Cherry Moon on The Occultist:
After finally playing Call of Cthulhu (2018) for the first time, I realised I was beginning to have a thing for the investigative horror genre, so when I seen The Occultist, the debut game from Spanish developer Daloar, I knew I had to give it a whirl. A first-person, narrative-driven paranormal thriller with puzzles taking place in sinister settings? Yes please! With my love of the supernatural, it seemed the perfect next choice to get my spooky little mitts into.
It starts…
You play as protagonist Alan Rebels, a professional paranormal investigator, who is voiced by Doug Cockle. I cannot tell you how excited I was playing through this game while listening to Geralt from The Witcher’s voice narrating my every move. You travel to an isolated, abandoned island village, Godstone, to find out what happened to your missing father.
Upon arriving at the village, you quickly realise that it is far from abandoned and has a very hostile presence. Evidence suggests past inhabitants having been part of some sort of evil cult. Each area has a heavy supernatural presence which you need to dig deeper into to understand and find out the truth.
The Setting:
Godstone is full of creepy places you have to explore; every setting you want in a horror actually. You investigate your way through a creepy old dark house, then you make your way to a derelict hospital which of course includes a psych ward. You then navigate your way through an orphanage full of exploding dolls, then onto a deserted carnival built on a pier. From there you travel to an eerie graveyard complete with a mausoleum. Then you finish up in a beautiful mansion that holds a lot of secret puzzle rooms.
I mean, if the settings alone doesn’t make you want to try out this game, are you even a horror fan at all? Each area has it’s own lingering atmosphere, and the detail in the art is amazing! This is what I want when I buy a horror/thriller game, I want to feel the creepiness of the setting, I want to feel apprehensive about entering the next room, not knowing what soul-stirring spookiness I might find.
Combat:
There is no combat in The Occultist. You have to rely on stealth and just plain avoidance to get past most of the enemies. It is very forgiving, and most of the enemies are really easy to outrun, even just entering a different room is enough to lose them. They could’ve done so much better with this part of the game in my opinion. Getting chased is one of the most scariest things to me, and if there’s no combat involved, getting my heart racing with a few terrifying chases, or even making you think twice about entering a hallway just in case, is the one thing that can make a good horror game great.
Game Mechanics:
You are armed with your Mystical Pendulum, which is like a bridge to the supernatural world. You unlock four different abilities for it throughout the course of the game. You start off with the ability to reveal hidden anomalies or lost items including blood trails and messages hidden to the naked eye. You can also manifest items that were previously hidden and provide clues to help reveal parts of the story. This ability is the main usage of the pendulum that will help you in every area.
You then unlock the ability to manipulate time back and forward, which can reveal clues or even fix broken items to help solve puzzles. You then gain a raven companion which can help retrieve items out of your reach, or even scout a bit of the area. Finally, you gain the ability to control hordes of rats. If I’m honest, the last ability is just kind of lame, like it was just a last-minute add-on. When I got it, I thought I’d have to use it a lot more than I did.
Puzzles and Collectibles:
With it being an investigative horror game, it is essentially a walking sim with a lot of puzzles. Every area has puzzles upon puzzles to be able to gain access to different rooms, finding clues about the past and even solving riddles to gain items. The puzzles aren’t overly taxing, but they do make you think and help pad out the game with a bit of back and forth. Each area has a main puzzle with a lot of mini puzzles within which is good to keep a player invested.
There are three different collectable types scattered across the village of Godstone. There’s medallions, Altars and Gospel Fragments. Most of these are easy to find using the abilities of your pendulum throughout each level.
The Enemies that Lurk:
As I said before, there is no combat, so you are avoiding most of the enemies. You encounter sinister entities, creepy exploding dolls, and also a hostile spirit in an old-style wheelchair, all of which are pretty easy to evade. There are two boss fights, both of which were just that bit too easy. Not that I like to die over and over losing my will to live trying to memorise the pattern of a boss fight, but I do expect to feel an accomplishment and breathe a sigh of relief upon beating them.Â
Closing Thoughts:
I enjoyed this game; did the combat deliver? No, but the visuals certainly did. The atmosphere in the game had me hooked, and I wanted to explore every last nook and cranny of every area. The puzzles were good, and there were lots of them which helped the investigative feel. The choice of areas to explore were absolutely top tier for a horror game, and the artwork was exceptional. I urge you to give this game a chance; it’s not perfect, but it is definitely a great game to lose a few hours to.Â
