Welcome to the Game
- June 15, 2016
- Reflect Studios
- 12h median play time
Get on Steam"Welcome to the Game" is a horror-themed, first-person perspective psychological thriller. The player navigates the dark web, facing various challenges and moral dilemmas, while avoiding being caught by a mysterious entity known as The Follower. The game features jump scares, puzzles, and a unique online multiplayer mode that allows interaction with real players.
Reviews
- Very scary atmosphere that keeps players on edge.
- Unique concept of exploring the deep web with engaging puzzles.
- Challenging gameplay that requires strategy and attention to detail.
- Extremely difficult, often leading to frustration and repeated failures.
- Many dead links and inaccessible websites, making progress tedious.
- Inconsistent sound cues for threats, leading to unfair deaths.
- gameplay98 mentions
- 24 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this title presents a unique blend of hacking mechanics and psychological horror, set against the backdrop of the dark web. While some players appreciate the atmosphere and challenging puzzles, many criticize the gameplay for being tedious, repetitive, and poorly explained, leading to frustration with certain mechanics. Overall, the game offers an intriguing concept but suffers from execution issues that detract from the overall experience.
“The gameplay gives you that exact feeling of going on the deep web and knowing that someone might be tracking you.”
“With its atmospheric design, challenging puzzles, and a constant sense of impending danger, it offers a compelling and memorable journey for players who enjoy psychological horror and unconventional gameplay.”
“I loved how accurate this game is compared to using the real deep web, I loved how scary yet compelling the gameplay is, I loved the mystery, I love the graphics, and I just flat out love this game overall!”
“Gameplay is slow, repetitive, and tedious.”
“Unfortunately after the first few tries, the game becomes very repetitive and in particular the mechanics around the kidnapper and the breather stop being scary and start being tedious.”
“On the downside, the gameplay is unrealistic, there are some frustrating issues with the mechanics, it's hard, and some segments of the game boil down to boring idle web browsing.”
- atmosphere55 mentions
- 53 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its intense and immersive qualities, effectively creating a sense of dread and tension through realistic graphics, sound design, and unsettling scenarios. Players report feeling genuinely scared and engaged, with the game's ability to evoke paranoia and anxiety being particularly highlighted. However, some reviews note that the atmosphere can diminish after initial encounters with horror elements, suggesting a need for sustained tension throughout gameplay.
“The small things like atmospheric noises add another layer to the tension, on top of having to listen for audio clues of one of the enemies attacking you.”
“With its atmospheric design, challenging puzzles, and a constant sense of impending danger, it offers a compelling and memorable journey for players who enjoy psychological horror and unconventional gameplay.”
“The atmosphere this game gives off is perfect, and the guy who made it is just adding more and more to it.”
“I'd argue, if you can get into the atmosphere and mood of the game, it's one of the scariest games on Steam in terms of creating tension and pure jump scares. This comes from a die-hard Outlast and horror fan.”
“The atmosphere with the websites, the outside noises, and the noises the person makes while trying to kidnap you is amazing.”
“It really puts you in the atmosphere of being home alone and searching through creepy content on the deep web with that feeling of someone watching you.”
- graphics34 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics in the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the atmospheric and detailed environments, especially after updates, while others criticize the character models and basic visuals. Many appreciate the horror elements enhanced by the graphics, though some note that the animations could be improved for realism. Overall, the graphics are considered adequate for the game's style, balancing between simplicity and effective horror presentation.
“The graphics are fairly good, the atmosphere is extremely well-done, and the gameplay is horrifyingly realistic.”
“This game is awesome; the graphics are great!”
“So far this game is amazing: great graphics, great atmosphere, very scary. All the deep web references are spot on!”
“The graphics are pretty basic in this game.”
“Not top shelf graphics, but we aren't playing NES either.”
“From the ridiculous movement controls, to the outlandish premise behind the 'deep web' to the awful graphics, unrealistic hacks and everything else in between.”
- story26 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around a player navigating the deep web to find eight hidden keys that lead to a notorious "red room," a concept that intrigues some players but leaves others feeling it lacks depth and coherence. While the premise is unique and offers a spooky atmosphere, many reviews highlight inconsistencies and a lack of meaningful narrative progression, with some players feeling the gameplay mechanics detract from the overall storytelling experience. Overall, the story is seen as simple and at times confusing, appealing primarily to those interested in deep web horror themes.
“Nice gameplay and story progression, really interesting attention to details and definitely worth trying out.”
“The story is pretty unique; you are a person looking through the deep web, trying to get to the red room, which is dedicated to torture and murder. In order to get there, you need to find 8 hidden link keys on various pages, and that's basically the story.”
“I would recommend this game to anyone who loves a good spook, enjoys an interesting storyline or main goal, or is just up for the difficult challenge of searching for the red room...”
“Also, it makes absolutely no sense that you are in a super-secured web browser (like the dark web), but each person in the world is able to trace where you live and get to you in a few minutes.”
“Every annoying little minigame also comes with an aggressive time limit, and so does the overall story, which seems completely at odds with a game that's supposedly about playing detective and slowly building tension.”
“We seemed to get stuck in a loop with the plot not developing at all.”
