Infliction Review

*Contains Spoilers*
An Intense PT Inspired Horror Game

Infliction was, in a lot of ways, reminiscent of PT, the beloved teaser for a Silent Hill game that never came to be. From the crazed family man whose addiction and possession turned him against the ones he loved, lamp swaying in the foyer, eerie voices on the radio, looping sequences in the home, and the design of the ghostly figure of the slain wife, it’s clear Infliction is a love poem to all the things we loved about PT and more.

The time, and attention to detail put into Infliction is noteworthy. Almost every object in the game can be examined in some way, allowing you to read the description of the VHS tape you picked up, flip through the pages of a book on the bookshelf, and even read the label on various products stashed around the house. I had fun exploring the house and taking in all the little details when I wasn’t being hunted by the malevolent specter roaming the halls. 

The game was, for the most part, silent aside from the creaking of floorboards or the crackle of a gruff voice on the radio, and I believe that worked to the game’s advantage. Much like PT, the silence aids in building tension where every noise, however small, can put you on edge and keep you frozen from fear in your latest hiding spot. 

While the ghost of your murdered wife searches for you, it sometimes becomes necessary to defend yourself. Your only defence, however, is bright light which means you must either flip the lights on as she enters the room you’re in or use the flash from your camera (which you find later in the game) to destroy her for a short time. Use the light in the room too soon and she will break it, leaving you with one less weapon at your disposal. If you’re a new player and don’t realize this early on, you may end up leaving all the lights on and end up with few, if any left intact to defend yourself with. In the event she does catch you, there are several death animations that keeps even your demise new and interesting.

I did encounter a few game breaking bugs where, in the middle of transitioning to a cutscene, the game would freeze and I had to forcibly close the game via my task manager, then open it again and replay through the last section once more. I have completed the game two times and have encountered this bug in multiple places on at least four separate occasions. While the problem corrected itself when I restarted, a bug like this should not appear in the final product during normal scene transitions.

The end of Infliction is the one thing I have the most problems with. For a game that was spooky, interesting, and detailed, the end really missed the mark by failing to wrap up the story in a satisfactory way. After learning that Gary has committed more than one insidious act and effectively ripped his family apart, there are a few endings one might expect, none of which came close to the vague ending we actually received. 

*spoilers are definitely present below*

After wandering through a random hallway where Gary is encouraged (not forced) to relive he and his family’s descent into darkness, he emerges in what appears to be the lobby of the hospital where he was previously a patient. Upon exiting the hospital, Gary is restrained by hooks, confronted by three figures (two of which we have only seen briefly, if at all before now) and executed. That’s it. The end. That sequence, unlike the rest of the game, felt rushed and even more annoying was not knowing who or what our executioner was. The bonus content reveals a little more about the creature, but not enough to give the end of the game any more meaning.

Overall, Infliction was an impressive game. It was developed by one individual (which is impressive in itself), gave us many of the things we loved about PT in an indie experience, and was detailed in design with an interesting story. The game had some technical issues and left me longing for a solid conclusion, but I do not feel that those items were enough to overshadow the many strengths it presented. If you enjoyed PT, I highly recommend you check out Infliction.

[Lady played Infliction on PC with a mouse and keyboard]