Narcosis Reviews

Narcosis is ranked in the 44th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
88 / 100
Mar 28, 2017
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7 / 10.0
Mar 28, 2017

Narcosis is a non conventional, intense and well written survival horror game. The abyss is a fascinating setting and the character is forced to survive and fight from inside a heavy diving suit, constantly monitoring the oxigen level. However, gameplay is too slow, awkward and inaccurate.

Review in Italian | Read full review

5.8 / 10.0
Mar 29, 2017

Narcosis tells a grounded, emotional, and surprising story, but you have to wade through a lot of plodding moments to see it through

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8 / 10.0
Mar 29, 2017

A great VR horror experience with clever narration and excellent audio. The game can be played tradizionally, without an HMD, but it loses 90% of its charm.

Review in Italian | Read full review

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Nick H.
Top Critic
Mar 31, 2017

Fans of survival horror should give this title a go, and this is especially true if you have the opportunity to experience it in virtual reality. It may not have ghosts and goblins, but Narcosis still provides a suitably haunting experience worth undertaking.

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8.3 / 10.0
Mar 31, 2017

Ultimately, Narcosis provides players with a compelling experience that's easy to recommend.

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6.8 / 10.0
Apr 4, 2017

Narcosis is a disturbing adventure which captures the player with its fascinating and unforgettable mood.

Review in Italian | Read full review

70 / 100
Apr 5, 2017

A good set of headphones or a full surround-sound system is highly recommended for Narcosis.

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90 / 100
Apr 10, 2017

Narcosis is a shining example of a virtual reality psychological thriller done right, and a is must play for any horror junkie.

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7.8 / 10.0
Apr 13, 2017

Narcosis is a frightening, cerebral game that taps into your basest instincts of fear and survival with a beautifully rendered environment and thoughtful story. The short length of the game and the actual mechanics keep it from being a masterpiece, but it is an excellent debut effort from Honor Code.

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8 / 10.0
Apr 19, 2017

Narcosis will put you through an unforgettable journey. Play it, recommend it. A good storyteller is hard to find, so don't lose the chance.

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7 / 10
Apr 27, 2017

Narcosis is a suffocating experience in the bottom of the ocean. An interesting game, but it feels a little incomplete in some ways, including its length.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

5.5 / 10.0
May 9, 2017

Despite boasting a few interesting ideas and a story well told, Narcosis is often too laborious and testing to offer incentive to get through the bad design decisions on show.

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May 11, 2017

Narcosis is neither a great nor terrible horror title — it's simply fine. The premise is so strong but the full experience only partially achieves that potential. Its place as a quick completion will attract many of this community, but if you need more than narrative from your games, look elsewhere. It delivers a brief but interesting story with a greatly memorable ending, but in several other ways, most notably atmosphere, Narcosis is dead in the water.

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May 11, 2017

Narcosis provides a truly scary VR experience despite being a bit shallow in regards to its content and mechanics. Fans of horror games will definitely find something to enjoy.

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5 / 10
May 15, 2017

It's hard to recommend Narcosis to anyone who wants something more than just a story. There's some interesting concepts here that could've translated to some great gameplay mechanics, but they feel under developed. The story and characterisation is great, but everything else pales in comparison. Narcosis is a great premise that unfortunately never really lives up to what sounded like high potential.

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8 / 10
May 17, 2017

As horror games go, Narcosis is a triumph, managing to get under your skin and stay there long after you've put the pad down.

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80 / 100
May 18, 2017

Narcosis is a game that draws you into its aquatic world of horrors and makes you hold your breath until you come out the other end. It's just a shame that you could almost finish it in that one breath, as it can be completed in about four hours. All in all we shouldn't hold this against it as not every game has to be a forty hour open-world epic. In the end, this brief adventure was well worth experiencing. Now excuse me while I go out and buy a VR set to dive back in!

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Drew Leachman
Top Critic
5.5 / 10.0
May 18, 2017

There's not much I can say about Narcosis. It was too short of an experience to really gather a lot for it. At the same time, this was made for VR and I'm sure if I had played it in VR it would have had a bigger effect on me. Unfortunately, while this is supposed to be a horror game, I never once jumped or was creeped out.

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8 / 10
May 18, 2017

Narcosis feels designed for VR, and as such, it's a relatively short experience, lasting only a handful of hours. The game runs smoothly on Xbox One, and even without VR, I found the game unnerving. The fear of the pitch dark unknown on the ocean with all sorts of nightmarish creatures is enough to give me nightmares. Combine it with the disturbing imagery and the death of all your colleagues, and you have an intriguing premise with some great narrative set pieces.

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