Recent reviews by Wolfe

Visage was one of the early access games that I most wanted to see completed; the early builds were amazing, and if its popularity on youtube was any indication, I wasn't alone in my excitement. The first two chapters, those of Lucy and Dolores continue to be amazing horror experiences; while they can, at times, be somewhat unfair, with an enemy spawning just behind you and killing you before you can even move (to say nothing of the times you'll die just because you walked into a room and were unlucky enough to force a 0 sanity event), it always remained fun.

The prospect of new content was enticing, so I jumped at the chance to play, and... Visage, quite sadly, fails to stick the landing. What we expected to be two new chapters instead takes the form of one complete chapter and a series of small, interesting vignettes. The vignettes are fun, and collectively form a "fourth" chapter to the game, less full experiences and more micro levels that attempt to push the story along. They're amusing, and when the game doesn't spiral into a progression locking bug and force you to repeat them, novel experiences.

The third major chapter (Rakan's chapter) doesn't measure up, however. The story beats that were so clear to follow and delightful to discover (in their own macabre way) in the first two chapters fall flat; by the time the chapter ends, all too soon, you're left wondering how it's even relevant, or why it's there. It feels incomplete, rushed, and unfulfilling. Following on Chapter Three's heels, the vignettes, while novel, fail to wrap things up in a concise manner. Nothing is answered, nothing is resolved. One ending begins and ends in a matter of moments while the other leaves you walking around in a void post-credits after an awful, repetitive grind just to get there.

The full release's announcement says that the first two chapters clock in at around 8 hours of play time, with the "full release containing four chapters, for approximately 15 hours of gameplay, doubling its content". It sounds nice, and it's enticing, but it's just not true. I finished in just over twelve hours of playtime, and a lot of that was spent wandering aimlessly, searching for content that just wasn't there. If I replayed the game to get the collectibles I missed for the last few achievements, we might see a full 15 hours, but... that's doubtful. The first two chapters of Visage are wonderful, but they're followed by a short, disjointed mess, and a quick succession of mini-levels that don't come anywhere close to adding up to a full chapter on their own. I can't in good faith recommend this game as it stands, especially not at its new, increased price point.