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The Cecil: The Journey Begins

The Cecil: The Journey Begins Game Cover
59%Game Brain Score
story, music
gameplay, optimization
74% User Score Based on 31 reviews

Platforms

PCWindows
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The Cecil: The Journey Begins Game Cover

About

The Cecil: The Journey Begins is a single player survival shooter game with a horror theme. It was developed by Genie Interactive Games and was released on April 3, 2025. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

The Cecil: The Journey Begins is a first-person horror game where John wakes trapped in a dark cell of the eerie Cecil Hotel. As he battles terrifying monsters and navigates unsettling corridors, he must find and rescue Sarah before it's too late. The game offers intense, immersive gameplay filled with suspense and chilling encounters.

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The Cecil: The Journey Begins screenshot
The Cecil: The Journey Begins screenshot
The Cecil: The Journey Begins screenshot
The Cecil: The Journey Begins screenshot
The Cecil: The Journey Begins screenshot
The Cecil: The Journey Begins screenshot
The Cecil: The Journey Begins screenshot
The Cecil: The Journey Begins screenshot
The Cecil: The Journey Begins screenshot
The Cecil: The Journey Begins screenshot
The Cecil: The Journey Begins screenshot
+5
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74%
Audience ScoreBased on 31 reviews
story4 positive mentions
graphics3 negative mentions
  • The game features a captivating story with clever puzzles that keep players engaged and invested.
  • The atmosphere is eerie and immersive, with strong sound design and visuals that enhance the horror experience.
  • Despite some technical issues, many players appreciate the unique narrative and character depth, making it a memorable indie horror title.
  • The game suffers from significant optimization issues, leading to poor performance and frequent frame rate drops.
  • Players have encountered bugs that can lock them out of progress, causing frustration and hindering the overall experience.
  • The combat mechanics are clunky and repetitive, with enemy AI often failing to provide a challenging experience.
  • story
    19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is praised for its engaging and unsettling narrative, with strong character moments and clever puzzles that enhance the experience. While some players found the plot meandering and lacking payoff, the overall storytelling is considered unique and immersive, effectively drawing players into its eerie world. The combination of trauma, loss, and atmospheric horror elements contributes to a memorable journey, making it a standout in the indie horror genre.

    • “The game had good storytelling and really kept me wondering how it pieced together until the last act.”
    • “From the moment you step into its eerie, decaying world, you're pulled into a story that feels as unsettling as it is unforgettable.”
    • “While the journey begins with a decently strong start, the plot begins to meander somewhat and never feels like anything has much of a payoff.”
    • “This could well be a case of cut content or the development team being overly ambitious, but a slew of sections of the map, much like parts of the story, could do with editing and being trimmed down to a tighter package.”
    • “Cecil’s story unfolds gradually, hinting at trauma, loss, and something far darker beneath the surface.”
  • gameplay
    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is characterized by typical indie horror elements, focusing on item collection and puzzle-solving to progress the story, with smooth controls and a balanced difficulty curve. However, some players experienced framerate issues and repetitive combat mechanics, which detracted from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, the engaging level design and straightforward mechanics make it appealing for fans of classic survival and psychological horror games.

    • “The gameplay is smooth and intuitive, with responsive controls and a well-balanced difficulty curve that keeps things fun and challenging without becoming frustrating.”
    • “But it’s not all just visual horror—the gameplay is buttery smooth and deeply engaging.”
    • “With some promising mechanics and strong level design, this is an indie title worth trying.”
    • “The gameplay is fairly typical of indie horror games, with you generally looking for items to use in certain places to make progress through the story.”
    • “The combat mechanics feel repetitive, but if you're a fan of classic survival horror and psychological horror titles, you'll find joy in the level design and puzzles.”
    • “Game is still fresh, needs some polish, not well optimized, and needs more graphical and gameplay setting options.”
  • optimization
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The optimization of the game has received largely negative feedback, with many users describing it as "horrendous" and "abysmal." While some players noted improvements following a recent update, overall performance issues persist, indicating a need for further patches and enhancements. Many users also expressed a desire for more graphical and gameplay settings to improve their experience.

    • “The June update made a huge difference in performance for me.”
    • “I play in windowed borderless mode since I'm on an ultra-wide, and performance-wise, it was fantastic!”
    • “Everything runs smoothly, and I've not run into any problems other than the cecil trying to keep me inside!”
    • “The optimization is horrendous... yeesh.”
    • “There’s a lot of squandered potential and performance which need to be seriously looked at.”
    • “So far it's terrible, the optimization is abysmal, runs like crap, and yes I have an excellent card.”
  • graphics
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are generally praised for their immersive and gritty visuals that enhance the haunting narrative, creating a thoughtfully designed world. However, some users noted that while the graphics are unsettling and effective, there are areas for improvement, particularly in texture quality and optimization. Overall, the visuals contribute positively to the gameplay experience, though additional polish and settings options are desired.

    • “The visuals and music help create a world that feels alive and immersive, and every area I explored felt purposeful and thoughtfully designed.”
    • “The visuals are gritty and immersive, perfectly suiting the haunting tone of the narrative.”
    • “Graphics, especially textures, could have been better, but overall I was enjoying my first couple of hours and was planning to leave a positive review.”
    • “Game is still fresh, needs some polish, not well optimized, need more graphical and gameplay setting options.”
    • “The graphics are unsettling in all the right ways—creepy, twisted, and deliberately off-putting.”
  • atmosphere
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is consistently praised for its eerie and immersive qualities, featuring masterful sound design and well-placed jump scares that enhance the sense of dread. Reviewers highlight the depth of the characters and the engaging story that unfolds, making it a compelling experience for fans of horror that prioritizes atmosphere and narrative over mere surface-level scares. Overall, it creates a captivating and unsettling environment that keeps players deeply engaged.

    • “If you're a fan of horror that goes beyond surface-level scares and digs deep into atmosphere and story, this one's a must-play.”
    • “The atmosphere is thick with dread, the sound design is masterfully creepy, and the story slowly unravels in a way that keeps you glued to the screen, constantly questioning what's real.”
    • “From the moment the game boots up, it sinks its claws into you with an atmosphere that’s equal parts eerie and mesmerizing.”
    • “A very well-built game with an eerie atmosphere and well-placed jump scares.”
  • music
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game significantly enhances the atmosphere, contributing to a creepy and immersive experience that complements the thoughtfully designed visuals and environments. Players feel that the soundtrack plays a crucial role in making the game world feel alive and engaging.

    • “The visuals and music help create a world that feels alive and immersive, and every area I explored felt purposeful and thoughtfully designed.”
    • “Music really pulled it together and added the creepy factor.”
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Frequently Asked Questions

The Cecil: The Journey Begins is a survival shooter game with horror theme.

The Cecil: The Journey Begins is available on PC and Windows.

The Cecil: The Journey Begins was released on April 3, 2025.

The Cecil: The Journey Begins was developed by Genie Interactive Games.

The Cecil: The Journey Begins has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

The Cecil: The Journey Begins is a single player game.

Similar games include The Medium, Beyond Hanwell, The Shore, Mirror Forge, The Dark Occult and others.