Ad Infernum
- February 29, 2024
- Entropy Phi
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io StoreIn "Ad Infernum," you wake up at an abandoned gas station after a car crash and hear a voice on the radio. Together, you discover a missing cult, unholy rituals, and bloodthirsty creatures. As you witness horrors, your psyche deteriorates, leading to audiovisual hallucinations. Fight back with various guns and melee weapons, upgradable for increased power. Can you complete the cult's final ritual and escape the terrors before it's too late?
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Linux
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- Ad Infernum offers a unique blend of immersive sim and survival horror elements, providing players with multiple viable paths and creative problem-solving opportunities.
- The atmosphere and sound design are highly praised, contributing to an immersive experience that keeps players engaged and on edge.
- The game features significant replayability with a New Game+ mode and a points shop, encouraging players to explore different strategies and upgrades across multiple playthroughs.
- The game is relatively short, with many players completing it in just a couple of hours, leading to concerns about its overall depth and content.
- There are reports of technical issues, including bugs and performance dips, which can detract from the overall experience.
- Some players feel that the immersive sim elements are underutilized, with limited enemy variety and a lack of engaging puzzles as the game progresses.
- replayability22 mentions
- 73 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game offers significant replayability through features like New Game Plus, a points shop with unlockables, and various difficulty levels that enhance the challenge. Players appreciate the incentives for replaying, such as keeping weapon upgrades and the enjoyment of tackling puzzles again. Despite its short playtime, many reviewers find the game to have ample replay value, making it a worthwhile experience.
“Great replayability, has NG+ and a points shop with all kinds of modifiers and difficulties I'm yet to play with.”
“Interestingly, this game also has lots of replayability due to its extra and new game+ (you keep weapon upgrade level and purchased power-ups for the next run).”
“Wanna test your mettle on different difficulties with all your gear like in Dead Space? Go ahead, all the difficulties have a level of challenge that can spice things up even on NG+, plus it adds a lot more replay value.”
- gameplay20 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Ad Infernum" effectively combines classic survival horror elements with immersive sim mechanics, drawing inspiration from titles like Prey and Resident Evil. While the core gameplay loop is engaging and the distinct locations enhance the experience, some mechanics, such as weapon creation, feel underutilized and could benefit from further development. Overall, it offers a fun and tense experience, showcasing the potential of its design.
“A nice combination and marriage between classic survival horror and classic immersive sim mechanics.”
“Because it absolutely nails the primary gameplay loop.”
“Ad Infernum is a really fun and tense showcase of just how well the core mechanics of traditional immersive sims can be married with survival horror themes.”
“I just wish it was developed more or more focused on its strengths instead of just having a bunch of mechanics that are underutilized.”
“The mechanic of creating your weapon is introduced in the tutorial but is ditched for the whole game after the tutorial.”
“"ad infernum" only has a few locations, but each of them feels distinct gameplay-wise.”
- story15 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The story has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its intriguing premise and depth, while others find it weak and minimal, lacking substantial investment. Many noted that the narrative is primarily driven by exploration, focusing on uncovering the mysteries of an abandoned gas station, but some felt it was confusing and not taken seriously. Overall, while there are elements of fun and surprise, the story leaves players wanting more.
“It also has an interesting story with some surprising depth and reminded me of movies such as 'As Above, So Below'.”
“A fun story with a cool premise; my only regret is not seeing more.”
“The story is one driven primarily by exploration; finding out what the hell happened in this neglected, and then abandoned, gas station.”
“The story is minimal; it does not seem to take itself too seriously.”
“There's only 3 enemy types and very little story to get invested in.”
“The story is confusing other than the fact you're supposedly checking out a vast underground system under the gas station itself.”
- graphics12 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally considered acceptable but lack polish, often described as having a "default Unity engine" aesthetic with shiny plastic surfaces and a somewhat amateurish semi-realism. While the visuals may not be the main attraction, the game's atmosphere, sound, and overall charm are praised, suggesting that the graphics serve their purpose without detracting from the experience.
“The atmosphere and sound are great, while the graphics are acceptable; it has its own charm though.”
“It really didn't appeal to me, but the aesthetic of the game is amazing, as is its soundtrack, voice acting, and atmosphere.”
“It doesn't look like much at first: unlike many recent low-budget horror games, it does not commit to a fitting low-fi aesthetic, but goes for, I guess, ugly amateurish semi-realism?”
“Be aware that there is some jank and the game does have a very 'default Unity engine' aesthetic; all shiny plastic surfaces with crispy normal maps.”
“It doesn't look like much at first: unlike many recent low budget horror games, it does not commit to a fitting low-fi aesthetic, but goes for, uhhhh, I guess ugly amateurish semi-realism?”
“Art style is clearly not the main draw here.”
- music10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally well-executed, with a haunting quality that effectively enhances the atmosphere, particularly in the ending credits. However, some players feel that the music's absence during much of the game detracts from the experience, and the choice of music in the final section feels somewhat out of place, though it provides a welcome relief after the horror elements. Overall, while opinions vary, the soundtrack is often praised for its aesthetic contribution to the game's ambiance.
“The music and soundscape is well executed as well; I really like the ending credits song.”
“It really didn't appeal to me, but the aesthetic of the game is amazing, as is its soundtrack, voice acting, and atmosphere.”
“Neither is music, which is gracefully absent for most of the game.”
“The music is haunting and sets the atmosphere well.”
“The feel and music choice of the last section of the game is a bit out of place.”
- atmosphere10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised as its strongest element, characterized by excellent sound design, haunting music, and a captivating aesthetic that enhances the overall experience. Many players noted that it effectively creates tension and fear, contributing significantly to the game's charm despite acceptable graphics. Overall, the combination of atmosphere, soundtrack, and voice acting leaves a lasting impression on players.
“The atmosphere is excellent and is the single strongest element of the game.”
“The aesthetic of the game is amazing, as is its soundtrack, voice acting, and atmosphere.”
“The atmosphere is there and the game scared me at several points.”
“The music is haunting and sets the atmosphere well.”
“It really didn't appeal to me, but the aesthetic of the game is amazing, as is its soundtrack, voice acting, and atmosphere.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game manageable, with most reporting that it takes around four hours to achieve 100% completion. However, some challenges are perceived as tedious, leading to reluctance in completing them.
“It probably took about 4 hours total to 100% the game, but there are a few challenges that I don't feel like grinding out.”
“The grinding aspect of the game feels tedious and unfulfilling, making it hard to stay engaged.”
“I found the grinding to be repetitive and time-consuming, which detracted from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game exhibits noticeable jank and occasional microstuttering, which can detract from the experience; however, players report that once they acclimate to these issues, they can still enjoy the game significantly.
“There is a fair bit of jank and some issues with microstuttering, which detracts from the overall experience.”
