Quintus and the Absent Truth Review

First-person horrors might be completely terrifying; simply spend a couple of minutes enjoying one thing like Outlast or Layers of Worry, and also you’ll little doubt agree with my sentiment. That’s why Quintus and the Absent Reality piqued my curiosity, as a result of it’s billed as a first-person horror journey. Certainly although, an journey a couple of man and his mouse received’t be too scary, will it? With each single mild in the home switched on, I tentatively delved in to seek out out whether or not Quintus and the Absent Reality goes to present me nightmares for weeks on finish.

Quintus and the Absent Reality is a first-person horror that includes a bloke named Alan Shaw and his pleasant mouse companion, Quintus. Alan is a multi-award profitable composer, who’s awoken by his furry little pal, earlier than studying that Alan’s daughter Lydia has gone lacking. The narrative that follows sees this dynamic duo doing no matter it takes to determine what’s occurring and guarantee Lydia returns house safely. Issues take a little bit of an odd flip nevertheless, with a supernatural entity intervening to assist Alan on this quest.

The sheer sight of Quintus within the opening moments is unnerving and makes an amazing preliminary impression, with an actual creepy trying presence to the supposedly pleasant rodent. The soundtrack does its greatest to create an edgy ambiance, however the horror issue is definitely missing right here. Except for a few first rate leap scares, being barely odd and a little bit eerie is about as scary because it will get. The horrible voice performing for supporting roles doesn’t do it any favours; particularly when some characters are imagined to be menacing and as a substitute you find yourself bemused at how unhealthy the road supply is. 

Moreover, as this thriller slowly unfolds there’s an underwhelming antagonist and a moderately far-fetched climax to the plot – sure, extra far-fetched than a person and a mouse working collectively in excellent concord. Therefore, there’s a way of disappointment when you attain the latter levels of the storytelling, however up till then, the intrigue surrounding Alan’s life is an actual driving power to be truthful and can push you thru the journey. Constructing the back-story for Alan is completed very nicely, with simply sufficient particulars given to you on the proper instances.

As for the gameplay, nicely this is available in two distinct types. Whereas controlling Alan, the emphasis is on wandering round and interacting with something of curiosity. Often you’ll be sending Quintus to carry out duties in arduous to succeed in locations, like behind furnishings to retrieve a key or right into a vent. Easy stuff in reality. Fortunately, extra puzzling moments come to the fore as you progress, which require logic and reminiscence to resolve. On the entire although, each time Alan is the main focus, you’ll be able to take it straightforward and benefit from the narrative construct. 

The identical can’t be mentioned for the flexibility to roam round as Quintus, which is launched on the midway mark of the 4 chapters. I respect the ambition to shake the whole lot up, with Quintus having to navigate obstacles and manoeuvre objects which might be nearly his measurement. What this does although is expose the poorly carried out physics and causes frustration for probably the most half. You see, each time Quintus has to hold something, chances are high it’s going to get knocked out of his grasp or merge into close by objects. That is by no means extra obvious than the phase the place he’s having to hold a tin of tuna up a collection of flooring and it simply retains getting free, falling all the way down to the underside. 

Whereas as regards to technical annoyances, there’s a really weird bug early on that may halt your progress indefinitely. It’s actually innocuous, however in the event you’re not fast sufficient to retrieve one thing from Quintus’ palms, he disappears together with the merchandise, by no means to return. The checkpoint system wants work too, as I left one session in Chapter Three and the following session it put me again close to the tip of Chapter Two. Quintus and the Absent Reality did crash twice as nicely, inflicting additional irritation.

When it comes to visuals, I like the truth that the outlines of objects and constructions stand out at midnight. It’s a mode I haven’t seen too typically and it’s typically higher than when the environment are illuminated, as a result of the environments lack factors of curiosity and the color palette is boring. Probably the most fascinating areas to have a look at are within the bonus mode often called The Expertise, which is a museum of types. Via interacting with the issues right here, you’ll get nice perception into the design and storytelling selections made by builders Wreck Tangle Video games. 

In the end, Quintus and the Absent Reality units out to be a horrifying story, however doesn’t do wherever close to sufficient to place concern into the participant. That’s primarily all the way down to a scarcity of menacing protagonists and an ending that’s fairly foolish in presentation and supply. To present credit score, the soundtrack does handle to create a spooky vibe, so no less than it’s a little bit bit creepy. Sadly, the technical issues are positively a downer and turn out to be extra obvious with probably the most formidable sections of gameplay. Not all hope is misplaced nevertheless, because the lifetime of Alan is pretty intriguing, fixing the few puzzles is gratifying, and the mysterious goings on might hold you for probably the most half. 

Whereas I can’t suggest Quintus and the Absent Reality as your subsequent horror repair anytime quickly, it is likely to be a kooky expertise to take pleasure in throughout a sale. Even then, it’s a stretch.

Quintus and the Absent Reality is accessible to buy by way of the Xbox Retailer