Agony

 PlayStation 4
User Score
4.6

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 155 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 155
  2. Mixed: 18 out of 155
  3. Negative: 82 out of 155
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  1. GReviews
    May 29, 2018
    5
    A survival horror game, Agony pushes every boundary you can think of with it's brutal content. Perhaps they should have focussed on the actual gameplay rather than the shock factor. Feels like a fairground ghost train, quite scary when you're on it, but when it's over you feel empty.
  2. br_moore
    Jun 24, 2018
    7
    Agony has certainly received plenty of hate, most of it unjust if you ask me. Not many people actually focus on what is genuinely good and what is genuinely bad about the game, they just follow mob mentality and dismiss it as crap.
    What Agony does well is provide an overall gaming experience unlike any other. The visuals and level design are some of the best I've ever seen, perfectly    Agony has certainly received plenty of hate, most of it unjust if you ask me. Not many people actually focus on what is genuinely good and what is genuinely bad about the game, they just follow mob mentality and dismiss it as crap.
    What Agony does well is provide an overall gaming experience unlike any other. The visuals and level design are some of the best I've ever seen, perfectly evoking what hell would probably be like. It is unrelenting in its use of graphic, taboo imagery and I appreciate that. The sound design, enemies, and atmosphere all come together nicely to bring you to what is probably the closest to hell you can ever be on this Earth. It is truly riveting in that sense.
    As for gameplay, I liked it. The stealth is tense, the puzzles are satisfying to solve, and there are tons of secrets to acquire, which is always fun. However, there are some glaring faults that drag the gameplay down. The most common enemy in the game kills you in one hit and moves far faster than you. Checkpoints tend to be too far apart at the most stressful of times (which is good sometimes, but most times just frustrating). The soul form mechanic can be truly cumbersome and underexplained (the first time I got captured by one of those tentacle things really confused me). And some sections are just plain tedious to play through. The tedious sections typically involve collect-a-thons amongst a bunch of enemies. Agony is actually at its best when it puts you in situations with little to no enemies, free to explore the grotesque environments. Also, sometimes the game just acts weird, and weird things mess up your progress, which is never fun.
    I can actually forgive a lot of these flaws, given that it is an indy game from a very small crew. What I can't forgive is the unforgiving challenge at points. Many checkpoints have powerful enemies right next to them, rendering them sometimes unreachable which is very painful. Also, the most common enemy being able to one-hit kill you AS WELL AS shooting insta-kill projectiles at you if you manage to get away... just crazy.
    Also, some of the animations and cutscenes are just so silly looking, breaking the immersion and intensity. It's at its worst during the final boss of the game. But again, mostly forgivable given the game's upbringing.
    The story and voice-acting has seen some criticism, but I actually enjoyed it. I found the story dark, cryptic, and intriguing. The Red Goddess is a great character, and her voice acting sold me. She was the perfect depiction of untrustworthy, hellish deviousness. Most NPCs were 100% forgettable, which is fine to me.
    The graphics also get criticized, which I find ridiculous. The textures are not incredible by today's standards, but the art direction and level design is absolutely breathtaking and wholly disturbing, which I adored. I lost count of the number of times my jaw dropped or I gasped when entering new rooms, vistas, or seeing the brutal tortures on display. I will say I also appreciated the prominence of male genitalia in the game. Female genitalia is not nearly as taboo, so seeing free-flying manly bits was weirdly refreshing.
    I also appreciate the surprisingly large amount of side content. Agony Mode is an interesting challenge, and the huge number of collectables and also different ways to play through the game can add to some serious replay value.
    Overall, Agony is an obviously flawed and low-budget game, with the lack of polish and some clunky/tedious game mechanics, but it is definitely better than majority claim. It is a gaming experience that is unlike any other. It pushes the boundaries on how intense and also artistic video game visuals can be, and for the most part offers up intriguing gameplay and an engrossing atmosphere.    … Expand
  3. AlexOnVinyl
    Jun 17, 2018
    7
    It's hard to appreciate a game with as much bugs as Agony has, but the game is really beautiful. Unfortunately the console versions of this game got it the worst with the framerate and graphical issues. If you can get past the bugs in the game, it's amazing
  4. Sammiches25
    May 31, 2018
    6
    To be perfectly honest, comparing this game with nine developers and a small budget against big name industry titles and developers really isn't fair. I do admit that the quality of this game falls short of what it could have been. However, it got much closer to the impression I had of the end result than No Man's Sky did. Because I don't feel completely cheated as is the norm these days,To be perfectly honest, comparing this game with nine developers and a small budget against big name industry titles and developers really isn't fair. I do admit that the quality of this game falls short of what it could have been. However, it got much closer to the impression I had of the end result than No Man's Sky did. Because I don't feel completely cheated as is the norm these days, I'm going to be optimistic about what I've judged to be a surprisingly acceptable game. As an aside, I do feel the need to mention that Dante's Inferno is still a better representation of Hell. I just wish Madmind could have enlisted some talent from Visceral Games to make everything smoother and more enjoyable. That way you get the good story telling, animations, art, gameplay, and have a first person torture simulator in a way that hasn't been done before.

