“Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition” from the Monty Python gang is the closest I ever got to understanding what The Inquisition was. But in fact, in real life, the order was set up in the 12th century by the Catholic church where Inquisitors were sent out to combat heresy and bring heretics to court in order to be imprisoned for life.
The Inquisitor however uses real life as an influence, but also mainly the dark fantasy novels by Polish writer Jacek Piekara. Here the world is medieval but it is an alternate version of events where Jesus was a warrior and didn’t die on the cross, instead using it as a weapon to kill his captors. It is also a world where the Inquisitor’s main job is to kill vampires.Â
Playing through The Inquisitor reminds of the heyday of the Xbox 360 when single-player adventure games were all the vogue and developers were brave, happy to try different things all the time. This game attempts to take you somewhere you’ve never been before, adding in many different things in terms of mechanics and gameplay. But it is also very rough around the edges, with some not-great animation, strange sound levels, and combat that struggles. Thankfully there is something about The Inquisitor which keeps you playing. That’s a good thing.
The story is great; a good nod to the source material for providing a solid mythology and world to draw upon. You play the part of The Inquisitor himself, also known as Mordimer Madderdin. It’s here where the world of Christianity has a different story with Jesus being more of a warrior leading an army to destroy the Roman Empire. The action takes place in the fictional European town of Koenigstein. You’ve come here to rid the town of a vampire, but soon get involved in a murder investigation of a young woman who has been killed by an ancient relic. You go on the hunt and get led across town to meet all the major players in this investigation.
The story, writing and world-building are excellent. Walking around the 12th-century city with its different areas feels vibrant and full of life. People are working, inhabiting this great city. And that means there are many characters to meet and chat to. There’s a town fair at the start of the game which is a brilliant introduction, setting the characters and tone of the game.
The gameplay elements, while engaging and addictive, are also pretty rough at times. There are some combat sections where you have the usual light attack, heavy attack, block, parry, and dodge options in battle. It works fine, but it is not the best battle system you will encounter in games. It feels slow at times and a bit rigid. There are also a whole series of QTEs (quick time events) in the combat and in sections where you’re giving chase to someone or running away, avoiding debris and obstacles.
There is investigative detective work to be done with some murders, a whole section of eavesdropping on conversations in which you move out of your body and pick up on chats happening around you. There’s a mini-game to be played, as well as exploration of areas and objects. Neatly, in The Inquisitor there always seems to be something new going on and at various times you’ll get to utilise your prayer skills to find objects of interest and the direction you need to go for your next objective.
When the Inquisitor goes into deep prayer he enters a place called The Unworld. This is a strange mystical dimension where you need to gather some clues in terms of items dotted around the nightmare world. It’s also here where you are being hunted by something called The Murk; a huge creature floating in the sky. You need to avoid its gaze, making the most of a combination of stealth, combat and just legging it. It wasn’t one of my favourite sections in the game and, if I’m honest, I’m not sure The Inquisitor needs it.
Visually, this is very much a mixed bag. There’s no doubt that there is some great world-building at play, but The Inquisitor does look very old-gen at times, especially in terms of lighting and colour. The interiors are excellent and the ambition is brilliant but it all lacks a bit of polish – the character face models are certainly a bit strange and slightly off.
And whilst there are some new performances found in the voice over, along with a range of accents, I’ve had trouble with the sound levels at times; vocals are a tad uneven in moments. The soundtrack is great though, happily keeping you engaged with the action.
It may feel like I am being down on The Inquisitor, but over its 8-hour running time, it’s safe to say I was completely hooked into the story, as well as the exploration of the open world city. The Inquisitor is an entertaining game; you don’t get many single-player experiences like this anymore. It’s ambitious and unique too, but ultimately it is just too rough around the edges to hit the highest heights.
