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The Padre

Taking on the role of demon-hunting, wisecracking priest Alexander and exploring a visually-distinctive voxel mansion is pretty enjoyable. If you can survive the awkward controls and story, it's a cozy, competent creepfest.
The Padre Game Cover
62%Game Brain Score
graphics, atmosphere
story, music
74% User Score Based on 38 reviews
Critic Score 60%Based on 7 reviews

Platforms

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The Padre Game Cover

About

The Padre is a single player action adventure game with a horror theme. It was developed by Shotgun with Glitters and was released on April 18, 2019. It received neutral reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

"The Padre" is a 3D horror adventure game with a retro style and dark, striking atmosphere, featuring a witty priest who uses brains and brawns to solve puzzles and fend off monsters. Players must unravel the mysteries of a mansion, their own past, and the eternal fight between good and evil, all while avoiding making the angels cry. The game is known for its wicked humor and challenging puzzles.

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The Padre screenshot
The Padre screenshot
The Padre screenshot
The Padre screenshot
The Padre screenshot
The Padre screenshot
The Padre screenshot
The Padre screenshot
The Padre screenshot
The Padre screenshot
The Padre screenshot
+5
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74%
Audience ScoreBased on 38 reviews
graphics4 positive mentions
gameplay3 negative mentions
  • The game features a captivating atmosphere and unique voxel art style that pays homage to classic horror games like Alone in the Dark.
  • The voice acting, particularly that of the main character, adds a humorous and engaging element to the gameplay.
  • Puzzles are creatively designed, providing a mix of challenge and satisfaction for players who enjoy problem-solving.
  • The combat system is clunky and frustrating, with poor hit detection and awkward controls that detract from the overall experience.
  • Many puzzles are overly obtuse or illogical, leading to moments of frustration and requiring players to seek external help to progress.
  • The game suffers from technical issues, including glitches and a lack of polish, which can hinder gameplay and immersion.
  • graphics
    15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's graphics have received mixed reviews, with some players criticizing the voxel art style as a cover for poor design, while others appreciate its unique and atmospheric qualities. Many find the visuals charming and fitting for the game's tone, likening them to a nostalgic blend of early PC and PSX aesthetics. Overall, the graphics are described as creatively complex and cinematic, enhancing the gameplay experience despite some challenges in clarity.

    • “The padre, for example, combines classic Alone in the Dark-style adventuring with some absolutely goofy humor and an incredibly unique art style.”
    • “Graphically, the game uses a gloomy and creatively complex voxel style.”
    • “For a game with voxel graphics, everything feels surprisingly cinematic and well done, from the slick movie-like editing to the awesomely gruff voice acting of the padre himself.”
    • “This very poor quality visual style is a method that lazy devs often use to disguise their lack of talent or interest in doing the graphics properly, trying to disguise it under the name of 'art' or 'we made it look bad on purpose', which really isn't something gamers should have to put up with.”
    • “Developers need to learn that Minecraft succeeded despite the bad graphics, not because of them.”
    • “It's sometimes difficult to determine what things even are on account of the blocky art style.”
  • story
    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story revolves around a missing mentor, leading players through a spooky mansion filled with dark humor and quirky characters. While the narrative is described as basic and at times nonsensical, it is engaging enough to keep players entertained, especially with witty dialogue and a nostalgic horror atmosphere. However, some reviewers noted issues with cutscene quality and a reliance on references rather than a more original storyline, suggesting that the game may improve as it continues to develop in early access.

    • “The general story is that your old mentor went missing, so you go and try to locate him in an old spooky mansion.”
    • “Had a lot of fun playing the padre; the dark humor was funny, the storyline was bonkers as were the characters.”
    • “I've been playing this since the early alpha testing and the storyline is fantastic, the sound and music score are spot on and the voice of the padre, Patrick Hickey Jr., is as chilling as his personality.”
    • “Top that off with a nonsensical, yet serious story, and I just didn't know what to make of it.”
    • “The story is pretty basic and the ending quite abrupt, but I would assume that is also because it's early access and that it'll be expanded when the game is finished.”
    • “However, it does currently suffer from occasionally low-quality cutscenes, especially early on in the game, and an odd mobile-like design for the UI, as well as an over-reliance on third-party references and easter eggs, in place of a stronger focus on its own original story.”
  • atmosphere
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere in "The Padre" is consistently praised for its dark, spooky ambiance, enhanced by clever humor and engaging voice acting. The game effectively captures the essence of mid-90s survival horror through detailed graphics, haunting music, and a sense of tension, despite some combat mechanics being less than ideal. Overall, players appreciate the blend of creepiness and humor, creating an immersive experience that keeps them intrigued about the unfolding story.

