The Survey

71%
Game Brain Score Based on 768 reviews
  • story
  • atmosphere
  • gameplay
The Survey Game Cover
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In "The Survey" , you are Marcus Walker, mysteriously waking up in a vacant house. As you unlock a phone and delve into the game's puzzles, past events haunt you through audio tapes and journal entries. With a sense of escalating dread, uncover the cryptic story while evading an unseen antagonist. This immersive horror experience offers a short, suspenseful adventure.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

71%
Audience ScoreBased on 768 reviews
story221 positive mentions
stability18 negative mentions
  • The game has a captivating and tragic story that keeps players engaged.
  • The atmosphere is incredibly creepy, with effective sound design and visuals that enhance the horror experience.
  • The game features a unique hint system through the player's smartphone, which helps guide players when they are stuck.
  • The game frequently crashes, especially when using the phone, leading to lost progress and frustration.
  • Character movement is excessively slow, making exploration tedious and detracting from the overall experience.
  • There is a lack of clear save points, which can result in players having to replay significant portions of the game after crashes.
  • story517 mentions

    The game's story is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its dark and engaging narrative that unfolds through notes and audio cues. However, some critiques highlight issues with pacing, repetitive elements, and technical problems like crashes that detract from the experience. While the story is compelling and atmospheric, it can feel overly simplistic or drawn out at times, leading to mixed feelings about its execution.

    • “The story was compelling and made me want to read every note, and hear every line of dialogue.”
    • “I was actually pretty moved by the story, which was masterfully executed through a series of letters, news articles, and radio/television broadcasts.”
    • “The atmosphere and tension of the game is thick enough to cut with a knife, and as you continue to unravel various clues you will need to keep your wits about you as you learn the story of Lilith and Marcus.”
    • “The storyline is effectively just a very stereotypical story of abuse within a family structure, with one golden child and one abused child.”
    • “The story that this game is trying to tell feels like it needed one or maybe two more drafts.”
    • “However, the story, which is the driving force behind the horror, is weak in the extreme.”
  • atmosphere136 mentions

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its creepiness and immersive qualities, effectively enhancing the horror experience through strong sound design, lighting, and environmental storytelling. Many players found the tension palpable, with a mix of genuine scares and a compelling narrative that keeps them engaged, despite some criticisms regarding pacing and predictability of jump scares. Overall, the game is recommended for fans of atmospheric horror, though some technical issues may detract from the experience.

    • “The atmosphere is ridiculously creepy, the story enthralling and the sound is incredible.”
    • “The atmosphere, lighting, sound and storytelling is exceptionally well done and I love that indie companies like these have an idea of what will scare the hell out of you than most AAA companies these days.”
    • “The tense atmosphere and chilling soundtrack will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, white-knuckling your mouse the entire way through this two-hour adventure.”
    • “The game clearly was supposed to be a story-heavy, dark atmosphere piece, and that is where it ironically failed the most.”
    • “The atmosphere doesn't really change much, the scares are repetitive: the first jumpscare got me good but afterwards it was redundant and kind of foreseeable.”
    • “Creepy atmosphere, but you'll see most of the actual scares coming a mile away.”
  • gameplay81 mentions

    Gameplay reviews for the game are mixed, highlighting both innovative mechanics and significant flaws. While some players appreciated the engaging phone and survey features, others criticized the repetitive and simplistic nature of the gameplay, often describing it as a basic walking simulator with limited interactivity and frequent bugs. Overall, the game offers a short experience with a decent narrative, but many felt it fell short in execution and variety.

    • “The story and the creepy gameplay and atmosphere completely make the story more interesting!”
    • “It is a relatively short and affordable game that provides a good narrative, curious mechanics, and tense atmosphere.”
    • “What I like about the gameplay is the realism; you see your body when looking down, your vision moves slightly with the steps and the camera movement, all in all makes this as realistic as it can be.”
    • “An average Unity horror game by any metric, meaning and implication - a plotline you'd expect (even all the reading to be done, it just reeks of regurgitation), third-rate jumpscares (or better I say, jumpscare, since there's literally only one kind of scare, and a very cheap one) and overall cliché tricks and repetitive, unforgiving gameplay.”
    • “This game doesn't look bad, but the controls and gameplay are horrible.”
    • “I appreciated the hint system, but there were a lot of places where the game felt needlessly drawn out as if to pad gameplay time.”
  • graphics67 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players noting that they are impressive for an indie title, showcasing good detail and atmosphere. However, some users criticize the use of generic Unity assets and report bugs that detract from the overall experience. Overall, while the graphics are generally well-received, issues with polish and performance have led to a less favorable impression for some players.

    • “The graphics are surprisingly nice and I didn't encounter any bugs on my playthrough.”
    • “Good story, strong flow, excellent graphics and animation.”
    • “Amazing game, top-notch photo-realistic graphics with an awesome but short story.”
    • “What killed it for me though was when this graphically crappy, buggy walking sim crashed after a particularly long-winded verse of dialogue spewed to me through a TV.”
    • “Graphics are mostly just generic Unity assets that you have most likely seen in another game, and you spend most of the time walking back and forth the same 5 rooms or so, waiting for the game to decide to drop the next piece of paper.”
    • “Despite your character walking around at a fairly slow pace, and carrying a flashlight that already takes longer to whip around than the rest of his body, my extremely capable gaming laptop had lag spikes aplenty even after I lowered the graphics settings.”
  • music32 mentions

    The music in the game has received praise for its ability to create a tense and immersive atmosphere, enhancing the overall horror experience. Many players found the soundtrack to be exceptional, effectively heightening suspense and emotional engagement throughout the gameplay. However, some users expressed frustration with repetitive audio segments that could disrupt the flow of the game.

