Pulang Insanity - Director's Cut
- March 13, 2020
- OZYSOFT
Get on Steam"Pulang Insanity - Director's Cut" is a psychological horror game that follows the story of a man searching for his missing wife in a creepy village filled with supernatural events and eerie creatures. The game features new levels, enhanced graphics, and improved gameplay mechanics compared to the original version. Players must solve puzzles, uncover dark secrets, and face their fears to progress through the game.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique and engaging story steeped in Indonesian culture, with a compelling narrative that keeps players invested.
- The atmosphere and graphics are impressive for an indie title, creating a deeply immersive experience reminiscent of classic horror games like Silent Hill.
- The developers are responsive to feedback and have made improvements through updates, showing a commitment to enhancing the player experience.
- The game suffers from optimization issues, including lag and frame rate drops, which can detract from the overall experience.
- There are several bugs and glitches that can hinder gameplay, such as crashes and unresponsive elements, leading to frustration for players.
- The enemy AI can be overly aggressive and frustrating, which disrupts the otherwise engaging gameplay and narrative flow.
- story42 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The game's story is a central element that captivates players, featuring a complex and intriguing plot that unfolds gradually, keeping players engaged until the end. While some find the narrative overly intricate, it is well-crafted with a mix of cutscenes and notes that enhance the storytelling experience, reminiscent of AAA titles. Overall, the story is praised for its depth and emotional resonance, though some players feel it could be longer and more cohesive.
“I am very fascinated with the plot and how the story worked out.”
“The story evolves from there, and although it takes the long way around, it gradually unravels the closer you get to the end of the game.”
“The manner in which it tells its story, which utilizes a great variety of both cutscenes and notes, is very close to an AAA-grade title.”
“The biggest element that seems to be make-or-break for most people regarding this title and its 'mixed' rating on Steam is the story.”
“It is mostly a walking sim and fetch keys to move on, rinse and repeat sort of game, lacking puzzles or survival elements and not enough story to be an adventure game. It doesn't seem to know what it wants to be.”
“I do really appreciate it having actual cut scenes, even though they aren't great. It helped make the game seem much more story-driven than several previous indie horror efforts, but I still spent a great deal of time not really knowing what is going on.”
- gameplay20 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally well-received, with players finding it fun, challenging, and easy to grasp after a short period. It combines horror elements with puzzles effectively, though some mechanics, like the screen turning red, are seen as distracting. Overall, the game offers an engaging experience that encourages players to explore and enjoy its story.
“The gameplay and controls are easy to grasp after a few minutes of playing; overall, it's a really fun and also challenging experience.”
“As for the gameplay, Pulang: Insanity is your typical horror walking simulator, complete with key and object finding; at least that's how it presents itself during the first hour of its campaign.”
“As for the gameplay, it is quite challenging; the combination of horror and puzzles is the best, but it's not very confusing, so you can still enjoy the game rather than confuse yourself while cracking the puzzles.”
“As for gameplay, Pulang: Insanity is your typical horror walking simulator, complete with key and object finding; at least that's how it presents itself during the first hour of its campaign.”
“Remove the mechanic that turns the screen red. I get the idea, but it's very distracting and takes away from the creepy atmosphere.”
“The mechanics, including the walking style and opening the drawer, feel not too smooth.”
- atmosphere12 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its deep immersion and strong homage to the Silent Hill franchise, creating a captivating ambience that stands out in the indie scene. However, some players feel that certain mechanics, like the screen turning red, detract from the overall creepy vibe, preventing it from fully realizing its potential. Overall, while the atmosphere starts strong, it has moments that may not resonate with all players.
“It has a deeply immersive atmosphere that hearkens back to the Silent Hill franchise, an inspiration that can even be seen during its main menu sequence.”
“Additionally, the game houses some of the most immersive atmosphere and ambience that you'll have the pleasure of coming across in a small indie release, and the developer was able to successfully recreate that Silent Hill feeling in a lot of different ways.”
“This game is very good in terms of storyline and atmosphere; it's a very good game.”
“The atmosphere and overall vibe here is solid and it starts off strong but ultimately doesn't hit the mark in a lot of aspects.”
“Remove the mechanic that turns the screen red. I get the idea, but it's very distracting and takes away from the creepy atmosphere.”
- graphics12 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are praised for their impressive quality, especially considering it is a low-budget indie title, featuring beautiful artwork and effective fog and rain effects. However, players have reported significant issues, including crashes, freezes, and brightness problems that detract from the overall experience. Despite these technical challenges, the game maintains stable performance and is optimized for low-spec PCs.
“The environments are teeming with fog and rain effects, and the graphics look really superb for a low budget indie title.”
“The graphic is very good, even with the Unity engine.”
“Very beautiful artwork, I like and appreciate it.”
“If I manage to start the game, it will crash or freeze for no reason just a few seconds after the first cutscene. I even encountered a graphics setting issue where the game was too bright without me touching anything in the settings. The menu looked fine, but in-game it was a different story. Using the 'default' button made the game look fine, but then I crashed to desktop.”
“The graphics are overly bright and unbalanced, making it difficult to enjoy the game. Even after adjusting the settings, the visuals remain problematic, leading to a frustrating experience.”
“The graphics quality is disappointing and does not meet modern standards, which detracts from the overall immersion and enjoyment of the game.”
- optimization8 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed feedback; while many players appreciate the stable frame rates and low system requirements, there are still concerns about performance issues that need to be addressed for an improved experience. Players hope future updates will enhance optimization further, allowing the game to fully realize its graphical potential and narrative flow.
“The FPS is stable, and mostly with this kind of graphic quality, but it needs low-spec PC requirements, which means very good performance techniques.”
“A lot of work went into making this kind of graphic, and the performance keeps running stable, maintaining a linear storyline until the beautiful ending of the game with several flashbacks, reminding me of Hollywood movies that test our brains.”
“The issues probably lie in the optimization; I hope it will be fixed to make the game better.”
“Another problem that does need addressing, albeit to a lesser extent, is the optimization.”
“There is a lot of work to make this kind of graphic, and performance needs to keep running stable while maintaining a linear storyline until the beautiful ending of the game, with several flashbacks that remind me of Hollywood movies that test our brains.”
- music6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its immersive sound effects and droning ambient soundtrack, which effectively enhances the horror experience and complements the narrative, evoking strong Silent Hill vibes. Despite some minor bugs, the overall auditory atmosphere contributes significantly to the game's sense of terror.
“The horror music really captures the essence of the game and enhances the overall experience.”
“The sound effects really suck the player into the midst of it all, and the droning ambient soundtrack is the cherry on the cake that tops off what would be an overall complete package of mesmerizing terror.”
“The music stands out for sure; it fits the game very well and helps the narrative, giving some real Silent Hill vibes at points. Big plus there.”
“There are still some bugs that occasionally occur, but so far the horror music and its sensation are on point.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been criticized for issues such as frame rate bugs and the need for source optimization, indicating that it requires significant fixes. Despite these concerns, some users acknowledge it as a promising start, though they suggest there are better alternatives available.
“There are much better games worth playing than this buggy game.”
“There are many things that need to be fixed in the future, like source optimization, and the frame rate seems buggy.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is overshadowed by significant technical issues, including frequent crashes and graphical glitches that disrupt the player's experience. These problems prevent players from fully engaging with the narrative and emotional depth intended by the developers.
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Many users criticize the game for its short length relative to its price, leading to a consensus that it lacks significant replay value.
“It's extremely short for the price tag and has no replay value.”
