It's an admirable game (I'd even say a thematically "smart" game), and it gets a lot of the oppressive (and straight-up weird) atmosphere of a future dystopia correct. The story is...almost comprehensible--in a game like this, a certain level of narrative confusion can be beneficial, keeping the player uncertain who has what motivations and why, glossing over who the good guys and bad guys are. I encountered some irritating (but not game breaking) bugs (a few hours of my game time were spent restarting levels and trying to sort out inventory issues.) Besides my particular glitches, the game looks and plays overall fine.

Are you waiting for the qualifier? Okay here it is...and it comes with a warning: It's a qualifier you've seen too often here on Steam with these indies>

After about an actual 2.5 hours of playtime (at most), the game ends with a even MORE confusing in-game cutscene and the ABSOLUTELY DREADED "TO BE CONTINUED..." SCREEN. Ack! Say it ain't so!

Bottom line, it's not a finished product--no way at the asking price anyway. It's a nice (really nice) START to a game (with some cool, if vague, lore to boot)...but it is in no way worth playing in its current truncated form. And weirdly, I suspect this is all it will ever be...."To be continued" notwithstanding. The Corridor Part 2? Nah, I doubt it.

And one last statement from the soapbox: Isn't it about time Steam required any developer deciding to end their 2-hour game with "To Be Continued" to inform us that we are indeed only buying one piece of an episodic game lacking any proper conclusion for a whopping $15 USD? Really, it would be the only fair thing to do...

Note: This review has been revised as of January 21, 2020, as per the developer's request. Beyond this, I have no interest in updating the review further.

The Corridor: On Behalf of the Dead is one mouthful of a title, and it's the debut release from indie publisher/developer Desktop Daydream Studios. Within it, players are tasked to solve a variety of puzzles to continue onward and discover new fragments of memories that are housed by a potential murderer. The plot and lore in this release is quite complex, and at times downright undecipherable, and as such I personally cannot elaborate more on the story.

In this very spot before the patch update, there was a big paragraph about how the game was too dark and I had to use an extra piece of software to even get it to a functional viewing level. Well, it's exciting to say that the developer fixed that and turned the lights on. It's easy to see the environments now, but for some reason there's an awful blur to everything that's more than 5 feet in front of you. I suppose the main character is in dire need of glasses, now that he can actually see.

The Corridor: On Behalf of the Dead also runs on somewhat of a countdown timer system called Cohesion. Gamers need to act fast to solve puzzles, or explore every area in total detail to find vials of Cohesion to replenish the meter that's constantly draining. If the player runs out of Cohesion, they become "disconnected" and must start from their last save point, or from the beginning of the current area. The save system is also somewhat of a weird one, where one must use a device called an "anchor" in any location that's deemed as safe; after saving once, the anchor starts a cooldown process before it can be picked up, and subsequently before the player can continue on with their gameplay. Both mechanics are completely immersion breaking, and are not felt as a welcomed addition to this title.

What the developer did do well is instill the sense of a mechanical, lifeless, dystopian world; a vibe which is aided by the dark ambient soundtrack that makes itself known in key areas. More of this amazing soundscape could've been used, as the majority of the game relies on a boring droning noise. The atmosphere of the game is extremely brooding and oppressive; without the constant nagging of the aforementioned Cohesion system, this release would end up being deeply immersive. However, there's one last major flaw holding this title back from a recommendation, and that's the ending. As this is the first release from Desktop Daydreams Studios, we as the audience and customers have no idea if the developer will keep releasing games in the future, or at what frequency. The choice to end the game on a "To Be Continued" note is absolute blasphemy, and makes this two hour release an utter waste of time.

It's a real shame that so much is wrong with The Corridor: On Behalf of the Dead. Some of it can be fixed with a simple patch update, but most of it is better left as a lesson in "what not to do next time" for Desktop Daydreams Studios' next endeavour. The icing on the cake is asking for $16.99 CAD for this dime-a-dozen horror puzzle game. There are a few scares here and there, more accurately described as creepy encounters, and while the atmosphere is good, there's nothing that sets this game apart from those hundreds of other dime-a-dozen releases. Unless the developer shows more potential in the future, it's a hard pass on this one.

The Horror Network Curator | Group Click for Gore

The developer provided a free copy of this game for review, through The Horror Network's Curation page.

I truly enjoyed playing this game. The atmosphere was what kept me going to explore and discover more of what was going on here. If you liked playing Observer and Soma this game is right along those lines but with it's own twist. It's got a nice flavor of creepiness without resorting to jump scares to make you feel uneasy. . The ending is with a 'to be continued' tag and I do hope that there will be more game play to follow. Achievements are available which if you try to complete them will aid you in solving more of the mystery.


Okay new Update. The game is now finished with lots more content and lots of graphical fixes!! Such a gritty atmosphere and shabbiness which adds so much to the atmosphere. I can't wait to dive back in and see how everything is resolved.

The Developers are hands on and deeply cherish this years long project they have created.
I hope you too find this a very interesting journey.

