Pulang Insanity - Director's Cut
- March 13, 2020
- OZYSOFT
- 2h median play time
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 rooted in Indonesian folklore, which adds depth and cultural significance.
- The atmosphere and graphics are commendable for an indie title, successfully creating a creepy and immersive horror experience.
- The developers are responsive to feedback and have made improvements through updates, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs and performance issues, including lag and crashes, which can disrupt the gameplay experience.
- The narrative can be confusing and disjointed, making it difficult for players to follow the story and objectives.
- Gameplay mechanics, such as key hunting and inventory management, can feel tedious and detract from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- story40 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story has received mixed reviews, with many players appreciating its dark and intriguing narrative that draws on Indonesian folklore, while others criticize its execution as overly complex and confusing. Some players found the storytelling engaging, particularly through cutscenes and notes, but noted that the plot could be difficult to follow at times. Overall, while the atmosphere and themes are praised, there are calls for clearer storytelling and more depth to enhance the experience.
“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 game story and plot is unique, rich, and embedded into the game, with a beautiful sketch ending that I believe is driven by a true event story.”
“The storytelling is absurd, with bad font in documents and poor grammar in the Indonesian version, which detracts from the overall experience.”
“The story of 'Pulang: Insanity' is promising on paper, but its major flaws make it far less enjoyable than it could have been.”
“The setting itself is creepy enough, but you're often distracted by sudden, seemingly random cutscenes that only tell fragments of the story.”
- gameplay16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The gameplay is generally well-received, with players finding it fun, challenging, and easy to grasp after a short learning curve. While some describe it as a typical horror walking simulator with puzzle elements, others appreciate the balance between challenge and enjoyment. However, there are criticisms regarding certain mechanics that detract from the experience, such as distracting visual effects and less smooth interactions.
“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, it's quite challenging; horror game + puzzle is the best combination but not very confusing, so you can still enjoy the game rather than confuse yourself cracking the puzzle.”
“The game is really beautiful, the property, details, and so on, suitable for those of you who like ghost games... so far it's good gameplay and satisfying graphics.”
“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.”
“This isn’t just the vague and confusing story, this includes the gameplay mechanics as well.”
“The mechanic, also walking style, opening the drawer, etc., feel like not too smooth.”
- atmosphere13 mentions
- 54 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive qualities, drawing strong comparisons to the Silent Hill franchise and effectively utilizing Indonesian folklore to build tension. While many players appreciate the horror elements and overall vibe, some note that the atmosphere can be undermined by a disjointed narrative and distracting mechanics. Overall, it is considered a solid indie horror experience with a commendable atmospheric depth.
“The atmosphere is superb!”
“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.”
“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.”
“The horror atmosphere is decent but it struggles as it competes with the disjointed narrative.”
“If you’re looking for a good horror walking simulator, this title may not have the depth of story and atmosphere that you prefer.”
- graphics10 mentions
- 70 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their impressive quality, especially considering its low-budget indie status, with detailed environments enhanced by fog and rain effects. However, some users reported technical issues, including crashes and brightness problems, which detracted from the overall experience. Despite these setbacks, many players appreciated the beautiful artwork and stable performance, highlighting the game's strong visual appeal and atmospheric design.
“The environments are teeming with fog and rain effects, and the graphics look really superb for a low-budget indie title.”
“I've been supporting this game since it was just a demo and I've always liked it; the story was really good, the graphics are pretty decent as well, and the horror vibe is pretty good.”
“The game is really beautiful, the property, details, and so on, suitable for those of you who like ghost games. Let's support local games from Indonesia; so far it's good gameplay and satisfying graphics.”
“When I finally managed to start the game, it would crash or freeze for no reason just a few seconds after the first cutscene. I also encountered a graphics setting issue where the game was overly bright without me adjusting anything in the settings. The menu looked fine, but in-game it was a different story. Using the 'default' button made the graphics look acceptable, but then I crashed to desktop.”
“The graphics in this game seem to require a lot of work, yet the performance remains stable. However, the overall visual quality does not meet modern standards, which detracts from the experience.”
“While the FPS is stable, the graphics quality feels outdated and doesn't take full advantage of current hardware capabilities, which is disappointing.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many users noting significant performance issues that detract from the experience. While some players appreciate the stable frame rates and graphics quality, there is a consensus that further improvements are needed, particularly for lower-spec PCs, to enhance overall gameplay.
“The FPS is stable, and with this kind of graphic quality, it needs low-spec PC requirements, which indicates very good performance techniques.”
“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.”
“Bad performance.”
- music4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its immersive quality, with a standout soundtrack that enhances the overall atmosphere and narrative, evoking strong Silent Hill vibes. The ambient sound effects contribute significantly to the game's sense of terror, making it a compelling auditory experience despite some minor bugs.
“The soundtrack is also top notch.”
“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.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the game's stability is a concern, with issues related to frame rate and optimization noted as buggy. While some players see potential in the game, they suggest that significant fixes are needed for a smoother experience.
“There are many things that need to be fixed in the future, like source optimization, and the frame rate seems buggy. I think, once again, it's still a very good start!”
“There are much better games worth playing than this buggy game.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is overshadowed by technical issues, as players report frequent crashes and graphical glitches that disrupt their experience, preventing them from fully engaging with the narrative and emotional content.
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Many users find the game lacks replayability due to its short length and feel that the price does not justify the limited content available for multiple playthroughs.
“It's extremely short for the price tag and has no replay value.”
“Once you finish the game, there's little incentive to play it again.”
“The lack of meaningful choices means that replaying feels like a chore rather than an adventure.”
