The Occultist review

• Reviews by Serena Nelson
• Published:

Richly atmospheric supernatural horror game whose gameplay pendulum often swings toward survival

People have been fascinated by ghosts and ghouls for as long as there has been a fear of what awaits us after death. Some are so afraid of death that they desire immortality, by any means necessary. Enter The Occultist, a supernatural survival horror game in which anything is possible – even venturing beyond the veil of death. It is most certainly not for anyone who is spooked by their own shadow, as it will keep you on the edge, not just of your seat but possibly even your sanity. But for those who are brave enough to endure some jump scares and the undead chasing you every so often, there’s fun and frights to be had. You’ll need to keep your wits about you, though, to unlock each new next section taking you deeper and deeper into this accursed world of madness and death.

The story revolves around Alan Rebels, a man following his missing father to the island of Godstone, where his destiny awaits. I assure you, however, that God has nothing to do with the goings on in this literal ghost town. From a lonely farmhouse to the mansion of the man behind the unusual events occurring here, the undead residents of this town stir everywhere you go. But while The Occultist is certainly a ghost story, there’s more afoot here than just the restless spirits inhabiting the land, so it’s a good thing the protagonist happens to be a paranormal investigator.

It turns out there’s a reason the rumors say Godstone is cursed. One man – a man obsessed with death and how to overcome it – enacted an occult ritual long ago that wiped everyone out, leaving the withered husks of the townsfolk just lying around. To this day the bodies still lie where they perished while their spirits are left to wander the land. Some are about as friendly as they can be, helping Alan in his quest, but others actively seek to end his existence. 

This is where the “survival” part of the horror game comes in. There are several sequences in which you have to run away from hostile specters, who will try to haunt you and hunt you until you’re dead. Thankfully, they are bound to the hallways of their respective buildings or their grounds, which means that you can easily duck into a side room or leave the property and they’ll stop, waiting for you briefly before eventually floating away. I’ve never been a fan of this type of horror, but my problem isn’t that such sequences are included here, but rather that they happen a lot. If you’re quiet you can sneak by many of them, but if not, Alan can take a few “hits” even if you’re caught, giving you a chance to run away. 

Only one person ever made it off this island, Gabriel Rebels, Alan’s father, and many of the friendlier ghosts talk about him and the madman who started it all, John Redler. Why this influential member of society courted the forces of evil is slowly revealed throughout The Occultist, which I won’t spoil here. Suffice it to say that while Redler’s motives were understandable, his actions were anything but noble. I’d say dooming an entire island isn’t a good thing no matter what one’s intentions are. Why Gabriel has returned to Godstone isn’t clear at first, but Alan will eventually catch up with him. Their reunion is short-lived, however, leaving the son to undo the curse that has befallen the island and hopefully restore it, or at least some semblance of it.

Other than all the dead people, Godstone is filled with interesting and unique locales that hearken back to the mid-twentieth century. (The fateful ritual was performed in the 1940s.) As you explore the island, you’ll find yourself in the rundown confines of a hospital and orphanage, the dilapidated husk of a circus, a graveyard, and even the opulent mansion of the Redler family. I found the circus particularly creepy, with the almost mummified remains of revelers strewn about and the darkened attractions begging for something to jump out at me. Of the game’s myriad collection quests, this sequence is also one of the most fun to play through – at least at first. To get the power back on, you must gather a number of color-coded tokens and tickets to make it to the main event, leading to perhaps the most out-of-the-blue, unwelcome surprise in the game.

Until this point, around the halfway mark of the game, the most danger you’ll have faced is from angry ghosts chasing you, Scooby-Doo style (but real). However, making it to the Big Top triggers the one thing that I really did not like about The Occultist: a boss fight. There are only two in the entire game, fortunately, and you have to think rather fight your way through them, but it’s easy to die until you’ve figured out how. The bad guy at the circus runs around trying to kill you, and you have to lure him into harming himself. That isn’t at all obvious, though, so I had to look up a walkthrough to find out what to do to get past him. Same with the final boss. I’m no stranger to action games, but when they throw this kind of thing into an adventure that is otherwise more about mood and atmosphere, it just feels tacked on.

