Infliction: Extended Cut by developer Caustic Reality and publisher Blowfish Studios—Nintendo Switch review written by Natasha with a copy provided by the publisher.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes.
My father always taught me that if I walk into a house and a creepy voice tells me to “GET OUT!”
... Imma get out
But for some reason there are those among us that don't have that sense of fight or flight.
*An otherworldly scream shrieks from somewhere in the basement of a house?*
“Let's go check it out!” Chirps the protagonist.
Infliction is a psychological horror game that was developed by Caustic Reality and published by Blowfish Studios. It has a story-driven approach to horror that focuses on making every moment unsettling and unpredictable. A first-person perspective that is bound to deal you a mature subject matter. It is available to play on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and now for the Nintendo Switch.
Story
Our story takes place in a house that, from a glance, looks relatively normal. But as you explore, you start to notice that someone, or something, is following you. Soon you are trapped within the confines of this home, which warps into different dimensions, and the only way out is to subdue the vengeful spirit. Exorcism is your only option, but you'll have to run, hide and sneak past the ghostly figure that wants nothing more than your gruesome death.
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Shhh... I'm trying to hide
Pointing and clicking is how you interact with everything in this game. You can basically investigate everything that's in the house. I found the amount of detail that went into every individual object in the game is quite impressive.
You have a main goal and side goals. Your main goal keeps you on track with the main story while your side goals are achieved when you come across items that relate to the spirit in the game. Tidbits that dive into the history of the spirits human life. You can take the time to find them, however you raise the chances of being caught.
As for the spirit herself, she is hunting you and your character will die instantly if you are caught. The best way to tell when she is approaching is if you hear her groaning behind you. You do have options to defend yourself from her. Option 1 is to hide. Hiding out of her line of sight will confuse her and eventually she'll stalk away. Option 2 is to turn on the lights. Turning on the light while she is under it will stun her and cause her to vanish for a short time. But I recommend turning off the light afterwards. Leaving lights on will allow her to break them and once they're broken they can not be repaired... EVER. So make sure to double back and check you didn't leave any lights on in the house.
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Music and Visuals
Normally I'd have something to say about the music, but there really isn't any sound other than your ominous footsteps, radio announcements and the crazy woman who's trying to kill you. Sometimes silence is the scariest sound.
As I mentioned earlier this game makes sure to put a lot of detail into almost all of your surroundings. Things like books, movies, food labels and flyers all have something so distinct that you can read everything on them. This game is dark, even if you put it at it's brightest, it's still dark. I get it... the darker things are the harder things get.
To conclude, I didn't expect this game to be so terrifying. I was CRAWLING through most of my playthrough and sometimes that got me killed. Overall, the game took me about 4 hours to complete the main story. It's short and sweetly nightmarish.
If you're looking for something to kick your anxiety into overdrive then Infliction: Extended Cut is the game to keep you up at night. I'm giving this game a 7 out of 10. Now... if you'll excuse me I have to go find some salt and holy water.
Score: 7 / 10
