy, but can be written off because she is certifiable. Her whole backstory takes up most of the second act. They mention she was adopted and I honestly thought the rug pull would be she was actually Ed’s little sister, but seeing as you sleep with her and conceive a child that may’ve been a bit too risque for this title.
This game was much longer than I expected from a Telltale-esque game, but it does sort of lose steam too. After breaking him out of his childhood trauma and getting him walking again Ed sorta fades into the background. There’s also lots of side plots going on, like Dr. Lomas ignoring her boyfriend who did some unknown thing wrong, Reyes also investigating the death of a farmer, Deputy Markiplier is having a personal crisis. They throw a lot of balls in the air and some of them don’t get a good resolution. The final act is jumpy and all over the place. I think it’s because you can effect the ending with your choices and it’s trying to mash all the correct scenes together based on your choices. Characters will sorta appear and disappear from scenes. There’s a weird bit where the deputy is threatening Ed with a gun, in front of Reyes and two other witnesses. The story is not as twisty as I would expect from a game baring Hitchcock’s name. We do learn how depraved Faye is and how she’s been manipulating Ed, but it’s a very slow burn. There are a few “wait, oh, we had it all wrong” moments, but I was never in a state of shock and awe from a good rug pull in this tale.
Even as the story loses focus it does do one thing very well, "show don't tell" the game expects you to pay attention and put together some of the visual clues, they don't spell it out. The story also isn't so obtuse that you need it exposited at you. My favorite example and the scene I found most tense was near the beginning. You are doing a wellness check on the old farm couple as Reyes. You find their horse locked in it's stall, weak and laying in a week's worth of it's own excrement. When you go over to grab some food for it, you can notice that most of the fruit has rotted. The game doesn't point it out to you, but you can obviously see it, and it helps amp up the tension. You know something's gone wrong and you know you're going to find some dead bodies, but where? Will it be behind this door, in that closet, up this flight of stairs. It kept me on my toes.
All in all, the last half of the game gets fumbled around a bit with lots of new plot points and characters being thrown in and others being left behind, but the writing is still quality stuff, especially for a AA game. I highly recommend this game. It’s a great thriller tale with a lot of meat on the bones and solid writing.
