Perception

72%
Game Brain Score Based on 262 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • atmosphere
Perception Game Cover
Perception ticks all the boxes for this genre; it is utterly immersive, challenging, frightening, and truly riveting.
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"Perception is a single-player horror action game with a good plot, perfect gameplay, and stunning atmosphere. As a blind woman, Cassie uses sound to explore a haunted mansion and uncover its sordid history while evading a deadly entity. Features include echolocation sight, a hide-and-seek gameplay mechanic, and radical changes to the mansion's setting based on puzzle solutions. This emotional journey spans centuries and uplifts any underdog."

  • Nintendo Switch
  • PC
  • Play​station 4
  • Play​station 5
  • Windows
  • Xbox One
  • Xbox Series X|S
  • Play​Station
  • Xbox
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

72%
Audience ScoreBased on 262 reviews
story77 positive mentions
stability6 negative mentions
  • The unique gameplay mechanic of navigating through echolocation provides a fresh and immersive experience.
  • The voice acting is strong, particularly for the protagonist, Cassie, which helps to engage players with the story.
  • The atmosphere is effectively creepy, with well-crafted sound design that enhances the horror elements.
  • The story is often confusing and lacks coherence, making it difficult for players to fully engage with the narrative.
  • The presence of the antagonist feels more like an annoyance than a genuine threat, reducing the overall tension.
  • The game is relatively short, with a playtime of around 3-5 hours, which may not justify the price for some players.
  • story266 mentions

    The story of the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it intriguing yet convoluted, often relying on disjointed memories and object interactions to unfold. While some appreciate the unique perspective of a blind protagonist navigating a haunted mansion, others criticize the plot for being weak, predictable, and filled with plot holes. Overall, the narrative offers moments of suspense and emotional depth, but its execution leaves many feeling confused or unsatisfied.

    • “The story is captivating in a way you want to figure out the cringe, of what factual character was used.”
    • “The story is compelling and interesting, winding through a few paths through the house and even time itself.”
    • “The story is excellent and strikes emotion in the player, scares, humor, and compassion.”
    • “The story is a disjointed mess that confuses more than it holds your interest and, although the game mechanics are interesting, the gameplay is downright boring.”
    • “The story becomes more cliched and more irrational as you go forward.”
    • “The game does a horrible job of making you give a damn about the lackluster story.”
  • gameplay187 mentions

    The gameplay of this title is centered around a unique echolocation mechanic that allows players to navigate as a blind character, creating an intriguing and immersive experience. While many players appreciate the originality and tension this mechanic brings, some criticize the gameplay for being repetitive, simplistic, or frustrating due to unclear objectives and a lack of meaningful interaction with the environment. Overall, the game offers a fresh perspective in horror gaming, but its execution leaves room for improvement in terms of depth and engagement.

    • “I love the main mechanic of navigating a space via echolocation, turning the main character's disability into a novel and enthralling gameplay experience.”
    • “The mechanics are on point, limiting your vision enough to enhance the fear factor while still giving you the tools needed to navigate adequately.”
    • “The player character is a blind woman and she uses echolocation to navigate through the world, which comes as a gameplay mechanic of allowing the player to tap her cane onto objects for a sonar-like effect.”
    • “The gameplay can be very tedious due to unclear objectives and easily missable key items; frequently, you will just walk in circles trying to find what you are missing.”
    • “Utterly frustrating and mind-numbingly perplexing gameplay mechanics make it a chore to try and get from one objective to the next while a lame and uninteresting story plays out.”
    • “While it has a really cool concept and unique style that draws you in early on, the gameplay doesn’t hold up long term.”
  • atmosphere49 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its creepiness and immersive sound design, effectively creating tension and a sense of unease throughout the experience. Many reviewers highlight the game's ability to evoke fear through ambient sounds and a well-crafted environment, although some note that the overall threat level can feel lacking at times. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, enhancing the narrative and gameplay, particularly for those who appreciate horror elements.

    • “The atmosphere of this game is amazing, and I recommend it to anyone who likes a good horror game.”
    • “The ambient sounds are often genuinely creepy and the background music is of terrific quality, fitting the atmosphere of the game very well.”
    • “The developers really did a great job in capturing the atmosphere of a blind protagonist entering a haunted mansion and can only rely on her abilities to hear and her phone to find a way out.”
    • “With weak gameplay and weak story, the atmosphere of the game falls apart.”
    • “Although there is a creepy atmosphere and a few things that send chills/goosebumps, the overall threat and fear is not there in the game.”
    • “The downside is that much of the creepy atmosphere results from you running around in the dark for fear of making too much noise.”
  • graphics44 mentions

    The graphics of the game are a mixed bag, with some players praising the unique visual representation of a blind protagonist relying on echolocation, which creates an immersive and haunting atmosphere. While the visuals may not be traditionally stunning or realistic, they effectively contribute to the game's overall experience, enhancing the tension and environment. However, some reviews note that the graphics can feel bland or uninteresting over time, and technical issues have been reported that affect visual performance.

