Agony (2018)

Guys, I'm nuts... I know that about a week ago I said that I couldn't take this game anymore after 30 minutes of playing, and that it was literal agony.

Then, I couldn't stop thinking about it... so I decided to give it another chance. I have been playing it for the past couple of days. The game is still bad, but I am being more patient with it. I will write a more objective review when I'm done.

This kills my computer's frame-rate, won't be able to play it properly until I get better hardware. Based on what I can experience through looking at playthroughs here are my thoughts.

The environment and atmosphere is amazing a real 5/5. However, it looks like all it has is this one environment and even the coolest environment in the world is going to get stale, leaving you wanting to see more (of which the game has nothing to provide). What's more, it seems there isn't much to distract from the environment once it gets stale: from what I have seen the exploration looks very basic with small linear corridors and the puzzles and stealth or not very challenging or in-depth either. The NPC interaction is probably also very minimal. Again nothing to detract from the environments once they get stale nor new environments to look forward to. If the game isn't extremely short (which it probably is) I could see myself turning it off before finishing but none the less enjoying it and giving it a 3/5.

Wow, ok.. I don't think I've ever been so impressed by a trailer. This game is exactly the kind of thing I've been looking for. I remember when I was complaining about Doom (on the Grouvee forum I think). I was saying how I was disappointed by their depiction of "hell" or "the underworld." Their art direction was kind of juvenile, like a comic book rendition of hell, very cartoony and.. it looks more like the "hell" you'd see in a Saturday morning cartoon or a Disneyland ghost train. Which is disappointing, because I feel like there's a lot of material that no developer has ever explored, except perhaps a few old obscure point-n-click games like Darkseed and I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream.

This looks really hopeful. I've always wanted to play a game with an art style/atmosphere like this, like something from a James Gleeson or Zdzisław Beksiński painting. Or Hieronymus Bosch. Maybe the trailer makes it look cooler than it actually is, but I'm still excited about it. It looks similar to the upcoming game 'Scorn' but with much higher production values.