CENTUM (PS5) | REVIEW | Delightfully Eerie Or Dreadfully Dreary? Find Out Here

CENTUM, developed by indie studio 'Hack the Publisher', is a dark, narrative-driven puzzle game that dropped in mid-2024, and it's a wild ride if you're into psychological twists and eerie vibes. Set in a mysterious, decaying institution, you play as a nameless prisoner piecing together fragmented memories through cryptic puzzles and unsettling environments. The game doesn't hold your hand, so expect to feel lost, intrigued, and occasionally creeped out.

The art style in CENTUM is a gritty, hand-drawn visual display paired with a muted color palette that oozes dread. The sound design has distant echoes and distorted whispers ramping up the tension without relying on cheap jump scares. Puzzles are the meat of the experience, blending logic, pattern recognition, and some light inventory management. They're tough, but fair, though a few late-game challenges might leave you scratching your head a bit too long.

Story-wise, CENTUM keeps you guessing. It's deliberately vague, dropping bread crumbs about identity, guilt and time loops that invite speculation. Some will love the ambiguity, but others might find it frustratingly opaque. The dialogue, while sparse, is sharp and haunting, though the lack of voice acting might disappoint immersion junkies.

Performance-wise, it's lightweight and runs smoothly on the PS5, with no major bugs in my playthrough. At about 6-8 hours, it's a tight experience that doesn't overstay it's welcome. Replay value hinges on whether you're obsessed with decoding it's lore as there is no hand holding "true ending" to spoon feed you.

The Verdict ...

Overall, CENTUM is a niche gem for fans of cerebral, atmospheric games like "The Vanishing of Ethan Carter" or "SOMA". It's not perfect, the pacing drags in spots, and the ending might polarize, but it's a bold stab at something unique. If you're into brain-bending mysteries and don't mind a little gloom, it's worth a shot.