Perception Reviews
Perception offers a decent set of horror stories, but exploring this house gets dull pretty quickly.
Perception is as much a disappointment for the clever and inherently frightening idea it wastes as it is for the mistakes it makes. At its heart, there's the promise of playing something genuinely new, from a perspective that could help teach and thrill simultaneously. It's unfortunate that, like its echolocation mechanic, the more I saw of Perception, the more there was to worry about.
Some very clever ideas are completely squandered by a game that is neither scary, enjoyable, or thought-provoking – although it does manage irritating and dull with great aplomb.
Although more unsettling than outright terrifying, Perception brings some novel ideas to the horror genre
Perception features some strong moments but never fully commits to its big ideas
A novel and inventive approach to first-person exploration falls short of its ambitions.
Maybe I was expecting too much from Perception, but it doesn't deliver on any of its promises.
There are some great ideas in Perception, but the execution is somewhat lacking. Wandering around a haunted house with no vision should be a tense, methodical, creepy experience, but this game has a sprint button. You are given a lot of help to navigate and solve puzzles because if you did not have your sight and were trapped in a mansion with moving walls and keys to find you would be utterly helpless. This means the whole premise to the game quickly becomes pointless, which is a real shame.
Perception is an original game concept with its blind character, but it fails too much in core aspects of terror genre like the game mechanics or the history itself.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
The premises (a blind character, a creepy house, an evil spirit) were good, but Perception falls short as survival horror and as an intriguing walking simulator.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Perception is a truly unique game, putting players into the shoes of a blind girl and using that as a means of storytelling and gameplay. It develops a world that you want to explore, but also keeps you on the edge of your seat with fear and trepidation.
There're some great ideas in Perception, and with an interesting protagonist and some great voice acting, there's a lot to enjoy, even if it is a bit too easy.
An imaginative horror game, Perception is coming at a well trodden genre from a new angle, but despite its good ideas, it doesn't quite live up to its own potential.
Perception falls between two posts. It's premise is strong and the echolocation works well, but there simply isn't enough to do in that old house, other than knock on the walls and listen to tales of times gone by. It's a game that I wanted to like so much more than I do, partly because it's so visually appealing and partly because Cassie is such a likeable character. She deserves a better story for herself rather than to be an observer of other peoples' lives.
Perception is miles better than the myriad "me too" horror games saturating Steam, but it's certainly not exceptional. Underneath the visual style – and it's ultimately just an aesthetic choice – is regular ol' walk-and-talk horror game that manages a little panache but contains no material of substantial value, be it narratively or interactively.
Perception has some good ideas, but it is ultimately a disappointment thanks to an annoying art style, frustrating gameplay mechanics, and an underwhelming narrative.
Perception's unique echolocation gameplay hook is enough to sustain the game for its 4-5-hour run, but I was saddened that The Deep End Games didn't explore this mechanic any more than it did. Had it, Perception's shallow plot and characters might have found some redemption. Ultimately, Perception is more carnival than amusement park – cheap thrills than top shelf. If you like horror games, you'll like Perception, but you've probably already experienced a bunch of horror titles scarier than this one.
Perception is a fun game full of unique concepts and ideas, but for a horror game it isn't particularly frightening.
Play Perception if you're in need of a quick horror fix, and not for what could be perceived as something larger.
Perception tells an intriguing story and if that's enough for you, it's worth playing. Its audio-visual experience is also unlike anything else and if you're looking for a fresh idea, The Deep End Games' debut is worth supporting. It's important to keep in mind, however, if you expect the game to also scare you, there's nothing to see here.