Damned

About

Damned is a multiplayer survival action adventure game with a horror theme. It was developed by 9heads Game Studios and was released on October 6, 2014. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Damned" is a horror action game that supports up to 5 players, including 4 survivors and 1 monster, in online co-op gameplay. Survivors must escape haunted places by finding keys and items, while avoiding the monster. The monster, with unique hunting styles, aims to kill survivors. However, the game is poorly optimized, very buggy, and has a lot of grinding, but it also offers a dense atmosphere and some humor.

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68%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,088 reviews

gameplay55 positive mentions

stability201 negative mentions

Unique multiplayer horror experience that creates genuine tension and fear.
Great fun when played with friends, leading to memorable and hilarious moments.
Diverse monsters with unique abilities that require different strategies to survive.

Severe bugs and performance issues, including low frame rates and crashes.
Lack of player base, making it difficult to find matches without friends.
Repetitive gameplay with tedious key-finding mechanics and limited content.

gameplay
225 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
65%
11%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by its chaotic nature and lack of clear instructions, leading to a steep learning curve for players. While the core mechanics are simple and the randomized elements provide variety, many players find the gameplay repetitive and plagued by bugs, poor optimization, and balance issues between survivors and monsters. Despite its innovative ideas and potential for fun, the overall execution leaves much to be desired, particularly in terms of polish and clarity.
- “Each session becomes a psychological tug-of-war, where strategy, nerve, and timing matter as much as mechanical skill.”
- “The randomization of key gameplay elements ensures that no two matches play out the same way.”
- “The gameplay is fun and the continuous updates to make it better are successful.”
- “The insane and inconsistent mouse sensitivity makes moving an ordeal, you have to strain your eyes to see, entering fullscreen breaks the game unless resolution is changed first, and the actual objectives of the players and the mechanics of the monster are unclear, requiring my entire group to spend several games just experimenting to figure out how we think the game is supposed to work.”
- “The gameplay compared to games like Dead by Daylight and Friday the 13th is far less intuitive, fun, and interesting.”
- “The gameplay is pretty boring, and the models are blocky with low-res textures.”
stability
202 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with players frequently reporting bugs, crashes, and performance issues that detract from the overall experience. Many describe it as "buggy as hell," with glitches that can make the game unplayable at times, particularly in multiplayer settings. Despite its fun concept and potential, the lack of updates and persistent technical problems have left it feeling unfinished and frustrating for many users.
- “The game surprisingly runs great on an older rig (Radeon HD5670, Core 2 Duo processor, 3.2GB RAM @ 1440x900) - stable 40-50 FPS with shadows on medium, FXAA off, anisotropic filtering on low, ambient occlusion off, volumetric fog off, film grain off, depth of field off.”
- “I was impressed by how stable the game feels, even during intense action sequences. No crashes or major bugs to report.”
- “The performance is remarkably stable across different hardware setups, making it accessible for a wide range of players.”
- “Bugs and performance issues have been a recurring complaint among players, as have occasional crashes or glitches that break the tension of an otherwise immersive match.”
- “The game is a buggy mess, but an extremely fun one.”
- “We have never had a gaming session that hasn't been marred by game crashes, freezes, etc. It can be tricky to recover from some of these crashes, and sometimes they'll require a hard reboot.”
graphics
117 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
61%
20%
The graphics of the game have received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many users describing them as outdated, poorly optimized, and reminiscent of early indie horror titles. Common issues include low frame rates, graphical glitches, and a lack of polish that detracts from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the atmosphere created by the visuals, the consensus is that significant improvements are needed to enhance the game's appeal.
- “The creepy graphics and sound are good enough to create a chilling ambience, and there are effects that make you hallucinate after a certain time has passed.”
- “The atmosphere is perfect, and all the little sounds and visuals add everything you’d need to be scared.”
- “Visually, the game isn't ridiculously impressive; although, its graphics and effects do fine at achieving the game's spooky atmosphere.”
- “The graphics are quite poor and couldn't even be called stylish - it's like one of those free indie horror games from the pre-2010 era.”
- “The graphics are, frankly, very rough.”
- “Game has glaring issues and bugs which, coupled with the seriously lacking graphics department, really brings players out of the experience.”
atmosphere
92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
47%
4%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and creepy qualities, effectively instilling a sense of dread and tension through sound design, lighting, and environmental details. Players appreciate the handcrafted feel of the atmosphere, which enhances the horror experience, especially in multiplayer settings where unpredictability adds to the fear. Despite some technical issues, the game's ability to create a chilling ambiance and engage players in a terrifying hunt makes it a standout in the horror genre.
- “Damned thrives on its unpredictability and the atmosphere of dread that builds with every creak, flickering light, and heartbeat that signals a monster’s presence.”
- “The atmosphere feels handcrafted for tension, leaning on subtlety rather than cheap jump scares.”
- “The atmosphere is perfect and all the little sounds and visuals add everything you’d need to be scared out of your wits.”
- “The gameplay itself is balanced terribly against the survivors, which, again, could be made to work as a mood and atmosphere feature, but instead ends up making it so that the monster is guaranteed to win 90% of the time.”
- “The problem, though, is the VOIP feature which rips the atmosphere right out of the game, coupled with the god-awful framerate which makes playing as a survivor difficult, and playing as a monster impossible.”
- “While the sound quality is not the best I have ever seen, it gets the job done, and it really adds to the atmosphere.”
optimization
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
40%
49%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players reporting severe performance issues, frequent crashes, and low frame rates even on high-end systems. Many users describe the game as poorly optimized, with clunky movement and bugs that detract from the overall experience. Despite its potential, the lack of effective optimization and ongoing support from developers has left many players frustrated and unable to recommend it.
