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Perception

Perception ticks all the boxes for this genre; it is utterly immersive, challenging, frightening, and truly riveting.
Perception Game Cover
67%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, gameplay
Most mentioned negative aspects:music, optimization
73% User Score Based on 271 reviews
Critic Score 62%Based on 30 reviews

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Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5Playstation 4Xbox OneXboxWindowsPlayStation
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Perception Game Cover

About Perception

Perception is a single player survival simulation game with horror and erotic themes. It was developed by The Deep End Games and was released on May 30, 2017. It received mostly positive reviews from both critics and players.

Perception is a first-person narrative horror adventure that tells the story of Cassie, a blind heroine who uses her extraordinary hearing and razor-sharp wits to unravel the mysteries of an abandoned estate that haunts her dreams.

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Reviews

73%Audience ScoreBased on 271 reviews
story77 positive mentions
optimization3 negative mentions
  • Unique and innovative gameplay mechanic where the blind protagonist navigates using echolocation, creating a fresh experience in the horror genre.
  • Strong atmosphere with excellent sound design and immersive audio that enhances tension and horror without relying on cheap jump scares.
  • Compelling and emotionally resonant story with well-acted voice performances, providing an original narrative with multiple timelines and characters.
  • Short game length and limited replay value, with some finding the experience repetitive and the narrative not fully cohesive or satisfying.
  • The threat from enemies, particularly the main antagonist 'The Presence', is underwhelming and predictable, reducing suspense and challenge.
  • Technical issues including bugs, infrequent autosaves, achievement glitches, and occasional clunky controls detract from the overall experience.

  • story

    274 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    28% positive mentions, 64% neutral mentions, 8% negative mentions

    The story in this horror game is praised for its unique premise of a blind protagonist exploring a haunted mansion through echolocation, delivering a haunting and atmospheric experience with thoughtful voice acting and a compelling underlying mystery. However, many players find the narrative fragmented, confusing, and uneven across chapters, with some considering it clichéd or poorly explained despite a satisfying ending. Overall, while the story captivates with its innovative concept and emotional moments, it can be difficult to follow and lacks consistent cohesion for some audiences.

    • “Each chapter introduces a self-contained story involving former inhabitants, tragedies, and lingering guilt, gradually revealing how the house became a nexus of suffering.”
    • “It’s unsettling without relying on cheap scares, and the storytelling feels thoughtful rather than over-explained.”
    • “The story is compelling and interesting, winding through a few paths through the house and even time itself.”
    • “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 voice acting is very good, and the many ways the story unspools is clever, but it lacks the kind of coherence you find in, say, a Bioshock or Amnesia game.”
    • “And then there’s the final act, when Cassie’s story finally becomes relevant after being sidelined for the rest of the game; I won’t spoil it, but I will say it’s so mind-numbingly stupid that it actually made the rest of the game seem worse in retrospect.”

  • gameplay

    197 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    24% positive mentions, 70% neutral mentions, 6% negative mentions

    The gameplay of this horror game is centered on an innovative echolocation mechanic where the blind protagonist uses cane taps to "see" her environment, creating a tense and immersive experience. While this fresh approach to navigation and threat detection is praised for originality and atmosphere, many reviewers find the overall gameplay simple, repetitive, and sometimes frustrating due to limited mechanical variety and unclear objectives. The game’s core mechanic is strong enough to engage fans of psychological horror, but it can feel shallow and underdeveloped for players seeking deeper or more complex interactions.

    • “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.”
    • “Moreover, the tension of the game is successfully produced by another clever mechanic: Felicia needs to make sound to visualize her environment, but too much sound provokes a nasty spectre capable of one-hit kills if it catches you.”
    • “Because audio is central to gameplay, every footstep, creak, drip, and echo is carefully tuned to convey spatial information and emotional tension.”
    • “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.”
    • “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.”
    • “Overall, the gameplay mechanics are shallow and it is basically a walking simulator with the occasional tap and simple puzzles.”

  • atmosphere

    55 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    64% positive mentions, 31% neutral mentions, 5% negative mentions

    The atmosphere in Perception is widely praised for its eerie, immersive, and unsettling qualities, effectively enhanced by masterful sound design and the unique perspective of a blind protagonist. While it creates strong tension and mood-driven horror moments, some users note occasional monotony and a lack of sustained threat. Overall, the game's atmosphere is a standout feature that deeply engages players despite some gameplay and pacing critiques.

    • “It is an atmospheric, idea-driven experience that values mood, vulnerability, and narrative experimentation over polish or spectacle.”
    • “The atmospheric sound design and interesting, horrific stories, with occasional jump scares, work well to create immersive tension.”
    • “The developers really did a great job in capturing the atmosphere of a blind protagonist entering a haunted mansion and relying on her hearing and phone to find a way out.”
    • “With weak gameplay and weak story, the atmosphere of the game falls apart.”
    • “The downside is that much of the creepy atmosphere results from you running around in the dark for fear of making too much noise.”
    • “You would think being a blind character would add to the atmosphere of the game because you can't see anything, but instead it is just an annoyance and doesn't make the game at all more scary.”

  • graphics

    45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    42% positive mentions, 51% neutral mentions, 7% negative mentions

    The game's graphics are purposefully minimalistic and functional, reflecting the protagonist's blindness and echolocation-based perception, which creates a unique and immersive visual experience rather than prioritizing technical realism. While not graphically impressive in a traditional sense, the visuals effectively enhance the atmosphere, tension, and thematic elements, earning praise for their originality and ability to convey isolation and suspense.

