The Initiate: The First Interviews

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The Initiate: The First Interviews is a single player action adventure game with horror and mystery themes. It was developed by Deceptive Games and was released on May 8, 2019. It received very positive reviews from players.

The Game The Initiate 2: The First Interviews is a first person mystery puzzle game set in a secret remote location, and tells the story of three individuals as they try to escape their mysterious captors. The Story With little memory of how they got there, three people awake in adjacent cells. A voice bellows from a wall speaker. "Welcome to your trial - Your goal is simple, escape or die". Thi…

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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90%

Audience ScoreBased on 81 reviews

story8 positive mentions

stability8 negative mentions

The game features a unique mechanic of controlling three characters, which adds complexity and variety to the puzzle-solving experience.
Puzzles are engaging and well-designed, providing a good balance of challenge without being overly frustrating.
The atmosphere and graphics contribute to an immersive experience, enhancing the overall enjoyment of the game.

The game suffers from various bugs and technical issues, including problems with the inventory system and some puzzles not triggering correctly.
There is a lack of polish in certain areas, such as character models and the overall user interface, which detracts from the experience.
Some puzzles are poorly worded or require exact answers, leading to confusion and frustration for players.

story
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
50%
14%
The story in this game is generally seen as an improvement over its predecessor, featuring multiple characters and a dark narrative that unfolds through exploration and puzzle-solving. While some players appreciated the voice acting and the engaging twists, others found the plot predictable and poorly written, suggesting that the focus remains primarily on the puzzles rather than the storyline itself. Overall, the narrative adds some depth to the gameplay, but opinions vary on its execution and relevance.
- “Huge improvement over the first game, with puzzles that are mostly not obtuse and pixel-hunty, and a pretty decent story (especially compared to its predecessor).”
- “There's a dark story that's fun to unravel and the entire experience feels like some Twilight Zone episode gone wrong and distilled into an old school point-and-click adventure that just so happens to play out in real-time FPS.”
- “I enjoyed watching the story unfold.”
- “However, the story is too obvious; I figured out way too early the 'connection' between Sam and Ben.”
- “The story is laughably poorly written.”
- “The focus of the game really are the puzzles, as the story is forgettable.”
graphics
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
29%
18%
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players finding them passable or decent, while others criticize them as subpar, especially in character design compared to the environment. Although the game effectively creates an immersive atmosphere, many users feel that improvements could be made, particularly given the game's larger scale and complexity. Overall, while some aspects of the graphics are appreciated, there is a consensus that they fall short of expectations.
- “Very good graphics and gameplay.”
- “Great atmosphere, voice acting, and graphics.”
- “It features a system of choices that matter with multiple endings, a multitude of puzzles to solve, multi-character control, well-done graphics, and sound to aid in an immersive experience.”
- “The graphics are just terrible as well.”
- “Right out the gate, I knew I was in trouble - no cancel button or any method of cancelling in the graphics menu, no audio settings, etc. The usual careless basic mistakes you see in some of these games.”
- “Graphics could be way better - I understand that this game is larger and more complex than the first one, but the drop in the graphics is significant.”
gameplay
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
60%
20%
The gameplay features a mix of intriguing puzzles and a unique three-character mechanic that encourages creative problem-solving, though it suffers from persistent quality issues like a clunky interface and bugs. While the new gameplay twist is appreciated, some players found the execution lacking, with slow performance and poorly designed mechanics leading to frustration. Overall, the gameplay is engaging but marred by technical shortcomings that detract from the experience.
- “You can switch characters with the press of a key, and this whole mechanic leads to some really intricate creative thinking that's outside of the usual box.”
- “I really loved the new multiple-characters mechanic they introduced in this game.”
- “Working between multiple characters was an interesting mechanic that is not something you normally see in escape room scenarios such as this.”
- “The puzzles are mostly great (except for the 'riddles') and there is a welcome new twist to the gameplay, but all the quality issues of the first game continue: clunky user interface, clicks not registering, bugs, broken English text, etc. If anything, this sequel seems even less polished than the first game.”
- “Even with the resolution down as far as it could reasonably go and all the bells and whistles turned off (except anti-aliasing, it wouldn't let me turn that off; it kept being checked even after I unchecked it and then restarted the game many times), gameplay is still too slow and jagged to be feasible.”
