Bedlam

An ambitious and fascinating wander through gaming’s history, but one that can’t replicate the addictive gameplay of the forefathers it documents.

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"Bedlam" is a single-player Science Fiction Shooter game with a unique genre-jumping feature, based on Christopher Brookmyre's novel. As the character Heather Quinn, players navigate an interesting plot while experiencing up-to-date graphics and nostalgic gaming references. Despite some humorous elements and good mechanics, the game is very grinding and has several bugs.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

55%

Audience ScoreBased on 212 reviews

story48 positive mentions

stability20 negative mentions

The game features brilliant voice acting, especially from the protagonist, which adds charm and humor to the experience.
The concept of jumping through various video game worlds and utilizing different weapons from those games is unique and nostalgic.
The storyline is engaging and offers a fun mix of humor and references to classic FPS games.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, including game-breaking issues that can hinder progress.
Level design can be tedious and confusing, often leading to frustration as players struggle to find objectives.
Combat mechanics feel unpolished, with inconsistent hit detection and AI that can be frustratingly inaccurate or overly precise.

story
99 mentions
48 % positive mentions
45 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The story of the game is generally seen as enjoyable and filled with humor, featuring a nostalgic homage to classic gaming, though it often leans on clichés and familiar tropes. While some players appreciate the engaging dialogue and character interactions, others find the narrative lacking depth and coherence, with gameplay mechanics that detract from the overall experience. Despite its flaws, the storyline is often cited as a key reason to play, especially for those who enjoy retro gaming references and light-hearted humor.
- “Good story, great protagonist, fantastic dialogue.”
- “The story is very enjoyable and a lot of fun!”
- “The unique combination of aesthetics and decent storytelling are definitely the high points though.”
- “The story, you've heard before.”
- “Bedlam isn't especially shy about ripping off the aesthetics of games, and even dropping the names of classic computer games, but it has no comment to make on the point that it is merely a retelling of Tron, Neuromancer, and The Matrix, all jumbled into a game that doesn't seem well-suited for FPS gameplay, let alone storytelling more complicated than voiceovers and mugshots pasted over your UI.”
- “I really wanted to love this game but it left me with little more than disappointment over a neat idea wasted with a bad story, boring environments, and below-average FPS gameplay.”
gameplay
57 mentions
28 % positive mentions
58 % neutral mentions
14 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Bedlam" is characterized by a mix of fast-paced, old-school FPS mechanics and a lack of polish, leading to a generally mediocre experience. While some players appreciate the humor and variety in weapons, many criticize the level design, repetitive gameplay, and numerous bugs that detract from enjoyment. Overall, the game offers an interesting premise but fails to deliver a refined and engaging gameplay experience.
- “Mechanically speaking, Bedlam is tight, fluid, fast, and fun.”
- “The gameplay was fast and frantic; some of the levels were designed really well, and overall, I was satisfied.”
- “Overall, none of the problems are deal-breakers; and the game itself is full of dark, quirky humor, interesting concepts, and fast-paced, fun gameplay.”
- “Buried under mediocre, boring, tedious gameplay, 'where do I go' level design, missions that feel like chores, and a frankly ludicrous amount of bugs.”
- “The gameplay never really evolves from the start though, and even the Halo levels play like you're in Quake.”
- “However, bad level design and mediocre and repetitive gameplay really hold it back.”
humor
34 mentions
88 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
12 % negative mentions
The humor in Bedlam is widely praised for its clever references, engaging dialogue, and nostalgic nods to 90s first-person shooters, providing genuine laughs throughout the gameplay. While some players found certain jokes and voice acting to be hit-or-miss, the overall comedic elements and unique storytelling were highlighted as standout features that enhance the gaming experience. Despite mixed opinions on gameplay quality, the humor remains a significant draw for many players.
- “The sense of humor here is spot on, including hidden 'levels' that often offer some lore and comedic memes as well.”
- “Probably the best humorous Scottish first-person shooter I've ever played.”
- “Bedlam tells a really interesting and genuinely funny tale.”
- “But what really keeps me from giving this another chance are the unfunny jokes and the stupid voice acting.”
- “Constant sarcasm is not funny.”
- “Oh wait... that's just a British thing; sorry, not funny.”
graphics
30 mentions
17 % positive mentions
73 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the nostalgic art style and the successful mirroring of different gaming eras, while others criticize the poor optimization, frequent glitches, and low detail in environments. Although the game attempts to blend retro aesthetics with modern gameplay, many players find the graphical fidelity lacking and experience performance issues even on lower settings. Overall, while the unique visual presentation is appreciated, it is often overshadowed by technical shortcomings.
- “The graphics for each level are true to form, and I find the game quite challenging.”
- “The graphical fidelity in each world matches its era, and it's really neat seeing the progression as you go along.”
- “The art style is absolutely awesome.”
