Otherworldly is a new entry in rogue-like dungeon horror game by Ultimate Games, where you find yourself inside the corridors of a dark and mysterious place, hunted by the terrors that reside in the dungeon. I got a copy of the game for the Nintendo Switch as the game was recently released for the console. The game wastes no time in telling you what you have to do, nor does it give you a back story of who you are, and what is the purpose of your adventure in this dark place. It will be best for players that are looking for a quick horror game, filled with jumpscares.
Otherworldly is undeniably inspired by other horror games in the genre. You can immediately sense this in the first couple of seconds that the game looks similar to Amnesia. So much so, that it even has some of the gameplay mechanics and items that remind me of Amnesia. From being followed by a mysterious monster, eager in hunting you and killing you, to helplessly looking for candles, matches, and resources to navigate through the dark corridors and to plan on a quick exit.
Even though you are not provided with a back story, the game does give you some vital information right from the start. Before you begin your adventure, you are told that you enter the dungeon to claim the valuable items, and whoever enters this place has never returned back. After the short intro, you are shown ample information about what you are supposed to do in terms of survival, and what your objectives are in the game. While you may feel lost in the first couple of minutes, you are provided with just enough information and resources to begin the adventure and make sense of what to do next.
When you start the game, you will immediately get in terms of your goals, and the items you can use for survival. Your basic goal is to pick up valuable items and collect at least $5,000 worth of items. Reaching this goal is the only way you can escape. There are multiple items made of gold, like gold plates, gold chalices, and even money. These items carry a lot of value and can be picked up from the various locked rooms, chests, or even random places. On the other hand, you also have resource items like apples which restore your health, Candles, and Matches to light up the dark.
The most valuable resource material I thought was the candles and matches. There is nothing scarier than walking in a dark hallway, having the feeling of something following you and breathing down your neck, while having no idea where to head next. You start with a few matches right from the beginning, as these provide you some light to navigate around the area. On the other hand, you can find Candles that light up more of the area and burn up slower than the matches. This gives you enough time to explore some of the area before running out of light.
You also start the game with 100 health and 100 Sanity. This gameplay feature is something that was also in Amnesia, where the more you lost your Sanity, the bigger target you became and the more jumpscares you got. This feature works exactly the same in Otherworldly, except your health can depreciate slowly, or reduce when hit by the monster. The apples that you collect restore your health by a quarter per item used. So you might need to collect a few of these if you don’t want to die too quickly.
It is very easy to get lost in the dark corridors. Especially when you have scarce resources and find yourself going in circles. This is where the game has a mini-map that helps you navigate the area. What I like about the map is that it does not reveal everything until you have explored each path. This keeps you guessing where you need to go, but most of all; it prevents you from going in circles or getting lost. The map helps massively in going to new areas and finding rooms where you can collect valuables and resource items.
Moving on to the most important part of the game, which are the enemies that you will face, or rather, try your best to stay away from. I found that besides the jumpscares, there are just two enemies that are following you. The first is the stationary skeleton that announces its arrival with a blood-curdling scream, but only moves when you are not looking directly at it. This can scare you at first, but the skeleton can easily be avoided when you run away and gain some distance between you two.
The second enemy is the vile and brutal monster that doesn’t shy away from slashing you and killing you with a few hits. This is the toughest enemy you will face and the best thing can do is just run away as far as you can. A few hits from this monster and you will be dead. If you die, the game will have to be played all over again, and your inventory will be reset, along with the explored locations on your mini-map. Being a short game, I didn’t find this to annoying and actually made me want to step in again and try to escape successfully at least once. Once you have enough valuables, you are just left with finding an escape hatch and exiting from it. The hatch is usually located on the floor somewhere in the area.
Otherworldly is not a huge game and is more of a one-time experience. Once you reach the goal and exit, the game ends and displays the worth of the valuables that you managed to escape with. It would have been better if the game was longer, featured more levels, and monsters. The game is not something that you might return to, and even if it is a one-time game, it ends just a little too quickly and abruptly. Other minor gripes I had was with the monster that felt a little inconsistent with its appearances. At times, the monster would spawn very early and would be waiting for me right around the corner within a few seconds of the start.
Final Verdict
Otherworldly is a decent horror game that is filled with jumpscares. The game does a good job in making the player feel helpless but also provides enough information to get up to speed. The pitch-black darkness of the corridors, paired with the low amount of resources makes it a wonderful survival horror game. The controls on the Nintendo Switch felt a little flimsy and had me wasting more time on picking items rather than evading the enemies. I wish there was more to play with more levels, meaner monsters and other surprises that would catch the player unaware. If you want a quick dose of a good horror game, filled with surprising jumpscares, you should definitely give Otherworldly a try.
