Has there ever been a game that when you played you were left with more questions than you have answers? Very rarely do we play through a game that leaves us more confused after finishing it than we were going in. Last year at PAX 2023, Daedalic Entertainment invited us to preview their upcoming game Reveil.
This was Pixel Splits’ change of course from arcade-like amusement park games to a horror game. Just from the thirty-minute demo, we were craving more despite some of the bugs we encountered. Now a year later, we can finally enjoy what we started and dive fully into Reveil.
Game: Reveil
Developer: Pixelsplit
Publisher: Daedalic Entertainment
Platforms: Microsoft Windows (Steam & Epic Game Store), PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S (Reviewed)
Release Date: March 6th, 2024
Players: 1
Price: Base: $19.99 Funhouse Edition $26.99
Originally, we were excited to jump into Reveil, however, there were a few issues that we encountered when trying to play the game. The first issue we encountered was that the game would crash shortly after launching it on the Xbox Series X.
The second issue was that the game would cause the Xbox to get hot and it would shut down. With these two issues preventing us from playing the game, we decided to wait for an update for Reveil. After a few weeks, we decided to give it a second go.
When playing through Reveil you have to realize two things. Firstly, the game is meant to be suspenseful horror, not a survival horror game. Second, Reveil is a shorter horror game because it has multiple endings for the player to experience.
We won’t spoil the endings for you, but there are five potential endings that the player can experience. Now, players do not have to go through the whole game in order to experience them, however, there are subtle clues throughout that allude to other potential endings that you can easily miss on your first playthrough.
Throughout Reveil, you feel like you are in some kind of drug-induced fever dream. When the player first wakes up, they immediately start to look for painkillers to deal with a killer headache. As you explore the apartment, you realize that something dark and mysterious is going on or at the very least, you have a drug and alcohol problem.
What seems like a wholesome story of a father’s love for his daughter despite an estranged marriage takes a dark turn. While it is taking a dark turn, the world around you becomes more dark, mysterious, and twisted. The world around you will morph and things will move from where they originally were. Each time you revisit an area, things will be different and you will be left to wonder why.
The game does a great job of building up the suspense and keeping you on your toes. Each time the world shifts you never know what to expect and that suspense can cause your heart to race.
At one point when we were playing through the game, the wind blew open the front door at the same time there was a storm in the game and it caused us to jump. The developers did a great job of blending the visual, auditory, and narrative gameplay to make the player feel uneasy on multiple occasions and it works to make you sit on the edge of your seat.
As we previously mentioned, when the game first came out we had an issue that blocked us from playing it. Now a month later, the game has become more stable; however, at one point in the game, there was so much going on that the game was lagging and became difficult to move.
The next problem we faced was interacting with items that were tightly together. As we’d go to interact with one lever, we’d accidentally pull another or grab something else entirely. The final issue we faced was that when we were playing, the hint button did not work so we were left wondering what we needed to do at times.
The game’s overall controls work well and players can adjust them to suit their needs. While playing, we found the look sensitivity to be a bit high so we dropped it down to not get motion sickness. For graphics, the player can adjust the film grain, vignette, motion blur, brightness, and ambient occlusion (Lighting & Shadows).
Outside of the game lagging in one section, Reveil is a beautiful game to play through. Players who get the supporter edition get a special bonus of black and white camera effect to feel like they are in an old-time horror movie. The game lacks any color blind options and isn’t good for those who have epilepsy or a sensitivity to lights.
Finally, the game’s audio is probably its true selling point. The subtle sounds when something moves or the increase in the pace of the sounds moving around keep the player on edge. The scoring helps to set the mood and the voice actors they used conveyed their characters in a way that you feel their humanity. The game allows the player to adjust the overall volume, the 2D and 3D sound, voices, and ambiance; the supporter edition also grants developer commentary.
At the end of the day, Reveil does exactly what it was intended to by Pixelsplit. It conveys a trippy and dark tale that keeps the player guessing from beginning to end. With the multiple endings, the game can be revisited to see all potential outcomes. Each time you play through the game, you will find or notice something else. If you do not feel like replaying the game entirely, you can go to chapter select and load up a specific chapter.
Reveil’s graphics and audio keep the player on edge. With the dynamic lighting, eerie music, and occasional creepy mannequin jumping out, the player will be on edge and uncertain of what might come next. The game’s ending offers a bit of a mind trip but the time it takes to get to the end feels like it is drawn out to a point some may get tired and have to put the game down til a later point.
Overall, it was fun to playthrough Reveil. The playthrough we did took about three hours to get through but after seeing what you need to do can probably be done in about two hours. For $19.99, the game is worth checking out; if the game goes on sale then it would definitely be a great horror game to pick up for spooky season.
Reveil was reviewed on an Xbox Series X using a copy provided by Daedalic Entertainment You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Reveil is available on Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