- “The graphics are complete shit (crashes, black screens), the animations are also not very good (invisible hands in the ego perspective ?? !!), stupid opponents who are sometimes too strong even on the level of difficulty 'easy'.”
- “Seeing the game's minimal graphics, I wouldn't think this would be a problem, but this game is so poorly optimized that even on the lowest settings I'm experiencing lag and slowdowns if there's a large area or a large number of enemies, which is absolutely crazy when I can run more demanding games at the same resolution with higher graphics settings.”
- “The graphics aren't optimized to run smoothly at all.”
stability
22 mentions
9 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
91 % negative mentions
The game's stability is notably compromised by frequent glitches and bugs, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to frustrating experiences, such as collision issues and disappearing objects. While some players appreciate the nostalgic charm and humor, the overall execution suffers from a lack of polish, making it difficult to fully enjoy the game. Despite these issues, some users find value in the unique concept and retro elements, though they acknowledge the need for significant improvements in stability.
- “Runs great and even the retro game sections look awesome.”
- “The game is good, great idea, plays well with no glitches.”
- “Frustratingly laggy until I turned off FXAA, lots of glitches and disappearing objects.”
- “There is nothing glaringly 'wrong' with Bedlam, but the experience as a whole is marred with glitches, inconsistencies, and overall weak game structure.”
- “The enemies sometimes jiggle and warp into or through objects; glitches resulted in my losing all of my ability to fight at least once in the final level where there are no decent autosaves.”
optimization
8 mentions
25 % positive mentions
38 % neutral mentions
38 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received significant criticism, with players reporting poor performance and graphical issues even on low settings. Many users have experienced lag and frame drops, particularly in larger areas or during intense combat, despite the game's minimal graphics. While some players found workarounds, such as disabling fullscreen optimizations, the general consensus is that the game is poorly optimized and can be frustrating to play.
- “Disabling fullscreen optimizations under the compatibility tab of the game's executable file helps prevent performance issues.”
- “This game is awesome, but I have some performance issues. Every time I use the shotgun, it skips a frame, and sometimes the game drops to 30fps. I play with everything on low; I don't have the most recent rig, to be honest, with a quad-core Q9300, AMD 6850, and 4GB of DDR2 RAM. The game looks old, which isn't a problem for me, but I'm curious why it's running so poorly.”
- “Overall a thumbs up, but I was disappointed by the poor performance of the game.”
- “Beware, though, as it has some performance and graphical issues and can be frustrating at times.”
- “Seeing the game's minimal graphics, I wouldn't think this would be a problem, but this game is so poorly optimized that even on the lowest settings I'm experiencing lag and slowdowns if there's a large area or a large number of enemies, which is absolutely crazy when I can run more demanding games at the same resolution with higher graphics settings.”
grinding
7 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with poorly designed levels and missions that feel more like chores than engaging gameplay. The combat lacks dynamism, and the inventory management is frustrating due to the unsatisfying weapon mechanics and random acquisition order. While the story has potential, the execution leads to a monotonous experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment.
- “Buried under mediocre, boring, tedious gameplay, 'where do I go' level design, missions that feel like chores, and a frankly ludicrous amount of bugs.”
- “Platforming segments between levels are repetitive and only serve as tools to allow for plot development while combat levels have little sense of dynamics or structure, meaning maneuvering through the game is often tedious.”
- “Starts off promising, but after the first video game is cleared it goes downhill fast, and continues to plummet until all its flaws and egregious missteps culminate into one of the most boring, repetitive, and tedious end levels of FPS history, with a pathetic excuse for a final boss tying it all off.”
music
6 mentions
50 % positive mentions
17 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its quality and contribution to the overall experience, with many players noting it as a highlight alongside good graphics and sound effects. However, some users experienced issues with music and sound disappearing due to bugs, leading to moments of silence that detracted from gameplay. Overall, while the soundtrack is appreciated, its inconsistent presence can impact immersion.
- “It's sad because besides the awesome writing, the game had a lot going for it: good graphics, good music, good sound effects, great voice acting.”
- “Simple and satisfying, great music too.”
- “Soundtrack is good, most of the guns are fun to use, story is decent.”
- “Pretty much all enemy AI just stands still trying to shoot you, the cover-shooter levels leave something to be desired, and a lot of your time is gonna be spent just running around in dead silence, without enough music to fill the void.”
- “- music... where is it?”
atmosphere
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a blend of engaging character interactions, humorous puns, and a lively environment, all contributing to an enjoyable experience for players.
- “The atmosphere of the game, with its vibrant environments and engaging characters, kept me immersed and entertained throughout.”
- “The combination of haunting sound design and stunning visuals created an unforgettable atmosphere that drew me into the world.”
- “Every element of the atmosphere, from the ambient sounds to the detailed backgrounds, contributed to a truly captivating experience.”