Visage is a first-person psychological horror game set inside a huge house in which terrible things have happened. You wander through the gloomy corridors, exploring every dead room, getting lost in endless mazes, your head filling with memories of the dead families that once lived in this very home...

Visage is an interesting psychological horror game. The opening cut sequence is particularly unnerving. Hats off to the vocal actors, because it is incredible how their gagged vocals not only set the scene, but make for an uncomfortable experience.

As the game opens you find yourself in a house, with no idea why you're there. The phone rings. It's a neighbour checking you're alright... So we've established that it's your house we're in. You can explore a little of the house, but your path is blocked as you'll need to find keys in order to investigate the rest of the building.

It's not an easy game - by design - and you'll find yourself wandering around trying to fathom what on earth you're supposed to do. But this makes it all the more sweet when the creepy elements start to encroach on your reality. It's a game where you need to really take everything in. Explore every area and take your time to interact with ever object.

In one room there's a TV which has been left on. The static image shows a strange room, making it look like a webcam/CCTV image. If you look at the scene you'll notice that there's a girl in the doorway. She looks not unlike the girl in the Ju-On horror movies. I noticed there was also a gramophone in this room. Later in the game I entered a room and saw a gramophone and I realised I was in the room with the creepy long haired girl. Then the strange noises started, like a young girl with raspy, uncomfortable breathing. I knew where she was... but dare I enter the room?

When this game originally broke past its original Kickstarter funding campaign, there was talk of bringing it to the PSVR. Now, personally I am both sad and glad this hasn't happened (as of yet). I found the game pretty creepy, but I don't think I could have played it in PSVR without losing control of my bodily functions.

The way that Visage gets its kicks is the same why that the best horror movies do. It builds suspense and leads you into a false sense of security. As you don't really experience anything too scary for ages (apart from the occasional light turning itself off, leaving you in the dark), you start to think the developers aren't going to go for any jump scares... No spoilers here, so I'll keep quiet.

While you have no weapons to defend yourself, you can find and use lighters to light your way, or light candles which can then be placed in locations around the house to ensure you always have a light source. Staying in the light is very important in Visage, as if you freak yourself out too much (straying into the dark is one way to do this) then you start to panic and paranormal events start to happen.

The house is stained with a terrible past. Families were brutally murdered by their own family members, people went insane, many committed suicide, and other grisly events occurred. The families that died in the house will haunt you. They’ll follow your every move, watch you from every corner, play tricks with your mind, and try to attack you. Why do they haunt you? What have you done? This you have to find out on your own.

The game is a master class in building suspense and getting under your skin. If you're the sort of gamer who loves to spend ages exploring every little element of a game's environment, you'll really appreciate the time and effort the team at SadSquare Studios have loving poured into it.

Don't play it alone... and don't play it in the dark.

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Darren Rea