Perception Reviews
I had high hopes for Perception, which made this experience all the more unfortunate. Clearly The Deep End Games had a unique idea for a video game here, but it just doesn’t translate well to the medium. It’s evident by the care that went into researching the hardships that blind folks must deal with daily — like how Cassie uses her mind and technology to survive — that The Deep End Games is very passionate about the subject matter. However, in the end, this is a video game, and when the main gameplay mechanic becomes a hindrance during the first hour, there’s not much that can be done from a presentation perspective to help alleviate it. The whole game-breaking bug that forces you to start over from the very beginning doesn’t help either.
Perception has very little going for it. It is well acted and has about three voice actors who do triple or even quadruple duty in some cases, and they all sound very believable. The sound design is strong and is the creepiest part of the entire game. There are many plot points that are hard to follow, since so much of the plot has to be found from notes picked up, or audio diaries. One plot point that is not made clear is that the story implies that Cassie might be psychic, but there really is not enough information to corroborate this completely, which is pretty much how every piece of story feels like. Every step of the way it just feels like there is something missing. Perception is a noble effort in its concept, but in practice this is one people should just close their eyes at.
Maybe I was expecting too much from Perception, but it doesn't deliver on any of its promises.
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.
Perception’s premise is better than its delivery. Playing as a blind character opens up many opportunities for horrifying gameplay, but Perception falls short when it comes to implementing a threatening monster.
Even with an interesting concept, mediocre and repetive gameplay brings Perception down.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
Perception is a prime example of a wasted innovative ideas. Developers of Perception did almost everything wrong and the final product is a broken and shallow game.
Review in Persian | Read full review
Perception has an intriguing story, which would be better as „walking symulator” that this mediocre horror.
Review in Polish | Read full review
Unless you're a big fan of horror adventure games, Perception is one you can easily skip. The plot isn't particularly engaging, and the horror elements are predictable with jump scares, characters and story dialogue that is typical of this genre. Even if it does fulfil all of the necessary criteria, it serves as a reminder that the horror genre is far too reliant on clichés to get by, and will only appeal to the thrill seekers happy to overlook its generic design.Ultimately, the biggest downfall is the core concept that drives Perception. The echolocation mechanic gets old quickly and seems like a better idea in theory than in actual gameplay; walking around in the dark in any game isn't normally enjoyable, and in this one it's no better – even with the added sense of meaning from the narrative. It's an aggravating concept that should not have really got past the early design stage, and detracts from the already average quality of this short-lived horror adventure game.
Perception's attractive thesis—a blind woman should be capable of investigating the menacing house from her nightmares—creates space for an original protagonist inside of an extraordinary circumstance. A premise isn't a promise, however, as Perception quickly abandons novelty in favor of rote objectives, aimless antagonism, and a narrative set adrift in a sea of platitudes.
Almost all of Perception's issues could be fixed with slight tweaks to the game's systems and narrative moments. Instead, it's a false mirage of an excellent game that vanishes almost immediately, turning into more of what we've already seen in the horror genre.
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.
Perception was an opportunity. It was a real, genuine opportunity to do something remarkable with the horror genre, and join a couple of other experimental 'walking simulators' such as Layers of Fear, Everybody's Gone To The Rapture, and the recently-released The Town Of Light, in proving that the horror genre in video games can be cerebral, rather than visceral, but this one largely misses the mark.
Despite its originality, Perception is only worth a look for those who can see past its shortcomings in pursuit of a fairly compelling narrative.
The unique blindness mechanic just isn't quite enough to overcome a bland execution and lackluster story.
Perception isn't great, failing to clear every benchmark that it set out for itself by a healthy margin.
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 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.
A novel and inventive approach to first-person exploration falls short of its ambitions.
Perception offers a decent set of horror stories, but exploring this house gets dull pretty quickly.