Dark Visions: Edge Of Sanity
Explore dark spaces and manage survivors to escape in this survival horror side-scroller.
‣ Edge Of Sanity
From: Vixa Games, Daedalic Entertainment
Platforms: PC
Release: 13 September 2024
Steam Page • Demo Video • Developer Site
Don't be fooled by the art style or side-scrolling: this game is gritty and serious.
Living at the world's edge can get to a person. Many horrors take advantage of such a situation, isolating their characters in the middle of nowhere and unleashing hell upon them. Now, they must survive against the odds—the harsh world outside their shelters and the things that creep around.
This sets the stage for Edge of Sanity, a Cthulhu-inspired survival horror full of otherworldly nasties, mutated body horrors, terrifying nightmares, and a very real slide into insanity—better keep your flashlight working…
You are Carter, an employee of the Prism Organization, working far out in the Alaskan wilderness for a number of company labs and mines. At the start of the game, Carter is standing outside, confused about how he got there. He shrugs it off and finds his way back to his compound. But things just start getting stranger.
Before long, we learn that the Prism Organization has been up to no good. The exact nature of the threat is unclear, but it's otherworldly and corrupting, mutating monsters from living things, such as rats, dogs, and humans.
Carter must survive by scavenging for items at various locations such as the labs and mines. Combat is necessary, but takes a back seat to cunning and stealth. Some confrontations seem inevitable, but you can also avoid many of them. For example, Carter can sneak past creatures that respond to sound and use his torch to kill monsters that are sensitive to light.
If all else fails, use an axe. But not too often—it has a limited amount of uses. True to survival horror gameplay, items are rare and prone to wear down quickly.
Fortunately, there is some respite at Carter’s camp. Between missions, it provides provides storage, rest, and some equipment. If he finds survivors, they stay here and can work the equipment to produce items.
Carter manages the survivors' sustenance, or else they die. If all the survivors die, the game ends. Fortunately, they are diligent at producing most of their basic needs at the camp (though they can become injured or exhausted).
Keeping these people alive adds some pressure to the game, but it also helps a lot with maintain focus on priorities and choosing what areas to scavenge. Consequently, Carter spends most of the game exploring different spots on the map to find items or to further the story. At times, he will face moral decisions. In the demo, he must decide to help a tortured man chained to a lab desk; only, he doesn't seem okay. Is it wise to free him?
Carter can die, though on the easier difficulty, he'll respawn at the camp (costing a day). He'll also pick up insanity, unlocking traumas and ultimately could kill him. There are methods to reduce his sanity. But like all the materials in this game, they are scarce and must be used prudently.
Edge of Sanity's visuals give the game a graphic novel vibe, polished with gloomy lighting. This game uses light well, and your flashlight is as much a shield against the darkness as a reminder that you're surrounded by it (dark exposure also raises your insanity).
The atmosphere is thick and menacing, with a moody soundtrack keeps you on the edge while you listen to menacing noises in the dark. The characters are voiced by a professional cast of actors, giving them realism and weight. Don't be fooled by the art style or side-scrolling: this game is gritty and serious.
No sane person would venture out into the Eldritch apocalypse creates by your employers. But that’s what it will take to survive. You always need more supplies, creating a sense of urgency that compels you to scout and explore new spaces.
📽 Demo Snapshot: That sounds inhuman…
This is why Edge of Sanity shines. Sneaking around monster-infested maps is a lot of fun, but would have quickly lost its appeal without the urgency of the camp's needs as motivation. Thus you are driven to return to hellish locations crawling with horrifying mutants, facing imaginary and real nightmares.
It’s chilling, unsettling, and very atmospheric. That’s exactly the stuff that makes this kind of horror work, creating a fun and deceivingly simple high-stakes game.
Edge of Sanity is releasing 13 September 2024 on Steam.
Explore The Game with Youtube Chapters:
📽 01:02 Enter the nightmare
📽 02:13 Let there be light!
📽 05:50 Bad dreams
📽 09:55 Emergency transmission
📽 11:20 Visions
📽 13:10 Frank needs help
📽 15:01 The first trauma
📽 16:59 Scouting a research site
📽 18:50 A maggot!
📽 24:40 That sounds menacing...
📽 26:10 A body horror
📽 27:30 Science experiments
📽 31:18 Looking for survivors
📽 34:40 What was that?!
📽 36:27 Fight with light
📽 38:00 A survivor!
📽 42:50 In the mines
📽 47:27 Evading capture
📽 52:30 Another survivor
📽 01:00:03 Totems
📽 01:07:10 This one didn't make it
📽 01:12:20 Managing the camp
📽 01:16:00 Move before the light dies
📽 01:22:14 Death!
📽 01:30:11 Story progression
📽 01:33:51 Scavenge for supplies
📽 01:37:44 A grim fate
📽 01:44:00 One more mission
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Thanks for the write-up and gameplay! Always love seeing your take on these games!
Love it! Wishlisted!