This game was reviewed using Version 1.3. Your experience on other versions may vary.

An '80s-inspired horror game that is far more scary and compelling than meets the eye. The 8-bit audio and visuals (complete with synthesized voice acting and rotoscoped animation) come together to provide the perfect atmosphere for an unnerving tale of Satanic mysteries and religious devotion, though its slow-paced gameplay and RNG-dependent "combat" sections can sometimes turn your fear into frustration. This is one of those games that will stick in my memory for years to come, and not just because I expect to start seeing rotoscoped demons in my peripheral vision at night (but also probably because of that too).

NOTE: Players deaf or hard of hearing may have difficulty in some combat sections due to partial reliance on sound. See further details below.

FAITH is a horror game both set in, and aesthetically based on, the 1980s and the "Satanic panic" that spread through much of the United States at the time. What starts as a short story about a priest seeking to atone for an exorcism gone wrong quickly spirals into a long-spanning conspiracy surrounding a Satanic cult and the demons they plan to unleash onto the world. The "Unholy Trinity" in the title refers to the game's three chapters, the first two of which were launched for free in 2017 and 2018 respectively before the launch of Chapter 3 saw them all republished as a single package in 2022. I don't generally care for horror, but the combination of its unique setting and audio/visuals put the game on my radar some years back; so in the spirit of Halloween, I finally decided give it a try.

The first thing people tend to point out about FAITH is the retro aesthetic, and it deserves all the praise it gets. If it wasn't considered fact already, the 8-bit-inspired art and sound design further prove that pushing for realism isn't necessary to make a scary game. The simple sprites and bright color palette help keep key details unambiguous in spite of low graphical fidelity, but it's also used to lull you into a false sense of security before both grow dark and distorted as time goes on. Sprinkled in are an assortment of cutscenes with rotoscoped visuals that are both impressively animated and downright frightening, and they're used just sparingly enough to always feel novel when they pop up. The synthesized sound effects combined with the "voice acting" via Software Automatic Mouth (SAM) add an almost otherworldly quality to it all, and the impact that both have on creating an unsettling atmosphere cannot be overstated.

The overarching story is one that's full of mystery, with writing as descriptive as it is cryptic. You're frequently told conflicting information and can unlock non-canonical endings to make you question how much of what you're experiencing is real, which also serves to mirror the struggle of the main character as he grapples with the trauma of his past. It carefully balances the mystery elements in the first two chapters to keep things intriguing without getting too confusing, right up until the third chapter finally starts to tie it all together. You're left with a few unresolved plot threads, but the writing and clever delivery of the story still make it feel worth experiencing, secrets and all.

As far as gameplay goes, it's pretty straightforward: your only actions are slowly moving around with the control stick/WASD and a single button that lets you interact and "attack". When you're not exploring or trying to solve puzzles, you're battling demons—to be more specific, you're frantically dodging demons' attacks while trying to point your crucifix at them (your only "attack") so the purifying power of the Lord can slowly whittle away their health. Later chapters will expand a bit on the puzzles, add more complex demon attack patterns, and offer some small but interesting twists on the mechanics of exploration, typically focused on hindering your vision in some way to make exploring/fighting more difficult. The only thing gameplay-wise that bothered me enough to mention is that the difficulty of some later demon fights relies too much on RNG, making it very easy to fail simply because a demon/obstacle landed in just the wrong spot to get you killed.

On a related note, I should mention that players deaf or hard of hearing will struggle more on certain demon fights. Some demons signal their arrival and telegraph their attacks only using sound, and there are multiple points where sound is used to supplement limited vision (e.g. fighting in a dark room with only a flashlight). It's not impossible to get past these sections without sound in theory, but it'll lead to some unnecessary grief without a doubt.

