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Syndrome

Great production design can’t save this frustrating bundle of clichés
Syndrome Game Cover
63%Game Brain Score
story, atmosphere
stability, optimization
66% User Score Based on 199 reviews
Critic Score 50%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

Nintendo SwitchXbox Series X|SPCPlaystation 5Mac OSPlaystation 4Xbox OneXboxWindowsPlayStation
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Syndrome Game Cover

About

Syndrome is a single player survival shooter game with horror and science fiction themes. It was developed by Camel101 and was released on October 6, 2016. It received neutral reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

"Syndrome" is a single-player, horror shooter game with an intriguing sci-fi story set aboard the abandoned spaceship, Valkenburg. Players must uncover the truth behind their crew's death while battling powerful enemies with scarce ammo, relying on stealth and evasion to survive. With good graphics and a beautiful atmosphere, the game provides a claustrophobic and horrifying experience for players. However, be aware of the numerous bugs that may affect gameplay.

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Syndrome screenshot
Syndrome screenshot
Syndrome screenshot
Syndrome screenshot
Syndrome screenshot
Syndrome screenshot
Syndrome screenshot
Syndrome screenshot
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66%
Audience ScoreBased on 199 reviews
story29 positive mentions
stability15 negative mentions
  • The game has a great atmosphere with impressive sound design that enhances the horror experience.
  • The graphics are visually appealing, creating a dark and immersive environment reminiscent of classic sci-fi horror games.
  • The story, while not entirely original, has some interesting twists and keeps players engaged.
  • The gameplay suffers from excessive backtracking, making the experience tedious and frustrating.
  • The combat mechanics are clunky and inconsistent, with enemies often feeling like bullet sponges.
  • There are numerous bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including issues with saving and character movement.
  • story
    109 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story has been described as unoriginal and predictable, often relying on familiar horror tropes and clichés, such as a derelict ship and a crew gone mad. While some players found the narrative engaging with a few surprising twists, many criticized it for being bogged down by repetitive fetch quests and clunky gameplay mechanics that detracted from the overall experience. Despite its shortcomings, the atmosphere and setting were noted as strong points, contributing to a tense and immersive experience.

    • “While the story might not break new ground, it has some cool twists, keeping the narrative open until the end.”
    • “But it also has an amazingly terrifying atmosphere and an interesting story with some surprises.”
    • “The story is quite familiar if you've played any of the above, but it dishes it out in small piecemeal chunks in an effective way.”
    • “The game's story is about as basic as it gets, and you can tell this game was a very quickly put together piece of crap for some quick cash.”
    • “The story is uninspired, dull, and boils down to a giant fetch quest!”
    • “The story is pretty much System Shock 2 with serial numbers filed off, and the entire concept/twist of the story on what went wrong on the ship is told to you in the literal first frame of the intro.”
  • atmosphere
    76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its dark, eerie, and immersive qualities, effectively creating a sense of dread and tension that enhances the horror experience. Many reviewers highlight the impressive audio design and lighting effects, which contribute to a captivating environment reminiscent of classic titles like "Alien: Isolation" and "System Shock." However, some players note that technical issues, such as optimization problems, can detract from the overall experience, despite the strong atmospheric foundation.

    • “The attention to detail in the environments is done well and coupled with the lighting effects, it makes for a very tense atmosphere.”
    • “What the game unquestionably nails is atmosphere—especially the lighting and the sound design, keeping you constantly on-edge before any action even begins.”
    • “The atmosphere is thick with dread, and the grotesque enemies will have you checking every corner.”
    • “The game squanders the initial atmosphere for gore and jump scares.”
    • “Running the game maxed out, you will become more forgiving of its shortcomings and appreciate the atmosphere it creates through the careful use of audio and visual cues, mimicking hallucinations.”
  • gameplay
    69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of this title has been widely criticized for its clunky mechanics, excessive backtracking, and reliance on repetitive fetch quests, leading to a tedious experience. Many players noted technical issues such as glitches and poor combat mechanics, which detracted from the overall enjoyment. While some appreciated the game's atmosphere and visual design, the execution of gameplay elements fell short, making it feel unoriginal and frustrating.

    • “Despite its unoriginality, it still gives what you expect: decent gameplay, pretty good graphics, and chills up your spine.”
    • “The gameplay has a lot of sneaking around, but overall, it just feels like a giant series of fetch quests.”
    • “It's very reminiscent of that game, from mechanics to atmosphere to actual plot.”
    • “This game is an amateurish, low-budget, simplistic 'go fetch' kind of gameplay, with a ton of backtracking on the same pitch-black levels (way worse than Doom 3 or Fear 1).”
    • “However, I eventually realized that the whole game is just 13 hours (according to How Long to Beat) of blatant fetch quests using the same gameplay mechanics over and over again.”
    • “The gameplay is clunky at best, and the running mechanic runs out when you need it the most.”
  • graphics
    39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the detailed visuals and atmospheric design, while others criticize performance issues such as stuttering and poor optimization. Although the art style and lighting are often highlighted as strong points, some players find the graphics derivative and lacking polish in certain areas. Overall, while the visuals contribute positively to the game's atmosphere, technical shortcomings detract from the experience for many users.

