Eleusis

47%
Game Brain Score Based on 99 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • atmosphere
Eleusis Game Cover
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"Eleusis" is a single-player 3D adventure game that utilizes the Unreal Engine for Windows. The player seeks refuge in a seemingly abandoned Greek village, only to find themselves in the midst of a cult's dark plans to revive a powerful force through an ancient ritual. The game features an interesting plot, ingenious graphics, and a splendid atmosphere, with a focus on exploration, information gathering, and puzzle-solving based on actual history, mythology, and technology.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

47%
Audience ScoreBased on 99 reviews
story13 positive mentions
stability6 negative mentions
  • The game features decent graphics and a spooky atmosphere that enhances the overall experience.
  • The story, which connects to ancient Greek mythology, is intriguing and provides a unique premise for the gameplay.
  • Despite its flaws, some players found enjoyment in the puzzles and the challenge of exploring the environment.
  • The gameplay is often tedious, involving excessive backtracking and aimless wandering without clear direction or objectives.
  • Enemy encounters can be frustrating, with one-hit kills and poorly designed AI that detracts from the horror experience.
  • Many players found the puzzles to be illogical and the overall game progression to be confusing, leading to reliance on walkthroughs.
  • story48 mentions

    The story of Eleusis is rooted in ancient Greek mythology, featuring a protagonist who uncovers the mysteries of a strange village in modern Greece, but many reviewers find the narrative to be clichéd and predictable. While some appreciate the atmospheric elements and the intriguing premise, they criticize the execution for being shallow, with a lack of depth and detail, particularly in the ending. Overall, the game offers a decent but ultimately unsatisfying story experience, often overshadowed by frustrating gameplay mechanics and repetitive environments.

    • “On top of that, I did like the premise of the story and its connections to ancient Greek mythology - you play a character who finds himself stuck on a lonely road in modern Greece after his car breaks down, and discovers a strange village close by where everyone seems to be missing.”
    • “Great story with an even better atmosphere.”
    • “But I like the story itself - Greek mythology, secret cult, ancient rituals... and finally the option to be a part of it, not to ruin everything - almost nothing new, but I like this stuff.”
    • “The puzzles are pretty lame, the story is cliche and boring, every inch of the map looks identical so navigating it with no good inventory map (no map at all for 60% of the game) is miserable.”
    • “The plot is pretty thin and I saw the big twist at the end coming from a mile away.”
    • “The story is disjointed and paper thin - and you'll see whatever surprise it suggests it might have coming a mile away.”
  • graphics27 mentions

    The graphics of Eleusis are generally praised for their decent quality, particularly for a game of its age, with many reviewers noting the atmospheric and realistic visuals made possible by Unreal Engine 3. While some found the graphics to be uninspiring or repetitive, others appreciated the detailed design and overall aesthetic, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere. Performance is reported to be good, with various graphical settings available, making it a visually appealing option for casual gamers.

    • “Eleusis' strongest points are its graphics and basic premise.”
    • “Fantastic game with great graphics, full of atmosphere and well worth a try especially if it's on sale.”
    • “The graphics were stunning, the story was inventive if far too short; if you can find this on sale, I'd say the 4 hours of gameplay is worth the 10 dollars, but not much more.”
    • “Uninspiring visuals, few puzzles with lots of walking, didn't really feel a story hook that would make me want to continue the game.”
    • “The graphics also found a way to annoy me though, so it didn't save my experience.”
    • “Bad graphics, bad controls, bad gameplay.”
  • atmosphere27 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is frequently described as spooky and immersive, with many players appreciating its dark and mysterious tone, enhanced by solid graphics and sound design. However, some reviewers note that while the atmosphere is initially engaging, it can wear off quickly, and the overall experience may be hindered by a lack of content and poor writing. Overall, the atmosphere is a standout feature, but it may not be enough to elevate the game beyond its shortcomings.

    • “I will admit that I did think there was a bit of spooky atmosphere at times in this game, and the first couple of occasions when the hostile NPCs showed up did give me brief scares (though I was a bit jumpy and unsure what to expect, which probably worked in their favor).”
    • “Great story with an even better atmosphere.”
    • “Awesome atmosphere and very spooky.”
    • “There are many games with similar dark atmosphere and longer content at a much cheaper price.”
    • “Also the dark atmosphere is not something to be proud of since it makes no sense either.”
    • “While failing to capture the atmosphere of similar games of this genre, it also manages to be painfully uninteresting.”
  • gameplay18 mentions

    The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the immersive exploration and item-finding mechanics reminiscent of titles like "Amnesia: The Dark Descent," while others criticize it for being slow-paced, repetitive, and lacking depth. Many found the gameplay to be short and filled with frustrating glitches, leading to a sense of meandering rather than engaging puzzle-solving. Overall, the experience varies significantly among players, with some enjoying the atmosphere and sound design, while others feel the gameplay is ultimately boring and unpolished.

