PILGRIM

About

PILGRIM is a single player and multiplayer action adventure game. It was developed by DESPERATE MEASURES and was released on May 31, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"PILGRIM is a first-person horror action game, offering both single-player and multiplayer/co-op modes. As a Pilgrim, you'll journey through a dark, medieval world filled with crypts, dungeons, and derelict towns. Armed with a powered wagon, crystalline engine, and a few supplies, prepare to face otherworldly horrors and challenge the unknown."

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71%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,844 reviews

gameplay86 positive mentions

stability214 negative mentions

The game has a unique medieval atmosphere that sets it apart from other horror games.
The revival system using chalk and pentagrams adds an interesting mechanic to gameplay.
Playing with friends enhances the experience, leading to funny and memorable moments.

The game has been largely abandoned by the developers, with no significant updates in months.
Gameplay becomes repetitive quickly, with limited content and enemy variety.
Numerous bugs and crashes make the game frustrating and difficult to play.

gameplay
281 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
31%
59%
10%
The gameplay of "Pilgrim" has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its cooperative mechanics and unique features like the revival system and wagon management. However, the experience is marred by numerous bugs, a repetitive gameplay loop, and a lack of content variety, leading to a sense of monotony after a few hours of play. While the game shows potential and offers fun moments, it requires significant polish and additional content to enhance long-term engagement.
- “The gameplay is fun to play with friends; it's an amazing experience.”
- “Pilgrim offers a more dynamic mechanic where if you want to move your wagon, you have to get your muscles working.”
- “The core gameplay—exploring dungeons, gathering loot, and avoiding monsters—offers a tense experience that encourages caution.”
- “The gameplay loop is fairly limited, and it’s not the type of horror game you’ll be grinding night after night.”
- “The gameplay loop as it is gets stale fast and is not worth around 10 bucks.”
- “The core gameplay has some charm to it while it's an obvious lethal company clone.”
stability
216 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
1%
99%
The stability of the game "Pilgrim" is widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and crashes that significantly hinder gameplay. Many players express disappointment over the game's technical state, describing it as unplayable at times and lacking essential updates. While some acknowledge the potential of the game, they recommend waiting for further development and fixes before investing.
- “Pilgrim still persists in a very unstable and buggy technical state.”
- “Unplayable, cannot even play with friends past the first dungeon before game-breaking glitches happen.”
- “The game is a buggy mess, but it has so much potential.”
graphics
128 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
59%
5%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the unique art style and atmospheric aesthetics reminiscent of retro horror games. However, numerous critiques highlight that the visuals often feel unfinished or overly simplistic, leading to issues with visibility and gameplay experience. Overall, while the aesthetic has potential and charm, significant improvements are needed to enhance the graphical quality and overall polish of the game.
- “The pixelated aesthetic of Pilgrim effectively sets an eerie and nostalgic tone, reminiscent of retro horror games that evoke a sense of unease through their minimalist style.”
- “The atmosphere, visuals, and sounds are absolutely unique and awesome.”
- “I love the art style, I love the enemies and monsters.”
- “This game is so unfinished charging for it should be illegal; play anything else. The art style is too generic to justify its low poly, headache-inducing, no visibility graphics. This game doesn't look retro; it looks bad.”
- “Locations are all nearly identical, and the graphics follow that hip young 'we're using bad graphics intentionally, because it's totally spooky!' crap that just makes the game hard to see for the sake of atmosphere, when in reality it only hinders the experience.”
- “While I appreciate the minimalist approach to the graphics, this is beyond a blurry mess.”
atmosphere
120 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
70%
27%
3%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its eerie, immersive qualities that effectively create tension and fear, making it a standout feature. Players appreciate the unique aesthetic and sound design, which contribute to a haunting experience, although some express a desire for more content and variety to enhance the overall engagement. While the atmosphere is often described as fantastic and captivating, there are mixed feelings about gameplay elements and replayability, indicating room for improvement.
- “The game's atmosphere combined with the interior lighting makes for a very dread-inducing experience.”
- “An improvement on the lethal company-style of game in every facet, this game excels at creating a haunting and unnerving atmosphere that keeps players on the edge of their seats.”
- “The atmosphere is tense and really immersive.”
- “The atmosphere, visuals, and sounds are absolutely unique and awesome.”
- “Locations are all nearly identical, the graphics follow that hip young 'we're using bad graphics intentionally, because it's totally spooky!' crap that just makes the game hard to see for the sake of 'atmosphere', when in reality it only hinders the experience.”
- “Successfully frightening, the dark atmosphere sets you up to be anxious about what’s around every corner, so when something does show up it’s genuinely fear-inducing, even if nothing bad happens immediately.”
humor
97 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised, with players highlighting its ability to create hilarious moments, especially when played with friends. Many reviews mention the comedic interactions with quirky monsters and the absurdity of certain game mechanics, such as the revival system and funny glitches, which enhance the overall experience. While some players note that the game can become repetitive, the laughter and fun derived from its humorous elements make it a memorable and entertaining experience.
- “This game is hilarious.”
- “A hilarious and fun game to play with friends; it's nice that it's really affordable.”
- “The amount of laughing, terror, and then laughing again has been such a blast for us.”
story
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
78%
12%
The game's story is set against a unique backdrop where players embark on a pilgrimage with an intriguing premise, but many reviewers feel it lacks depth and could benefit from further development. While the charming art style and cooperative gameplay create a delightful atmosphere, the narrative is often described as thin and linear, leaving players wanting more lore and engaging content. Overall, the foundation is promising, but the execution leaves much to be desired, with calls for additional storytelling elements and quests to enhance the experience.
- “The story in Pilgrim starts with an intriguing setup: players are chosen by lottery to embark on a pilgrimage down an ominous road.”
- “I appreciate that it's not super lore-heavy; it’s great when a game can let you flesh out the story through its environments and details.”
