I've seen Betrayer on steam sales for years, they're usually trying to chuck at at you for $3 or $2. I've seen it for a while and I've always thought "gosh, if it's that cheap there must be something wrong with it." Glancing over reviews it seems like that is the general consensus: a cool game, but critically flawed. But through reading the description of the game and seeing the monochrome screenshots I have been intrigued: it looks like a unique game. It is unique, and it's actually really good.

So in Betrayer you awaken on the shore of a forest without much information. Wandering around a little you find yourself a bow and arrows and a few notes scattered around. You soon realise that you're in 16th century America, around the time of the Spanish conquest. The game is completely greyscale and there's an eerie feeling in the air. You wander around this forest; the only sound is your footsteps and the occasional breeze blowing through the trees. You eventually find that this land is rotten and something has gone terribly wrong. All of the denizens seem to have lost their minds and attack you on sight, moaning and making strange guttural noises. The only friendly presence is this mysterious lady in red, she too has forgotten her past and her name. Your goal: try to figure out what has happened in this forsaken place.

This game is unique in many ways. It's open-world (sort of), it has stealth elements, horror and RPG elements. But more than anything it's a story-driven game. The most fascinating mechanic in the game is the bell. Each area in the game has a bell. When you ring the bell the whole area becomes dark and foreboding; it's like a nightmare parallel universe where ghosts, spirits and the forces of darkness are visible. To progress in the game you must explore the world in both the light and the darkness because different characters, areas and objects will be visible in one world but not the other.

Interestingly the game has semi-realistic 16th century weapons. There are flintlock pistols, muskets and crossbows. Reloading the musket (for example) takes about 15 seconds as you see the full animation: loading the powder, pushing in the shot, priming the pan, etc. You have to choose between weapons: a bow and arrow is faster to reload but each shot is much less powerful than the musket.

The stealth mechanics work quite well. Crouching in the shadows works like any other game, but sound is very important. When a gust of wind blows you have an opportunity to dash forward toward your enemy. A quiet crossbow shot to an unsuspecting enemy will do far more damage than the enemy who is aware of your presence.

At first I was disconcerted by the monochrome graphics. It felt weird and unpleasant at first, but in time I quickly became accustomed to it and I think it's a vital part of the game and the atmosphere. It was a bold choice from the developers, probably killing much of their profits but it works so well. Furthermore, key items and most enemies are red so the greyscale scheme actually makes it much easier to navigate the world and spot enemies from afar. There's an option to turn the colours on but I would say to leave the slider alone; give it a chance and play the game as the developers intended.

The atmosphere of the game is convincing and chilling. I really felt like I was transported back to this eerie colonial 16th century forest. The characters and enemies have a convincing presence; it doesn't feel like your standard zombies, pirates and ghosts; there's something unspeakable and surreal about it all. This is complemented by the brilliant, haunting and often disturbing storytelling within the game.

This is a relatively short game; according to steam I finished it in 10 hours, though I could have completed it much quicker. I spent a lot of time exploring. Admittedly there's not much replay value. The only thing I could compare it to is Miasmata, but it's very different to that since it's largely combat-based. For most of the game you're moving between the light and the dark world, speaking to characters and trying to resolve quests while also searching for loot, trying to upgrade weapons and skills, sneaking around taking out the creepy enemies, and soaking in the story and the atmosphere.

I really got a kick out of this game and I finished it thirsting for more. This is an off-beat game with a captivating story and addictive gameplay, a hidden gem for sure. Highly recommended.