    • “I personally like the music choice and I like the story they used to pair with it.”
    • “The tense atmosphere and chilling soundtrack will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, white-knuckling your mouse the entire way through this two-hour adventure.”
    • “Though not very long, it still has great music with a dark atmosphere.”
    • “You get downstairs only to have to answer more meaningless questions on the phone and then listen to a song on the radio which was bugged so I had to restart.”
    • “This horror game will only take up an hour or two of your time, it's got a decent storyline that unfolds but this is more of a mixed review as I wasn't a huge fan of the overused mechanic of making the player stand and listen to something whether it be a TV news report or a song on the radio that seems to continue for several minutes, sometimes even trapping you into a room with no other interactable items. I spent a few minutes furiously clicking on everything I could see and finally just gave up to play on my phone as the TV droned on saying similar stuff that had been said already in the least concise way possible.”
    • “Music blares to push the scene to be scary.”
  • humor20 mentions

    The humor in the game is often described as unintentional, with players finding the poorly executed scares and absurd animations more amusing than frightening. Many reviewers noted that the game's cheesy moments, such as a prolonged jump scare at the end, contributed to its comedic charm, making it a fun experience to share with friends. Overall, while the game aims for horror, it frequently lands in the realm of humor, leading to laughter rather than fear.

    • “It's so funny, I have played many horror games and still this is probably the most humorous.”
    • “Me and my friend really had much fun with it; it was hilarious to watch each other get scared silly.”
    • “I found it more humorous when she ran at me than scary because she did a lot of flailing and moved disproportionately to her steps.”
  • stability18 mentions

    The game is generally described as "slightly buggy," with multiple users reporting crashes and glitches that detract from the experience. Despite these stability issues, many players found the story and gameplay engaging enough to continue playing, although some expressed disappointment with the overall execution. Overall, while the game has potential, its stability problems are a significant drawback.

    • “What killed it for me though was when this graphically crappy, buggy walking sim crashed after a particularly long-winded verse of dialogue spewed to me through a TV.”
    • “Nice game with a much enjoyable story and game progression with a few nice jumpscares, but it is a little buggy and it kicked me 2-3 times as I was playing; however, the game was that good that it kept me getting back in after it kicked me out.”
    • “When I first began playing this game, I thought, 'oh no, here we go again..' as I couldn't move very fast and thought it was yet another cheap quick horror job with massive glitches in it.”
  • emotional16 mentions

    The game evokes strong emotional responses through its graphic depictions of child abuse, contributing to a horror atmosphere that can be both heart-wrenching and unsettling. Despite a somewhat predictable storyline, players find themselves forming deep emotional attachments, leading to moments of genuine sadness and investment in the narrative. Overall, the experience is described as an emotional rollercoaster, blending fear with poignant storytelling.

    • “The story is a little predictable, but you end up developing an emotional attachment still, one that makes you want to see that story through.”
    • “Good game, made me cry a little.”
    • “The story was a bit of an emotional rollercoaster.”
  • grinding14 mentions

    The grinding aspect of the game is heavily criticized for its repetitive and tedious tasks, including pointless exploration, long diary entries, and frustrating puzzles. Many players found the experience to be a slog, with some even abandoning the game due to the lack of engaging content and frequent crashes that forced them to redo sections. Overall, the grinding elements detract significantly from the enjoyment and pacing of the game.

    • “Just pointless walking around in circles, tedious puzzles, stupidly long diary entries, and even a section of audio you have no choice but to sit through.”
    • “I think I had about 20 minutes left until the end, but I had gotten sick of redoing tedious tasks, so I did not finish the game.”
    • “A lot of the game can feel very tedious very quickly.”
  • optimization12 mentions

    The optimization of the game is highly inconsistent among players; while some report a smooth experience with solid 60 fps and no performance issues, others experience severe frame rate drops and bugs, labeling it as poorly optimized and broken. Overall, the game's performance appears to vary significantly based on individual hardware setups.

    • “The optimization is fantastic, as the game runs at a solid 60 fps at all times.”
    • “Didn't have any performance issues, played on the highest settings with dual monitors and no lag.”
    • “It was actually pretty polished and good looking; I didn't run into any bugs or performance issues.”
    • “Unsupported, poorly optimized and broken.”
    • “I have the best computer in the world but my fps is still 0, poorly optimized.”
    • “Unsupported, poorly optimized and broken.”
  • character development2 mentions

    Character development in the game is criticized for being poorly executed, with repetitive designs and jumpscare sections that lead to a lack of engagement and boredom. Overall, players feel that the character aspects do not enhance the experience and detract from the game's potential.

    • “Character designs and jumpscare sections were poorly made, repetitive, and it gets boring after some point.”
    • “Character designs and jumpscare sections were poorly made, repetitive, and it gets boring after some point.”
  • monetization2 mentions

    The monetization aspect has been criticized for misleading advertising, with users feeling that the game does not deliver on its promises, particularly regarding multiplayer features, leading to a perception of boredom and dissatisfaction.

Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

2hMedian play time
5hAverage play time
2-12hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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