In addition to the intense horror, there’s cosmic horror that will unsettle the younger ones, and references to child abuse and sexual assault.Ĭolorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available in the options.ĭeaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers: I played a decent amount of the game without sound, and had no real troubles. It contains Blood and Gore, Violence, and Mature Themes. Parents: This game was not reviewed by the ESRB, but is easily an M. Approximately 8 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the PC. Rating: 6 out of 10ĭisclosures: This game is developed by Rock Pocket Games and published by Funcom. The developers have built themselves a Martian base that would be a pleasure to live and work in - it’s just a shame they couldn’t craft a game that was as enjoyable as their setting. I’d done this kind of stuff a hundred times before, but every mechanical detail of operating the machinery and interacting with the technology was so completely fascinating that I found myself wishing that the section wouldn’t end. It was the kind of busywork that developers use to establish a placid tone before waves of horror start crashing over everything. The color of the light and shape of the outcroppings are just strange enough to make the whole place feel uncomfortable and alien, so even performing routine tasks feels like a bold accomplishment.Īs Moons of Madness began, my character was asked to head out to a solar array and perform some minor repairs. This extends to the depiction of Mars as a red wasteland of dirt and rocks. I’ve rarely seen such thought and care put into making a sci-fi setting so completely grounded and plausible. From the sleek, high-tech space suits to the blocky, modular corridors, it all feels authentic. The environment, though, is something else entirely - every bit of the art design is impressive. Unlike many other first-person horror titles, it’s always clear which way the player is supposed to run when there’s some kind of a beast hot on their trail, so the action scenes stay thrilling and avoid frustration. Even the handful of chase scenes work well. All story objectives are clearly flagged, and the puzzles – while a little challenging at times – are always easy to find and interact with. The mechanics of play are fine, at least. It also doesn’t help that the main character is oddly incurious about his situation - when one of his coworkers explains that he’s been having nightmares about aliens screaming at him before waking up to discover that he’s scrawled bizarre symbols all over his living space, the main character can’t muster anything more than a ‘”huh.” It’s set in a small base where only five people live and work, and the player is asked to believe that no one noticed when one of those people grew a a crop of monstrous tentacle trees in the greenhouse that handles all of the oxygen production? One big problem? This is the type of narrative where other characters are only interacted with through brief radio chats setting up the next objective - there’s no time spent getting to know any of the cast, so it’s difficult to care when they start getting torn apart by tentacle monsters.Īnother issue is just how ludicrous parts of the premise are. Discovering ancient sinister structures beneath the soil of Mars is such a well-worn subject that there’s a 30-year-old Arnold Schwarzenegger movie about it, and Moons doesn’t do much to elevate the premise. If I’m being glib about the story, it’s only because it never manages to do anything particularly fresh or interesting. Five scientists have traveled there and have been tasked with doing research that will allow the rock to be colonized - things like locating water sources, crossbreeding plants to thrive in Martian soil, and unlocking the mysteries of strange, cyclopean temples. Set in the near future, Moons of Madness takes place on Mars where a totally not-evil corporation has set up a secret research base. It may seem strange that I found myself less interested when monsters started popping up, but that’s a statement on just how good the all of the pre-horror content is. The domes, the suits, the rovers… it’s all crafted with such breathtaking verisimilitude that it managed to entertain by simply giving me maintenance tasks to accomplish. No, its greatest strength is in its presentation of offworld living conditions. This stuff isn’t what Moons of Madness does best, though. Running away and brewing poisons to inject into them all works perfectly fine. There’s a forest of Shoggoths, some Cthonians, and a few other strange creatures on display. WTF Are we ever going to get to the fireworks factory?
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