The Church in the Darkness ™

TL;DR: It's a good IDEA for a game, but the technical skills of the developers didn't do it justice, so they got a good artist to put lipstick on the pig. ------ The Review: I got this game because from the picture it is obviously amazing gothic farm horror, right? Welcome to the re-release of the 1986 release of Rambo First Blood, part 2 - with worse graphics and way worse gameplay -- but here is the twist... instead of soldiers, you're just running around murdering hippies because you think they kidnapped your nephew? But now that I think about it, it seems a lot closer to the original NES Metal Gear, spefically, the aimlessness, and the chunkiness of the combat. But this game seems way more shallow than Metal Gear. The maps are procedurally generated, but like, they don't really seem to make sense. There's no direction where to go, and no real sense when you're getting closer to your goal - except for a comically simple map with a circle, but no real indicator of where you are, I think? So, there's clunky controls, uninspired creepy story, 1990s graphics without the fun gameplay. But I'm a glutton for punishment, I mean there's some positive reviews on here, right? On my …

The Church in the Darkness is a top-down stealth and narrative exploration game developed by Paranoid Productions and published by Fellow Traveller. Set in the politically charged atmosphere of the late 1970s, the game takes players deep into the South American jungle, where a radical religious group known as the Collective Justice Mission has established a commune called Freedom Town. You play as Vic, a former law enforcement officer sent to investigate the commune and determine the fate of your nephew Alex, who has joined the group under mysterious circumstances. The game’s strongest appeal lies in its unsettling premise and its attempt to explore the psychological and ideological complexities of cult life, rather than simply labeling the group as evil from the outset. From the moment you enter Freedom Town, the game sets a tone of creeping unease. Its structure leans heavily into stealth mechanics, allowing you to infiltrate the compound in whatever way suits your playstyle—sneaking past guards, disabling them non-lethally, or taking a more aggressive and violent approach. The compound is patrolled by armed followers, and avoiding detection becomes a key part of survival. But c…

Does not support click to move, only WASD.

i got discovered. Then I gunned down the guards with tranq darts. Four guys down and when I hit the fifth, he immediately gets back up and shotguns me. 1/10 gameplay, dreadful replayability, and absolutely no reward for being merciful. You unlock items by finding them, not from new game+ so why treat this like a barebones roguelite? You must have the patience of the Virgin Mary to endure the slow, agonizing pain of hippies with hair-triggers, xenophobia, anti-establishment, and ironic authoritarianism. If you can carry several children to term and raise them to adulthood, you might be able to play this game the whole way through.

+ Ambiance creepy + Contexte historique intéressant - IA inconsistante - Approche rogue like peut justifié - Position pas toujours clair sur la réalité des cultes 6/10 Don't drink the Kool-Aid

10/10