    Getting to the premise, you are some guy (who's name I forgot. Some guy curses you and yells your name 5 times while he burns to death.) and nothing has been made very clear the entire time I've been playing. The thing is, I don't mind that as much as I mind the horrible lip synching and voice acting. Dark Souls is one of my favorite series and none of them have very detailed story-telling. I would have to say the voicing is much better integrated in the Souls series though. In terms of how well aware I am of the story and its progress, I can't say that I am aware at all through any part of the game. From what I do know, the story so far could be more compelling and is almost a good one, but it's still not one I could find myself reading about in depth such as the lore of Dark Souls or Bloodborne. I really enjoy the stories that are bigger than the game/movie I'm involved in. It really allows me to stretch my imagination and ponder upon the complexity of the events. If anything, this is the most disappointing part. I've been waiting for a good Hell game since Dante's Inferno and I have become extremely excited to see a version of said Hell with a strong H R Geiger inspiration. If they could have gotten a hair more support for animation/writing/beta testing, we'd have another Indie hit that deserves several sequels. Alas, this is not that, and the game is rather for those who just want to have some fun sneaking around the fiery depths and taking in the visuals.

    There's quite a few people to beat this horse already, but I can't leave it out. The so-called "clunkyness" you experience in the game is actually a form of artificial difficulty. For example, when you move the stick without pressing "R3", you walk at a snails pace. Not to mention that the camera control isn't smooth by any means. So I understand why the machanic is as such, though it could have easily been better if it were someone else's job to make. Personally, I would make a jog the default and make "R3" a real sprint. Then I would base level designs and challenges off that. This way you can feel like your character doesn't actually want to die by big breasted and alluring Martyr demons gouging out your eyes. I almost forgot to mention that these folks who say the UI is "outdated" are insane. What the hell does that even mean? Sure, they're using some old medieval font and some very PS3 era looking animations, but it's perfectly functional and I wouldn't shame the game for it.

    On the other hand, what the game does well is art, character design, and sound. I don't think this game would get anywhere without it's artists. Most games don't but I do say these guys saved the game. As earlier referenced, the H R Geiger look and style is already grotesque, but when you add in the disgusting footsteps or sounds of flesh ripping apart, it really reminds me what I bought the game for. For this reason, I'm actually not going to return the game.

