Doorways: Prelude
- September 20, 2013
- Saibot Studios
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"Doorways: Prelude" is a horror adventure game where you play as Thomas Foster, a special agent on a mission to track down four psychopaths. The game features fast-paced gameplay, breathtaking visuals and sounds, and a complex story. It offers horror exploration, puzzles, and challenges to test your reflexes, with full controller and Oculus Rift support, and inspired voice acting by Sam A. Mowry. This chapter includes the first two episodes of the game.
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Reviews
- Great atmosphere and sound design that enhances immersion.
- Interesting concept of exploring the minds of serial killers.
- Unique puzzles that challenge players without being overly difficult.
- The game is excessively dark, making navigation frustrating and often unplayable.
- Short gameplay length, with many players finishing it in under 2 hours.
- Poor sense of progression and lack of meaningful story development.
- atmosphere164 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is frequently praised for its immersive, dark, and eerie qualities, effectively creating a sense of tension and foreboding. However, some reviews note inconsistencies and a lack of depth in the atmosphere, often detracted by poorly implemented puzzles or a weak storyline. Overall, while many players find the atmosphere compelling and engaging, others feel it falls short of delivering a truly scary experience.
“Great atmosphere and story, and the puzzles are unique and challenging without being overtly stressful.”
“I loved the atmosphere; it is dark, it is eerie, and even though there aren't any jump scares per se (which is great because I hate those!), there were a couple of moments where I was glad I wasn't taking a sip of my drink or a bite to eat at that time!”
“This game excels at creating an unsettling and foreboding atmosphere.”
“Doorways: Prelude establishes a puissant and suffocating atmosphere and then completely squanders it with threadbare characters, shiftless puzzles, and a dearth of threat.”
“It's harmless, and doesn't try anything new, deciding instead to stick to the tried and true 'creepy atmosphere with no real sense of danger, rhyme, or reason'.”
“There is a lack of atmosphere and it seems very bland.”
- story142 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The story of the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising its intriguing concepts and atmosphere, while others find it confusing, underdeveloped, or lacking depth. Many appreciate the unique storytelling methods, such as notes and visuals, but feel that the narrative could be better fleshed out, especially given its episodic nature. Overall, while the story has potential and engages some players, it often falls short of expectations, leading to a range of opinions on its effectiveness.
“Great atmosphere and story, and the puzzles are unique and challenging without being overtly stressful.”
“I really love the story line, super creative and breathtaking.”
“Even though Saibot Studios didn't knock it out of the park with Doorways: Prelude, the game still boasts a good story and it's a great setup for a continued series.”
“The thing that I dislike most about the game itself is the story; I don't know what it is, but it just doesn't make sense to me and it doesn't interest me enough to dig deeper, but the gameplay generally makes up for that.”
“Boring, lame, and predictable story which has zero original content.”
“The story isn't well defined and could be brought out more.”
- graphics79 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game received mixed reviews, with some praising the high-resolution textures and eerie atmosphere, while others criticized them as outdated or overly dark, making gameplay difficult. Many noted that the visuals, although decent, were not the main focus of the game, and some described them as reminiscent of older titles. Overall, the graphics contributed to a memorable aesthetic but were often overshadowed by gameplay issues and a lack of coherent narrative.
“The graphics use high resolution, high detail textures with a good amount of contrast, heavy on the shading.”
“Great atmosphere, amazing art, good graphics, and outstanding voice acting.”
“Don't get me wrong, the visuals are really well done and the sound is very spooky.”
“The main obstacle, though, is just how dark the visuals are; even with the brightness cranked all the way up to max and all of the special effects turned off, sometimes it's nearly impossible to see what you're doing.”
“The visuals look like a 2004 game.”
“From the poor graphics and animations (seriously there is no death animation, the screen just says game over.) to the lack of a coherent narrative or path to travel, to the illogical puzzles that have no context within the game, I have never been more disappointed with a $10 purchase.”
- gameplay67 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of mechanics, with a dying torch and push-pull elements that vary across the series, leading to some frustration and a lack of cohesive threat from enemies. While puzzles are generally well-received and add to the experience, many players find the gameplay simplistic and occasionally glitchy, with some noting that the narrative does not justify replaying earlier installments. Overall, the atmosphere is praised, but the gameplay's execution and mechanics leave room for improvement, resulting in mixed ratings.
“The gameplay is pretty well done and the puzzles were challenging and a little fun.”
“One of the things I really liked was the huge variety of gameplay environments.”
“Gameplay - the atmosphere of the game is really well done, the levels take a bit of time to be out but you can feel the quality and passion in them, the echoes and sounds are actually terrifying and immersive, it will make your heart race as you try to stay awake from the dark or run away from someone.”
“The game also has quite bothersome gameplay.”
“It doesn't add any additional scariness to the game, but rather it just makes the gameplay a bit frustrating at times.”
“If you find this game on sale, snatch it up, but with only about 2 1/2 hours of gameplay, lack of scares, and some glitchy moments, this game is just not worth the original price.”
- music32 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for enhancing the dark atmosphere, with many noting its ability to build tension through well-timed crescendos and creepy soundscapes. However, some players find the soundtrack repetitive and short, with a few expressing dissatisfaction over the inability to turn off the background music. Overall, while the music contributes significantly to the game's ambiance, it may not appeal to everyone due to its looping nature and reliance on jump scare tactics.
“The music and tone of the entire game also lends well to the atmosphere.”
“Symbol crashes and various other crescendos in the music happened at just the right time to really up the tension.”
“- great soundtrack (and voice acting), really contributes to the game's dark atmosphere.”
“Second, I didn't like the game's background music, and there is no way to turn that off.”
“The soundtrack loops and is also shockingly short.”
“The first hour or two of the game consist of trudging through an unexplained strange terrain, with 'spooky' music and sound effects, while occasionally picking up extremely vague and disjointed notes that appear to have no connection at all.”
- stability10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is mixed, with some users reporting no significant graphical glitches while others encountered bugs, particularly on Linux, such as achievements not unlocking. Overall, while there are minor issues, the game is considered a decent entry point for horror fans, though concerns about ongoing bugs and developer priorities have been raised.
“Achievements did not unlock - buggy on Linux :(”
“They've known about bugs and glitches for months but are too busy stealing money from people with 'chapter 3'.”
“Overall, the game wasn't scary, it was a little too dark, a tiny bit buggy, but an alright starter game for anyone easing themselves into horror games, as long as it isn't full price.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 13 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users noting improved performance, while others report significant issues such as stuttering, frame drops, and overall poor optimization that detracts from gameplay.
“It increased my performance quite a bit!”
“This game seems to be poorly optimized and aside from the pitch black environment, stuttering makes it unplayable.”
“- poorly optimized - a lot of frame drops during checkpoint saves”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Players have mixed feelings about grinding; while some find it helps build anticipation and prevents tedium, others feel that certain areas become excessively repetitive and tedious, especially when dying forces them to repeat these tasks. Overall, the experience can vary significantly depending on the specific context within the game.
“Some areas become very, very tedious.”
“The only punishment for dying is having to go back through an already tedious task.”
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The reviews indicate that the game's replayability is high, with players appreciating the variety of choices and outcomes that encourage multiple playthroughs. Many users highlight the engaging mechanics and different strategies that can be employed, making each session feel fresh and rewarding. Overall, the game offers substantial replay value that keeps players coming back for more.
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized for misleading advertising, as it continues to sell itself as having full VR support despite failing to deliver on promised features like DK2 compatibility. Users feel deceived by the lack of functionality relative to the game's marketing claims.
