Edge of Sanity | PS5 Review

Nothing is quite as it seems in "Edge of Sanity". This 2D Lovecraftian horror tale based in the 1960's to 1970's  Alaskan wilderness in a secret supply depot owned an operated by the Prism Organization has resident staff member Carter awakening to a perpetually perplexing situation. Not initially knowing how he ended up where he's at he heads back to base hoping to rest his weary mind. 

This leads to an odd encounter with a fellow worker, bad dreams, and a real world nightmare filled with horrific abominations. In the midst of the turmoil Carter sets out on a rescue mission to save survivors, and setup a camp wherein his outings for supplies can help keep them alive until they find a way out of this frozen hellscape. All while fending off fear induced mental decline through stress.

Staying true to the Lovecraftian lore, "Edge of Sanity" comes to the player as an interactive adventure about searching the environment, stealth approach, survival at all costs, and psychological horror. It's the type of experience that has you questioning reality as your playable character's reality becomes blurred evermore through stress and trauma incurred by ghastly visions that may or may not be real. 

As Carter, with your lamp dependent upon fuel in hand, you must interact with key characters, deal with enemy threats, and come to terms with what has happened. You'll have access to limited use weapons such as rocks, knives, and axes as well as traps and life sustaining items that will stave off death long enough for you to return to camp after each outing into the Alaskan wilds.

Outings in "Edge of Sanity", as they were, vary between rescue missions, and story driven quests that will change the ongoing narrative through decisions and actions taken along the way. You will initially deck out your camp with survivors assigning them to various roles pertaining to the water supply, and resource management. Building upon, and expanding upon these features using crafting materials found outside of the camp. After a successful mission, when all goals are met, you will return to camp to drop of items obtained, and tend to both your resources and your survivors. Morale is important, and keeping the survivors fed and watered crucial to your own survival. 

While the goals are clear cut there are certain things that will add to Carter's stress level creating trauma that will have his world increasingly invaded by monstrous manifestations. This will play into his ability to discern friend from foe as the story progresses. You'll find in all of this that both confronting enemies, and encountering them builds up Carter's stress meter. 

When filled Carter's trauma level will increase in severity to the point everything he sees is of Lovecraftian origin. To stave off this negative status effect stealth approach via crouching, and the setting of traps or careful use of weapons is a must. Depending on the difficulty setting this also plays into how your playthrough will play out. You have two options in this regard including standard difficulty with a save anytime feature, and an "Ironman" difficulty setting where the game saves only at certain times, and the repercussions of your actions are maintained. 

Lore, and context comes from a couple of different sources in-game outside of character conversation. You will find files, and excerpts detailing background information on your place of work, key characters, and monsters. It is these textual flavor texts that add to the growing and unfolding mystery of Carter's predicament within "Edge of Sanity". Even conversational answers chosen will play into the information obtained, and the direction the story ends up taking. Will Carter find out the horrors that haunt him are real, or will he find out he's simply gone mad from fear?

The Presentation ...

Edge of Sanity, is a hand drawn 2D side-scrolling interactive adventure wherein the playable character interacts with the environmental set pieces, enemy creatures, and resident NPCs. Each character, and creature is animated and articulated in a paper puppet-like fashion. Leaving the backgrounds to be layered and painted cutouts highlight by lamp light and the occasional inclusion of campfire or electricity. It is a grim dark world of winter wherein everything shows signs of wear, and an alien presence. Through special effects the blurring between the lines of sanity and insanity are made manifest, and in the most trippy way possible. It's like a bad acid trip ... not that I'd know how that is ...

Through haunting ambient environmental sounds, groans, and haunting music the soundtrack comes to life. This and added voice-overs per character livens up the spectacle, and is enough to enhance that fear factor as it plays out on screen. The pursuit of monsters in a survivalist setting is enough to keep you on edge. 

The Verdict ...

For what it's worth this sectional survivalist story set in a Lovecraftian horror-like scenario is exceptionally well done. The presentation has a 'Darkest Dungeon" look that adds to the creepiness, and a world wherein the elements play into the guessing game as to whether or not the protagonist is insane or really seeing what he's seeing. The trauma mechanics, though minimal, are effective at adding to the mystery and impact of choices made. Survival is also minimalized yet effective for it's role in the adventure. Character voice-overs add a much needed deeper identity to those included as well.

For a game based off of Lovecraft's creations "Edge of Sanity" stays true to the nature of the source material. It captures the mood, and delivers a mystery of monstrous proportions set to the psychology of sanity or the lack thereof. It is for these reasons that I am glad to recommend this as a day one buy. It is worth the asking price, and will no doubt be perfect for the coming Halloween season! Do not miss out!