Welcome to Hanwell

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"Welcome to Hanwell" is a single-player, survival horror game set in a British town. The player must navigate through a creepy and unsettling environment, avoid hostile characters, and uncover the dark secrets of Hanwell. With a focus on exploration and stealth, the game aims to deliver a frightening experience that will keep players on the edge of their seats.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

49%

Audience ScoreBased on 274 reviews

story42 positive mentions

gameplay12 negative mentions

The game has a stunning visual design and atmosphere reminiscent of classic horror games like Silent Hill.
The indoor environments are well-crafted, providing a sense of dread and effective jump scares.
The game offers a good balance of exploration, survival, and horror elements, making it engaging for fans of the genre.

The open world feels empty and lacks meaningful content, leading to tedious exploration.
Combat mechanics are clunky and unresponsive, making encounters frustrating rather than engaging.
The game suffers from numerous bugs and technical issues, including crashes and inconsistent gameplay mechanics.

story
126 mentions
33 % positive mentions
54 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The game's story receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it engaging and well-integrated into the exploration and atmosphere, while others criticize it for being confusing, lacking depth, or poorly executed. Many appreciate the indirect storytelling through environmental cues and collectibles, but some feel that the narrative is ultimately unsatisfying or incomplete. Overall, the story seems to resonate with those who enjoy piecing together lore through exploration, but it may disappoint players seeking a more linear and cohesive plot.
- “The premise of the story is for sure superb.”
- “Most of the storytelling is done with the game's environments (as well as audio tapes and small written paper notes) and it's hard not to spoil anything when delving into this game but let me tell you, this game really gets you thinking and lets you figure the story on your own without guidance and it works well.”
- “Clearly inspired by Silent Hill 2, the foggy town in which the game takes place is well done, and offers a good variety of locations, with many secondary spots and hidden areas that can be explored to find extra bits of story and collectibles.”
- “There is no plot and it is so boring.”
- “This game lacks any story line.”
- “The story is short and doesn't make much sense.”
atmosphere
68 mentions
59 % positive mentions
37 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in "Welcome to Hanwell" is widely praised for its eerie, Silent Hill-inspired design, featuring foggy streets and unsettling indoor locations that evoke a sense of dread and isolation. While the initial ambiance captivates players, some reviews note a decline in engagement over time, with criticisms aimed at poor lighting and repetitive environments. Overall, the game excels in creating a haunting atmosphere, though it struggles with pacing and narrative depth.
- “Welcome to Hanwell has a good atmosphere for a horror game, the foggy deserted streets and torn about buildings leaving you feeling unnerved and isolated.”
- “The atmosphere of certain indoor locations, mostly the ones related to the story, is well done and truly results in fear-inducing moments most of the time, as it should be.”
- “The atmosphere is great, the sound is really nice, it is very eerie, there is some nice background music at times, and you can interact with quite a few objects in the environment.”
- “I like the visuals at first and the creepy atmosphere... but then nothing really happened and I found myself incredibly bored.”
- “The atmosphere of several indoor locations and the outside world is crippled by bad lighting and omnipresent fog.”
- “I first visited Hanwell in the demo, which I liked very much; huge areas to explore, sinister atmosphere, Silent Hill-like locations (school, hospital). Yes, they copied most of Silent Hill with great effect, static radio for monsters and other creepiness, fog town, siren that goes off, etc. There was no combat in the demo and I didn't care much for it in the full game, so I avoided most of the enemies.”
music
58 mentions
28 % positive mentions
67 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The music in the game is a polarizing aspect, with many players praising its intensity and ability to enhance the horror atmosphere, while others criticize its repetitiveness and lack of audio options, such as a volume slider or toggle. Some users noted that the music often drowns out important sound effects, disrupting immersion, and that the inability to turn it off can be frustrating. Overall, while the soundtrack is considered above average and effective in setting a dark tone, its overwhelming presence can detract from the gameplay experience.
- “The music is great but the sound effects could have been so much better.”
- “For me personally, Welcome to Hanwell is a bloody cult-masterpiece of a game and it terrifies you at the same time and frustrates you with the music, but it's terrifyingly good.”
- “At the moment, I feel like it could use a little more backstory as to who we are, but aside from that, the combat is very nice and the music really helps to set a deep dark tone for the entire game.”
- “The fact there aren't any kinds of audio options is inexcusable even for the most basic indie game, and here the inability to remove the extremely repetitive, deafening music is a real pain.”
- “Music cannot be removed if a player so desires, and it's deafening most of the time.”
- “The music is amped up pretty much the entire time, completely breaking any immersion since it's always playing as if there's an enemy near you, which while there may be, most of the time I simply take a glance around, see nothing, and continue on my way.”