- “The voice acting is great and the world itself is so atmospheric; I can't wait to see what the creator wants to do with the story.”
- “It was really fun the first few hours, then you beat the game and that's it—no story, no nothing added.”
- “As it stands, the story feels thin, though it shows potential for development into a more immersive narrative experience.”
- “The game is a bit lacking in story, though; when you reach 100km, the game just ends.”
replayability
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
62%
13%
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate its unique mechanics and potential for fun, many express disappointment in its limited depth and variety, leading to a lack of long-term engagement. Several reviews highlight that the game feels short and repetitive, with only a few dungeon layouts and minimal incentive to replay. However, there is hope that future updates could enhance its replay value and overall experience.
- “Short-ish adventure—you’ll get through the main journey in a session or two, then it leans on replay value rather than fresh chapters.”
- “Replayability is phenomenal, I feel like I could play this for a long time before ever getting sick of it!”
- “When you restart a playthrough or continue a save, the locations, and even the directions you take, are always different to some degree, making it all the more replayable.”
- “Pilgrim is a solid little co-op horror experience—just don’t go in expecting endless depth or replayability.”
- “Overall, fantastic concept, just a little lacking in replay value.”
- “The game is simply barely replayable, which is a death sentence for this kind of game in my opinion.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric qualities, with some players enjoying the eerie soundscapes and thematic elements, such as the merchant's carnival-like theme and the music box. However, many users feel that the overall sound design is lacking, with periods of silence that detract from the experience, and a desire for more varied and consistent musical elements throughout gameplay. While the music contributes to the game's unsettling atmosphere, there are calls for improvements, including reducing repetitiveness and enhancing the audio experience in different environments.
- “The game has some awesome vibes to it; I especially love the music box and the overall atmosphere. With friends, it's some serious fun!”
- “It's a great atmosphere, and I really enjoy the sound design and music.”
- “The medieval horror tonality is on point, making me think of games like Thief, with its dark soundscape and sparse music.”
- “The music feels non-existent.”
- “The game is most of the time filled with silence.”
- “Merchant music box repetitiveness - have the music box stay permanently off when toggled, instead of needing to shut it off every time.”
optimization
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
33%
42%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players reporting significant performance issues, including constant stuttering, bugs, and poor voice chat functionality, which detracts from the overall experience. Many reviewers express hope for future improvements, believing that better optimization could elevate the game to a much higher standard. Overall, the consensus is that the game requires substantial polish before it can be recommended.
- “I can't wait to see this game optimized and be rid of bugs as the experience is excellent.”
- “With better optimization, this game will be huge.”
- “But the amount of bugs, horrible voice chat optimization, and very short gameplay loop, this game needed way more polish before being released.”
- “The game is horribly optimized with constant stuttering (not due to my hardware) to the point that it gives you a headache after 20-30 minutes of playing, and that horrible camera bobbing doesn't help at all. The game also lacks many quality of life features, and the UI is generally weird.”
- “Overall, I really hope you iron out the bugs and improve the game's performance because if figured out, this will definitely be one of my favorite games of the year.”
grinding
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
55%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with many expressing that the limited gameplay loop makes it less engaging for extended play sessions. While the dungeons show potential for improvement with future content, the current experience can feel monotonous, especially when played solo. Cooperative play is suggested to alleviate some of the boredom, but overall, grinding is viewed as a significant drawback.
- “The gameplay loop is fairly limited, and it’s not the type of horror game you’ll be grinding night after night.”
- “Bad game for co-op, it's alright for single player, just boring and tedious.”
- “The dungeons are pretty cool and as more content/monsters/variety get added, will definitely only get better in the future, but pushing/riding feels a bit boring and just plain tedious once you've done it for the 10th time (and you do it way more).”
monetization
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game is overwhelmingly criticized as a "cash grab," with users expressing disappointment over the lack of updates and communication from the developer. Many feel that the game was quickly abandoned after gaining popularity, leading to a perception of it being low quality and not worth the investment. Overall, players strongly advise against purchasing the game, citing its unfinished state and lack of content.
- “The creator of the game has zero desire to update it, considering he said it was supposed to release the update in January. This game was nothing but a quick cash grab; it will never be updated. This is just sad at this point.”
- “I wanted to like it because of the dark fantasy theme, but it was just another abandonware cash grab.”
- “Zero updates or communication from the developer lead me to believe this was a quick cash grab.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a strong emotional response to the game, with some feeling a deep sense of fear reminiscent of classic horror experiences, while others appreciate the wholesome moments shared with characters like Jeff, highlighting a balance of terror and warmth. Overall, the game effectively evokes a range of emotions, from unease to joy.
- “As a veteran horror genre lover, I was quite surprised that somehow the levels made me feel uneasy and experience the same fear as back in the early days. This game is terrifying on its own.”
- “This game really made me feel like a pilgrim. 10/10”
- “Nice little wholesome game with pushing a cart with my main man Jeff.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Character development is notably strong, with fantastic and unsettling mask designs that create a unique atmosphere. Players form emotional attachments to their fellow pilgrims, leading to genuine feelings of loss and concern when characters are left behind or lost.
- “The character design is fantastic; everyone wears an unsettling and macabre mask, yet you still feel attached to your fellow pilgrims in a strange way. I've seen players become upset if they lose someone or leave them behind out of desperation and confusion.”
- “The depth of character development is remarkable, as each character has their own unique backstory and motivations that unfold throughout the game.”
- “I love how the characters evolve based on the choices you make, creating a truly immersive experience that makes you care about their journeys.”