Infliction

About

Infliction is a single player action game with a horror theme. It was developed by Caustic Reality and was released on October 17, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Infliction" is a single-player Horror Adventure game with a great story and outstanding visuals. Explore a suburban house, trapped in a nightmare of tragedy and haunted by a restless AI enemy. Uncover heartbreaking secrets, use items to unlock new paths, and hide or stun the spirit to evade its pursuit, with the goal of finding atonement.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 674 reviews

story118 positive mentions

stability14 negative mentions

The game has a deeply engaging story that explores dark themes, making it a compelling experience.
The atmosphere is incredibly immersive, with excellent sound design and graphics that enhance the horror experience.
The game is primarily made by one person, showcasing impressive dedication and attention to detail in the environment and gameplay.

The gameplay can be repetitive, with the ghost mechanics leading to frustration as players often die without clear reasons.
There are several bugs and glitches that can disrupt the experience, including game-breaking issues and inconsistent mechanics.
The game lacks a run feature, making it difficult to escape from the ghost, which can lead to a tedious experience.

story
320 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
57%
6%
The game's story is described as dark and deeply engaging, often tackling heavy themes such as domestic abuse and its consequences, which some players found triggering. While many appreciated the depth and atmosphere, others criticized the storytelling for being overly telegraphed or confusing, with some elements feeling underdeveloped or predictable. Overall, the narrative received mixed reviews, with some players praising its emotional impact and others finding it lacking in coherence and originality.
- “The gameplay is well balanced, the sound design is excellent, the graphics are beautiful, and the story is very engaging.”
- “The story was excellent throughout and the ending, especially for a horror game, I found to be great.”
- “This is how you make a horror game; it's been a while since a game made me feel genuinely scared, and it doesn't do this through cheap jump scares, instead it builds suspense and tells the story through in-game clues and discovery.”
- “The only issue I had with the story is that I felt that one huge component of the story was never fully fleshed out (you finding out what actually happened... it was all left up to a heavy debate between me and chat for over an hour after playing this game).”
- “All I can say is the story was too jarring and hard to follow.”
- “The story involves domestic violence/spouse murder and it's introduced early and just keeps talking about it without adding anything, so the story is pretty minimal.”
atmosphere
134 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
40%
3%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and unsettling qualities, effectively building tension without relying heavily on cheap jump scares. Many players appreciate the combination of strong sound design, realistic graphics, and interactive elements that enhance the overall experience, creating a deeply creepy and engaging environment. While some reviews note that the story may feel underdeveloped, the atmospheric elements consistently stand out as a highlight, making it a compelling horror experience.
- “The atmosphere is very oppressive so you always have your guard up and never feel safe, even at the beginning you feel unease.”
- “This game is incredible at building an unsettling atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere and sound design are the visual/audio candy this game needed to really sell the atmosphere that it nails all through the game.”
- “The atmosphere was dreadful!”
- “Terrible atmosphere.”
- “It manages to build an atmosphere, but ends before it can go anywhere; the whole game feels like an intro to something bigger.”
gameplay
120 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
66%
12%
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of engaging and frustrating elements. While the atmosphere and sound design are praised, many players find the mechanics, such as the camera and hiding systems, underutilized or poorly implemented, leading to repetitive and tedious experiences. The lack of a sprint mechanic and the reliance on dying to progress further detract from the overall enjoyment, leaving some players feeling that the gameplay is a collection of tired horror tropes rather than a cohesive experience.
- “The gameplay is well balanced, the sound design is excellent, the graphics are beautiful, and the story is very engaging.”
- “This game will scare you to your bones and has cool gameplay features.”
- “Perhaps that's what it was made to be - but all in all the story was incredible, I enjoyed the game mechanics and I found it engaging!”
- “The duration is spent walking around bored, reduced to the cold mechanics of searching for the next trigger to progress, hoping in vain that something more interesting is lurking just around the corner.”
- “Second, the 'gameplay' is a chore, constantly getting in the way of you exploring the story, without providing any actual fun.”
- “About an hour into the game you've seen and heard it all and the repetitive gameplay really wears down the 'scariness' factor.”
graphics
92 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
39%
11%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the beautiful and realistic visuals, as well as the detailed environments that enhance the overall atmosphere. However, some users noted that certain entities appear outdated compared to the rest of the graphics, and there are concerns about optimization, leading to performance issues on lower-end systems. Overall, while the graphics are generally well-received, there are notable inconsistencies and technical challenges that detract from the experience.
- “The gameplay is well balanced, the sound design is excellent, the graphics are beautiful, and the story is very engaging.”
