Is Final Fall an Elevating Experience, or Does it Fall Flat?

The horror genre in video games has seen countless iterations, from jump-scare fests to psychological thrillers that meticulously unravel the player’s sanity. In this crowded landscape, a new contender often struggles to carve out its own niche, to genuinely terrify and engage its audience without resorting to cheap tricks. Final Fall enters this arena with a premise steeped in isolation and atmospheric tension, promising a descent into a world where reality itself seems to fray. But does it deliver on its chilling aspirations, offering a truly unique and unsettling experience, or does its ambition crumble under the weight of its own design? Read on to find out!

The Abyssal Narrative

Final Fall plunges players into a first-person horror experience where they must navigate a decrepit, seemingly abandoned house. The game’s narrative is intentionally cryptic, unfolding through environmental storytelling and subtle cues rather than explicit exposition. Players are left to piece together the tragic events that transpired, hinting at a past filled with despair and a pervasive sense of dread. The isolation is palpable, with the player being the sole sentient presence in this decaying environment, amplifying the psychological impact.

The narrative explores themes of schizophrenia, trauma, and guilt, with the strength lying in its ability to evoke a sense of unease through what is unseen and unsaid, allowing the player’s imagination to fill in the horrifying blanks. The protagonist, Ophelia, is a woman with no memory after a failed suicide attempt, who awakens to find herself literally naked and alone and lost in private room within a crumbling asylum filled with hallucinations, riddles, red, shiny, handwritten-style text constantly floating and drifting in and out of view, and voices that won’t stop whispering. The moment you are given control of Ophelia, the whispers begin, and although the whispers are simple by design, they have a phenomenal impact. Admittedly, they do become repetitive and even though they aren’t saying anything intelligible, the repetition becomes noticeable after the first few cycles. It would have been great to have a much larger “repertoire” (for lack of a better word) of whispers to deepen the immersion.

Navigating the Shadows

At its core, Final Fall‘s gameplay revolves around exploration and puzzle-solving within the confines of the asylum. You must carefully scour Ophelia’s surroundings for clues, keys, and items that will aid her progression.

The mechanics are relatively straightforward, focusing on interaction with the environment, observation, and evasion. Whilst the emphasis is on evasion and survival against unseen, yet ever-present, threats, combat is also present in the form of reactive, timing-based encounters against enemies / manifestations. You can calm the hallucinations by taking pills, however these are few and far between, so using the few supplies that you have wisely is vital to Ophelia’s success.

The puzzles are often environmental, requiring logical deduction and attention to detail to overcome, such as decoding Morse code, solving twisted riddles, and manipulating real instruments like a fully playable piano that you can “play” with your keyboard. Final Fall’s reliance on atmosphere and player vulnerability makes every creak of the floorboards and every distant sound a source of heightened tension.

Furthermore, Final Fall features a unique “suicide” mechanic (yes, seriously). Misusing items or failing in key moments may push Ophelia to end her life, and even several options to voluntarily commit suicide via different methods. Should Ophelia commit suicide three times, then your save file will be permanently deleted, which adds a layer of severe consequence to your decisions.

A Glimpse into the Gloom

Firstly, it is important to note that Final Fall features graphic depictions of violence, including dismemberment, blood, and general grotesque imagery, and explores themes of mental illness, trauma, and guilt through unsettling hallucinations and disturbing voices. Achieving a believable level of these aspects is no easy feat, yet Final Fall manages it and does so convincingly.

Overall, Final Fall is a good-looking game. It employs a stark and gritty aesthetic, utilising a limited colour palette dominated by dark tones and muted hues to emphasize the sense of decay and oppression. The environmental design is highly detailed, with crumbling plaster, flickering lights, and unsettling shadows, and character models look good.

Final Fall excels in its sound design, with ambient noises, creaks, groans, and unsettling whispers being used to build tension and provide subtle cues. The constant-whispers are a nice touch, and the minimalist score, when present, underscores the sense of dread without ever taking away from the overall immersion.

Endless Nightmares?

The replay value of Final Fall is somewhat limited by its linear narrative structure. Once the story has been experienced and the puzzles solved, much of the mystery is unravelled. However, for those who appreciate atmospheric horror and wish to delve deeper into the subtle environmental storytelling, there might be some incentive to revisit the game, and the permanent death system, which deletes save files after three suicides, adds a unique and challenging element for those seeking to truly test their abilities.

Conclusion

Final Fall is an immersive game that successfully establishes a pervasive sense of dread through its deliberate pacing, meticulous sound design, and unsettling environmental storytelling. While it may not offer a wealth of action, its strength lies in its ability to make the player feel truly vulnerable and isolated. The inclusion of a severe, permanent death mechanic tied to Ophelia’s mental state adds a significant layer of psychological tension and consequence, reinforcing the core themes. Those seeking a traditional jump-scare experience might find Final Fall lacking, but for connoisseurs of atmospheric and subtle horror, Final Fall delivers a chilling and memorable descent into madness with a rather unique (albeit disturbing, and morbid) angle in the form of making suicide one of the main themes.

Grade: 7.5 – Good