The Occultist Reviews
The Occultist is a great investigate horror game featuring a compelling narrative and well designed puzzles. With some excellent writing and voice acting, I was hooked in to play through its modest runtime in two sittings. With a debut game like this, I'm excited to see what will come next from Daloar.
While I can respect the effort the developer put into this game, The Occultist simply isn't very good. Its puzzles are fairly basic, the enemies are more of a nuisance than a threat, the setting is too reliant on genre tropes, and to top it off, both bossfights bugged out upon death and made it impossible to progress (remember to backup your saves, just to be sure). Doug Cockle offers a good performance, though.
Review in Italian | Read full review
he Occultist is a rich adventure with a mystical story that has its own unique identity.
Review in Russian | Read full review
There is something that really irks me when a horror game doesn't provide any scares or tension. The Occultist looked like it was going to be an entertaining experience, but it doesn't provide much entertainment. The puzzle-solving and exploration are passable, but everything else is a huge letdown.
The Occultist gets enough of its world right to be an interesting game but it drops the ball on its gameplay.
The Occultist has a strong premise, interesting narrative, and engrossing atmosphere, but unfortunately it fails to capitalise on this with some pretty tedious gameplay, a lack of scares, a boring protagonist and out-of-place voice acting.
Will you manage to find your father before the island consumes you?
The game does a good job of creating a dark and mystical atmosphere. The story is good enough to keep you wanting to continue uncovering the secrets of Goldstone Island. However, the game doesn't really make you feel scared or have to fight for survival.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Taking on the role of a paranormal investigator, The Occultist gives you multiple unique abilities to make use of as you explore areas and solve an assortment of puzzles. It's a bit rough around the edges, but fans of narrative driven supernatural adventures will likely get plenty of enjoyment out of it.
The Occultist succeeds greatly in its atmosphere, narrative construction, and the way it uses first-person horror to create constant tension and truly effective scares. The setting of Godstone and the mystery surrounding the protagonist are engaging enough to keep the player invested from beginning to end. However, the underutilization of some important mechanics, the lack of a functional map, and limitations such as the absence of chapter selection prevent it from reaching an even higher level. Still, it's a solid and memorable experience within the genre.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
The Occultist is a solid narrative horror game that focuses more on atmosphere and exploration than on action. Thanks to its unique pendulum mechanics, varied environments, and intriguing story, it manages to hold your interest from start to finish. Despite a few flaws, such as limited replayability, occasionally confusing navigation, and uneven voice acting, the experience remains solid and immersive. It’s a relatively short but well-paced game that will appeal to fans of survival horror focused on exploration and puzzles.
Review in French | Read full review
The Occultist is one of those games that comes along and grabs you when you least expect it. It doesn’t arrive with the marketing roar of a blockbuster, nor does it pretend to be something it isn’t. Instead, it quietly invites you into a world of shadows, whispers, and lingering dread — and once you’re in, it holds you there with a surprisingly confident grip. At the centre of the story is Alan Rebels, blessed with the skill of mediumship and knowledge of the Occult. He is a man driven by a simple but powerful motivation: find his missing father, Gabriel; and his search leads him to a remote island where something terrible has happened — an entire population wiped out, their stories cut short, their spirits restless. It’s a classic setup, but it’s handled with enough restraint and atmosphere that it never feels tired. A lot of that comes down to the performance behind Alan himself. He’s voiced by Doug Cockle, best known as Geralt from The Witcher series, and that familiar gravel gives Alan a grounded, weary authenticity. It’s the kind of voice that sounds like it’s been through things — which fits the tone of the game perfectly.
The Occultist should be a game that I adore, given these types of games are usually my bread and butter. But when you can’t get behind your lead protagonist, you sort of lose interest in their journey and what makes them tick. Godstone often looks the part, and while a few puzzles and scenarios are exactly what this game nails, the same can’t be said for the whole package. As it stands, this is a game with a ton of wasted potential as its individual components don’t gel, and a cool premise is something that can only get you so far.
The Occultist is a horror experience that shines through its atmosphere and narrative ambition, but falls short in terms of gameplay. It is interesting and full of personality, though it never quite manages to live up to its full potential.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
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Review in German | Read full review
I can’t stress how much this game creeped me out in the first half. If my catchphrase for Cronos was “thanks! I hate it.” My catchphrase for The Occultist was “NOPE! Nuh uh, piss off”. While this is a fantastic start for a burgeoning company, I think it could have been damn near perfect if they could have just stuck the landing.
The Occultist redefines narrative horror through the ingenious use of a pendulum and challenging puzzles that demand intense concentration. With a hauntingly beautiful setting and a gripping story, it's a suspenseful adventure that proves ingenuity is the most powerful weapon against the unknown.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
It’s disappointing that, after nearly four years of development, DALOAR Studios can only show off awards cobbled together from earlier demos on its website, while wasting both the talent of a great actor and a promising project in the name of marketing. Like it or not, in a narrative-driven game, visuals cannot make up for the absence of a compelling story. Let’s hope the performance issues will be addressed.
Review in Unknown | Read full review
The Occultist is a work that expertly blends puzzles and exploration in a compelling and mysterious setting. DALOAR's debut work entertains and encourages you to continue your investigation to fully understand what Godstone Island holds. The only drawback is its very limited running time and its technical performance, which is at times lacking.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Where The Occultist really pulls you in is its engaging story. Sure, the “dark cult” angle is a familiar territory, but the title still manages to feel fresh – largely thanks to intriguing NPCs. Gameplay-wise, it’s not trailblazing, but thankfully it avoids turning into just another walking simulator. The title features some simple yet interesting puzzles and mechanics. On the downside, clear budget limitations and performance hiccups show through. Still, all things considered, the game turns out to be captivating and enjoyable enough.