Since the three chapters all launched at separate times, there's some variation in the content between them. Put simply, each chapter expands on the last on nearly all fronts, putting further emphasis on both the positive and negative traits of FAITH's overall design:

• Chapter 1 is the shortest and simplest: progression is straightforward with no major puzzles, there's only one demon fight (not including a secret encounter), and getting different endings boils down to a multiple choice decision at the end of the chapter. At the time of launch, it was a great taste of what was to come; but even though I still enjoy it, it might give off the wrong impression that the full game is more simplistic than it really is.
  
  
• Chapter 2 is a step up across the board: longer runtime, more and larger environments, more involved puzzles and demon fights, a deeper story, and alternate endings based on decisions made through the entire chapter rather than just the very end. This is also when that RNG problem I mentioned starts to crop up, though it's not too bad just yet. Small flaws aside, Chapter 2 is when FAITH really starts to come into its own, proving that the original concept was viable for more than just a one-hour free game.
  
  
• Chapter 3 had both the highest highs and the lowest lows of my whole playthrough. For the most part, it continued to expand in a positive way, boasting the best there is in terms of cinematics, in-depth puzzles, unique gameplay mechanics, and truly fear-inducing moments. On the other hand, it was also the most frustrating to me thanks to more RNG-dependent sequences, longer stretches without checkpoints to made mistakes (or bad RNG) more punishing, as well as much louder jumpscares that just made me feel more afraid for my hearing than anything else.

I spent roughly 11-12 hours on a full playthrough, which involved getting all endings and collectibles from all three chapters. Admittedly, there were a few moments at the tail end of my playthrough where I considered backing out early, or at least settling for a bad ending; but I'm glad I pushed past it and saw it through to the true end. FAITH is an utterly fascinating game, and despite my complaints, it's one that I expect to stick with me for a long time—and coming from someone who doesn't typically like horror, that's gotta be worth something.

For more game reviews, check out my Curator page!

