The Basilisk

About

The Basilisk is a single player simulation game with violence and erotic themes. It was developed by Joshua Hughes and was released on July 24, 2018. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

The Basilisk is a genre-swapping horror platformer that focuses on you, a supercomputer, as the last hope to save mankind from an unknown virus. If you suffer from mental health issues, play at your own risk.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

78%

Audience ScoreBased on 36 reviews

story8 positive mentions

gameplay3 negative mentions

The game features a unique and engaging core mechanic that keeps gameplay interesting.
The atmosphere, sound design, and music effectively create a suspenseful experience.
At its low price point, the game offers a worthwhile experience with a compelling story and varied gameplay.

The game suffers from frustrating controls and a lack of a save system, making it difficult for some players to progress.
There are abrupt shifts in gameplay, introducing disjointed minigames that detract from the overall experience.
The graphics and visual effects can be hard to look at for extended periods, which may affect playability for some users.

story
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
39%
17%
The game's story is praised for its creativity and engaging elements, with some users highlighting its psychological and philosophical themes, as well as high-quality voice acting. However, there are criticisms regarding plot holes and a decline in quality as the narrative progresses, leaving some players wanting a more fleshed-out experience. Overall, while the story captivates initially, it ultimately fails to maintain its momentum.
- “Simple and varied gameplay with a thrilling story and high-production visuals.”
- “The story is great, though I would have loved to have seen it fleshed out a bit more as I was hooked on the ideas that the previous game Archimedes and the Basilisk created.”
- “The story is cool and it has voice acting.”
- “There are a few plot holes, but besides that, it's very sick.”
- “Playing that before playing The Basilisk adds nothing to your comprehension of the story.”
- “2 hours or so of puzzle platformer set in a twisted story.”
gameplay
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
50%
30%
The gameplay is characterized by simple yet varied mechanics centered around navigating obstacles with a unique color-matching twist, ensuring a consistently engaging experience. Clever level design and high-production visuals complement the core mechanics, preventing monotony and enhancing the overall enjoyment. Players appreciate the balance between straightforward gameplay and the innovative challenges presented throughout the game.
- “Simple and varied gameplay with a thrilling story and high-production visuals.”
- “While the mechanics were fairly simple, the change of style really kept it interesting from start to finish, and it never felt boring or repetitive at any point.”
- “Ok gameplay that is made up through the genius story.”
- “The level design itself is quite clever and the mechanics are solid; at its core, the game is about jumping over and across obstacles in an attempt to reach the 'spark' at the end of each level, but the twist is that your square has four different coloured sides, and you can't touch any coloured object with a side of a different colour or you die.”
- “While the mechanics were fairly simple, the change of style really kept it interesting from start to finish and it never felt boring or repetitive at any point.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The game's graphics are described as simplistic yet fitting for its theme, effectively evoking a sense of war games and supercomputing. However, a distracting filter detracts from the visual experience, making it uncomfortable to view for extended periods. Overall, while the graphics align with the game's intent, the filter significantly impacts player enjoyment.
- “Simple and varied gameplay with a thrilling story and high-production visuals.”
- “The game's graphics and sound are perfect for what it is; both are simplistic and evoke a wonderful sense of war games-y supercomputering, which is exactly what they should do.”
- “Simple and varied gameplay with a thrilling story and high-production visuals.”
- “The virus doesn't even fit the graphical scheme of the game, but that's the least of the problems.”
- “The graphics are basic, which is completely fine given the game, but it has this god awful filter that makes it very hard to look at.”
- “That's not me saying anything about aesthetics, just that the filter literally makes it hard to look at the screen for very long.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The music in the game is initially described as beautiful and atmospheric, enhancing a lightweight psychological and philosophical experience. However, as the story progresses, the overall quality diminishes, though the sound design continues to evoke tension and unease, culminating in a final music minigame.
- “At the beginning, the game carries itself in a lightweight psychological and philosophical spirit in the company of beautiful music, making it a very nice game to unwind.”
- “In the end, you have one final music minigame and then a choice.”
- “The atmosphere created throughout from the use of music and sound effects was done so well, and there were a lot of moments where I felt on edge and creeped because of this.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players express frustration with the game's replayability, noting that the addition of new content after each completion does not enhance the experience, particularly due to the inability to skip most dialogue. This limits the incentive to replay the game, as the repetitive nature of the dialogue detracts from the overall enjoyment.
- “I really don't understand how they thought adding additional content every time you finish the game would add to this game's replay value, especially since the first dialogue is the only one that can be skipped.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its effective use of music and sound effects, which successfully create a tense and unsettling environment that keeps players on edge.
- “The atmosphere created throughout the game, from the use of music and sound effects, was done so well. There were many moments where I felt on edge and creeped out because of this.”