For me, the best type of horror takes place in the most confined of spaces. It’s why films like The Shining work so well; the terror of the hotel and being trapped in the snow. The Exorcist, for instance, is mostly set in a bedroom.
It’s similar in games. PT became the strangest and most downloaded of demo plays, the time-looped action taking place in a corridor. And so we get to Insomnis. This one focuses on a house; a house with few rooms and not many answers, at least to begin with. It’s a place where the rules keep changing as various doors open to go revealing secrets and scary truths.
Turn off the lights and come play.
Path Games are a small indie team, based in Barcelona. It is they who are looking to bring you their first console game – Insomnis. The game takes you on a journey to Castevet Manor. Roman Castevet has died and so his grandson Joe has inherited the place, along with all the secrets it holds. As Joe enters the manor he soon realises things aren’t what they seem and he isn’t alone in this dark place…
Insomnis takes you through a haunted house adventure, where things jump out from the shadows and doors open and disappear. There are ghosts around, but they are trying to tell you something; you’ll need to listen and follow the clues. There is something very familiar about the setup and the writing, and Path Games have worked all the usual tropes very well indeed. And strangely, for the terror it brings, it’s a fun adventure that will take you some three hours or so to complete. There’s a chance it will hook you too, as you look to find out more about the mystery. Notes and postcards are lying around to give you more of a backstory as well. Don’t expect anything that feels groundbreaking, but it’s a good ride.
The game plays out as a typical first-person horror adventure. You travel around the house, armed with a flashlight trying to find out what the secrets are. And it’s here where the gameplay comes together, as a mix of exploration and puzzle-solving. The exploration side of things is great, with some changes to perspective and rooms not being what you think they are to begin with.
The puzzles are quite tricky, but they are extremely rewarding when you find the solution. They cover a variety of angles, ranging from clue-based exploration where you are hunting down items to go with certain other items, as well as moments in which you might have to find some number codes to go with clocks or door locks. There is a wonderful puzzle involving a children’s floor alphabet – but that’s all I’m saying.
There isn’t any combat in Insomnis and nothing can kill you. That ensures the experience can be quite enjoyable, but still makes the exploration very tense with jump scares and horror imagery. But if you’re not into puzzle-solving and want action in your games then this might be not your cup of tea. Personally I value a game that hooks me in to play for just a few hours in one sitting. Insomnis does that.
Visually the game does a very solid job of creating atmosphere, utilising lighting effects without breaking the graphics bank. It’s not Layers of Fear in terms of fidelity, but what it does do it does very well. The room design is solid and the way the manor changes and morphs is very impressive. I really like the soundtrack too; there’s some lovely real pieces of music in it. Classical music combined with horror context always sounds so creepy, but the normal sound score does a terrific job. The effects are spot on and add to the jump scares as well, whilst the voice-over is nicely acted; complete with a serious tone that adds gravitas to the atmosphere.
It may feel like you’ve played Insomnis a hundred times before. Or maybe you’ve seen something like it in the movies or TV shows that deal with similar themes. But the developers know what they are doing and Insomnis is delivered with panache and style. It’s an entertaining romp as well with an exciting story, jump scares, and some solid exploration and puzzles.
It’s not going to blow your socks off in terms of visual clarity, but Insomnis is far from ugly. In fact, if you fancy a few scares, make sure you check it out.