- “It took me a while to get this game to work since I had the issue where my fps would not go higher than 15 fps, but after some tweaking and one good reboot later, I got it to run smoothly and I enjoyed the game a lot.”
- “The game does seem to need a bit more polishing; it doesn't seem optimized, but while I can run Outlast on maximum settings, I have to leave this game on medium to get 30+ fps, which is weird.”
- “But, if the developers fix the performance problems, then it's an instant thumbs up.”
- “Optimization was abysmal; the main menu had me and my friends running at about 15 fps—if you could even make it to the main menu.”
- “The game is horribly optimized, as it fps-lagged like hell for me and the random people I was playing with.”
- “Extremely badly optimized, which makes the game unplayable.”
humor
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is predominantly highlighted as a social experience, with players finding it hilariously entertaining when played with friends, often leading to uncontrollable laughter during scary moments. Many reviews note that the combination of frightening gameplay and comedic glitches or character animations creates a unique blend of horror and humor, making it a fun choice for group play. However, the humor tends to diminish when playing solo or with random players, emphasizing the importance of having a good group for the best experience.
- “My friends were laughing so hard they cried.”
- “It's still funny if you play it with your friends and it's worth it.”
- “Scary as hell and hilarious to play with friends.”
music
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
74%
7%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its ability to enhance the horror atmosphere and create tension, particularly through unique themes for different monsters. However, others criticize it as generic or poorly optimized, noting issues with audio quality and sound design. Overall, while the soundtrack has its standout moments, it is inconsistent and can detract from the experience for some players.
- “The soundtrack is incredible.”
- “The music makes it rather scary as some monsters have cues that randomly play if they get nearby.”
- “Each monster has its own terrifying theme music when it appears near a survivor.”
- “The music felt generic and was not noteworthy overall.”
- “Mary's music is also very cheap-sounding and generic.”
- “The graphics look awful, sounds and music are a mess and keep changing randomly, opening doors is a chore and you generally don't understand what you're supposed to do in there.”
story
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
60%
20%
The game's story is characterized by a blend of randomness and teamwork, creating unique narratives of survival and fear in each match. However, many players feel the lack of depth and variety in the gameplay, primarily revolving around fetch quests, detracts from a more engaging storyline. While some appreciate the atmosphere and the potential for emotional connection through character backstories, others note that the overall narrative experience is minimal, with a focus on basic objectives rather than a rich plot.
- “The game’s mixture of randomness, teamwork, and fear ensures that every match tells its own story—a desperate struggle between intelligence and instinct, light and darkness, survival and despair.”
- “Damned is an absolutely terrifying game that really pulls you in with its groundbreaking story.”
- “Giving the characters a background story to help us connect to them emotionally would definitely make for an exciting experience.”
- “There is no story for this game or single player.”
- “I feel like it lacks a lot of strategy and ways to play as it only had the option to fetch quest your escape, with little variety in how you do it.”
- “Giving the characters a background story to help us connect to them emotionally would definitely make an exciting experience.”
replayability
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
31%
23%
The game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players find it highly enjoyable with friends and appreciate the randomization of maps and items that enhance replay value, others feel it becomes repetitive after a few hours. Overall, many reviews highlight a decent level of replayability, particularly when played with others, but caution that it may not sustain long-term interest.
- “Love the maps and the replay value of the game since every map has different key locations and doors that unlock at different times during play.”
- “The game has 12 maps, giving it a good amount of replayability.”
- “The game is randomized, so every level will have its items placed in random drawers and rooms, providing significant replay value.”
- “Amazing game to play with friends, lacks replayability past 5 or so in-game hours, not worth $20 whatsoever.”
- “- not very replayable; within a certain timeframe, it gets very repetitive.”
- “- not sure on the replayability... but it hasn't stopped me wanting more yet!”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often describing it as a chore rather than an engaging experience. The lack of clear guidance and repetitive mechanics contribute to a sense of monotony, making gameplay feel slow and unexciting at times. While some elements can create tension, the overall sentiment leans towards the grinding being a significant drawback.
- “This game should not be taken too seriously since the survivor goals tend to feel a little bit tedious and frustrating at times.”
- “The 'haunts' are nothing more than tedious time-wasters that give an advantage to the already advantaged monster player.”
- “Once you have your strategy in place, studied the monster to the point where there is nothing scary about it, and are ready to play, you will soon find the game becoming very repetitive and tedious.”
emotional
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a profound emotional connection to the game, often highlighting intense feelings that lead to tears, indicating a strong impact on their emotional state. Many reviewers emphasize the importance of character backstories to enhance this emotional engagement, suggesting that deeper narratives could further enrich the experience. Overall, the game elicits a powerful emotional response, with players willing to endure its flaws for the sake of the feelings it evokes.
- “Can't say I've played another game since that has made me feel the same rush.”
- “10/10 would cry again.”
- “Giving the characters a background story to help us connect to them emotionally would definitely make for an exciting experience.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
33%
While the character design and movement may appear mediocre and stiff, the character-driven plotline is praised as phenomenal, indicating strong character development within the narrative.
- “The character-driven plotline is phenomenal.”
- “The depth of character development truly enhances the overall experience.”
- “I was amazed at how the characters evolved throughout the story.”
- “Character design looks mediocre and the movement looks very stiff.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game is criticized for being overly focused on generating revenue, with many users perceiving it as a shallow cash grab aimed at exploiting content creators rather than providing a meaningful gaming experience.
- “In short, this game is incredibly shallow and is obviously just a cash grab to get money from YouTube let’s players.”
- “Honestly, in advertising please.”