[b][u]This game was reviewed using Version 1.3. Your experience on other versions may vary.[/u][/b] [h3][b][u]Short Answer:[/u][/b][/h3] An '80s-inspired horror game that is far more scary and compelling than meets the eye. The 8-bit audio and visuals (complete with synthesized voice acting and rotoscoped animation) come together to provide the perfect atmosphere for an unnerving tale of Satanic mysteries and religious devotion, though its slow-paced gameplay and RNG-dependent "combat" sections can sometimes turn your fear into frustration. This is one of those games that will stick in my memory for years to come, and not just because I expect to start seeing rotoscoped demons in my peripheral vision at night (but also probably because of that too). [b][u]NOTE:[/u] Players deaf or hard of hearing may have difficulty in some combat sections due to partial reliance on sound. See further details below.[/b] [h3][b][u]Long Answer:[/u][/b][/h3] [i]FAITH[/i] is a horror game both set in, and aesthetically based on, the 1980s and the "Satanic panic" that spread through much of the United States at the time. What starts as a short story about a priest seeking to atone for an exorcism gone wrong quickly spirals into a long-spanning conspiracy surrounding a Satanic cult and the demons they plan to unleash onto the world. The [i]"Unholy Trinity"[/i] in the title refers to the game's three chapters, the first two of which were launched for free in 2017 and 2018 respectively before the launch of Chapter 3 saw them all republished as a single package in 2022. I don't generally care for horror, but the combination of its unique setting and audio/visuals put the game on my radar some years back; so in the spirit of Halloween, I finally decided give it a try. The first thing people tend to point out about [i]FAITH[/i] is the retro aesthetic, and it deserves all the praise it gets. [b]If it wasn't considered fact already, the 8-bit-inspired art and sound design further prove that pushing for realism isn't necessary to make a scary game.[/b] The simple sprites and bright color palette help keep key details unambiguous in spite of low graphical fidelity, but it's also used to lull you into a false sense of security before both grow dark and distorted as time goes on. Sprinkled in are an assortment of cutscenes with rotoscoped visuals that are both impressively animated and downright frightening, and they're used just sparingly enough to always feel novel when they pop up. The synthesized sound effects combined with the "voice acting" via Software Automatic Mouth (SAM) add an almost otherworldly quality to it all, and the impact that both have on creating an unsettling atmosphere cannot be overstated. The overarching story is one that's full of mystery, with writing as descriptive as it is cryptic. You're frequently told conflicting information and can unlock non-canonical endings to make you question how much of what you're experiencing is real, which also serves to mirror the struggle of the main character as he grapples with the trauma of his past. It carefully balances the mystery elements in the first two chapters to keep things intriguing without getting too confusing, right up until the third chapter finally starts to tie it all together. [b]You're left with a few unresolved plot threads, but the writing and clever delivery of the story still make it feel worth experiencing, secrets and all[/b]. As far as gameplay goes, it's pretty straightforward: your only actions are slowly moving around with the control stick/WASD and a single button that lets you interact and "attack". When you're not exploring or trying to solve puzzles, you're battling demons—to be more specific, you're frantically dodging demons' attacks while trying to point your crucifix at them (your only "attack") so the purifying power of the Lord can slowly whittle away their health. Later chapters will expand a bit on the puzzles, add more complex demon attack patterns, and offer some small but interesting twists on the mechanics of exploration, typically focused on hindering your vision in some way to make exploring/fighting more difficult. The only thing gameplay-wise that bothered me enough to mention is that [b]the difficulty of some later demon fights relies too much on RNG, making it very easy to fail simply because a demon/obstacle landed in just the wrong spot to get you killed[/b]. On a related note, I should mention that [b]players deaf or hard of hearing will struggle more on certain demon fights[/b]. Some demons signal their arrival and telegraph their attacks only using sound, and there are multiple points where sound is used to supplement limited vision (e.g. fighting in a dark room with only a flashlight). It's not impossible to get past these sections without sound in theory, but it'll lead to some unnecessary grief without a doubt. Since the three chapters all launched at separate times, there's some variation in the content between them. Put simply, [b]each chapter expands on the last on nearly all fronts, putting further emphasis on both the positive and negative traits of [i]FAITH's[/i] overall design[/b]: [list] [*]Chapter 1 is the shortest and simplest: progression is straightforward with no major puzzles, there's only one demon fight (not including a secret encounter), and getting different endings boils down to a multiple choice decision at the end of the chapter. At the time of launch, it was a great taste of what was to come; but even though I still enjoy it, it might give off the wrong impression that the full game is more simplistic than it really is. [*]Chapter 2 is a step up across the board: longer runtime, more and larger environments, more involved puzzles and demon fights, a deeper story, and alternate endings based on decisions made through the entire chapter rather than just the very end. This is also when that RNG problem I mentioned starts to crop up, though it's not too bad just yet. Small flaws aside, Chapter 2 is when [i]FAITH[/i] really starts to come into its own, proving that the original concept was viable for more than just a one-hour free game. [*]Chapter 3 had both the highest highs and the lowest lows of my whole playthrough. For the most part, it continued to expand in a positive way, boasting the best there is in terms of cinematics, in-depth puzzles, unique gameplay mechanics, and truly fear-inducing moments. On the other hand, it was also the most frustrating to me thanks to more RNG-dependent sequences, longer stretches without checkpoints to made mistakes (or bad RNG) more punishing, as well as much louder jumpscares that just made me feel more afraid for my hearing than anything else. [/list] [b]I spent roughly 11-12 hours on a full playthrough, which involved getting all endings and collectibles from all three chapters[/b]. Admittedly, there were a few moments at the tail end of my playthrough where I considered backing out early, or at least settling for a bad ending; but I'm glad I pushed past it and saw it through to the true end. [b][u][i]FAITH[/i] is an utterly fascinating game, and despite my complaints, it's one that I expect to stick with me for a long time—and coming from someone who doesn't typically like horror, that's gotta be worth something.[/u][/b] [quote]For more game reviews, check out my [url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/42524563/]Curator page[/url]![/quote]