    • “The graphic detailing is absolutely stunning.”
    • “Graphics are hauntingly beautiful.”
    • “The sound design is phenomenal, the visuals are very evocative, and you really get attached to Cassie and what she's going through.”
    • “So do not expect a graphical marvel.”
    • “On the one hand, it has a bland and confusing story, and lackluster graphics.”
    • “As soon as you get over the first impression of perception's graphics, the graphics will look bland and uninteresting for the rest of the game, which is unfortunate.”
  • music19 mentions

    The music in the game is a mix of ambient sounds, melancholic piano pieces, and choral arrangements that enhance the eerie atmosphere, though some players noted a lack of noticeable background music during gameplay. While the soundtrack is praised for its quality and ability to fit the game's mood, there are complaints about the volume balance between music and voice audio, making it difficult to hear important messages. Overall, the music effectively contributes to the immersive experience, though its sparse presence may leave some players wanting more.

    • “The soundtrack, however, is one of [i]perception[/i]'s strong points.”
    • “The ambient sounds are often genuinely creepy and the background music is of terrific quality, fitting the atmosphere of the game very well.”
    • “The music mainly consists of ambient stingers and drones throughout the game and a recurring haunting monothematic score that will return in several flavors.”
    • “With a lot of emphasis on the visual aspect, there is no noticeable accompanying background music playing except for oldie songs or audio recordings played through objects in the environment.”
    • “Even the soundtrack is terrible: just loud noises every once in a while trying to cheaply jumpscare you.”
    • “There’s not much in the way of music - this might be due to a design choice of really putting you in the shoes of the protagonist alone in the mansion; however, some eerie music may be missed by some.”
  • optimization7 mentions

    The game suffers from significant optimization issues, leading to major performance problems even on systems that exceed the minimum requirements. While the character design and voice acting show potential, the lack of tonal consistency and overall optimization detracts from the experience, leaving players frustrated.

    • “The game concept was very interesting, but sadly it is so poorly optimized that it was unable to be played properly.”
    • “They go through all the trouble of setting up this interesting protagonist with a special ability perfectly suited to this sort of game, and then she winds up playing second fiddle in her own performance.”
    • “A strong character - in personality and performance - by someone who's just as confused by the situation.”
    • “Major performance issues despite much better specs than the minimum.”
    • “The game concept was very interesting, but sadly it is so poorly optimized that I was unable to properly play it.”
    • “No one seems entirely sure, and this leads to performances that feel like they could be from different games.”
  • stability6 mentions

    The game experiences notable stability issues, including glitches that can disrupt gameplay and require workarounds or restarts. Users report specific instances of plot-halting bugs, such as locked doors and buggy achievements, which detract from the overall experience but can be overlooked by some players.

    • “The only negative was it wasn't without some glitches that hampered my experience a little bit at the time and had to either find workarounds or restart the game.”
    • “To plot-halting glitches where the door to the next area (chapter 2) was locked because I turned on a speaker.”
    • “The game is still filled with bugs and glitches.”
  • grinding5 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often leading to frustration due to unclear objectives and the need to search for easily missable items. The lack of convenient features, such as saving on exit and limited audio cues, further exacerbates the feeling of monotony, detracting from the overall experience.

    • “The concept is really interesting and the game is scary; however, the gameplay can be very tedious due to unclear objectives and easily missable key items. Frequently, you will just walk in circles trying to find what you are missing.”
    • “If you are going for the achievements, good luck, as at least one of these seems very tedious.”
    • “Couple the above issues with no 'save on exit' and 'no listening to phone while walking,' and I found myself with a game that's tedious rather than spooky.”
  • replayability5 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the challenge of completing achievements and exploring different playstyles, others feel that the shorter length limits its replay value.

    • “To close: after all said and done, I found it a very enjoyable game with some replay value to get all achievements that let you challenge yourself to not use the cane, find specific objects, or never get killed by the presence.”
    • “It is a much shorter game, and I'm not too sure about the replay value.”
    • “No replay value whatsoever.”
    • “With all the achievements, it has some replay value too.”
  • emotional3 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by a touching revelation at the end, which leaves players feeling satisfied despite the lack of alternate endings. The narrative evokes heartbreak through characters like Betty, whose attempts to contribute to the war effort are dismissed, adding depth to the story as players engage with the mystery of the old mansion through letters and objects.

    • “Another big bright move for me was the story ending on a touching revelation. Though it had no alternate ending, I was very satisfied when finishing the game.”
    • “It was heartbreaking to hear Betty try to join the war effort, only to receive letter after letter telling her to calm her pretty head and join a bake sale instead.”
    • “Together with these abilities, you try to solve the mystery behind this old mansion by reading letters, touching objects, etc.”
  • character development3 mentions

    The game features a multi-faceted approach to character development and storyline, allowing for organic narrative progression. However, some users feel that the overall narrative lacks depth, despite the actors delivering their performances with commendable professionalism for an indie title.

    • “There isn't really a worthy narrative with lots of character development for the actors to draw from, but they deliver the lines professionally and well above par for an indie game like this.”
    • “It's seldom that I meet a game that is so multi-faceted in character development and storyline.”
    • “If you're doing it right, any such message ought to emerge organically from the character development and flow of events.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game is noted for its ability to evoke laughter alongside emotional engagement, blending elements of fear and compassion effectively. Players appreciate the comedic aspects as a refreshing contrast to the game's scarier moments, enhancing the overall experience.

    • “Not because it was scary, but because I found it funny.”
    • “The story is excellent and strikes emotion in the player, combining scares, humor, and compassion.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

62% average critic score

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Play time

4hMedian play time
4hAverage play time
3-7hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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