Perception

 PC
Metascore
56

Mixed or average reviews - based on 26 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 26
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 26
  3. Negative: 4 out of 26
  1. Rock, Paper, Shotgun
    May 25, 2017
    Not creepy or scary enough to quite work as a horror game, and without the sense of investigation that would make it work as a mystery, Perception falls between two posts. It’s premise is strong and the echolocation works well, but there simply isn’t enough to do in that old house, other than knock on the walls and listen to tales of times gone by. It’s a game that I wanted to like so much more than I do, partly because it’s so visually appealing and partly because Cassie is such a likeable character. She deserves a better story for herself rather than to be an observer of other peoples’ lives.

Awards & Rankings

79
#79 Most Shared PC Game of 2017

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
6.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 53 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 25 out of 53
  2. Mixed: 13 out of 53
  3. Negative: 15 out of 53
  1. isthis4you
    Jun 3, 2017
    7
    Perception differs from the rest of the heap in its central conceit. Instead of playing a bland self-insert, players take the role of thePerception differs from the rest of the heap in its central conceit. Instead of playing a bland self-insert, players take the role of the sardonic and immensely likeable Cassie, who’s been blind her whole life. Cassie’s had a whole series of nightmares involving an old house, and against the behest of her boyfriend and her own better judgment, she decides to take a flight to the dilapidated building and check it out. Cue the ghosts, murderous dolls, and a lurking malevolent force known only as The Presence.
    To visually represent Cassie’s disability, players cannot see anything in the house outside of vague colours and shapes. Other than that, the game is blanketed in complete darkness, and it’s up to players to use Cassie’s cane to better see her environments. Tapping the cane allows players to use echolocation to better figure out where to go, and other sounds in the house, like wind blowing in through a window, or spooky old radios, also help to give players an idea of where they are. However, tapping the cane too much can give away Cassie’s location, which attracts The Presence and is generally a good way to get yourself killed. What’s most impressive about this mechanic is that it’s something I found myself growing acclimated to through the game. Unlike other games of this variety, there was actually a mechanic present that I had to master, and finding myself slipping into a familiar rhythm with it felt really satisfying.
    Exploring the house with these mechanics and gradually piecing together the narrative is, in general, a pretty gratifying affair. Each chapter deals with a previous tenant of the house, who players learn more about through collecting items and triggering certain events. This being a horror game and all, none of these tenants had a particularly pleasant go of things. About half of these tragic tales compelled me, with the other half relying a bit too much on trope-ish material to really hook me. But the ones that hooked me really hooked me, such as an ambitious woman attempting to get approved for frontline combat in the Second World War, and an eccentric inventor creating an army of terrifying doll children known as Poppets. Cassie pieces together the common thread between these different generations of inhabitants through learning their stories, and in turn, starts to uncover exactly what’s brought her to this old house.
    Unfortunately, by the time things were wrapping up, the methods used to uncover more narrative bits had grown a little stale. Walking down some stairs, triggering a cut scene, then walking back up said stairs to trigger another cut scene started to wear my patience thin. Most of the gameplay can be boiled down to that, and from a mechanical standpoint, walking back and forth repeatedly is just not very compelling. The introduction of the Poppets livened things up, as they zip around the house on preset rails and attempt to shoot Cassie, but the basic mechanics boiled down to the same thing. What also bummed me out was how little I had to hide from The Presence. The house is littered with hiding places, but I only encountered this ethereal monstrosity through fixed set pieces and not by making too much noise, rendering those little hiding cubbies practically useless. Granted, said set pieces were sufficiently tense and frightening, with a frantic dash through a graveyard being a particular highlight. But by and large, Perception falls victim to the biggest trapping of this first-person haunted house sub-genre – walking from Point A to Point B repeatedly with barely anything else to do. This was the crux of what made Layers of Fear such a miserable experience, and it occasionally threatens to undo the fresh originality on display here.
    That said, Perception is short enough that it’s hot take on haunted houses didn’t ever truly wear out its welcome. In a post-PT world, Perception is probably the best of bunch when it comes to wandering haunted houses, decoding obfuscated narratives, and triggering jump scares. Its protagonist is one of the better female leads out there, its unique art direction complements the core concept, and its sound design almost always manages to keep players on the edge of their seats.
    While I would’ve liked some of the lesser plot threads to resonate with me more, and perhaps a few more mechanics to mess around, Perception is ultimately a pretty winning title. This is clearly a passion project by some of the best names in the genre, and that passion manifests itself in a game that manages to be likeably frightening in spite of its occasional missteps. If you’re looking for a fresh take on haunted houses and don’t mind some dives into repetition, Perception is worth picking up for a few hours of solid scares.    … Full Review »
  2. SuperkenGaming
    Jun 8, 2017
    7
    Perception
    less is more
    Perception is a 3 hour long first person horror game where you play as a blind woman named Cassie who visits a    Perception
    less is more
    Perception is a 3 hour long first person horror game where you play as a blind woman named Cassie who visits a mansion she keeps seeing in her nightmares...
    She goes to collect the 4 items she sees…
    Since you are blind you see using echolocation…
    At first this seems like just a cool experimental game...
    And you assume you’re going to just keep echoing to explore the rooms…
    But quickly you learn this isn’t the case…
    You’ll do a lot of back tracking here... as this is a go to a certain point and collect a certain item kind of game until you get to the credits…
    You can hold down a button to see a doorway or item located in the house and then you have to figure out how to get there…
    And slowly this gets more challenging…
    For starters...
    You can’t just spam the echo button…
    Because while you use your ears to see...
    The house uses its ears to see too…
    Too much noise will attract an enemy moth monster…
    For the majority of this is the only threat...
    the screen will start turning red and you have to find a hiding spot fast…
    This makes exploring this dark mansion even more terrifying…
    The game understands that less is more when it comes to horror..
    It doesn’t flood you with enemies to deal with…
    You only have to deal with one...
    And it comes when there’s too much noise happening…
    This leaves you feeling vulnerable at every moment of the game…
    The challenge also comes in the form the house changing…
    This house has been home to many families... and you have to solve the mystery of all of them…
    Each chapter takes place in the same house... But the house always looks different and offers a different challenge depending on the time period and who lived there...
    All the way back to the 1600s…
    This changes the gameplay up a bit to keep the game interesting as it is insanely repetitive...
    Again it is just figuring out how to get to the right room in the house over and over for 3 hours and listening to dialog and the echoes of this house…
    And I never truly felt like I was exploring the house as practically every door is locked expect for the one you need to go through,
    This is a gift and a cruse because you won’t be wasting your time in rooms you don’t need to go through…
    but a curse because you can just go through a simple route to the right room.. you have to go through a bit of a maze as if being blind wasn’t hard enough…
    Though perception is a bit repetitive, it still offers a terrifying and unique experience worth picking up for horror fans…
    I give perception
    a 7/10    … Full Review »
  3. Sjalka
    Jun 6, 2017
    5
    I want to like the game more than i actually do. A game like "Gone home", story-driven and the concept of a blind protagonist that sees theI want to like the game more than i actually do. A game like "Gone home", story-driven and the concept of a blind protagonist that sees the world by sound (very similar - but of course not as spectacular as the blindness effect in the dreadful movie "Daredevil").

