The Old City: Leviathan

 PC
The Old City: Leviathan Image
Metascore
62

Mixed or average reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
5.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 35 Ratings

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  • Summary: The Old City: Leviathan is an experiment in first person exploration that focuses entirely on story. All that exists is you and the world. Set in a decaying city from a civilization long past, The Old City: Leviathan puts the player in the shoes of a sewer dwelling isolationist.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 16
  3. Negative: 4 out of 16
  1. Gaming Nexus
    Dec 31, 2014
    88
    While the game's story can sometimes become too obscure for its own good, the majority of the narrative experience shouldn't be missed by adventurous gamers.
  2. GameWatcher
    Dec 3, 2014
    80
    The Old City has a tendency to get into your head and bones after a few hours and as this is the first of a trilogy, I’m eager to see where Leviathan will take me next.
  3. We Got This Covered
    Dec 30, 2014
    80
    There is a very melancholic feel to The Old City: Leviathan that brings peace to any willing gamer that plays it.
  4. Kill Screen
    Dec 22, 2014
    67
    In its best moments, The Old City: Leviathan toggles seamlessly between enchanting dreams and dark realities, tragic memories and tragic futures, and deeply touching realizations on what is actually happening. But they’re all never really meant for the player; they’re meant for the protagonist.
  5. IncGamers
    Dec 3, 2014
    60
    Putting a solid score on a game whose overriding ideology is a rejection of certainty is an act of high absurdity. But it’s also somewhat appropriate for The Old City: Leviathan’s other persistent theme of reconciling incompatible truths.
  6. Riot Pixels
    Jan 25, 2015
    45
    The Old City: Leviathan is good only for one thing. Leave it running on your computer and go to sleep. Let your friends think that you’re philosophizing all night long.
  7. CD-Action
    Mar 4, 2015
    20
    Yet another sorry first-person walker with a convoluted, rubbish story pretending to be something deep and valuable. [02/2015, p.53]
    All this publication's reviews

See all 16 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 7
  3. Negative: 2 out of 7
  1. Taurustar
    Jan 28, 2015
    10
    The game fits perfectly with the thematic exposed... The game is a referent, in fact has more content than other of the same genre as DearThe game fits perfectly with the thematic exposed... The game is a referent, in fact has more content than other of the same genre as Dear Esther. I really feel in the place... The story makes the game even more addictive... you need to explore every corner of the game... trying to understand what's going on...… Expand
  2. Guerrino
    Dec 20, 2014
    10
    So , what can i say about this game ? Impressive and that's all. If you really want to feel the fear you should don't see at preview aboutSo , what can i say about this game ? Impressive and that's all. If you really want to feel the fear you should don't see at preview about this game.
    This song ... and it's a project i am saying to people haven't understood what it is. That's all i wanted to say. This game amateur . Someone like , someone hate...    … Expand
  4. MikeLane
    Jan 25, 2015
    9
    This game - well, not a game, it's a piece of interactive fiction - surprised me. It is intelligent, moody and asks some very importantThis game - well, not a game, it's a piece of interactive fiction - surprised me. It is intelligent, moody and asks some very important questions and, most importantly, never forces an answer. It rewards introspection and thought, and would, I'm afraid, be crippled by a player in a hurry who refused to stop and read, examine and, most importantly, think.

    I hope this, and spiritual sibling The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, are hints of a genre that will grow.

    My only negative? It could have been longer - but what's there is amazing.    … Expand
  5. gold
    Nov 19, 2018
    7
    Сюжет немного понял - он на 8. Графика - 7. Геймплей: бродишь, открываешь/закрываешь двери, приближаешь камеру если хочешь. Прыгать можно, ноСюжет немного понял - он на 8. Графика - 7. Геймплей: бродишь, открываешь/закрываешь двери, приближаешь камеру если хочешь. Прыгать можно, но зачем - всё ровно не можешь никуда запрыгнуть - 6.
    ИТОГ: 7.300/10    … Expand
  6. fartheststar
    Jan 31, 2016
    7
    I recommend the game if you like walking sim games. It's a bit difficult to describe the game, but it's a fantastical interpretation ofI recommend the game if you like walking sim games. It's a bit difficult to describe the game, but it's a fantastical interpretation of ideological battles that have left the world in a post-apocalyptical state, and you are an observer exploring this world, and trying to make sense of the stories that are left behind based on what you see, hear, and read.

    Pros:
    - visually this is stunning.
    - highly detailed and varied environments, that feel "lived in"
    - game has a feeling that much thought and care went into development. It has heart.
    - runs on Windows XP!

    Cons
    - the philosophy and amount of reading, especially early on is a bit "dense." The game didn't make much sense to me at first, but as the game progressed this became less of an issue. So push forward.
    - Be aware that the world is not interactive. You will explore and view the world, but you won't be interacting with it much, beyond opening doors. This can be frustrating at first, at least until you understand how things work.

    So yes, I recommend this one for fans of walking sims, but be aware that it's heavier on reading than you're likely expecting, and it may be difficult to understand at points - especially early on because your motivation might not be sufficient to want to read pages of text without context.    … Expand
  7. Sorcerer88
    Dec 16, 2014
    4
    uninformed pseudophilosophy, tedious gameplay, environments pretty but uninspired with lack of interesting and meaningful objects.

    3 basic,    uninformed pseudophilosophy, tedious gameplay, environments pretty but uninspired with lack of interesting and meaningful objects.

    3 basic, pseudophilosophical ideas the game centers on:
    contentness, satisfaction, perfection = stagnation, nothing to do, always need new goals
    belief should be open ended, you can't know for certain, shouldn't hold on to ideology (= anker),
    the world is bad and we don't know much, but we can improve step by step, but need to deconstruct everything first.
    These ideas aren't bad. But they aren't brilliant, deep or new either and instead of making them sound complicated for 2 hours, one could have added to them differently.
    i feel like the creator didn't read a lot of literature, because these ideas have been done hundreds of times before and much better. It's not even well-copied for lack of ideas.

    dialogue = simple ideas made to sound complex with naive complication of terms and syntax
    also, depressing setting, especially in the beginning, with no justification, needs to be good to be worth it.

    also, tons of game design flaws:
    horror athmosphere in the beginning, but nothing ever happens to you, so you ignore the scary feeling.
    a train that takes long to go through only to need to turn back, no reward for exploration.
    too many long texts scattered throughout the levels that want you to stop to read for a while. especially with Solomon's notes, that's too long and not that interesting. this is not a book, but a game.
    crab in the last chapter does nothing, you go a long way into a dead-end. takes you a while to realize there's nothing happening there, then you have to backtrack.

    Dear Esther is the much better game of this exploration story-driven type.
    I'm sorry to give this such a scathing review, there's surely quite some inspiration and motivation behind Leviathan, but the result just doesn't hold up in any way.    … Expand
  8. dajhorn
    Mar 21, 2018
    0
    The Old City Leviathan is a tedious overwrought book pretending to be a video game. It isn't mysterious. It is slow, plodding, and poorlyThe Old City Leviathan is a tedious overwrought book pretending to be a video game. It isn't mysterious. It is slow, plodding, and poorly written. It is like that chore homework that a self-important associate professor gave you for that mandatory undergraduate course in philosophy.… Expand

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