The Occultist Review – A Good Old-Fashioned Mystery

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With a title like The Occultist, you might anticipate a game filled with jump scares and intense fear. However, that’s not what the developers at DALOAR intended. This game is a narrative thriller that focuses on creating a deeply unsettling atmosphere and a lingering sense of melancholy, offering a haunting experience that stays with you even after you finish playing.

While the game doesn’t quite deliver a perfect finish, there’s still a lot to appreciate about how The Occultist brings its ideas to life. As a first game from this studio, I was really impressed with the visuals and story, even though some of the gameplay could have been a little smoother.

“It’s a chilling tale of a callous disregard for the consequences of one’s actions.”

The game puts you in the role of Alex, a man interested in the occult, who travels to an island to find his missing father. All he has with him is a magical pendulum, a notebook, and a distinctive, somewhat rough voice that fans of The Witcher will likely appreciate. He begins exploring the island, hoping to uncover the truth about his father’s disappearance.

The situation is complicated by the fact that everyone who once lived on the island is now gone, and the creatures still there aren’t much for conversation. Armed with only his intelligence and speed, Alex soon discovers clues about a failed ritual and the tragedy that befell the island’s people.

I was completely captivated by this story of how someone’s reckless choices led to disaster. I was so eager to find out what happened – almost as much as the main character, Alex – that I didn’t mind pushing through some repetitive parts of the game.

Hospitals and orphanages are often very crowded, which puts you on edge, constantly anticipating something startling.

The game looks great! The island is beautifully designed and feels very detailed. Each location you visit during the investigation is impressive – the layouts are logical, but also create a subtly unsettling atmosphere as you explore.

The hospital and orphanage sections of the game feel incredibly claustrophobic, constantly putting you on edge and anticipating something frightening. Despite knowing scares are coming, they still manage to be startling. As the game progresses to more open areas, it maintains a strong sense of dread, keeping you feeling like danger is always close by.

Okay, so The Occultist looks amazing and the story is seriously good – I was really hooked. But honestly, the gameplay itself just wasn’t quite there. It’s mostly about wandering around levels and figuring things out to move forward, which sounds cool, but it didn’t quite reach the level of other great horror games. It’s a shame, because it had so much potential!

Your pendulum is a powerful tool, letting you uncover hidden clues, rewind time when possible, and even call upon spirits for assistance. The game strikes a good balance – it’s challenging, but not frustratingly so, keeping you engaged as you solve its puzzles.

Despite having strong graphics and a fantastic story, The Occultist doesn’t quite reach its full potential. While promising, the gameplay isn’t polished enough to make it a truly standout horror game.

I think it’s a real oversight that Alex can’t use the pendulum to ward off dangerous ghosts. It seems strange he’d come to such a creepy island without any self-defense. Considering the island had been eerily silent for so long, any experienced occultist would have suspected something seriously wrong was lurking there.

You’ll meet ghosts, some helpful and some not. The friendly ghosts offer clues about what happened on the island and guide you towards your next goal, which appears clearly marked in red when you discover it. While the guidance is fairly obvious, it fits the overall story well.

The enemies, unfortunately, are the least engaging part of the game. They’re initially contained, and when released, they follow predictable, unchanging paths. Avoiding them is surprisingly simple – just stepping into a nearby room is enough, as they’ll simply stand there and watch you before resuming their routine.

These paths, while frustrating, often lead to crucial clues for the challenges you’re facing. I wish there had been a way to stop these enemies – maybe by combining the pendulum with spells to freeze them – but all you can do is avoid them.

While the ghosts occasionally show some cleverness – like when the one chasing me surprised me by grabbing my arm through a window – these moments are rare and don’t really create any sense of fear. It also doesn’t help that my companion, Alex, never seems bothered by them, remaining stoic and calm even when faced with something truly frightening.

I really enjoyed the puzzles in this game – they were clever and well-designed for the most part. Though, I did run into a few that were super finicky about how exactly you drew things. There was one part where I spent ages trying to ‘apply makeup’ to a skeleton, but the game just wouldn’t accept it, even though I was sure I was doing it right! It felt like a glitch at first, but the developers said it wasn’t, and they’re working on making those puzzles a little easier to complete, which is good to hear.

Sometimes, the game’s flaws disrupt the immersive story, making it feel like you’re just playing a game with its own strange limitations. However, the puzzles are cleverly integrated into the world, and they strike a good balance between challenging and solvable. When everything functions correctly, it’s genuinely enjoyable.

It’s a shame the pendulum can’t be used to get rid of unfriendly ghosts; it feels like a feature that could have been included.

The sound design effectively creates the right atmosphere and generally keeps you feeling tense. While the voice acting isn’t fully immersive, the actors do a decent job with the material they have. On a standard PlayStation 5, the game ran smoothly – I didn’t notice any frame rate drops, visual glitches, or long loading times, which was great.

So, would I suggest playing The Occultist right away? It’s a tough call. The story and world are really engaging, making it a good game for a weekend. However, the gameplay itself is pretty basic, so it won’t be one of my top horror game recommendations.

This game is a good choice if you enjoy puzzles and mental challenges more than fast-paced action. Don’t expect exciting visuals or intense gameplay. While it’s worth considering, it’s best to wait for a discount before buying, but definitely add it to your wishlist if you’re interested.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 5.

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2026-04-13 17:15