Moons of Madness

 Xbox One
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 6 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 1 out of 6

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  1. Xbox_Alive
    Mar 26, 2020
    8
    Moons of Madness: This first person horror game credits it's creepy and horrific atmosphere to H. P. Lovecraft and I certainly feel he would approve. Gameplay on Moons of Madness has you play as Shane, a member of a expedition to Mars in search of alien life. Right from the get go you are dropped inside one of Shane's dreams, and a sense of dread and omnious foreboding clouds you fromMoons of Madness: This first person horror game credits it's creepy and horrific atmosphere to H. P. Lovecraft and I certainly feel he would approve. Gameplay on Moons of Madness has you play as Shane, a member of a expedition to Mars in search of alien life. Right from the get go you are dropped inside one of Shane's dreams, and a sense of dread and omnious foreboding clouds you from then on, with sudden movements just out of eyesight or unexplained noises, things toppling over, or maybe just a strange shadowy figure in front of you. Not had a sense of dread and felt so involved in a game since I played Alien Isolation last. The running around doing menial chores or picking up after other peoples mess ups can be slightly annoying but well worth playing through to get to the intense moments this game game can deliver. Visually the game is a joy to behold. Plenty of detail and tones to match the setting and mood, I did experience a couple of blips accompanyed by frame drops. Not much improvement required in the graphics department here, got this down great. This game is a great addition to any horror fans collection, like something out of the twisted imagiation of Lovecraft himself and straight onto your screen, with some tedious and monotonus moments mostly overshadowed by the suspense and spine tingling moments.… Expand
  2. CoolDadTx
    Aug 28, 2020
    8
    Overall an easy sci-fi horror with an interesting story and no combat. The lack of combat is a good thing. Many games try to shoe horn combat in because "it's required". This game has none and yet still you will die frequently, for other reasons. Overall it is just the right length and I didn't notice any bugs.

    The 2 biggest complaints I have about this game are the puzzles and the    Overall an easy sci-fi horror with an interesting story and no combat. The lack of combat is a good thing. Many games try to shoe horn combat in because "it's required". This game has none and yet still you will die frequently, for other reasons. Overall it is just the right length and I didn't notice any bugs.

    The 2 biggest complaints I have about this game are the puzzles and the instant deaths. The puzzles, for the most part, are reasonable. Often there are clues around. But in at least 2 cases you have to properly arrange a series of dials and levers to get something to the correct numbers. This is pretty much a guessing game as there is no logical rationale around how it works. Unless you want to fiddle with fake dials for an hour the best option is to get the solution online. Even online most people just give you the answer without an explanation because, again, there is no logic to the answer. The satellite dish in particular followed this path as you have to get to a certain signal strength. Moving 2 different dials controls that but as you move one dial the numbers go up and down. Same for the other dial. Unless the first dial is in the spot it needs to be in you will never get enough strength. Yet any # of other locations on that same dial will give strength as well, just not enough. So you end up moving the first dial a little at a time and then the second dial through its range until you find the magic range they both need. No amount of logic helps here. These puzzles should have been rethought.

    The other issue is the instant deaths. There are a few QTEs in the game and while you are normally used to button mashing for them sometimes you actually have to focus on the QTE indicator first. This is never explained and is only done in 1 or 2 cases. Failure to figure this out and you will keep failing the QTE and dying. Some semblance of instructions would have been helpful here. In other cases you just suddenly die and have to go figure out why. Often there is no rationale. This game needs a few more hints or a plain old instruction on some of its less logical areas.

    Overall a pretty easy game. I got an Aliens vibe from it. With some better thought out puzzles this has the makings of a very good game.    … Expand
  3. Xplocion
    Jul 6, 2021
    8
    The good:
    880G of easy achievements doing story stuff. Immersive story that starts one way and you think it goes one way but totally changes as you go. Lots of references to Lovcrafian cosmic beings. Free scares and screamers / jump scare moments that you do not expect (especially because you think that the game is about one thing and it is something totally crazy)
    The bad: The game    The good:
    880G of easy achievements doing story stuff. Immersive story that starts one way and you think it goes one way but totally changes as you go. Lots of references to Lovcrafian cosmic beings. Free scares and screamers / jump scare moments that you do not expect (especially because you think that the game is about one thing and it is something totally crazy)

    The bad:
    The game is disgusting, not in its graphics, but in overusing and saturating with elements such as slime, tentacles, slimes, rare and different colored liquids. It is not on the Xbox Game Pass (as of this review). The hitbox for "purple potions" (and of different colors) called in the game "dirt" is irregular, there are times that it damages you, there are times that it does not and you do not know when to approach certain things or objects. Screamers that you do not expect. Outside of history they did not make an effort to vary some things or put collectibles. There are certain objects that do not finish loading after dying, so there are times that you should see an object that prevents your passage but you cannot see it because it does not finish loading (this only happened to me twice and in long game sessions, it is not habitual). It is not very long and unless you want to get the two endings and all the achievements it is not very replayable

    What Meh:
    It surprised me for good. The title screen gives you a "Super Mega Spoiler" (zaz all over the face). It is not recommended to play it while you eat (or after eating), if you get disgusted easily, if you are afraid of worms because it is extremely unpleasant. I recommend playing it without a guide as it will take away all the mystery and free scares. Has a missed achievement that forces you to replay it from the start    … Expand
  4. SARMAD101
    Nov 26, 2021
    10
    One of the best games about HP Lovecraft books if not the best i Highly advice every one to play it

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
64

Mixed or average reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 10
  3. Negative: 1 out of 10
  1. ZTGD
    Jun 9, 2020
    55
    In the end, I think Moons of Madness is an ok game that could have used a little more fine tuning with both the story and the horror/survival mechanics. I would never say this is a bad game by any means, but it is most certainly a forgettable one. I feel like I have seen something like this before in multiple other games and remember them much more than I did this one. At the same time, if you’re looking for a horror game that has some interesting mechanics at times and some decent atmosphere, I would at least wait for a price drop, but would consider this if you haven’t tried it.
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  2. XboxAddict
    Jun 8, 2020
    60
    There are moments in Moons of Madness that are fun and interesting, but they are spread pretty far apart by backtracking, menial tasks and simple puzzles. The voice acting, the environments and your characters animations are great, but the story is all over the place and after its six hour campaign it is very easy to forget.
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  3. XBLA Fans
    Apr 30, 2020
    80
    If you like horror and science fiction, this is something you need to check out. The gorgeous environment with a sinister evil to it will be something you’ll enjoy. The game is short but everything is packaged nicely and it feels like you spent enough time with it. Puzzles can be somewhat difficult but the real hindrance comes with interaction with some of them. It’s a very subtle horror. You won’t be jumping from loud noises or panic running much, but you will have that looming uneasy feeling that something isn’t right. In this sense, it is an intelligent horror game that keeps your brain stimulated with puzzles while worrying about what will happen after you complete them.
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