    That allows the game to combine the supernatural with the natural - in theory. I was - however - not so impressed by the story, which felt a bit - boring to be honest... been here, done that ... a story like many others - with the blindness being more a feature than a focus point - at times.

    From a technical point of view - i was disappointed with the echo-location mechanic. i would have loved it to be a lot more precise - with the sound being a lot more reflected based on environment than a general "ping" in the general direction.
    That means that a "tap" usually illuminated a general area in front of me - like a light source right in front of me. Different surfaces, obstacles or else seemed not to make a significant difference - it was always the same "light source".

    The visual presentation was also lacking - with pretty dull colours and flat shading. Now - i know that its meant to be the visual representation of a blinds persons hearing - but still ... the game simply is not great to look at.

    A special problem was the sound though. Considering the sound is the all and everything - it felt VERY reduced and not at all representative of the surroundings. One could hardly hear the difference between a large hall, a small room, an empty environment or full one.

    At that point i would say that i expected more - but since i just became aware of the title a short while ago - i did not expect anything at all.

    Is it worth trying out? - well - yes, but as an adventure - it is just below average.
    Is it something really new and exciting? - sadly ... no

    I must say that i did not play till the end though! - my impressions come from a slow exploration of around 2-3 hours - it is likely that the game becomes much better - at least in terms of storytelling.    … Full Review »
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