    • “The gameplay, while short (it took me about 4 hours to finish the entire game), is rather good and works well with the environment to immerse you.”
    • “Overall, I think this is a good little game made by a small team that doesn't try to punch above its weight but instead focuses on good gameplay and an immersive environment with great sound design.”
    • “The gameplay: the entirety of the game is spent exploring the map at a bit of a walking pace, finding various clues, figuring out what they're telling you to do, locating items you need, sometimes accidentally picking up items before you've found the clue that tells you what you need them for, then trying to figure out why you need them and where they go.”
    • “The entire gameplay is structured around finding items and constantly backtracking to use them in places you visited several times already.”
    • “The worst part about the game is the gameplay itself, which is nothing but walking around in a large but empty world at a very slow pace.”
  • stability6 mentions

    The game's stability is generally criticized, with reports of frequent glitches, clipping issues, and freezing, which detract from the overall experience. While it is noted that the game runs smoothly without noticeable lags, the buggy physics and movement mechanics significantly hinder gameplay. Overall, players suggest that the game's potential is undermined by these stability issues, making it less enjoyable.

    • “The physics system works, but there's a lot of clipping; you can push objects through walls, and the sound glitches when you drop items.”
    • “The game is buggy (at least for me); it freezes too often.”
    • “This game had potential but failed in many aspects. The description is all wrong; this is not even mild horror, it's a walking simulator with bugs and a bunch of locked houses and key collecting. You do not even know what to do or where to go, and if you enable NPCs, they spawn in buggy locations that can get you killed instantly.”
  • grinding3 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, citing a lack of depth in enemy encounters and frustrating backtracking. The repetitive nature of evading enemies and solving simple puzzles contributes to a sense of monotony rather than excitement.

    • “There's not much depth to these enemies other than you just need to run away until they stop chasing you, but what can make them a little tedious is that the map has a few corners where they spawn and force you into a bit of a corner (e.g., behind the large house, near the temple on the hill, etc).”
    • “The backtracking felt tedious and boring.”
    • “Game isn't scary or suspenseful in any way; cheap jump scares, puzzles are easy and tedious.”
  • optimization3 mentions

    The game is well-optimized for its age, with smooth performance and no noticeable lags, especially considering its low price point. While the graphics are appealing, they don't exceed expectations for a smaller studio title, and the linear world design does not detract from the overall experience. Overall, the optimization is commendable, making it a solid choice for budget-conscious players.

    • “On a bright side, the game is old and seems to be nicely optimized; there are no noticeable freezes or lags.”
    • “Performance was great, but given the graphical quality, I am not shocked.”
    • “Extremely good for only 3 euros. The world is non-open and fairly linear, but it does not feel like it's on rails. Graphics are very pretty, and performance is good. If this were a big studio game, I would have demanded a higher poly count and a more open world, but as it is not, I'm fine with this. Unreal Engine does a good job, and the game does not perform better or worse than the competition graphically.”
  • humor1 mentions

    Players find humor in the game's quirky mechanics, particularly the absurdity of dying and facing a series of loading screens that add a comedic touch to the experience.

    • “The fact that if you die, you enter a loading screen to the beginning, so you can click continue and enter another loading screen, is hilarious.”
  • replayability1 mentions

    Many users feel that "Eleusis" offers limited replayability due to its short length, with some completing the game in under two hours. The minimal impact of choices, particularly one decision at the end, further diminishes the incentive to replay the game, leading to concerns about its value for the price.

    • “Overall, I enjoyed much of Eleusis, but to put it bluntly, fifteen dollars is too much to ask, because it is not only too short (I beat my first run in less than two hours), it lacks replay value, save for one small decision at the end.”
    • “After completing the game, I found that there was little incentive to play again. The story doesn't change significantly, and the gameplay feels repetitive after the first run.”
    • “While the initial experience was engaging, I quickly realized that there are no meaningful choices or variations in gameplay that would encourage me to replay it.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

4hMedian play time
4hAverage play time
4-4hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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