5 stars for a truly unique experience

I actually backed this game way back on their Kickstarter/greenlight and kudos to the dev’s for sticking with the project. It must have been tempting to call it a day but I’m glad they kept going, I always thought the premise behind this game was fantastic, as it puts you in the mind of a suspected murderer. Add in the science fiction element and you should have an interesting first-person psychological horror. I’ve only just got around to playing it, so here are my thoughts.

I have to agree it is a thematically "smart" game and straight off the bat the game oozes oppressive atmosphere. Gameplay is broken up into exploring memories of a suspected murderer while piecing together evidence and solving puzzles. Much of the lore and backstory are told by some great environmental storytelling, from children’s letters scattered on the floor, flowers left with a toy car and the ‘something’ in the vents that feeds on a body and drags it out of sight! In particular the Toyama work camp memory really drives home the big brother vibe, with security cameras monitoring ‘workers’ living quarters while mechanized guards patrol outside.

The audio design is impressive, especially in the apartment, you can hear the sounds of arguing residents above you, ambient sounds of the world outside and security forces patrolling the area. This really enriches the game world and adds to that feel of constant dread and dystopia as it pulls you in and makes you want to explore the world.

The focus on the story is also very intriguing and is delivered by picking up newspaper clippings, dictaphone recordings and exploring memories. You can tell the dev’s have thought a lot about how the story and gameplay are connected. For example, the game makes use of an interesting survival mechanic called Cohesion. Narratively, its a great way of creating a sense of presence, that you are a custodian, linked to a mind via bio mechanical systems..

This also works for the puzzles; mental defenses players must solve to carry on. The save system maintains this goal and takes an abstract system and integrates into the narrative and lore of the game which I really enjoyed. These elements, create a real feeling of being inside the game's world.

Onto the lighting, the game is dark, but IMHO, it works. I had no trouble finding cohesion or quest items as I played. I did however play in a darkened room though so that may have something to do with the lighting levels and adjusted the gamma accordingly. Sometimes what’s hidden in the darkness is more terrifying as your mind fills in the blanks!

The game does end with a 'to be continued' tag and I do hope that there will be more gameplay to follow. Judging by the dev’s devotion and their communication here and on discord I think we can safely say they’ll be more to come. I’m particularly looking forward to VR support!

If you enjoy a thinking man’s horror game, I’d give it a try! 8/10.

I definitely highly recommend this game. Scares come when you least expect them and never show up when you're expecting them, - creating perfect paranoia. Puzzles are clever and you really need to pay attention to your surroundings to solve them. I like that the game is sort of timed (don't want to spoil anything by going into detail) to add intensity - but do not fear - carrying your own save anchor helps out a lot and is extra convenient :) The atmosphere is fantastic. The game is a bit short but I know there's more on the way, - and developers are very helpful.

I really enjoyed playing this game, there is so much attention to detail and the atmosphere is incredible! I was a little unsure due to some of the old comments mentioning lighting being an issue but I think they refer to an older version of the game and for me the lighting worked really well. It seems the dev's have really listened to feedback from the player base which bodes well for the future expansion!

The cohesion system is a very interesting mechanic in my view, as I think it grounds you as the player rather than just being a series of places to explore, the cohesion depleting away with the teletype reminder made me feel very aware that my mind was carrying out an investigation while my body was tethered to machinery in the real world.

Fascinating concept and looking forward to finishing it!

9/10

It's a quite unique game with a lot of interesting ideas and a good athmosphere. At the point in time I'm writing this review the game is finished and even seems to have multiple endings, so no "to be continued"-screen or anything like that as mentioned in some older reviews.
Besides the story, puzzles and especially the horror aspects being interesting (even tho not perfect), I did encounter some more or less game breaking bugs. A lot were not game breaking so I'm not gonna list all of them.
The worst one was that the flashlight just disappeared when i put the batteries in and I couldn't figure out if there is a way I can use it so the dark parts were a huge struggle!
Then in the last scene I bugged through the window and fell through the map (to be fair I provoked that but still only Alt F4 could save me).
Another thing that led to me being stuck quite regularly is that there's a lot of searching for pixels, as in there's a lot of tiny objects you can't see very well but are crucial to getting further. Maybe changing the crosshair visibly when looking at an important item or something like that would be helpful.

All in all i feel like it's a bit expensive for what it is, but it's definitely an overall good game with some flaws.
So thanks for this interesting game Daydreams Studios. I hope there are more games to come :)

The Corridor: On Behalf Of The Dead is a story based Sci-Fi / Horror game that focuses mostly on setting a strong unsettling atmosphere while adding sci-fi elements around it.

You spend most of the game walking around exploring memories and piecing together the story. The cohesion system really works well and adds a nice survival mechanic.

Audio is relay nice too and adds a disturbing layer to the experience.

8/10

Game started good, ended up being silly puzzles. With the game bugging out too much.

Only gotten through the first level so far but the atmosphere and theme is really great so far!

Cant wait to get stuck in further.