Dive into the dark yet intriguing world of REVEIL.
REVEIL is a first-person psychological thriller. The game is developed by Pixelsplit Games and published by Daedalic Entertainment, a German publisher that has previously published games such as Inkulanti and The Lord of the Rings: Gollum.
An opening cutscene takes you to the flooded grounds of an old circus, where a wooden walkway appears out of nowhere in front of you as you follow signs pointing to the big top in the distance. This dream world is bathed in shades of black and red as if everything were covered in blood. You find yourself on a circus fun ride after that, traveling through dark tunnels, and past strange tableaus that don’t seem to make sense at the moment, but will later on in the story.
You take control of Walter Thompson in the first-person perspective as soon as he wakes up from this introductory dream that sets the scene for his harrowing journey. Although you quickly learn that Walter and his family were part of the Nelson Bros. circus, his daughter Dorie actively performed with his wife Martha, and Walter himself worked as a handyman, there are of course some mysterious stories to uncover here to do with the Thompson family.
In the present day, however, Walter just wants to see what Dorie and Martha are up to, but he can’t find them anywhere in the house when you search for them. The house is an architectural marvel with a strange floor plan that stretches over several floors and is connected to the rooms by stairs and narrow corridors. The search for them soon leads you back to the circus, where things start to get really interesting.
REVEIL offers several different gameplay styles in one, but the most important one is exploration. Initially, you wander through realistic-looking locations that are quite bright with natural and artificial lighting, but as you progress they become very nightmarish, again with heavy use of a blood-red color palette not uncommon in horror games, dark corridors, and dim lighting at night. The laws of physics are often defied, such as when objects float in the air, and there’s an eerie scene where you walk through a train that seems to distort and almost break apart as you continue to move through the level.
REVEIL has full controller support, and buttons for the mouse and keyboard can be remapped to personal preference, and sprinting and crouching enhance overall directional movement. Use your mouse to move the camera and interact with objects such as drawers, most doors, cabinet doors and passageways, open levers, and switches, turn wind-up keys, and other adjustable machinery.
A dot in the center of the screen will change when you can examine or interact with something. While walking around, you can easily zoom in using the right mouse button. If you hold down this button, you can rotate the object you’re picking up to get a closer look, and you can also use your mouse wheel to zoom in even further. All documents you find have a plain text option.
As you explore the game, Walter will comment on everything you see and do. His voice is performed by a very believable actor, and the confusion, fear, and nostalgic emotions he feels when confronted with memories all sound authentic in his natural expressions. You can see everything he says by accessing the audio log from the menu, but this log is limited to your current game session. If you quit the game and resume it later, the log will be reset and will be empty again.
As you walk around, you may come across some interesting spots that will jog Walter’s memory. Although the screen seems frozen in black and white, you can move in slow motion while listening to relevant conversations between Walter, Martha, and Dory, slowly lifting the veil of these characters’ pasts and what happened to them to bring Walter to the point he is now.
At times, the whole screen shakes, as if there is an earthquake or Walter is having a seizure. But these are just signs that Walter’s concept of reality is not what it seems, and things only get worse from there. Rooms change position, and turning around will set you right back where you were before, making you feel like you’re walking in circles. In some cases, the only way to move forward is to move backward. Reveil robs you of your logical thinking, effectively destroying it, and you feel the madness surrounding Walter. This increases your sense of helplessness and despair as you uncover the story of Reveil.
This ever-evolving world, or devolving world depending on how you look at it, is further enhanced by the occasional escape-room-esque puzzle. REVEIL has a small inventory system, which is necessary for narratively well-integrated obstacles with a scavenger hunt feel as often the items you need for a puzzle are hidden in plain sight. It’s not difficult to solve the puzzles as you don’t even need to select the right item from your inventory, the game automatically selects the items you need for a particular solution.
For example, the first puzzle you encounter is in Dory’s room. There’s a locked diary lying on her bed, but a map drawn by Dory leads you from one toy to the next, passing through several different puzzles to open it. This was well implemented and didn’t seem boring at all, although the best puzzle involved controlling a mannequin with a laser pointer, but only after figuring out its exact location from clues elsewhere and using the laser pointer to find the right combination for a lock.
The final gameplay element is avoiding enemies. At one point, you will have to sneak past a blindfolded creature to collect inventory items. At another, you’re chased by animated puppets in a circus truck and have to find a way to evade your pursuers or get caught and have to do the chase sequence all over again. And at another, there’s a combination of both where you have to evade a creature while you gather items.
In the forest, you’ll encounter one of the biggest monsters, although it’s easy to get lost within this bigger map as you try and find key items for a puzzle. If you get caught by an enemy in REVEIL, you will have to start from your last saved checkpoint. But even if you don’t have to fear serious consequences such as a permanent game over the screen, there are always scenes where you have to watch your back or find yourself at the beginning of the checkpoint. REVEIL did a good job at making sure that you’re always hoping that something will jump out at you or a sudden sound will startle you. Moments like these are rare but always add to the tension.
While it may not be necessary, it’s a shame that REVEIL doesn’t allow for manual saving; instead, it automatically records your progress at certain checkpoints. Luckily, this happens quite frequently, so if you’re running out of game time or you just want to stop for a bit, it’s handy to keep an eye on the flashing red logo at the bottom right of the screen.
You’ll also find collectables, such as toys, tickets, posters, and all kinds of everyday items related to circus life in REVEIL. These act as small rewards to encourage exploration and replay, but also provide additional backstory for your character. Each of the game’s five chapters has its own collectables, which can be viewed through an option on the main menu. As you find collectables, an indicator will display how many you have remaining in that chapter.
REVEIL takes place in an interesting setting, although the first part of the story doesn’t seem particularly original. If you’ve played the Silent Hill series, especially Shattered Memories, you’ll certainly recognize certain aspects. However, the game then offers its narrative surprises. It’s really great to finally be able to put the clues together and finally see how it all makes sense in context.
REVEIL‘s beautifully rendered graphics truly draw you into its world. The attention to detail in the environments and character design is outstanding, making the gaming experience visually captivating. REVEIL‘s unique approach to psychological horror is truly refreshing; it breaks away from traditional horror cliches and delivers a plot that will keep you hooked and intrigued until the very end. From the eerie atmosphere to the expertly constructed levels, the game’s design enhances the overall sense of unease and mystery, creating a memorable and immersive gaming experience.
REVEIL not only has strong visuals, but also a sound design that makes it seem like someone walked around with a recording device and uploaded everything into the game, from Walter’s footsteps as constant companions to other ambient sounds like crows and crickets, squeaky door hinges, rain and thunder, running water, and more.
There are several original songs, all dark and mysterious yet more of an indie pop vibe with folk sounds, sung by a haunting female vocalist, but also instrumentals. They are mainly heard on the record player in Walter’s living room, but samples also pop up as you wander around. Some faster background tracks add to the tension and creepy atmosphere, while softer melodies complement the more emotional and nostalgic scenes with typical circus calliope music mixed in between.
Overall, REVEIL is a fantastic horror game that doesn’t fall short in terms of thrills or stories. It’s a great first-person horror game for those who have enjoyed games like Silent Hills and Amnesia, especially with its great graphics and sound engineering.