    I'd also like to applaud Madmind/PlayWay/Maximum Games for not censoring all of the content like I know a big publisher would have. To be honest, this wouldn't be Hell if there weren't endless hordes of sexualized souls and demons getting slaughtered and tortured. Sex is one of societie's biggest hush subjects (and some things for good reason to be sure) but, if a piece of art in video game format wants to deliver both that and sadism/torture into one package because that's what a swath of people would enjoy privately in their own time, there's no reason not to. It bothers me that an "Adult Only" rating would be stricken from stores and removed from online services. I just feel like our society isn't mature enough to handle what other people spend their free time doing. One day the ESRB will be defunct just like the Comics Code Authority and at that time we'll truly get an opportunity for a polished and realistic version of Hell with this much violence. One day.    … Expand
  5. SuperkenGaming
    Jun 8, 2018
    6
    Agony
    Not as bad as everyone makes it out to be
    but still annoying Agony is a 12 hour long horror stealth game where you play as a spirit trying to get out of hell you start inside of a body and youll run into creepy characters as youre running through the beginning area collecting an offer to unlock the gate and move on… things are enjoyable and creepy enough at first.. feeling like    Agony
    Not as bad as everyone makes it out to be
    but still annoying
    Agony is a 12 hour long horror stealth game where you play as a spirit trying to get out of hell
    you start inside of a body and youll run into creepy characters as youre running through the beginning area collecting an offer to unlock the gate and move on…
    things are enjoyable and creepy enough at first.. feeling like this is going to be some demonic walking simulator..
    and then demons are introduced.. you’re thrown into a maze to collect 4 skulls and this is when you realize you’re in for a bunch of trial and error stealth frustration…
    This games biggest problem is that it lacks polish..
    though the developers clearly tried to make a good game here.. it doesn’t feel rushed through the entire journey… it feels a bit like an ambitious try from fans of demons and such…..
    naked body parts and blood all over the place
    There are mirrors here which act as your checkpoint.. they have to be found though, they don’t automatically activate… you can punish yourself by making them break when you die 3 times, but I kept that feature off.. I kept it as a respawn point… and every spot in the game except for this beginning maze progress is saved even if you die…
    but no progress being saved here makes this probably the hardest part of the entire game.. its right at the beginning. So if you get past this you’re pretty good to go…
    then the game gets into a lot of finding the right symbol to draw on a wall and break a seal while of course there are enemies around that cant see.. but they feel heat so you have to be carful with torches, and they have insane hearing…
    going through this world is actually enjoyable.. every location feels unique and challenging..
    the objective is mixed up between finding items finding the correct symbol and pure stealth…
    and if youre caught.. youre not out of the game yet.. there are characters crawling all over these levels, and if you interact with them youll pull la bag off of their head.. this allows one of these lucky folks to become your new body.. if you die you have a limited time to get to one of these bodies or be taken all the way back to your last checkpoint… and by limited I mean very limited…
    and towards the middle of the game youll even be able to possess the demons…
    the issue with this game though is its mechanic balancing that stops the game from being as fun as it could be.. that makes this game a frustrating chore..
    There are bugs here where in the maze my character wouldn’t squeeze into a hiding spot.. I got caught on a rock,, the game froze multiple times in the same area not activating a cutscene causing me to lose tons of progress.. but brokenness and bug aside..
