Nosferatu: The Wrath of Malachi

Nosferatu’s developers played to the inherent strengths of all first-person shooters - the visceral illusion of being in a place far removed from the chair in front of your computer screen. Unlike the Victorians, the concept of a zombie or vampire won’t scare any of us, but like them, we still retain a fear of unknown things that might leap out at us in strange, dark places.

While the graphics are somewhat lackluster and the rooms confusing at times, the gameplay, music, atmosphere and experience delivery in Nosferatu : Wrath of Malachi makes it more than worth the while.

A decent single-player affair that pays proper homage to the 1920's silent film on which it takes inspiration from. The game is a lot of fun and will surprise players in varying degrees at every turn.

My only real complaint with this game is the length. It's far too short - taking around three hours to complete, at the most. It can't possibly take more than three hours, in fact, because there's a timer built into the game.

A thrilling shock shooter that delivers a frightful experience and an impressive assortment of horrific baddies to battle.

For the moment, Nosferatu is a terrific idea, beautifully realized, that is a just a patch or two away from greatness.

When Nosferatu is at its best, the game is a moody frightfest of first person survival-horror unlike anything on the PC, but when it’s at its worst Nosferatu is a frustrating exercise in dying. Still, for horror fans this can be overlooked, as Nosferatu delivers some great goosebumps.

I loved its originality and thought process. Sure the graphics weren't the greatest but with dead on audio and an amazing premise for a game, it just can't be beat.

On a purely visceral level, the combination of Nosferatu’s graphics and sound make for a chilly experience. As I noted previously, it isn't that frightening on a grueling psychological level, just a jump out at you and make you scream level.

The game's dimly lit rooms, haunting musical score, and aggressively edited cut-scene sequences (reminiscent of the movie "The Ring") more than compensate for the lackluster models and animation. [Feb 2004, p.71]

The developer might not have created the most technically sound action-oriented horror game out there, but it has provided outstanding thrills and chills.

Horror buffs will want to check it out now, but FPS fans won’t find much joy in the game’s generic and unappetizing engine.

It's not trying to complete with "Half-Life 2" or "Doom 3", but if the plan is to entertain and freak players out, it's mission accomplished.

It has the makings of a great game but some evil force shipped it before it was spit shined.

While it's a bit unpolished and repetitive, and resorts to action when tension might be better generated through inaction, it still manages to impress. [Jan 2004, p.80]

I'm not a fan of the random spawn features, the shoddy AI or the boring map geometry but the overall atmosphere is very well done and as a horror fan I did have more than a little fun playing through Nosferatu.

Its pretty-but-oldish look fits perfectly with its gothic subject matter, and its random room generation gives it some good bang-for-your-buck replay.

The game is challenging enough without been overly difficult and thanks to the random re-generation of the castle and its contents predictability is kept to a minimum.

The best comparison is a C-list Hammer Horror film. Yes, clearly utter trash – but trash that attempts to overcome its limitations through determination and imagination.

Until the next A-level scare-title comes along, gamers prone to the horror genre can consider Nosferatu a sort of light snack -- thin perhaps, but dark and tasty.

A game that captures you with its atmosphere, makes you sit on a towel to prevent having to clean the chair after playing. But it is also a little short lived - there’s no multiplayer support, and you eventually stop jumping at the well timed monster attacks.

Classic horror, average action.

The short completion time means you'll always walk away having accomplished something, and the random maps mean you'll always be in for a surprise. But it likely won't be as surprising as just how fun Nosferatu is.

What am I afraid of? Bad games, and Nosferatu seriously scares me. [Feb 2004, p.90]