    • “The echolocation system brings in a good amount of originality and makes perception worth a playthrough, both in terms of how well it's represented graphically and how the player utilizes it.”
    • “The graphic detailing is absolutely stunning.”
    • “Graphically the game does a fine job of making the environment feel claustrophobic and creepy, even when nothing scary is actually happening.”
    • “So do not expect a graphical marvel.”
    • “As soon as you get over the first impression of Perception's graphics, they look bland and uninteresting for the rest of the game, which is unfortunate.”
    • “Then once we reloaded the game, the graphics became a problem along with sound; trying it a few minutes later the audio was back but not the graphics.”

  • music

    17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    18% positive mentions, 64% neutral mentions, 18% negative mentions

    The game's music primarily consists of ambient sounds, eerie drones, and a recurring haunting theme that effectively enhances the tense atmosphere. While some praise the high-quality, atmospheric soundtrack and occasional full songs, others note a lack of traditional background music and occasional issues with loud, unadjustable audio levels. Overall, the music and ambience contribute significantly to the immersive, spooky experience, though some players may miss more varied or prominent musical elements.

    • “The ambient sounds are often genuinely creepy and the background music is of terrific quality, fitting the atmosphere of the game very well.”
    • “There are a couple of full-fledged songs in the game, performed by a band called Dearest Pinky, whose style reminded me a bit of atmospheric metal by bands like Therion and After Forever.”
    • “The music mainly consists of ambient stingers and drones throughout the game and a recurring haunting monothematic score that returns in several variations.”
    • “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 and again trying to cheaply jump scare you.”
    • “The only real complaint I would have is some parts have loud music playing that I was unable to adjust lower to the audio of voices, so if you are in a part where there is rather loud music playing and are trying to listen to any phone messages, you will have to wait until you are out of those locations.”

  • optimization

    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    11% positive mentions, 56% neutral mentions, 33% negative mentions

    Users report significant optimization issues, noting poor performance even on systems exceeding minimum requirements. This lack of optimization hampers gameplay and diminishes the overall experience despite the game's interesting concept and strong voice acting.

    • “Major performance issues despite much better specs than the minimum.”
    • “The game concept was very interesting but sadly it is so poorly optimized that it was unable to properly play it.”
    • “☐ unoptimized”

  • emotional

    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game delivers a deeply emotional experience through its empathetic protagonist and a poignant storyline that explores personal and historical connections to the mansion. Its immersive audio design heightens emotional tension, while heartfelt narrative moments and meaningful interactions enrich the story’s depth and impact.

    • “Cassie herself is a compelling protagonist, portrayed with empathy and emotional nuance, and her personal connection to the mansion’s history adds weight to the exploration.”
    • “Because audio is central to gameplay, every footstep, creak, drip, and echo is carefully tuned to convey spatial information and emotional tension.”
    • “It was heartbreaking to hear Betty try to join the war effort only to have letter after letter telling her to calm her pretty head and join a bake sale instead.”

  • grinding

    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    Grinding in this game is often described as tedious and repetitive, hindered by unclear objectives and easily missed key items that lead to aimless wandering. The continuous need for simple actions, lack of convenient features like save-on-exit, and frustrating achievement requirements contribute to a grinding experience that diminishes the game's otherwise interesting and scary atmosphere.

    • “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.”
    • “Continually hitting the space bar got tedious, and there weren't enough radios around to illuminate whole rooms.”

  • stability

    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game experiences several bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, such as glitches locking essential doors and buggy achievements. While these issues hamper the experience and sometimes require workarounds or restarts, players still find the overall play enjoyable when overlooking these stability problems.

    • “The game isn't without some glitches that hampered my experience a little bit and required either workarounds or restarting the game.”
    • “Two plot-halting glitches occurred where the door to the next area (chapter 2) was locked because I turned on a speaker.”
    • “Buggy achievements and chapters detract from the overall experience.”

  • replayability

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    40% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 60% negative mentions

    The game offers limited replayability due to its short length, but the presence of achievements and specific challenges adds some incentive for repeated playthroughs. However, overall replay value is considered minimal by several users.

    • “After all is said and done, I found it to be 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.”
    • “With all the achievements, it has some replay value too.”
    • “It is a much shorter game, and I'm not too sure on the replay value.”
    • “No replay value whatsoever as well.”
    • “- replay value.”

  • character development

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    Character development in the game is generally well-executed, offering a multi-faceted approach that integrates naturally with the storyline. While the narrative may lack depth for extensive character growth, the performances remain professional and impressive, especially for an indie title.

    • “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.”
    • “They deliver the lines professionally and well above par for an indie game like this, despite a less developed narrative.”

  • humor

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The humor in the game effectively complements its emotional storytelling, providing moments of levity alongside scares and compassion. Players find the humor engaging and integral to the overall experience.

    • “Not because it was scary, but because I found it funny.”
    • “The story is excellent and strikes emotion in the player, including scares, humor, and compassion.”
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Critic Reviews

62%Critics’ scoreBased on 30 critic reviews
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Play Times

4h Median play time
4h Average play time
3-7h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Perception is a survival simulation game with horror and erotic themes. Common tags for Perception include first-person, indie, female protagonist, psychological, exploration and others.

Perception is available on Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X|S, PC, PlayStation 5 and others.

On average players spend around 4 hours playing Perception.

Perception was released on May 30, 2017.

Perception was developed by The Deep End Games.

Perception has received mostly positive reviews from both players and critics. Most players liked Perception for its story but disliked it for its music.

Perception is a single player game.

Similar games include Maid of Sker, Among the Sleep, Moons of Madness, Layers of Fear 2, Observer and others.