    the mechanics feel as though they were made to intentionally infuriate the player..
    you have a stamina meter… which feels pointless because of how fast it runs out..
    you’ve got about 10 seconds of run time.. not nearly enough to run from an enemy that has spotted you.. this means no intense or thrilling chases.. no stories of that time the demon was so close to getting you but you got away.. if youre spotted youre dead.. so its basically here just to help make running through levels a little faster.. but again you get like 10 seconds and it takes another 20 to cool down..
    when you do die, again you have a limited time to find a new body which fine… what isn’t fine is that the game also later ads soul eaters that mean insta death with no warning, no way around them.. they just randomly catch you…
    when youre a demon you have a limited amount of time though your time is increased by eating humans.. problem is there isn’t nearly enough humans for you to continue as a demon for more than a few seconds.. theres rarely even a new body around to possess once time is up
    making this mechanic feel practically useless… if you are a demon and manage to make a great deal of progress you cant interact with collectables or even checkpoint mirrors…
    the mechanics just go against the potential fun of the game making it really hard to enjoy at times..
    though I did ultimately still enjoy this game..
    this by no stretch is a must play game, however I feel like its being unfairly represented as some awful game that it isn’t..
    it has its problems.. but there was heart put into this game
    I give Agony
    a 6.5/10    … Expand
  6. Ryskim
    Jan 21, 2019
    7
    This is not a game for all kind of audiences. Theres is a very specific target audience for this game and those will praise the idea, but the execution could be far better. The UI needs a lot of work, because the current UI is really poor. However, the environment and the idea, the concept, the graphics, the sounds and music, are really good. Try it for yourself, it's a very special game,This is not a game for all kind of audiences. Theres is a very specific target audience for this game and those will praise the idea, but the execution could be far better. The UI needs a lot of work, because the current UI is really poor. However, the environment and the idea, the concept, the graphics, the sounds and music, are really good. Try it for yourself, it's a very special game, too highly priced for what it has to offer, but still the game has potential if they really learn from their mistakes in future releases. I heard Succubus, their second title in the same universe is on the works. Let's how they do.… Expand
  7. NeoKortex
    May 31, 2018
    6
    Been playing for around 7 hours. Intriguing and mysterious story, that pushes you forward, surprisingly much to explore and to find if you dare to, a tantalizing atmosphere as it´s supposed to be, excellent ambient noise, a challenging difficulty level and while the gameplay isn´t that diverse (which was to be expected from a today horror game), it still got some interesting elements (e.g.Been playing for around 7 hours. Intriguing and mysterious story, that pushes you forward, surprisingly much to explore and to find if you dare to, a tantalizing atmosphere as it´s supposed to be, excellent ambient noise, a challenging difficulty level and while the gameplay isn´t that diverse (which was to be expected from a today horror game), it still got some interesting elements (e.g. it makes tactical dying possible). Tremendous potential, but, at least on PS4 (not playing on PRO) it´s technically broken (played with patch 1.01). The visuals are great from an art perspective, but screen tearing (especially dominant in cut scenes, which are partly unwatchable), immense aliasing/jitter on the edges and unsharp textures make the game really hard on the eye and not the way it was intended. While i got used to it after a while, this and bugs (e.g. getting stuck) tarnish the experience significantly.