    • “The game has a spooky atmosphere, accompanied by its great visuals.”
    • “The visuals were stunning, the audio directing was out of this world, and the character interactions were carefully worded and executed.”
    • “The graphics are really good with a great use of shadows, but some details could use a bit of polishing.”
    • “Terrible graphics, confusing level design, clunky movement, and a weak story.”
    • “- graphical stuttering constantly, no vsync options”
    • “Graphics are quite bad; well, pretty much everything is bad except the atmosphere of the game, which seems okay.”
  • stability
    15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of bugs and glitches that significantly hinder gameplay, such as inventory issues, erratic controller sensitivity, and game freezes. Players are advised to avoid using controllers and to create multiple save files due to buggy save mechanics. Overall, the lack of polish and frequent technical problems make the game frustrating and often unplayable.

    • “There are also lots of glitches (the game changing my controller sensitivity after I rode the elevator, my weapons becoming invisible or not switching, etc.), but those are minor compared to the pacing and gameplay issues.”
    • “On your journey through this mess you will encounter: bugs, glitches (you will sometimes go through objects and fall down through the levels, also you will be seeing monsters literally walking through the walls and doorways), sound disappearance, inventory button suddenly would just stop working... close combat mechanics are a bad joke here, a very bad joke; I'm not even going to describe it, go and see for yourself if you dare.”
    • “The glitches made the game unplayable, and eventually I rage-quit due to the jittery gameplay.”
  • optimization
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is widely criticized, with players experiencing significant stuttering and performance drops, particularly during enemy encounters, despite having high-end hardware. While the atmosphere and graphics are praised, issues like clipping, clunky controls, and a lack of vsync options detract from the overall experience, leading to a frustrating gameplay experience. Many users suggest that even lowering the graphics settings does not resolve the performance issues.

    • “Other than that, performance is good.”
    • “The game starts out well; it runs smoothly and the art style is great.”
    • “This is horribly optimized (pun intended). The atmosphere, audio design, and graphics are great, and it seems like a really good game. However, when I'm wandering around finding things, everything runs fine, but the second an enemy comes on screen, everything becomes a stuttering mess. I am running this on a 4080 Super.”
    • “- Graphical stuttering constantly, even when running at substantially lower resolution than the system can handle and achieving triple what my framerate could be.”
    • “Disappointing. The game story and atmosphere are intriguing, but the graphics performance is bad.”
  • music
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received high praise for its minimalistic yet immersive quality, effectively enhancing the overall atmosphere and tension. Reviewers noted that while there is little traditional music, the ambient sounds and synth elements contribute significantly to the eerie vibe, creating a haunting experience that complements the game's visuals and gameplay. Overall, the soundtrack is considered impressive and integral to the game's horror elements.

    • “What the game unquestionably nails is atmosphere—especially the lighting and the sound design (minimalist synth music, the low hum of engines, hissing of steam pipes, unknown items falling off some faraway shelf and clanking to the metal floor, the jump-scary-loud whooshing of automatic doors opening and closing as you walk past).”
    • “The music and ambience feel immersive, and the game has a good atmosphere.”
    • “There's no music in the game (it seemed) but a lot of ambient sounds that contribute a lot to the horror tension.”
    • “The music when walking around is very minimalistic and it helps, letting you really drown yourself between your footsteps and your mind playing tricks on you.”
    • “Nice graphics and surprisingly well made visual effects, the soundtrack also added an eerie vibe to the gameplay.”
  • grinding
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, primarily due to repetitive backtracking across multiple decks to complete objectives. This results in prolonged, monotonous tasks that detract from overall enjoyment and engagement, leading to frustration and a loss of interest in the game's other features.

    • “Objectives are always the same, involving very tedious backtracking. There are 8 decks on the ship, and you are constantly going from deck to deck to grab or check something.”
    • “Things that were already tedious got dragged out into half-hour long chores, and it got to the point where not only was the game not fun, I just couldn't maintain interest in anything else it might have to offer.”
    • “Never before have I experienced such a tedious padding of a video game.”
  • emotional
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is generally perceived as lacking depth, with players feeling little attachment to the characters or their struggles. While it may provide a timely distraction, it is criticized for being unoriginal and not offering any thought-provoking twists.

  • humor
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is described as dark and unsettling, with crewmembers engaging in self-harm while maintaining a cheerful demeanor, which some players find disturbing rather than amusing. Overall, the humor may not resonate positively with all players, as it often crosses into uncomfortable territory.

    • “You read accounts of crewmembers purposely disfiguring and dismembering themselves with a smile, adding how things are better without eyes, or simply laughing gleefully.”
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50%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
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20h Median play time
20h Average play time
20-20h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Syndrome is a survival shooter game with horror and science fiction themes.

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

On average players spend around 20 hours playing Syndrome.

Syndrome was released on October 6, 2016.

Syndrome was developed by Camel101.

Syndrome has received neutral reviews from players and neutral reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its stability.

Syndrome is a single player game.

Similar games include Solarix, HYPERVIOLENT, The Evil Within, Prey, Beyond Hanwell and others.