Evil Nun: The Broken Mask Review

The poor old nun has taken a right beating since horror films and games decided to turn them into haunting visions; the recent The Nun films building the terror even more. But is that the case in Evil Nun: The Broken Mask? Well, the game title tells you everything you need to know. 

Yes, this is another survival horror game in which you are running around like a poor rat, trying not to get caught and preparing an escape. This time a sledgehammer wielding nun is hunting you. Can you break the habit?

I’ve played a lot of these type of games over the most recent years, running, hiding and collecting items, hoping to escape the slaughter or from being devoured by some evil presence. In Evil Nun: The Broken Mask you play a young person who was meant to be having a lovely time at a religious summer camp. Instead, you wake up in a bloodstained room, locked in an old abandoned school. What’s worse is that Sister Madeline is walking the corridors with a big hammer, spouting religious verse. How do you escape?

Evil Nun: The Broken Mask is played in the first person, allowing you to run, crouch, and hide as you explore the school, all while not trying to attract the attention of the evil nun. You can choose at the start of the game your difficulty – from insane to ghost mode, with the latter meaning the nun can’t see you. Unfortunately, you won’t get any achievements for your efforts if you choose this option. 

You have several tasks to complete before the fifth day of being there. For example, you might have to collect several fuses to open a doorway, which might then lead to another set of tasks to complete. The problem comes with every sound you make, whether it be your footsteps or a grate to a crawlspace popping open – everything will attract the nun, leaving you to run and hide until the danger is no more. From playing, I feel that the nun could hear anything and everything I did, even on the lower difficulty level, but while annoying, I guess this is the point of the game. You need that ever sense of dread that at any moment you will be caught. To ensure success, you will have to plan your escape. 

There is a lot to discover as the game progresses and new bits of the map get unopened up, added to as you explore and get objectives done. But the big question as to how you get on with Evil Nun: The Broken Mask is whether that hide-and-survive gameplay is what you like doing.

There’s no doubt that this one does that very well and has a good setup and premise. But I personally found the gameplay loop to not be interesting enough, rarely built on through new mechanics or setup. Hardcore fans of this genre, should well find themselves having a bundle of fun. And those who stream? Evil Nun: The Broken Mask will be like gold.  

Visually, and with the game powered by Unreal Engine 5, there is some great attention to detail, especially in the fixtures and fittings. The models of the characters look great as well, especially the Sister herself. There are some lovely lighting effects to take in, and, frankly, Evil Nun: The Broken Mask runs as smooth as butter.

I’m a big fan of the audio too and big shout-out goes to the actress who voiced Sister Madeline. She does a superb job with the character, delivering a chill down your spine every time you hear her preaching. 

Evil Nun: The Broken Mask is probably one of the better games in the whole survival horror genre, all thanks to its interesting setup, frightening main character, and some amazing visuals. But the gameplay mechanics and loop do feel a bit tired. If you love this type of game, or are intrigued as a newbie, you should well get on with Evil Nun: The Broken Mask.