The Initiate

67%
Game Brain Score Based on 137 reviews
  • story
  • atmosphere
  • graphics
The Initiate Game Cover
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"The Initiate: Heresy' is a narrative-driven puzzle adventure game where players uncover the secrets of an ancient Egyptian society. As an initiate of a mysterious order, you must solve puzzles, explore tombs, and decipher hieroglyphs to progress. With a strong focus on story and atmosphere, players will be immersed in a world of intrigue and deception. However, beware, for not everything is as it seems."

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

67%
Audience ScoreBased on 137 reviews
story14 positive mentions
stability14 negative mentions
  • The game features well-designed puzzles that are challenging yet satisfying to solve, providing a rewarding experience for players.
  • The atmosphere is immersive and creepy, enhanced by good voice acting and sound design, which adds to the overall tension without relying on jump scares.
  • The game encourages exploration and note-taking, making it engaging for players who enjoy unraveling mysteries and piecing together clues.
  • The game is plagued by bugs and glitches, including issues with saving, objects reappearing, and some puzzles not registering as complete, which can disrupt gameplay.
  • The story lacks depth and resolution, leaving many questions unanswered and resulting in a somewhat unsatisfying ending.
  • Navigation can be frustrating due to awkward controls and occasional character clipping, which detracts from the overall experience.
  • story37 mentions

    The game's story is often criticized for being vague and lacking depth, with many players feeling that it fails to provide a satisfying conclusion or character development. While some appreciate the engaging atmosphere and the presence of a humorous narrator, others find the narrative uninspired and repetitive, leading to a sense of disappointment. Overall, the story serves as a backdrop to the gameplay but leaves many players wanting more in terms of clarity and resolution.

    • “It's very engaging, and the story, although not deep, gives your journey a bit of purpose; that combined with a GLaDOS-esque (albeit human) narrator that sarcastically comments on your progress and is also tied into the story, makes for a fun and interesting playthrough.”
    • “The game has fun challenges, an interesting little story, and good atmosphere.”
    • “Really enjoyed the puzzles and the story of this game in the beginning and middle.”
    • “But the story is non-existent here.”
    • “The story is incredibly boring--and the ending was a huge boring let down.”
    • “There is absolutely no character development or story advancement; you could shuffle the notes and place them randomly - or omit them entirely - without causing any confusion.”
  • atmosphere23 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is consistently praised for its creepy and immersive qualities, effectively enhancing the puzzle-solving experience. Reviewers highlight the combination of dark visuals, engaging music, and a thrilling narrative that collectively create a tense environment, although some note that it leans more towards a puzzle game than a horror experience. Overall, the atmosphere is a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal.

    • “The game incorporates a variety of common puzzle types while maneuvering within a thriller atmosphere.”
    • “However, the music and narrative work wonderfully to create a thrilling - and sometimes creepy - atmosphere.”
    • “Well designed puzzles and a creepy atmosphere put the pressure to solve the puzzles faster.”
    • “The game partially achieves the atmosphere it wants.”
    • “It has a creepy atmosphere, but it is more of a puzzle game than a horror game, so it's not really scary.”
    • “No monsters, just a sometimes creepy atmosphere.”
  • graphics23 mentions

    The graphics in the game are generally described as decent to good, with some players appreciating the crisp visuals and interesting locations, while others noted issues like texture glitches and a lack of advanced settings such as 4K support. Despite some optimization problems leading to performance issues on high-end PCs, the overall aesthetic contributes positively to the gameplay experience. However, the absence of more comprehensive graphics options has disappointed some users.

    • “The graphics are crisp, and even though I usually get motion sick in first-person games, I didn’t have that trouble with this one.”
    • “The graphics were great, voice acting, story, all top notch.”
    • “Interesting location, graphics are great, some really great puzzles.”
    • “As much as this game nails everything you want from gameplay, performance, and fun, the neglect in the graphics settings menu is disappointing.”
    • “First, the highest graphics setting is 2560x1440 with no ultra-wide support.”
    • “Even on a $700 gaming PC (which can stream games like Overwatch and League of Legends at maximum graphics and high FPS), this game with Nancy Drew-level graphics ran at about 60 seconds per frame.”
  • gameplay15 mentions

    Gameplay is primarily first-person and set in a detailed house, but players find it heavily reliant on note-taking to solve puzzles, which are often seen as uninspired and mechanical. While the game offers a decent length of playtime, it suffers from clunky mechanics, glitches, and frustrating elements like a poorly implemented flashlight and crawl mechanic. Overall, despite some enjoyable moments, the gameplay experience is marred by design flaws and a lack of engaging challenges.

