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0 Incantation the game is tied to the 2022 Taiwanese film of the same name and is developed by the team at SOFTSTAR ETERTAINMENT. Although from looking it up, it does say it is more of a prequel. It isn’t often we see many tie-in games any more, so I’m interested to see what Incantation has to offer. If you enjoyed the film let us know below, and for anyone looking to pick it up on PlayStation, you can grab it here.
Don’t forget to chant.
Gameplay
Assuming the role of a mother who’s been searching for her lost child for 6 years, she finally gets a lead. This takes us to Chen Village, but not before being taken off the road in a car crash. Incantation is, at its core, a walking sim, with the player having the occasional puzzle to solve to open up a chest. Beyond that, there will be brief and simple segments where you will have to either run or hide. But overall, don’t expect any actual threats. You will have the odd jump scare here and there, but they only really appear in the first two chapters.
When you beat the game, Incantation will unlock a bonus chapter that adds a smidgen more context. The chapter itself is mainly puzzle-based, but the puzzles themselves won’t require much brain power.
Graphics & Audio
Incantation left a lot to be desired in this department. The graphics weren’t too great; not very detailed, and a lot of blurry or shiny textures. The character models were the most noticeable for that reason. Not to mention many visual issues and bugs; hair clipping through the character’s necks, flickering on some textures, and a noticeable white patch that flickered during looping segments when the environment reset. There were also awkward bugs with some of the scares, such as a hand pulling away from a corner; however, you could clearly see the end of the arm was floating and not attached to anything.
The audio suffered from a number of awkward issues, too. In some cut scenes, the voice lines played appropriately, but the sound effects would have roughly a second delay. Some voice lines also replayed and overlapped others. There was a fuzzy quality to some of the voice lines, too. The most awkward one was a repeating door slamming/shaking sound effect from chapter 1. Not the sound effect itself, but rather, somehow, I’d hear it loop again and again at random intervals throughout the game. It happened during gameplay and in some cut scenes, and I couldn’t figure out how an audio bug like that happens.
Longevity
Incantation won’t take up too much of your time, with the game only having 5 chapters. 6 if you also include the prologue. As I mentioned above, upon beating Incantation, you will be given a short bonus chapter. On the trophy side of things, achievement hunters can easily platinum the game in one sitting. Maybe a second run if you need a guide to just pick up the notes.
Final Thoughts
Incantation is okay, but it begs the question of why it needed to be made. The story keeps a steady pace and doesn’t drag on, but playing through can feel rather dull. Since the encounters are heavily scripted, and for the atmosphere, it never really feels present in the whole game either. No buildup, nothing.
The upside with Incantation is that I never had any technical issues. So, for me, I think the game deserves the Thumb Culture Bronze Award.
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
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