Suffer The Night
- April 17, 2023
- Assemble Entertainment
- 4h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Suffer the Night" is a horror game set in 1989 where you uncover nightmarish secrets through a text-based dungeon crawler. With old-school gaming mechanics, you'll face a chilling storm and a mysterious envelope containing a game that leads to a terrifying realm. The game features a free Chapter One, where you must escape the grasp of a horrifying figure. Brace yourself for a harrowing blend of nostalgia and fear.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a strong and intriguing story that keeps players engaged throughout.
- The voice acting, particularly for the villain Mr. Tops, is excellent and adds depth to the characters.
- The initial atmosphere and horror elements are well-executed, creating a tense and immersive experience.
- The gameplay becomes repetitive and tedious after the first chapter, with many puzzles feeling uninspired.
- Technical issues, such as a poor UI and save system, detract from the overall experience.
- The game fails to maintain its initial horror tension, shifting to a more mundane puzzle-solving format that lacks excitement.
- story38 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The story of "Suffer the Night" is praised for its originality and atmospheric depth, following protagonist Stacy as she navigates a terrifying journey influenced by various horror sources. While many reviewers appreciate the engaging narrative and character development, some criticize the pacing, repetitiveness, and technical issues that detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game is seen as a fun and intriguing title with a compelling storyline, despite some missed opportunities for deeper exploration.
“This game set the bar in terms of story in a number of ways, and it is fully underrated.”
“Taking inspiration from a variety of different horror sources ranging from the likes of 'Hush' to 'Terrifier', the narrative follows the story of Stacy - an illustrator who, when at home alone one night during a storm, finds herself accosted by Mr. Tops: a Babadook lookalike who seems hell-bent on taking Stacy on a horrific journey into the darkest reaches of her own imagination.”
“Overall, 'Suffer the Night' is a lot of fun, with a great story, great scares, a strong mix of combat, survival, and unique gameplay ideas all blending together and a story that really hooks you in.”
“Took a while to get going, lots of fetch quests and visiting the same locations until the 'thing happens'. Frustrating play with old graphics on a PC and tiny text that was hard to read sometimes. It felt like filler and should have been wrapped up much quicker.”
“The gameplay feels repetitive, the story lacks depth, and technical issues further detract from the overall experience.”
“Suffer the night has an interesting story and some fun ideas but is let down by being overly repetitive.”
- gameplay33 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, featuring unique mechanics like a scanner for detecting hidden items and interesting visual storytelling, which some players found engaging and immersive. However, many reviewers criticized the repetitive nature, technical issues, and clunky controls that detracted from the overall experience, leading to a lack of tension and enjoyment. While some sections were praised for their creativity and atmosphere, others felt uninspired and tedious, resulting in a polarized reception regarding the gameplay quality.
“Fun gameplay, unique story, pretty good level design as well as mechanics, and great voice acting, especially the villain who is hitting all the right notes and has a wonderful sense of toying with victims like a cat playing with mice.”
“There were a lot of very cool (and sometimes trippy) visuals and storytelling devices used in the game paired with unique gameplay mechanics to both propel the story and captivate audiences' attention that dived deeper into the eerie and dark storyline of the protagonist.”
“Overall, 'Suffer the Night' is a lot of fun, with a great story, great scares, a strong mix of combat, survival, and unique gameplay ideas all blending together and a story that really hooks you in.”
“The gameplay feels repetitive, the story lacks depth, and technical issues further detract from the overall experience.”
“Instead of what could have been a really intense horror experience, we got random gameplay that had little to no tension and gave the player means of fighting back.”
“The rest of the gameplay is mostly a walking simulator with budget platformer elements which are buggy as hell, and traps can sometimes instantly kill you.”
- music17 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising the good soundtrack, voice acting, and eerie sound design that enhances the horror atmosphere. However, some players noted that certain tracks, particularly in lengthy sections like the funhouse, become repetitive and detract from the experience. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's vibe, its repetitiveness can be a drawback for players who spend extended time in specific areas.
“Good soundtrack, good voice acting, interesting setting.”
“The soundtrack was eerie and definitely added to the mystery/horror.”
“The sound design and music (especially the synthwave/retrowave) was chef's kiss.”
“This is the longest section of the entire game, and this one song plays over almost all of it, being interrupted occasionally by boss music.”
“If I have any complaints, it is this: the music does get a bit repetitive, especially if you are thorough and spend a lot of time in each area.”
“The game's music, however, is pretty repetitive and annoying.”