- “Graphics are top notch and sounds are perfectly creepy for a horror game.”
- “The graphics, atmosphere, music and sense of place are all brilliant, but it was the attention to detail that really blew me away.”
- “The graphics are bad for an Unreal game.”
- “After a while it starts to get easier to play because the graphics aren't the best and the same ghost chases you most of the game.”
- “Running at the highest graphics I had some pretty bad lag issues; even when I dropped the settings, they still occurred at random.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
39%
17%
The music in the game is highly praised for its ability to enhance the atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its suspenseful and unnerving qualities that contribute to the horror experience. The sound design, including ambient songs and sound effects, is described as perfect, effectively creating a creepy and anxious environment that complements the game's narrative. Overall, the attention to detail in the music and sound design significantly elevates the game's aesthetic and mood.
- “The music is super suspenseful and gave me plenty of jump scares.”
- “Good story, creepy sounds and music, scary entity, anxious environment, everything that a good horror game should have.”
- “The graphics, atmosphere, music and sense of place are all brilliant, but it was the attention to detail that really blew me away.”
- “It would have been really nice to be able to run because those sound effects and ambient songs are very unnerving!”
- “Where even a child's melodic song becomes transfigured into sorrow pitch black dark as a marble tombstone deeper than the eternal abyss where there is no escape.”
- “However, I can praise the musical ambiance, Massimo the chef, the twisted-reality storyline and other elements... just not its intended element; horror.”
stability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players reporting a smooth experience and minimal glitches, while others have encountered significant bugs and issues, including camera problems. Overall, the game appears to be polished for some, but many users express frustration over the frequency and severity of the bugs.
- “My experience was buggy.”
- “A lot of bugs and glitches unfortunately.”
- “Very buggy, would love to get my money back.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and frustrating, primarily due to the repetitive nature of avoiding ghosts and the slow pace of movement after dying. While some players find it manageable, many express a preference for more engaging mechanics, such as combat, over the hide-and-seek style gameplay that feels unnecessarily drawn out. Overall, the grinding is seen as a significant detractor from the experience.
- “This is a cheaply made, ham-fisted, tedious waste of time.”
- “You constantly have to avoid the ghost hunting you, and it gets extremely tedious.”
- “I suppose this is done intentionally, but replaying the same segment over and over with the super slow walking speed because the stupid ghost kills you can be tedious.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a blend of humor that includes hilariously exaggerated death animations and amusingly bad live-acted cooking shows on in-game television. Players appreciate the comedic elements woven into the storyline and puzzles, which provide a lighthearted contrast to the game's tension. Overall, the humor adds a unique charm to the experience.
- “The death animations are hilarious.”
- “It's kind of funny how the tension was growing to the point where I met the ghost, and it was more like 'Yeah... I get it, you're angry, now get out and let me continue.'”
- “If you turn on the TV, there's a full, live-acted community television cooking show for you to watch, and it's hilariously bad in all the right ways.”
emotional
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Infliction is praised for its ability to evoke a deep emotional response, taking players on a journey through themes of depression, anger, and acceptance as they uncover the tragic history of a fractured family. The game effectively builds suspense and fear without relying on cheap jump scares, creating a genuinely unsettling atmosphere that resonates with players' personal experiences. Overall, it is recognized as a masterful horror experience that leaves a lasting emotional impact.
- “It takes the player on an emotional roller coaster of depression, anger, and acceptance.”
- “Infliction is an interactive nightmare; you'll start your journey into the dark secrets of a fractured home and wander through the heartbreaking remnants of a once happy family, finding clues to atone for past sins.”
- “I know the true fear of demons, and this (besides Kojima's P.T. (Silent Hill)) is the only game that has made me feel that same fear I felt when I was going through the real thing.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has received praise for its atmosphere, scoring 9/10, but players have noted several optimization issues, particularly with controls and bugs. There is a consensus that improvements in these areas would enhance the overall experience.
- “Other than that, nothing to say but if the devs can fix some bugs on controls and optimization, it would be great.”
character development
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers consistently praise the character development in the game, highlighting it as a strong point alongside commendable voice acting. The depth and growth of the characters contribute significantly to the overall experience.
- “The voice acting is excellent, and the character development is truly impressive.”
- “The voice acting is top-notch, and the character development really stands out.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game has been noted for its low replay value, with users indicating that while it may not offer much incentive to play again, it is still considered worth the price of $23.
- “-no +game/ low replay value (although it was totally worth the asking price of $23)”
- “-no +game/ low replay value (although it was totally worth the asking price of $23)”