Malice

About

Malice is a single player and multiplayer simulation game with horror and mystery themes. It was developed by T0astedChipz and was released on November 2, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Malice is a horror simulation game that offers a chilling Japanese-themed, two-player co-op experience. Players explore an ancient mansion, uncovering its dark secrets and battling malicious inhabitants while relying on communication and wit to escape. With a unique storyline spanning multiple eras, Malice promises a thrilling journey through an ancient Edo era settlement."

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Skip User Reviews

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 89 reviews

atmosphere10 positive mentions

stability2 negative mentions

The game features creative and challenging puzzles that require teamwork and communication to solve, providing a satisfying experience when completed.
The atmosphere and sound design effectively create a creepy and immersive horror experience, enhancing the overall gameplay.
Despite some bugs, many players found the game enjoyable and worth playing, especially in a cooperative setting with friends.

The game suffers from various bugs and glitches that can lead to frustrating experiences, including soft locks and connection issues.
Many players found the puzzles to be overly complex or unclear, often requiring trial and error or external guides to progress.
The inventory system and controls are criticized for being clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult to manage items and interact with the environment.

story
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
72%
14%
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some praising its atmosphere and intriguing elements, while others criticize its brevity and lack of character development. Many players feel that the narrative could benefit from clearer storytelling and a more stable connection between plot points, as well as a longer overall length. Despite these issues, some players still find the story engaging and worth experiencing, especially when played with friends.
- “The visuals definitely fit the atmosphere of the story and are done very well.”
- “Ending story was great, but I was thinking of sacrificing myself by using the item, but ended up I killed my girlfriend and she was pissed :)”
- “And it has a story to tell, and I'm here for it.”
- “Chapter 1 of the game should have a better introduction to the story.”
- “The story was quite difficult to understand and follow.”
- “Secondly, this game's story completely fell flat for me.”
atmosphere
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
31%
16%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its chilling tension, immersive sound design, and detailed graphics that enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the blend of creative puzzles and horror elements, although some note minor graphical issues that can detract from immersion. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a strong point, effectively contributing to the game's co-op adventure and horror themes.
- “The sound design and the unmatched atmospheric tension send chills down my spine.”
- “The challenging puzzles, beautiful graphics, and tense atmosphere make for a fantastic co-op adventure.”
- “The graphics and audio are top-notch, with beautiful, detailed environments that create a realistic and creepy atmosphere.”
- “This leads to a lack of tension during most segments of the game despite the atmosphere of the game being generally very good.”
- “I would recommend this game to people who are more interested in puzzle solving rather than the horror adrenaline rush; I think the priority here is the atmosphere, environment, and complexity, while horror is a complimentary theme.”
- “The horror elements, atmosphere, and vibe the game is going for are, in my opinion, pretty well executed.”
graphics
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
53%
20%
Overall, the graphics of the game receive mixed reviews; while many players appreciate the beautiful and detailed environments that enhance the horror atmosphere, others report performance issues such as screen tearing and texture mapping flaws. Some users noted that even high-end graphics cards struggle to maintain smooth gameplay, leading to overheating concerns on lower-end systems. Despite these issues, the visuals are generally considered to meet expectations for a horror puzzle game.
- “The challenging puzzles, beautiful graphics, and tense atmosphere make for a fantastic co-op adventure.”
- “The graphics and audio are top-notch, with beautiful, detailed environments that create a realistic and creepy atmosphere.”
- “The visuals definitely fit the atmosphere of the story and are done very well.”
- “The graphics could use more polishing; the audio is good for the horror theme.”
- “The game is not that smooth for an RTX 2070 graphics card; there's a slight screen tearing while playing it on high graphics.”
- “The atmosphere is pretty good, but there are strange texture mapping issues and other graphical flaws that can take you out of the experience when you notice them.”
gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