- grinding23 mentions
- 4 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 96 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and repetitive, with many describing the gameplay as slow and frustrating. The mechanics, particularly those involving the kidnapper and breather, quickly lose their initial appeal, leading to a sense of boredom and a feeling that progress is often reset without reward. While some elements may be engaging, the overwhelming sentiment is that the game suffers from a lack of meaningful content, making the grinding experience feel hollow and unnecessarily prolonged.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“Unfortunately after the first few tries, the game becomes very repetitive, and in particular, the mechanics around the kidnapper and the breather stop being scary and start being tedious.”
“It is incredibly tedious, bordering on impossible to complete even when using all existing guides.”
“Every time you die because of 'the breather' or 'the kidnapper', your entire progress, hours worth of tedious scrolling and reading, is reset.”
- stability19 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been a significant concern for many users, with frequent glitches such as freezing during startup, unresponsive menus, and audio issues like the mute button malfunctioning. While some players appreciate the game's overall quality, the persistent bugs and crashes have led to frustration and a negative impact on the gaming experience. Despite these issues, a few users still find the game enjoyable, suggesting that improvements could enhance its stability.
“After the DLC update, the game has a progression bug that freezes on a specific minigame when you fail it even once.”
“Not sure if anyone else is having this issue, but when I go to launch the game, it either freezes, immediately goes unresponsive, or when you click 'new game' or 'continue', nothing happens, or an error window pops up.”
“I try my best to love this game, but I can't love a game that I can't play. Each time I start it up, it just freezes on the information screen about the red room.”
- humor17 mentions
- 94 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is a mix of dark comedy and situational hilarity, often stemming from the players' reactions to the intense horror elements. Many users found themselves laughing at both the absurdity of certain moments and their own fearful responses, with standout comedic instances like the "breather" character and unexpected confessions adding to the overall experience. While the game is primarily a horror title, it successfully incorporates humor that resonates with players, making it enjoyable even amidst the scares.
“Ngl, I am too much of a coward to play this, but I watched every single one of Tyler1's VODs on this game, and they are hilarious. Definitely recommend if you enjoy a good horror game, as well as the second game cranking everything to full blast.”
“The game is super scary but fun, and the reactions from my family were super funny, so I would suggest it.”
“Even if the 'illuminati confirmed' joke had me laughing so hard and trying to screenshot until Mr. Russian got my sorry butt.”
“At first, I couldn't really tell if this was supposed to be an unfunny parody game or just a really boring, cringey, tedious genuine attempt at horror.”
- music16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game is described as dramatic and creepy, effectively enhancing the tension and atmosphere, particularly during key events and on certain deep web pages. While the main menu features a soundtrack, in-game music is sparse and often serves to create unease, contributing to the overall immersive experience. However, some players find the music can be intrusive, especially when trying to focus on gameplay elements like avoiding threats.
“The soundtrack is good, the gameplay is mostly good as well, and the main ending is sort of messed up but worth it!”
“Most of the music is pretty dramatic and really creepy, adds to the tension of the game and keeps the nerves on edge.”
“I never know if someone is in my house, some links just have scary music, and last, but not least, hacked... sometimes it just pops in my face and makes me jump!”
“I've uninstalled and reinstalled countless times, and even the DLC will not run. I can hear the music, but it just stays a black screen.”
“Not sure if there's much music in the game. I know there's the music on the main menu, but other than that, any music you hear is on some of the deep web pages you find, or when certain events happen in the game. Most of the music is pretty dramatic and really creepy, adding to the tension of the game and keeping the nerves on edge.”
“I'd rather not hear the music and sound effects while I'm listening for the kidnapper, so it can get a bit annoying when I've already muted the computer, but then it unmutes itself each time you load a new site.”
- replayability7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game offers notable replayability, particularly due to its rogue-like elements and randomly generated content, such as webpages and puzzle solutions, which change with each playthrough. However, some players feel that once the game is completed, there may be limited incentive to return. Overall, it provides a good value for its price, especially considering its replayable features.
“It's a rogue-like game, meaning there is replayability each time you boot up the game.”
“The game is fairly short once you figure out how to play it, although the codes, puzzle solutions, and available websites change each time you play, so there is some replay value here.”
“Once you finish the game, there is no replayability; nothing will keep you coming back.”
“The game is fairly short once you figure out how to play it, although the codes, puzzle solutions, and available websites change each time you play the game, so there is some replay value here.”
“The game randomly generates webpages each new game, adding some replayability.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game, developed on the Unity engine, is noted for its optimization, particularly for older PCs, allowing it to run smoothly on less powerful hardware.
“The game was developed using the Unity engine, which allows for impressive optimization, making it accessible for older PCs.”
“The optimization is commendable, ensuring smooth performance even on less powerful hardware.”
“The game was made on the Unity engine, and the optimization for older PCs is lacking.”
“Performance issues are prevalent, especially on lower-end hardware.”
“The game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate, making it difficult to enjoy.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a strong emotional investment in the game's narrative, eagerly anticipating the conclusion to understand its significance. However, there are concerns about the potential for emotionally distressing content, particularly regarding violent themes.
“I am emotionally invested in finding the ending to this game and seeing for myself what's so great about it.”
“The emotional depth of the story really pulls you in and makes you care about the characters.”