    • “The dark and captivating atmosphere is frequently lightened by the clever humor of the ever-witty padre.”
    • “Unlike many indie titles that utilize the visual style for its ease, 'The Padre' really puts it to full use with detailed architecture and some genuinely haunting atmosphere.”
    • “Most encounters will be dealt with by running away, if you can help it, and though fighting may not work too well in execution, it does its part by adding to the tension of the already creepy atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere nails that mid-90's survival horror feeling perfectly, though enemies do respawn and drop ammo and health items so you're never truly up against the wall (especially as the basic zombie enemy is one of the easiest to kill I've ever encountered).”
    • “The scenes are amazing and the atmosphere is spooky; it feels like something bad happened in that mansion, can't wait to find out what.”
  • humor
    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in "The Padre" is characterized by clever, witty dialogue and a blend of dark comedy that lightens its eerie atmosphere. The titular character, the padre, delivers consistently funny lines and pop culture references, contributing to the game's unique charm despite its less polished horror elements. Overall, players appreciate the humor as a standout feature that enhances the experience, even if some jokes may not resonate with everyone.

    • “The dark and captivating atmosphere is frequently lightened by the clever humor of the ever-witty padre.”
    • “Had a lot of fun playing the padre; the dark humor was funny, the storyline was bonkers as were the characters.”
    • “It's weird, it's funny, it's creepy and padre is such a fantastic character.”
  • music
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is highly praised for its quality and ability to enhance the atmosphere, contributing to a chilling and immersive experience. Reviewers highlight the eerie and cinematic soundtrack, featuring well-executed piano pieces and effective voice acting that complement the game's art style. Overall, the sound design, including the music, is considered a standout element that elevates the gameplay.

    • “Wanted to like this game so much, as the art and music are really well done.”
    • “I really love the graphics style, the atmosphere, and the music.”
    • “Also cinematic is the sound, with its eerie and ominous soundtrack featuring classic piano and very well-done voice acted dialogue.”
    • “And that music.”
    • “I would suggest some eerie accordion music, or maybe save that for the sequel.”
    • “Also cinematic is the sound, with its eerie and ominous soundtrack with classic sounding piano and very well-done voice acted dialogue.”
  • gameplay
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is characterized as simple yet engaging, blending elements from classic survival horror and 90's adventure games, which can lead to frustrating puzzles. While major releases often follow familiar themes and mechanics, indie games have the freedom to innovate, resulting in a unique and atmospheric experience that effectively integrates art, gameplay, and narrative.

    • “The gameplay of this game is simple, but at the same time interesting.”
    • “I really like how well the art, gameplay, and story are put together.”
    • “The gameplay, though, has unfortunately inherited a lot of the worst traits from its survival horror puzzler predecessors.”
    • “It takes its gameplay cues, for better or for worse, from the most obtuse of 90's adventure game puzzles while adding more than enough of its own creepy and dark feel.”
    • “Major releases from major publishers tend to chart along the same course in terms of themes and mechanics, but indies can do whatever they want to produce the game of their dreams.”
  • optimization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's performance is highly praised, making it a worthwhile experience despite some questionable design choices.

    • “Honestly, the game is worth experiencing just for its performance, strange game design choices be damned.”
    • “The optimization in this game is impressive, allowing for smooth gameplay even on lower-end systems.”
    • “I appreciate how the developers focused on optimization, making the game accessible to a wider audience without sacrificing quality.”
    • “The game suffers from severe optimization issues that make it nearly unplayable at times.”
    • “I constantly experience frame drops and stuttering, which ruins the overall experience.”
    • “The optimization feels rushed, leading to long loading times and frequent crashes.”
  • grinding
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be less tedious due to the engaging gothic environment and interactive elements, though some puzzles, like the knot puzzle, can lead to significant frustration before the solution is discovered. Overall, while challenging, the experience is often rewarding once players overcome the obstacles.

    • “The knot puzzle in particular is right up there with the piano puzzle from Silent Hill 1 for teeth-grinding frustration until you figure out the one way to do it; then it becomes a breeze.”
    • “Grinding can feel tedious at times, especially when you're stuck and can't progress, which can be frustrating even for seasoned point-and-click fans.”
    • “While the beautiful gothic environment and spooky interactive set pieces help alleviate some of the tedium, there are moments when the grinding aspect can become quite frustrating.”
  • stability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users report significant stability issues, including character freezing and glitches that disrupt gameplay. These problems are reminiscent of typical early access titles, suggesting a need for further content updates and control revisions to improve the overall experience.

    • “Suddenly, my character freezes and menacing laughter fills the air as he convulses, giving the enemy the opportunity to come up and land a few good blows.”
    • “This game hangs a lot on the promise of more content and revisions of current controls and glitches; it's really the same as any early access game.”
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60%Critics’ scoreBased on 7 critic reviews
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1h Median play time
1h Average play time
1-1h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

The Padre is a action adventure game with horror theme.

The Padre is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, iPhone, Windows and others.

On average players spend around 1 hours playing The Padre.

The Padre was released on April 18, 2019.

The Padre was developed by Shotgun with Glitters.

The Padre has received neutral reviews from players and neutral reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its graphics but disliked it for its story.

The Padre is a single player game.

Similar games include Crow Country, Tormented Souls, Tormented Souls 2, Them and Us, Lamentum and others.