Syndrome

About

"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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

68%

Audience ScoreBased on 189 reviews

story29 positive mentions

stability14 negative mentions

The game has a great atmosphere, effectively creating tension and fear throughout the experience.
The story, while not entirely original, has some interesting twists and keeps players engaged.
The graphics and sound design are impressive, contributing to the overall immersive experience.

There is excessive backtracking, which can make the gameplay feel tedious and repetitive.
The combat mechanics are clunky, with enemies often feeling like bullet sponges and the melee system being ineffective.
The game suffers from various bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay and immersion.

story
108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
69%
4%
The story of the game is generally considered engaging but unoriginal, often drawing comparisons to classic sci-fi horror narratives like "Event Horizon" and "System Shock 2." While it features some intriguing twists and a tense atmosphere, many players find the plot predictable and marred by excessive fetch quests and backtracking, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite its flaws, the narrative holds enough interest to warrant a playthrough, especially for fans of the genre.
- “While the story might not break new ground, it has some cool twists, keeping the narrative open until the end.”
- “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 story is nice, and it has a compelling narrative that keeps you guessing with a few twists and turns.”
- “In the middle of the game, the story becomes a little predictable about what is going to happen and even how it ends.”
- “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.”
- “The story, what little there is, is uninspired, dull and boils down to a giant fetch quest!”
atmosphere
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
42%
4%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its ability to evoke fear and tension, with many reviewers highlighting the effective use of lighting, sound design, and environmental detail to create a dark and eerie setting reminiscent of classic horror titles like "Alien: Isolation" and "System Shock." While some players noted that the atmosphere can feel derivative or repetitive over time, the overall consensus is that it successfully immerses players in a suspenseful and creepy experience, making it a standout feature of the game.
- “The atmosphere is thick with dread, and the grotesque enemies will have you checking every corner.”
- “What the game unquestionably nails is atmosphere—especially the lighting (flickering shadows, ink black corners, smoke hanging directly at eye level, epileptic fluorescent lighting kicking on and off) 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 game squanders the initial atmosphere for gore and jump scares.”
- “The atmosphere, however, can't be faulted, and the sound is a particular stand-out, keeping you constantly on-edge before any action even begins; which is quite a ways in, and that's always a good thing in my book (way too many horror games overlook that slow-building 'suspense' thing which is so integral to their success).”
- “No idea about how fun it is because I had to stop playing it very early due to weird screen tear when going into a crouched pose and just overall atmosphere, feeling in my mouse and movement all caused me to feel like motion sick for the first time in my life.”
gameplay
68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
74%
12%
The gameplay of the game has been widely criticized for its clunky mechanics, repetitive fetch quests, and poor pacing, leading to a frustrating experience for players. Many reviewers noted significant technical issues, such as glitches and unresponsive controls, which detracted from the overall enjoyment. While some aspects, like graphics and atmosphere, received praise, the gameplay itself is often described as uninspired and lacking depth, making it feel more like a chore than an engaging experience.
- “The combat mechanics are simple, but effective.”
- “Despite its unoriginality, it still gives what you expect; decent gameplay, pretty good graphics, and chills up your spine.”
- “This game was always going to be mediocre due to the sloppy combat and stealth gameplay, but it's the pacing that really kills it.”
- “The gameplay is clunky at best, and the running mechanic runs out when you need it the most.”
- “The gameplay has a lot of sneaking around, but overall, it just feels like a giant series of fetch quests.”
graphics
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
48%
8%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the atmospheric visuals and attention to detail, while others note issues like graphical stuttering and mediocre model quality. Overall, the visuals are described as decent to good, contributing positively to the game's eerie atmosphere, though some players found them derivative or lacking polish in certain areas. Despite some performance concerns, the lighting and sound design are frequently highlighted as strong points that enhance the overall experience.
- “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.”
- “Graphically and level design wise there was clearly a ton of effort put into it by the developer, but the actual gameplay and story isn't up to snuff and the absolutely unnecessary 5-6 hours of backtracking kills the game.”
- “- 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 is intriguing, but the graphics performance is bad.”
stability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is heavily criticized, with numerous reports of glitches, bugs, and unresponsive mechanics that significantly hinder gameplay. Players have experienced issues such as disappearing weapons, erratic save functions, and game freezes, leading to frustration and even rage-quitting. While some acknowledge the small development team's efforts, the overall lack of polish and stability makes the game feel unplayable for many.
- “The glitches made the game unplayable, and eventually I rage-quit due to the jittery gameplay.”
- “There's a part about 10 minutes in where you need to access a terminal to restore power, but as soon as you get into the terminal, the game freezes and doesn't receive any input whatsoever.”
- “The lack of polish is pretty obvious - it's a three-man development team and they're only human - Camel 101 did a hell of a job with this for such a small crew, but that doesn't alter the bugs, from falling through floors, to flaky AI, to buggy saves with resurrected dead enemies, there are some real rough edges here which a bigger team would have been able to smooth over.”
music
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
11%
33%
The music in the game has been praised for its minimalistic yet immersive quality, effectively enhancing the overall atmosphere and horror tension. Reviewers noted that while there may not be a traditional soundtrack, the ambient sounds and synth music contribute significantly to the game's eerie vibe, creating a captivating experience. Overall, the sound design is considered impressive, with a strong emphasis on atmosphere.
- “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).”
- “Nice graphics and surprisingly well-made visual effects, the soundtrack also added an eerie vibe to the gameplay.”
- “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.”
- “What the game unquestionably nails is atmosphere—especially the lighting (flickering shadows, ink black corners, smoke hanging directly at eye level, epileptic fluorescent lighting kicking on and off) 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).”
optimization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
13%
63%
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it offers a fantastic atmosphere and engaging gameplay, players report significant issues such as constant graphical stuttering, clipping, and clunky controls. Despite some initial smooth performance, the overall experience is marred by these technical problems, making it frustrating at times, even on lower settings.
- “The game starts out well; it runs smoothly and the art style is great.”
- “Other than that, performance is good.”
- “Graphical stuttering constantly, no VSync options.”
- “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 is intriguing, but the graphics performance is bad.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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 lack 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 in a video game.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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 temporary distraction, it is criticized for being unoriginal and not offering any thought-provoking elements.
- “To be frank, this game appeared at a perfect time for me, given the heart-breaking news that Outlast 2 wouldn't be released in time for this Halloween.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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 appears to be divisive, eliciting more discomfort than laughter.
- “You read accounts of crewmembers purposely disfiguring and dismembering themselves with a smile, adding how things are better without eyes, or simply laughing gleefully.”