5/28/2023 0 Comments Moons of madness reviewThe actual chase sequences aren’t too often and the route you have to take is rather obvious, plus the thing chasing you is quite slow as it waddles towards you. Thankfully, Moons of Madness is a lot more forgiving and there are no trophies which require you to complete the game without dying or getting caught (the way it should be). Similarly, Layers of Fear 2 stressed me out as I kept getting caught by the creature due to running the wrong way. Okay, so what’s my issue with these two mechanics? If you’ve read my review for Close to the Sun, you’ll know I didn’t like the chase sequences in that game because they were really fiddly and almost impossible to complete without dying due to the QTEs you had to perform. Moons of Madness is a linear experience, so I can see why it automatically takes you to the next place – as they want you to stick to the path – but it would have been nice to have the chance to mess around a little.ĭon’t mind Mr. Whereas games like Deliver us the Moon lets you manually drive the vehicles around the surface, exploring and discovering new locations, the Rover in this game simply self-drives to the next location with no input from you after you turn it on. My only nitpick, other than the stealth and running away mechanics, was the Rover. However, to progress the story, you’ll find yourself having to solve puzzles via remote controlling objects with your arm-PDA, resetting frequencies, finding key items and information all around you, and completing some logic-based puzzles as well. This is where the game shines in my opinion, there’s a lot of backstory within the game, delivered through flashbacks, PC terminals, and interactions with the crew. The majority of the game sees you walking or running around, finding out new information on what happened whilst you solve puzzles and automatically drive the Rover. I’ll cover these in more detail later on, but they’re not as bad as I’ve seen previously, although they do drastically change the feeling of the game, turning it from a nice jump-scare and psychological horror title into a more stressful and frustrating one. Two aspects from those titles reared its head within this game, mechanics which I’m not the biggest fan of stealth and running away from things. If I was to liken it to recent games, I’d say it reminded me a lot of Close to the Sun, Layers of Fear 2, and The Blair Witch Project. Moons of Madness is an exploration horror game with puzzle mechanics and an interesting narrative. I think someone is trying to tell me something? That’s when the paranoia and fear sets in, you begin to see things which may or may not be there, experience flashbacks of your youth, and try to remain sane whilst freaky shit is going on all around you. Thanks to the forced isolation of being on a distant planet, your only option is to set out and investigate the facility and single-handedly fix the broken machinery upon this desolate planet. Suddenly, a few days before they get here, crucial systems begin to shut down, you begin having nightmares and visions, the greenhouse is contaminated with an unusual mist, and your colleagues haven’t returned from their mission – what’s going on? However, due to the limited clearance you have of the facility, you know very little in regards to the true purpose of this isolated research outpost. You are Shane Newehart, an engineer who has been stationed on Mars in order to maintain and fix any issues which may arise at Trailblazer Alpha before the transport ship Cyrano arrives with a new team. So, let’s head off to Mars and see how good the Lovecraftian horror set in space was to play through… However, don’t let that sway your judgment on Moons of Madness as they have gone all-in when creating this game, complete with jump scares, horrific creatures, beautiful visuals, and interesting puzzles. It’s been a good few years for Lovecraft fans as there have been a number of games based upon his horrific creatures and lore, such as The Sinking City, Call of Cthulhu, and Conarium, how about one more? Moons of Madness takes the genre away from disturbing towns surrounded by hallowed waters which house demonic beasts and vile creatures, and it places us upon Mars, a waterless, desert planet which is about as isolated as you can get – I mean, have you seen the movie The Martian? So, with a new setting and spin on the popular theme, just how well has it been pulled off?įrom developer Rock Pocket Games, it seems like this type of game is a massive departure from what they’ve created previously, having released Shitflings, a colourful puzzle platformer, as their only console title prior to this narrative horror experience.
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