Golgotha

About

Dare to explore the most haunted vicinity in all of England? You will leave no stone unturned as you walk along the eerie grounds of the Black Waters Station and uncover the horror that lies within.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 498 reviews

atmosphere75 positive mentions

grinding2 negative mentions

The game features an incredibly immersive atmosphere, enhanced by excellent sound design that keeps players on edge throughout the experience.
Despite its short length, the game effectively builds tension and provides a unique horror experience without relying heavily on jump scares.
As a free indie game, it showcases impressive graphics and storytelling potential, making it a worthwhile play for horror fans.

The game is very short, with many players completing it in under 30 minutes, leaving them wanting more content and depth.
Some players found the controls and mechanics confusing, with issues like the lantern being ineffective in dark areas, making navigation frustrating.
There are complaints about the lack of a coherent story and character development, leading to a feeling of disconnection from the game's narrative.

atmosphere
113 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
66%
31%
3%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and spine-chilling qualities, effectively creating a sense of dread and tension throughout the experience. Reviewers highlight the exceptional sound design and visual elements that enhance the eerie ambiance of the abandoned subway setting, making it a standout feature despite the game's short length. Overall, players appreciate the focus on atmospheric horror over cheap jump scares, resulting in a haunting and memorable experience.
- “Fantastic job by the developer for the atmosphere, storytelling and pacing, as well as the top notch sound design.”
- “The atmosphere is unreal and incredibly unnerving.”
- “While short, the game offered a very creepy atmosphere, with a foggy subway station coupled with ghostly howls and ambiance, which made exploring the subway station pretty chilling.”
- “The atmosphere and sounds in the game really cause a paranoia and anxiety to arise for the player, really making the best out of the game components.”
story
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
52%
11%
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its atmospheric and immersive qualities, but criticizing its brevity and lack of depth. While some found the narrative engaging and well-integrated with the environment, others felt it lacked clarity and context, leaving key questions unanswered. Overall, the story is seen as having potential but needing more development to fully realize its impact.
- “The game's setting in an abandoned underground station, with its tragic backstory and dark secrets, is brought to life through incredible sound design and immersive visuals that build an unsettling sense of paranoia as you explore.”
- “In 30 minutes of playtime, this game told a better story and had me on edge more than games I've spent money on.”
- “Fantastic job by the developer for the atmosphere, storytelling and pacing, as well as the top notch sound design.”
- “The story makes little to no sense; you have to want it to make sense for it to make sense, and it just wasn't a game that I would recommend.”
- “Unfortunately, I do not understand the full story of the game.”
- “Walking sim... really bad storytelling too, 0 context.”
graphics
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
21%
9%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their immersive quality and ability to enhance the horror atmosphere, with many reviewers noting the impressive visuals given that it is a free title. While some players found the graphics to be excellent and well-executed, others felt they were inconsistent, with a few describing them as poor or grainy. Overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's eerie ambiance, complemented by strong sound design.
- “The game's setting in an abandoned underground station, with its tragic backstory and dark secrets, is brought to life through incredible sound design and immersive visuals that build an unsettling sense of paranoia as you explore.”
- “Great atmosphere, great sound design, amazing graphics for being a free game.”
- “The graphics are pretty, the sound design is on point, and the overall atmosphere definitely gives off the correct horror vibes.”
- “The graphics are bad, the gameplay is boring, and it only lasted 30 minutes until I finished the game.”
- “Graphics were poor and grainy despite me having a top-notch gaming rig.”
- “Good sound design and graphics, but the story is lacking; I was expecting something big, but all you can see is shadowy figures reminiscent of Half-Life 2, and only in cutscenes. You cannot even see random ghosts standing around; all you will fear is the sound design.”
gameplay
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
68%
16%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the smooth mechanics and atmospheric tension, particularly in the horror context. However, many criticize the lack of meaningful interaction and engagement, describing it as tedious and akin to a walking simulator, with minimal gameplay elements and ineffective mechanics. Overall, while the ambiance is noted as effective for horror, the gameplay itself is often deemed lacking and unsatisfying.
- “The gameplay is smooth and the atmosphere is right.”
- “20-35 minutes of gameplay, very tense and nice ambience.”
- “As an experienced player of horror games, I quickly recognize the mechanics of crouching and sprinting as indicators of a run/hide gameplay style.”
- “I just wish the commands made more sense, as there are leaning, prone, and reload mechanics that are of no use at all.”
- “Gameplay is basically non-existent, but as a horror piece, it's effective.”
- “Oh man... I went into this reading all the positive reviews, but unless you enjoy walking simulators, this isn't for you. As many have stated, there is an option to fire in the keybindings which had my hopes up for some kind of gameplay, but nope... never got to see a gun, pick up a keycard, or have any meaningful gameplay. Honestly felt like I wasted my time.”
music
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
60%
20%
The music in the game is generally praised for creating a tense and creepy atmosphere, effectively enhancing the horror experience with well-timed shifts that evoke strong emotional responses. However, some users noted inconsistencies, with occasional misalignment between the music and the environment, as well as reliance on auditory jump scares. Overall, while the soundtrack contributes significantly to the ambiance, opinions vary on its execution and fit within the game's setting.
- “The tension-building music, then there being nothing there, just made the tension double for me.”
- “I will also say that the atmosphere and sound design are quite well done; I got goosebumps quite a few times with the music shifts alone.”
- “The soundtrack and the dark ambient manage to deliver a tense and creepy atmosphere.”
- “The ambient music is overdone, and does not fit an abandoned subway system.”
- “No music is in this at all.”
- “The music was off a few times but everything else was nice!”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a strong emotional impact from the game, with many expressing feelings of fear, sadness, and even heartwarming moments despite the overall tension. The combination of immersive audio and a poignant ending has left some in tears, highlighting the game's ability to evoke deep emotional responses.
- “I cried.”
- “I tried to write something heartfelt but I suck at coming up with stuff, so I'll just say this game is amazing. It's short, but that's okay because I could just feel a sense of dread just from looking into the darkness. It was a great experience, and I hope that you will make another.”
- “It was great, I got scared, and the ending kind of made me cry a bit.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, requiring significant time investment to progress. The gameplay involves repetitive exploration and interaction with minimal rewards, leading to a frustrating experience that detracts from the otherwise interesting visual and auditory elements.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Golgotha is a somewhat interesting visual and auditory experience combined with tedious gameplay: walk around, peer into the gloom your lantern and the station lights can't penetrate, check everything to find the handful of things with an interact prompt, then walk some more.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
150%
The game is praised for its solid optimization, standing out among many poorly optimized, low-quality titles. Players appreciate its performance, especially in contrast to numerous asset flip games and free titles that often lack originality and polish.
- “The game is well optimized.”
- “The performance enhancements make a noticeable difference in gameplay.”
- “I appreciate how smoothly the game runs on lower-end hardware.”
- “I bought so many small cheap games; almost all of them are poorly optimized asset flips, while the free ones I played are surprisingly original and well done.”
- “The optimization in this game is terrible, leading to frequent crashes and long loading times.”
- “I was really disappointed with the performance; the game lags significantly even on high-end hardware.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's stability is marked by a few glitches and bugs, along with some unusual default keybindings that may affect the user experience.
- “The default keybindings are strange, and the game seems a little buggy.”
- “There are a few glitches present as well.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers limited replayability, but it is still considered a worthwhile horror experience.