- graphics15 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the beautiful and detailed visuals that create a creepy atmosphere, while others criticize the outdated graphics and readability issues, particularly on older PCs. The game features a variety of artistic styles across different sections, enhancing the eerie storytelling, but some players noted technical flaws like clipping through walls. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered decent, they can be inconsistent and sometimes detract from the gameplay experience.
“A lot of presentation, creepiness, and well put out graphics make this an easy recommendation.”
“The graphics were beautiful and detailed.”
“Overall graphics are nice, with a nice suspenseful atmosphere.”
“Took a while to get going, lots of fetch quests and visiting the same locations until the 'thing happens', frustrating play of old graphics on a PC with tiny text that was hard to read sometimes, felt like a filler and should have been wrapped up much quicker.”
“The screens and videos may appear misleading that this is some kind of FPS horror game; it is and it isn't, to be honest. I spent almost an hour running around a house playing a boring graphic adventure with text almost impossible to read.”
“By using the scanner, you get a wide shot so you can see the whole room, but as the scanner shows everything in black and white, you miss the pleasure of seeing the graphics.”
- atmosphere13 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 38 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is highly praised for its ability to create tension and suspense, effectively immersing players in a creepy and unsettling environment. While some aspects, like level design, may feel basic, the overall experience is enriched by a strong narrative focus and a blend of horror and adventure elements. Players appreciate the game's commitment to building a captivating atmosphere rather than relying solely on traditional jump scares.
“It does an amazing job of creating tension and atmosphere.”
“They did an amazing job at setting up the atmosphere and the villain is creepy as heck.”
“You can feel adventure and horror atmosphere at the same time.”
“The level design is basic and feels really amateur; I don't know how the opening has so much suspense and atmosphere, it feels like two different developers worked on this.”
“It was when you get sucked into the game that changes the atmosphere into a dungeon-crawler/puzzle game.”
“Despite getting the bad ending, I thoroughly enjoyed the gameplay mechanics, story, and overall atmosphere of the game.”
- grinding11 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, with many puzzles feeling uninspired and requiring little thought. While the game starts strong, it quickly devolves into a cycle of backtracking and monotonous tasks that detract from the initial enjoyment. Despite some unique elements, the gameplay often becomes frustrating and lacks variety, leading to a mediocre experience.
“The intro sequence was suspenseful and interesting, but what follows is a really annoying game of 'puzzle' solving where all the puzzles are copy-pastes of one another and don't require much thought or effort to complete; they become tedious and are plainly mediocre.”
“Outside of that, the rest of the game is a tedious, mediocre nightmare with uninspired boss fights, slow movement, and a ridiculous amount of backtracking to lackluster areas to try to get everything.”
“It goes from being a horror game to a boring dungeon crawler with tedious puzzles, instant kill traps, and dull combat.”
- stability4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while many players report a relatively bug-free experience, others encounter significant issues such as game-breaking glitches and frustrating instant-death traps. Some minor bugs persist, prompting players to seek developer support for fixes.
“The game offers a relatively bug-free gameplay experience.”
“I appreciate the stability of the game; it runs smoothly without crashes.”
“The consistent performance and lack of glitches make for an enjoyable experience.”
“The rest of the gameplay is mostly a walking simulator with budget platformer elements, which are buggy as hell. Traps can sometimes instantly kill you (I'm looking at you, spiky floor puzzle).”
“A few minor glitches with the scanner made me have to die to fix or reload.”
“The only negatives I have to mention are some small glitches still present. I sent an email to the developer and I hope they address it if possible.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been noted to have some issues, such as misaligned hitboxes in the pause menu and occasional stuttering in character animations. While the voice acting is praised, these technical flaws detract from the overall experience.
“I'm not exactly working with the most optimized equipment, but I do notice that the hitboxes for the buttons on the pause menu are a tad off, and sometimes Stacey suddenly pauses in her walk cycles at weird frequencies.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Users generally find the game to have high replayability, with many describing it as infinitely or nearly infinitely replayable, suggesting a strong incentive to revisit the game multiple times.
“The game is infinitely replayable, offering new experiences with each playthrough.”
“I find myself coming back to this game time and time again; the replayability is outstanding!”
“Every run feels fresh and exciting, making it a game I can play endlessly.”
“The game lacks meaningful choices, making replayability feel pointless.”
“Once you've completed the main story, there's little incentive to play again.”
“The limited variety in gameplay mechanics significantly reduces replay value.”