Overall, the gameplay is well-received, with effective mechanics that encourage communication and collaboration between players, enhancing the experience. While some minor bugs were noted, they did not significantly impact the gameplay, which is praised for its engaging puzzles and balanced horror elements. However, there is a disconnect between gameplay and cutscenes that some players found jarring.
- “The game encourages you to communicate with your partner to find the right solutions, which adds an extra layer of excitement to the gameplay.”
- “The mechanics of the game are done fairly effectively.”
- “The gameplay, mechanics, and graphics were both quite good and interesting since I never played a horror game that has fewer jump scares and a lot of puzzles that really challenge my brain.”
- “Played malice with one of my friends, and we had some great and frustrating moments during our gameplay.”
- “There is a large disconnect between what happens during gameplay and the oddly out of place sudden cutscene that is interjected in between chapters.”
- “There are a few minor bugs for now, but they don't affect the main gameplay, so it is fine for me.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players consistently highlight the humor in the game, noting that it fosters enjoyable and funny moments, especially during cooperative play. The challenges, particularly in Chapter 3, lead to laughter and camaraderie, making it a great choice for weekend gaming sessions with friends.
- “I had lots of funny moments with my player 2, and some jumpscares along the way!”
- “Chapter 3 was particularly challenging, but my friend and I couldn't stop laughing as we attempted to tackle the tasks together.”
- “I personally got into a lot of funny moments with them playing this game, and it's kind of nice to have something like this where we would play over the weekend from time to time, trying to solve together.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers a high level of replayability due to the changing numbers, information, and puzzle locations with each playthrough, providing a fresh experience. However, some users feel that overall replayability is limited.
- “And guess what, every time you replay the game, the numbers, information, and locations of puzzles change, so there you go, you have for yourself a fun and replayable game.”
- “There isn't really any replayability in it, though.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players report experiencing some bugs and glitches, but recent patches have improved stability. Despite these issues, the game remains enjoyable, especially when played with others.
- “We encountered a few bugs and glitches along the way, but the recent patch notes seem to have taken care of them.”
- “But in the end, despite the glitches and weird puzzles, we had a good time together; it's fun to play with someone else.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find that certain puzzles in the game are overly tedious, leading to feelings of frustration and a lack of motivation to continue. This aspect of grinding can detract from the overall enjoyment of the gameplay experience.
- “Some puzzles are way too tedious, which can make players feel unmotivated to solve them.”
- “The grinding feels endless and often detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
- “Repetitive tasks make the gameplay feel like a chore rather than an engaging experience.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
300%
The game's optimization is generally acceptable, but players have reported significant frame drops when motion blur is enabled, suggesting that disabling this feature can improve performance.
- “Performance-wise, the game runs smoothly once you turn off motion blur, as it causes significant frame drops.”
- “Performance-wise, the game is alright once you turn off motion blur; for some reason, it causes massive frame drops.”
- “The optimization is lacking, leading to frequent stuttering and lag during gameplay.”
- “Even on high-end hardware, the game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate, which is disappointing.”
music
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
300%
The music in Malice enhances the gameplay by incorporating unique challenges, such as matching items through musical cues, which sets it apart from standard escape room games that typically focus on numerical puzzles.
- “Many escape room games I've played are pretty standard with number challenges, but Malice sets out unique challenges including looking for items, puzzles with riddle hints, and even matching items through music!”
- “The music in this game is repetitive and lacks variety, making it feel monotonous after a short while.”
- “I found the soundtrack to be uninspired and not fitting for the game's atmosphere.”
- “The audio quality of the music is poor, which detracts from the overall experience.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by a sense of vulnerability, as players may feel challenged and even foolish when faced with its initial puzzles, setting a tone of introspection and self-reflection.
- “The first chapter made me feel a deep sense of vulnerability as I navigated through the emotional puzzles.”
- “I was completely immersed in the story; it tugged at my heartstrings and made me reflect on my own experiences.”
- “The emotional depth of the characters really resonated with me, leaving a lasting impact long after I finished playing.”