REVEIL | PS5 Review

REVEIL, like so many other modern survival horror games, leans heavily on the mystery surrounding a given protagonist or antagonist. In this case Walter Thompson is the one who finds himself in what seems to be a series of waking nightmares surrounding the whereabouts of his daughter, and wife. 

As he traverses trippy intermingled environments that tie into the family's circus life, and life in general he grows closer to finding out why he is in the situation he is in, especially through the occasional hauntings of those he seeks. This journey of discovery, as a result, is a heavily orchestrated series of thematic puzzles in distorted and realistic settings that must be solved in order to get to the intended end, the final conclusion.

Utilizing three simple actions including an interaction button, an inspection highlight button, and inventory items that are collected through searches Walter must not only solve the puzzles laid out before him like the trail of bread crumbs they are, but he must also stealthily navigate each transitional area as he tries to find out what happened to his family, and where exactly they are. In turn coming face to face with his own predicament, and why it is he is stuck in this looping lucid dream.

The game itself is segmented into several looping sections with a mashup of transitional environments, and puzzle set pieces that are meant to trigger voiced dialogue, and offer context through various paper trails including children's art, calendars, contracts, and other textual sources of background information. 

Between the context, the dialogue, and the cinematics you'll come closer to concluding Walter's unusual adventure, and how his family was involved in it's otherworldly manifestation. Slowly, but surely coming to the truth, and in that truth, the reality that Walter is having a hard time facing.

The Presentation ...

Visually REVEIL is a blend of nightmarish transitioning environments, ghoulish apparitions, and familiar places that are borne of Walter Thompson's family and circus life. It is psychological horror made manifest, and done so in a truly modern visual quality. The game's details are beautiful, and often times realistically rendered. Accented by by ambient sounds, and scary music that sets the tone and tension as the story reaches it's climactic points, and crescendo. There are plenty of jump scares, and scares built upon tense moments of lingering fear beholden to a prop, resident creature, or ghost from Walter's past.

The Verdict ...

As cliche as it may be at this point REVEIL does keep you drawn in long enough for the twists in the plot. It keeps you guessing to the very end as a good psychological horror game should. Hitting you often with emotionally draining situations, and the fear of the unknown. 

In the way of character portrayal Walter's character is well voiced, and his words properly articulated in context with this ongoing situation. Other voice contributors like the daughter, and Walter's wife also add to that fleshed out storytelling alongside their creepy inclusions in the many places Walter makes his way through. 

In the way of puzzles they are not overly complex, and everything you need to complete a puzzle is usually not far from whatever needs to be solved. You'll find the usual number combination puzzles, symbol puzzles, and even maze puzzles to name a few. Even with the similarities in concept though the delivery of the puzzles, and puzzle elements seem like a fresh take on an old formula. 

All in all the game is a cohesive and complimentary experience even with it being as segmented, transitional, and is jointed as it often times is. It's a prime example of master storytelling, and game development prowess. If you have the nerves for it REVEIL is definitely one of the best in the genre!