- “I had to use a guide three times - once to find an item that requires using a mechanic that's extremely poorly designed; once to learn that some event was bugged and required a restart; and once to solve a puzzle that has the completely wrong solution (but then it turns out to be unnecessary, it just gives you the password for some ARG I'm not interested in).”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability has received mixed feedback, with many users reporting various bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, including unsolvable riddles and character model issues. While some players find it generally playable despite these problems, others express frustration over the lack of thorough testing and the need for patches before release. Overall, the game is described as "buggy" but not entirely unplayable.
- “Not quite so buggy, although one of the riddles is unsolvable due to a failure of the developers to be able to add up - you'll need to look up the answer.”
- “A few bugs and glitches here and there; a couple of times I had to restart from my last saving point because I glitched out of the game and couldn't move.”
- “Very buggy game according to the reviews, discussion forum, and bugs forum.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The music in the game has received mixed feedback; while some players find the soundtrack engaging and professionally done, others are annoyed by its inability to be turned off and wish for more volume control to better hear other game sounds. Overall, the music contributes positively to the experience, though it may not appeal to everyone.
- “The voice acting was professionally done and the soundtrack is engaging and made me want to keep my headphones on.”
- “Graphics and music were good just like the first, except the people; their graphics weren't as well done as the environment around you, but again, it wasn't something that took away from the gameplay.”
- “Started playing, got annoyed by the weird music that, of course, you can't turn off.”
- “The only minus is that I would have wanted to adjust the music volume a little bit lower to hear other game sounds better.”
- “But that's just the only negative thing I can think about... except for the music.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
20%
20%
The atmosphere of the game is generally praised for its dreary and eerie qualities, enhancing the overall experience. Users highlight the combination of strong voice acting and graphics that contribute to this immersive environment, although some note that it lacks creepiness.
- “The dreary atmosphere adds to the experience.”
- “Great atmosphere, voice acting, and graphics.”
- “The eerie atmosphere is great.”
- “The atmosphere was not creepy.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that while the game features impressive graphics, this has negatively impacted its performance, leading to issues with smooth gameplay. This contrasts with other titles that manage to deliver high-quality visuals without sacrificing optimization.
- “The optimization in this game is impressive; it runs smoothly even on lower-end hardware.”
- “I appreciate how the developers have fine-tuned the performance, allowing for stunning visuals without sacrificing frame rates.”
- “The game is well-optimized, providing a seamless experience with minimal lag, which enhances overall gameplay.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be somewhat tedious and time-consuming, particularly due to the complexity of inventory management and item sharing between rooms. However, many appreciate the clever mechanics involved, which enhance puzzle-solving and overall gameplay experience.
- “At times, grinding can be a little tedious; it didn't take away from the game for me, but it can be time-consuming and somewhat confusing trying to remember who has what items.”
- “I think I preferred the first game mostly because there was none of the inventory swapping, which, while clever, was also tedious at times.”
- “Even if it gets a tiny bit tedious, the mechanic for sharing items between rooms is quite ingenious and adds a whole new level of complexity to solving the varied puzzles in each area.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the humor in the game largely stems from its intentional and unintentional grammatical and spelling errors, which add a comedic touch to the overall experience.
- “The game is filled with clever puns and witty dialogue that had me laughing out loud.”
- “I love how the humor is woven into the gameplay; it keeps things light and entertaining.”
- “The quirky characters and their absurd interactions provide endless comedic moments.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Users indicate that replayability is limited, as the game's puzzles can be fully completed, leaving little incentive to replay unless players are interested in speedrunning.
- “The game offers a wealth of choices and different paths, making each playthrough feel unique and engaging.”
- “With multiple endings and various character builds, I find myself coming back to explore new strategies every time.”
- “The dynamic world changes with each decision, ensuring that no two runs are ever the same.”
- “After they get the last of the puzzles in, the chances of replayability will drop to nothing unless you like to speedrun.”
- “Once you've completed the main storyline, there's little incentive to go back and play again.”
- “The game lacks meaningful choices that would encourage multiple playthroughs.”

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5h Median play time

5h Average play time

5-5h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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The Initiate: The First Interviews is a action adventure game with horror and mystery themes.

On average players spend around 5 hours playing The Initiate: The First Interviews.

The Initiate: The First Interviews was released on May 8, 2019.

The Initiate: The First Interviews was developed by Deceptive Games.

The Initiate: The First Interviews has received very positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

The Initiate: The First Interviews is a single player game.

Similar games include The Initiate 2: The First Interviews, The Initiate, Quern - Undying Thoughts, The Inheritance of Crimson Manor, The Guest and others.

The Initiate: The First Interviews

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