gameplay
56 mentions
14 % positive mentions
64 % neutral mentions
21 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received significant criticism for its lack of polish and coherence, with many players finding the mechanics basic and frustrating, particularly in combat and movement. The game features a mix of exploration, puzzles, and combat, but the execution feels unfinished, leading to a repetitive and unenjoyable experience. While the graphics are praised, the overall gameplay is deemed boring and poorly designed, with several mechanics, such as energy limitations and inventory management, causing confusion and annoyance.
- “The gameplay of WTH is divided into exploration, puzzles, and combat.”
- “When I saw the first gameplay demo, I was hoping for a survival horror on par with Darkwood, where you have to get resources and manage your house for the darkness while also uncovering the story behind the town.”
- “Welcome to Hanwell plays well; the combat mechanics can be a little chunky at times, and the inventory system isn't as intuitive as some may want it to be, but most of the mechanics work like a charm.”
- “Boring within the first 10 minutes of gameplay.”
- “The mechanics are not polished and the game feels like an unfinished game.”
- “The gameplay was repetitive and just shockingly bad, especially towards the end. The ending was so bad I ended up going to the toilet to deposit this game where it belongs.”
graphics
56 mentions
46 % positive mentions
48 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the significant improvements since the demo and highlighting the stunning visuals and atmospheric design. However, some players noted issues such as excessive blur and a lack of polish, suggesting that while the graphics are impressive, they may feel more like a showcase than a fully realized experience. Overall, the game is considered visually appealing, with strong lighting and a cohesive art style, though it may not meet everyone's expectations.
- “Since the demo ~5 years ago, the graphics have been immensely improved and I'm loving it!”
- “Really good graphics, some of the best lighting I've seen; only the shiny stuff is shiny and the matte is matte.”
- “From a graphic and animation standpoint, the game is incredibly impressive.”
- “First of all, the game looks great and feels high quality, but that might be because of the engine. At the same time, it feels like a graphics engine showcase or something; it's hard to explain. Sometimes it feels like there is too much blur and it's shiny, which bothers me and makes me feel dizzy. On the other hand, it feels like it's half-baked and left as it is.”
- “6/10 graphics: got the Unreal indie graphics feel in some areas, but paintings with some really small details are, I think, a little below Outlast.”
- “- the screenshots shown do not represent the graphics in the game!”
grinding
10 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unengaging, with exploration feeling like a chore rather than a rewarding experience. The limitations on stamina further exacerbate the frustration, making navigation and combat feel unnecessarily drawn out and annoying. Overall, the open-world design fails to deliver the enjoyable freedom it promises, leading to a lack of fun in the grinding process.
- “As much as the idea of navigating an open-world sort of setting and tackling things in whatever order that you wanted seemed appealing, it just comes off as a tedious slog.”
- “The fact stamina is unlimited outside makes it easier to escape monsters while it being limited inside buildings where you rarely will fight makes no sense and exploration more tedious.”
- “Now I will not go into what it consisted of but merely indicate that it was long, drawn out, annoying, tedious, and generally very unfun.”
replayability
6 mentions
0 % positive mentions
67 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
The game has been criticized for its lack of replayability, with multiple reviewers noting that it offers mediocre quality and minimal incentive to play again. Overall, it is suggested that players avoid this title if they are seeking a game with engaging replay value.
- “Priced at €12.49, with mediocre quality and no replay value, I suggest avoiding this title.”
- “2/10 replay value: not a good practice horror game overall if wanting to be good at cat and mouse style horrors (aka Resident Evil 2 with that nemesis bloke).”
optimization
6 mentions
33 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
The game generally performs well, with no significant stability or performance issues reported, particularly at 1440p resolution. However, some users criticize its optimization, suggesting it is poorly optimized and lacks sufficient open-world elements.
- “The game has no stability or performance issues to note and runs well in 1440p on this config.”
- “Great performance optimization.”
- “Badly optimized game and not open world enough.”
stability
6 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is criticized for being plagued by numerous glitches, including issues with saving progress, which significantly detracts from the overall experience. While some players found the bugs tolerable, many expressed frustration with the game's technical shortcomings, leading to a general recommendation against playing it.
- “The game is just too buggy for me.”
- “This game is pretty frustrating; technically, along with the game's glitches, no saving is possible, so I wouldn't recommend it.”
- “There were a couple of glitches that seemed to create never-ending suspense music, which affected my experience.”
humor
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely centered around a few notable references, including characters like Sherlock Holmes and public figures such as Theresa May and Nigel Farage, but overall, it lacks a substantial amount of comedic content.
- “There are a few funny bits featuring Sherlock Holmes, Theresa May, Nigel Farage, and Katie Hopkins, but not a lot else.”