    P.S.: According to Devs new patches are on the way, so i´d suspend final judgement until (sadly severe) childhood diseases are dealt with. Also the game´s still brutal enough despite gamer reports that more was censored than admitted.    … Expand
  8. SydTheDog
    May 29, 2018
    6
    The game starts off quite intrestering but then the screen tearing starts and just seems to constantly get in the way of the game which ruins the experience , the sounds of hell get very old and irritating very quickly , and the game becomes less scary the more you play as you know what to expect
  9. stryder26
    May 29, 2018
    5
    After two long years Agony is finally upon us.
    Agony is a decent try but unfortunately fall short.
    The Graphics are medium towards bad, the gameplay is interesting but the lack of in game map presents a dull overall experience. The plot is good but since i have not yet finished the game i am in no position to judge that aspect of the game. For the current price is certainly worth    After two long years Agony is finally upon us.
    Agony is a decent try but unfortunately fall short.

    The Graphics are medium towards bad, the gameplay is interesting but the lack of in game map presents a dull overall experience.
    The plot is good but since i have not yet finished the game i am in no position to judge that aspect of the game.

    For the current price is certainly worth your time, and believe me the title Agony is spot on for that game. ( Remember me when your character die, see what happens)    … Expand
  10. Steff86
    Jun 5, 2018
    5
    Agony had potential but is way too short and mechanics aren't great! If this was priced correctly it wouldn't be too bad £14.99/ $20 would have been the optimal price for this game but for £28 i feel ripped off.
  11. CamyVero
    Aug 7, 2023
    6
    Hay quien dice que el nombre de este juego le hace justicia a su experiencia jugable. La verdad es que, pese a que a su manera es innovador, no se puede negar la gran cantidad de problemas que tiene. Pero con todo es un producto interesante. Voy a tratar de ser objetivo y analizarlo de forma justa.
    Puedo decir que he terminado el juego un par de veces. He hecho el modo historia y he    Hay quien dice que el nombre de este juego le hace justicia a su experiencia jugable. La verdad es que, pese a que a su manera es innovador, no se puede negar la gran cantidad de problemas que tiene. Pero con todo es un producto interesante. Voy a tratar de ser objetivo y analizarlo de forma justa.
    Puedo decir que he terminado el juego un par de veces. He hecho el modo historia y he terminado el modo súcubo que va después y, pese a que cuando terminé la primera parte del juego me dejó un sabor de boca correcto, no me ha pasado lo mismo con el modo súcubo. Creo que el juego no está del todo terminado. Tiene unos glitches y bugs gráficos bastante importantes. Esto unido a que la naturaleza del diseño es caótica (lógico, es el infierno) hace que bastantes pasajes sean infumables. Texturas que no terminan de cargar, transiciones de escenarios sin animaciones, tiempos de carga injustificables y demás problemas que, sin duda, me hacen deducir que el juego está sin terminar.
    No se puede negar que la idea de un juego donde se explore el infierno es atractiva. Sobre todo para aquellos que gustamos del cine y la literatura de terror. Pobres frikis atrapados por el fantástico universo oscuro del miedo y el suspense. ¿A qué fan de los libros de Lovecraft, Poe, Stephen King o Clive Barker no le gustaría visitar los amplias y terribles regiones del infierno? Pues con esa premisa es fácil que Agony te atrape.
    La historia es bien sencilla, eres un alma condenada que llega al infierno sin recordar nada de tu vida anterior. Tu objetivo es esquivar como puedas los múltiples tormentos en forma de trampas, demonios y terribles torturas para llegar a tener una audiencia con la Diosa Roja y con suerte que esta te deje salir. En el camino nos encontraremos con bastante información en forma de notas que nos contarán y ampliarán el lore con historias pertenecientes a otros condenados, cuadros con escenas infernales y demás coleccionables. Un importante punto a favor del juego es el diseño de los escenarios. Esto no hay que confundirlo con la calidad gráfica. Los gráficos son malos, los diseños están chulos. Lanaturaleza laberíntica de los escenarios, el caos con el que están construidos. No hay cielo, no hay techos, no hay fondos, solo caos, fuego y sangre. Me parece que se acerca bastante a la idea del infierno dantesco y me ha gustado. Las mecánicas son las de un survival horror con algunos poderes limitados. El sigilo, la resolución de puzzles para avanzar y la posesión de cuerpos de otros condenados nos ayudarán a esquivar trampas o a los demonios que nos acecharán y no dudarán en destruirnos.
    En definitiva Agony es un juego curioso, recomendable si quieres vivir una experiencia bastante singular. El tema es que el juego tiene muchos problemas que no se pueden obviar. Para enfrentarte a él debes tener la mente abierta y ser benevolente con los tremendos errores que tiene. Eso es algo que no todo el mundo está dispuesto a pasar por alto y no les falta razón.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

77
#77 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018
99
#99 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
37

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 17
  3. Negative: 13 out of 17
  1. Cubed3
    Jul 30, 2018
    30
    Madmind Studios has successfully created the definitive version of videogame Hell: humdrum, uninspiring gameplay, frustrating level design, stuttering frame-rates, soft locks and crashes galore, unpolished textures, ugly character modelling, sudden inexplicable deaths, and irritating glitches. It is a painful experience from beginning to end, with the only real highlight being the uninstall. An absolute stinker; Agony is most definitely Hell!
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  2. Games Master UK
    Jul 14, 2018
    31
    Frustrating stealth sections, uninspired puzzling, and dull action make Agony gaming hell. [Aug 2018, p.73]
  3. Jeuxvideo.com
    Jun 23, 2018
    30
    Agony clearly deserves its name. The gameplay mechanics are chaotic, at best, the AI is plain dumb, the level-design is muddled, the scenario is boring… Well, there’s nothing to save here.
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