The Shattering Review-Psychological Thriller PC Game
Gaming News
By Admin - April 22, 2020

Take a moment, and consider the name, Super Sexy Software. You think of all kinds of software, or games. Games that could be of an adult genre, or very artistic games. What you don’t think of, is a game of some serious genre, let alone, a game based on the psychology of a human. In that case, the least expected has been brought into the light by the Super Sexy Software with their recent game release, The Shattering. The Shattering, that was released on 21st April, 2020, has the privilege to be the first game, of this genre, being ever produced by the studio.

The Shattering will be available on the platform of PC, for now, and it can be downloaded via Steam for $7.37. However, the original price of the game is $8.19, it will stay discounted 28th April. The genre of the game, as defined by the developers, is that of adventure. Numerous other games of similar genre exist in the market, but there are only a few ones that focus on human psychology. The game has not been out for twenty-four hours and here is what we could pitch in to what information is already available regarding the game

Decoding John Evan’s Mind

As the game begins you find yourself in the mind of John Evan, controlling him. I don’t mean it metaphorically, you are literally in the mind of John Evan and what you see around you is just his imagination, or his hallucinations. The purpose of the game is to help him find who he is and make him remember his past. In order to do so, you have John’s doctor’s voice in the background.

the real trouble is not that you won’t be able to help John Evan locate his past, the real trouble is you might help him go down the wrong path. Travel far enough into his past, move through five acts of the game, uncover ugly truths, help him find his origins he cannot find himself.

Why can’t you Remember her Name?

While the game loads, a quote from the John’s doctor is displayed on the screen. As we enter the game there is a white wash. The game begins with a conversation between John and his doctor and it is instantly known that John is going through a therapy session. They have tried it several times to understand John’s past, but they have been unsuccessful in doing so. This time, they have you on board! Another piece of information that we have is John has been telling himself that he is fine, whereas his doctor begged to differ. There is some woman, a name of whom cannot be recalled by John. Who is she?

The next thing we know is that John’s doctor is trying to hypnotize him through a hanging stopwatch and asking him to imagine himself in a particular room. Then the room appears, doctor’s voice moves into the background and the game begins!

The White Heavens

The very first thing you will notice as you enter into the game is that it got no colors. Everything around you is nothing but white. The only things that are not white, are some of the lights. However, even though everything is white, the graphics of the game are pretty much up to the standers. Slightest creaks and cracks in the walls and the furniture are available. Everything in the game seems solid, and so far, I have not come across any glitches. Importance is given to the fact that we are present in someone’s mind. This means several cutscenes are followed by a blur of events and it takes time for the atmosphere to become clear and easier to focus on. Even the beginning of the game experiences some blurry graphics as the image proceeds from the doctor’s stopwatch to a room. I believe these blurry graphics are a great attention to detail and the emphasize on the fact that John is having a difficult time focusing on past events. Incase you come across another person, it will be in form of blurry graphics that will barely produce the shape of the figure. Since you cannot remember who the person is, you cannot see who he is. Isn’t that how a mind works?

Progressing Through John’s Mind

I have a very mixed feelings regarding the gameplay of the Shattering. Something that you notice within the very beginning of the game is that even though the game is in first person view, the person is not present at all. Incase you have to pick up a bottle of wine, there will be no hands present to pick it up: the bottle will just float in the air. This is a very bizarre affect to the game; however, it totally makes sense since you are in someone’s mind and not in a real world.

The game is set in some past time, since everything feels very old, and this adds to the realness of the game. Another thing that I noticed is that it is not much of a complex game and you don’t get a lot of choices to go down the wrong path. Taking an example of a corridor, you have to enter one of the rooms that is hiding a few of the secrets. Now that you start walking down the hallway, you will notice that all doors will be locked, except one. Hence, the game does not even give you the chance to walk the wrong path and all that you need is bit of patience, but whatever comes next, will be the correct move.

Like I have already mentioned, the hands of our player are not visible, therefore, there is a small circle present in the middle of the screen at all times to tell you where the focus of the player is. There aren’t a lot of controls as well, just some basic controls used to move the player around and inspect things

Listening Through John’s Mind

the sound effects are pretty realistic. I have not been to a therapist personally, but out of what I have seen through movies and stuff, the sound effect used for the doctor’s voice is on point. One more thing that had my attention was when the game began. The doctor’s voice was slightly out of focus when he was trying to hypnotize John, however, when John jumped into the game doctor’s voice became a bit crisp. This was to remind you that the game has begun and you have to take the control. There are very less sounds throughout the gameplay, depicting an inside of a brain

Our Opinion

The game is one of its kinds. If you are expecting an intense gameplay, then the Shattering is not of you. it is game you have to play with a peaceful mind and have a lot of patience. The graphics can be really disturbing and frustrating at times, but you have to remind yourself that this is no ordinary setting, and you are present in someone else’s mind. The game is not designed to be played by children, and even for adults, it is not made for everyone to enjoy. If you find games like these interesting, head over to John’s brain, he needs your help. Help him find the woman he is searching for.