    • “Gameplay in the initiate is first person and is set in a very detailed house that feels like an actual house.”
    • “The puzzles made the gameplay long enough to be worth the price of the game.”
    • “Gfx are nicely simple, gameplay is smooth.”
    • “Honestly, the trailer is not representative of the actual gameplay.”
    • “There are no real mechanical puzzles except for some levers or items needing to be rotated into certain arbitrary positions to open up other parts of the house.”
    • “Puzzles were unimaginative (find five of this, eight of that) and required lots of running around; gameplay was clunky and doors always opened in your face.”
  • stability14 mentions

    The game's stability has been criticized for various minor glitches and bugs, including issues with achievements not triggering, objects reappearing, and occasional crashes, particularly after loading saved games. While these problems can detract from the experience, many players still found the game enjoyable and worth the price despite its unpolished nature. Overall, it appears to be a mix of immersive gameplay with some frustrating technical issues.

    • “Very buggy; most achievements did not register; some puzzles gave a completion event in spite of not being complete, while others did not register as complete in spite of being completed.”
    • “Couldn't play the game; after the first cutscene it loads and crashes at different stages. The most I could get was a black screen and then it freezes.”
    • “There were a few glitches that typically happened after loading a saved game.”
  • music10 mentions

    The music in the game is generally well-received, contributing effectively to a thrilling and creepy atmosphere that enhances the mystery and horror elements. While some players noted that the music can be minimal at times, others praised its quality and ability to evoke tension, particularly in conjunction with sound effects. However, technical issues have affected some players' experiences, leading to frustration with the game's performance.

    • “However, the music and narrative work wonderfully to create a thrilling - and sometimes creepy - atmosphere.”
    • “The music was great and also the sounds around the house.”
    • “The music is very good horror-stress fare; kudos on that.”
    • “And music is almost nonexistent.”
    • “Unfortunately, the game keeps crashing after the first cutscene. I tried everything to get it to scene number 2, but it keeps crashing or the screen just stays black with music playing. I really wanted to try out this game but can't get it to act right and play.”
    • “Its mainly a puzzle/mystery game, though the music and atmosphere provoke horror genre vibes.”
  • optimization5 mentions

    The game's optimization has received criticism for its lack of comprehensive graphics settings and frequent performance issues, including major stuttering and lag, particularly during camera movements. Players have reported overheating concerns with high-end hardware, indicating that the programming could be significantly improved despite the overall positive gameplay experience.

    • “The optimization in this game is impressive, allowing for smooth gameplay even on lower-end systems.”
    • “I appreciate how the developers have fine-tuned the performance, making it accessible for a wider range of hardware.”
    • “The game runs flawlessly after the latest optimization patch, enhancing the overall experience significantly.”
    • “There's major stuttering quite often (mostly when I turn around and swing the camera back), and the player gets stuck on random geometry a lot.”
    • “After an hour or so of playing time, the game developed severe stuttering and lag.”
    • “My review is positive, but I must admit the programming was really poorly optimized; I was running temps over 75ºC with my GTX 1080 Ti, that's absurd for such small games with poor graphics.”
  • grinding1 mentions

    Players found that while there was a particularly tedious underground section, its brevity prevented it from significantly detracting from the overall gaming experience.

    • “The grinding in this game feels endless and repetitive, making it hard to stay engaged.”
    • “I found myself doing the same tasks over and over again, which quickly became boring.”
    • “The amount of grinding required to progress is overwhelming and detracts from the overall experience.”
  • humor1 mentions

    The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players finding it amusing, though some note that certain achievements may come off as awkward or poorly executed.

    • “Pretty good and kind of funny; one of the achievements is a bit wonky, though.”
  • emotional1 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is criticized for its boring story, suggesting that the narrative lacks depth and engagement, indicating a need for better writing talent in game development.

    • “The story felt incredibly boring and lacked any emotional depth.”
    • “Not all game developers are good writers; they should consider hiring someone to craft a compelling narrative.”
    • “The emotional aspects of the game fell flat and failed to engage me.”
  • character development1 mentions

    Reviews indicate a significant lack of character development, with players noting that the narrative feels stagnant and disconnected, to the point where story elements could be rearranged or removed without impacting the overall experience.

    • “There is absolutely no character development or story advancement; you could shuffle the notes and place them randomly - or omit them entirely - without causing any confusion.”
    • “The characters feel flat and one-dimensional, making it hard to care about their journeys or decisions.”
    • “I expected a rich narrative with character growth, but instead, I was met with static personalities and predictable arcs.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

85% average critic score

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Play time

5hMedian play time
5hAverage play time
5-5hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs

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