Doorways Chapter 1 & 2 Review

Recently, horror games have been on the way out. Not many are being released, and the ones that are don’t tend to be very scary. However, they are starting to make a return once more, but can Doorways become one of the games to revive the horror genre?

Having recently being accepted on Greenlight, Doorways is a new horror title brought to us by Saibot Studios. Doorways manages to blend gameplay and atmosphere very well to create, what I would call, a successful outcome.

You play as Thomas Foster, a special agent with a very deep voice whose job is to hunt four psychopaths that are terrorising the area, but with no idea why, or where they are, or where he is. Why they sent ONE guy with amnesia and no weapons to take out four insane psychopaths beats me.

The game’s tutorial tells us everything we need to know about the game, and thankfully doesn’t take forever, which allows us to get on with the game fairly quickly. The game also sets the atmosphere with just the tutorial, preparing you for what’s to come in more ways than one.

The scares are the good kind as well. There are a few different types of ‘scares’ in horror games. First is the creepy monster suddenly jumping out of a closet and slapping you in the face. Then there’s the scary monster standing right behind you waiting to slap you in the face when you turn around. And then there’s the moments where the scary monster is right in front of you but you don’t even realise it yet. That was shown at one point when the room was filled with stone carving models and I could hear heavy breathing (that wasn’t the protagonist) so I began running forward and immediately one of the stone carvings suddenly shrieked, turned to me and gutted me with a spear. I followed suit and shrieked, except mine was more like a little girl.

Aswell as the horror there are the puzzles to fit in. These puzzles are the perfect kind. They aren’t too easy that you barely even notice them but they aren’t so difficult that it takes ages to do. They’re just perfect. Despite the puzzles themselves being fairly easy, it’s somehow difficult; in a good way. For instance, at one point where you are crossing a bridge and a figure appears and you have to find another way. I backtracked and found nothing. Turned out you had to go to the part where the figure was and jump to the side, where a wood plank was, but just out of sight so you could only see it if you payed enough attention. Just the right balance.

The soundtrack is another element that deserves mention. It always plays. It plays continuously in the background. Never loud enough to distract you but always there, like a presence lingering over you. Brilliantly crafted to make sure the player is always on their toes, however (for me), when you’re prepared for a scare, it’s even worse because you just know it’s going to happen. The music is a constant reminder of that moment, you’re just getting more and more worried with each passing moment.

Throughout the game you can find hidden collectables called ‘relics’. These add some nice replayability to the game and will appeal to collectors that love to achieve 100%. The relics are well hidden and should prove a nice challenge to players attempting to gather them.

Doorways also has a nice length to it, taking me six hours to complete, but this is just the first half of the game. I must say I can’t wait for chapter three and four to be released, but in the meantime, I can only wait.