That said, the survival elements were the only significant thing I didn’t enjoy about the experience. I love a good horror game, especially one that deals with the supernatural, and this one delivers in spades. Alan comes equipped with a magical pendulum, which acts as a gateway to the beyond, though he can never step entirely through. The pendulum’s initial power allows you to see into the past, and even pull objects like books and toys into the present. Later in the investigation, you’ll discover that it holds more supernatural abilities, providing added depth to an already pretty impressive thriller. One of my favorites is a more direct time-manipulation ability. This allows certain events to be rewound or moved forward in time, unlocking secrets in the process. The other two pendulum powers typically enable Alan to grab items from far away and to play the Pied Piper to move rats away from his goal.

The Occultist

Genre:	Horror
Presentation:	Realtime 3D
Theme:	Paranormal
Perspective:	First-Person
Graphic Style:	Photorealism
Gameplay:	Stealth, Survival, Exploration
Control:	Direct Control
Game Length:	Medium (5-10 hours)
Action:	Stealth
Difficulty:	Medium

There aren't many puzzles in the traditional sense, but there are many codes and combinations to be found, as well as clues to where you might find the pieces you need. Helpfully, Alan’s journal, which is automatically filled in with pictures and notes, often points to what he needs to do. Most of the challenge comes from finding the items you require, and like the circus, there are other scavenger hunting sections to search. In the orphanage, for example, Alan has to find several pieces of a broken statue and then reassemble them with his time-reversal ability. Of these sequences, this is the only one that I struggled with, as the orphanage is huge and a lot of the pieces are hidden, locked behind closed doors or within chests and cabinets. 

Some fetch quests involve additional layers. Creating a solution for a spiritual doctor in the hospital by grabbing and combining three distinct ingredients, for example, also requires you to determine how much of each is needed. There are riddles littered throughout the island to decipher as well. The most intriguing is figuring out the names of the deceased in order to enter the locations where they met their demise, with several possibilities found throughout the area. 

The look and feel of The Occultist is one of dark realism. I mean this in both the literal and metaphorical sense. This game takes place at night, with nothing but the moon providing illumination in outdoor areas and only dim electrical light indoors if the power is on. There is also a lantern that Alan picks up early on, which can be used to brighten a very limited area around him. There is a stark contrast between locations you’ll visit: the orphanage, hospital, and circus are husks of their former selves, while the Redler house is still pristine even after all these decades. But wherever you go, the 3D backdrops of each area are foreboding and make you feel uneasy. The ghosts themselves aren’t just creepy; they’re downright nightmares. This game is filled with jump scares – way more than I would have preferred – and of course some intend to do worse than frighten you.

The game’s audio adds even more tension to an already creepy atmosphere. The music is eerie and tugs at the back of your mind through periods of exploration, but when the ghosts come hunting, the tones swell with anxiety-inducing beats. The sounds themselves had me on edge the entire time. From the wailing of ghosts to noises that shouldn’t be heard, such as clocks ticking and chiming when they shouldn’t, and the giggles and chattering of children playing in the orphanage, I found myself constantly looking over my shoulder. And stepping on broken glass is sure to elicit an unnerving impulse to flee.

And flee you can (and will), because The Occultist is a free-roaming first-person supernatural horror game, played either with the keyboard and mouse or gamepad. You move using the WASD keys, Shift to run (I used that one a lot), and the mouse to look around. There’s no map here, making some of the areas harder to navigate. In particular, there’s a maze just before the main house that would have benefited from some form of aid. Still, even that isn’t too hard to get through; it’s just a pain.

More than just a search for lost family, the story here is a tale of past misdeeds. Alan’s father may have been the sole survivor of a ritual meant to raise the dead, but the price he paid for it was terribly high. Now all these years later, Gabriel has been drawn back to the island to seek redemption and to undo the sins of the past. While the scares and spookiness of the atmosphere are integral to the experience, for me it was this more personal touch that kept me going. And after defeating the final boss in the so-called temple beyond the mansion, the finale had me feeling like there was some sort of closure, albeit a bittersweet ending.

Final Verdict

It took me about seven-and-a-half hours to reach the end, including multiple deaths and the occasional stumbling block. The Occultist is certainly a great way to ramp up the adrenaline levels, but be forewarned that for some this game might be too harrowing an experience with a lot of jump scares and eerie soundscapes made by things going bump in the night, some of which are determined to have you join them on the other side. The threat of death is everywhere, and one can easily fall prey to the ghosts and ghouls – and even a couple of bosses – haunting Godstone. It may be light on actual puzzles, but the supernatural powers at your disposal add a welcome element to the many scavenger hunts around the Island. Ultimately, though, for those who want a good scare, this one is for you. 

Serena played The Occultist on PC using a review code provided by the game's publisher.