Developer: Swain Games
Platform: PC
Genre: Action, Horror
Publisher: Swain Games
Deathwatchers is a psychological horror spot the difference game. The game was developed and published by Swain Games. Deathwatchers is similar to games like Phasmaphobia, Content Warning and a few other games. The game is only available for Windows and is currently in Early Access.
Deathwatchers is the sequel to the original horror game called Deathwatch. It can be played either single-player or online with up to 4 people. Deathwatchers is all about jumpscares, chills, and ‘ghost hunting’. The premise is to use a set of tools to log as many anomaly events without aggravating the entity present in the location. After collecting a sufficient amount of events in your log, you can make a judgement on the herbs you need to perform a banishing ritual. You can play in single-player, but we found that it was a lot more fun and exciting to play in multiplayer as sometimes the single-player was too difficult and dragging. We did like that there was in-game voice chat and that, too, it was proximity chat, which made the ghost-hunting experience even more exciting. In addition, it allowed players to use a walkie-talkie mechanic that is ideal for the experience. When creating a multiplayer lobby, there was no evident lag or delay. The game offers a good number of difficulty levels, as well as two primary modes of play. Deathwatchers mode is the brand new setting, whereas the classic mode allows players to play in new locations whilst incorporating the original Deathwatch gameplay.
The controls for the game are very straightforward when playing on the PC. The lobby area of the game has a specific room dedicated to a tutorial. The tutorial for this game is done quite differently from other games. Basically, it consists of sections and areas with specific items, and a video can be watched that explains how the mechanics work. You can pause and fast-forward the videos so you can fully understand each mechanic. Going through the tutorial itself and trying to properly comprehend everything took about 30 minutes. The game did say that it would take some time to get used to everything and would not come easily through one run. I am not quite sure if I enjoyed this tutorial type and would much rather have us be placed in the game scenario with videos popping up through each interaction. This would allow players to get a sense of the game and go through a ‘practice’ run. Besides the tutorial, the controls themselves were not difficult to understand and ran quite smoothly. The only mystery we had was why the J button on the keyboard would deal damage to you and ultimately kill you. One of the players was messing around with the controls and had killed themselves by pressing the J key, which required us to remake the lobby. We were not quite sure if this mechanic was intended or not.
The visual of the game gives a very in-depth feel of a horror game; it almost resembles old-looking horror games. However, it does look extremely similar to the popular ghost-hunting game called Phasmophobia. There is a realistic yet slightly cartoonish look to the game, which allows for the game to be brought to life. Deathwatchers has dim lighting and immersive sound effects that place the player in chills. The eerie atmosphere with grotesque entity designs is really well-detailed and horrifying. I do have to say that the sound effects are extremely effective and scary, with the emphasis on being able to hear distant footsteps to loud shudders, making the gaming experience really fun. The atmosphere you are put in feels overwhelming. It’s not just a game with silly jump scares but a game that clutches onto this fear.
As someone who has played Phasmaphobia before, I found this game to be a bit underwhelming. Obviously, Deathwatchers tries to set itself apart in the ‘spot the difference’ aspect, but this mechanic can be very confusing at times. When we were put into this game for the first time, the tutorial was overwhelming and took a long time to process. Afterwards, trying to get ready in the lobby for the round was clunky as it would show players were not ready when they were actually ready. The lobby area also has a board in which you can buy items/tools and add them to your inventory for your ghost hunting. When brought into the round, I liked the little car ride cutscene that brought players to the destined location. In front of the car, there is a table with the inventory you set up, which you can equip certain items to bring into the residence. The atmosphere of each location is mysterious and abnormal, which sets the mood. When interacting with the interface, like the journal and scanning tool, it felt like there was so much being thrown onto the screen. One of the most confusing encounters we faced was when scanning certain ‘events’; a message would pop up saying the event was successfully scanned but not go into the journal. At the same time, it felt like events popped up one after another after certain times, which would overlap events. Some events would also ‘replay’, which would not get picked up by the scanner at times. Overall, the trying to ‘spot the difference’ aspect felt like it needed to be more polished to enjoy as you were not entirely spotting the difference but rather logging ghostly events. When I first read the ‘Spot the Difference’ description of the game, I thought it would be something like Exit 8, where players would work together to set up equipment and look for anomalies. Besides that mechanic, we did like that there was an array of equipment that could be used, like video cameras, lighting, and taking pictures, all to enhance the ghost-hunting experience. It is important to say that this game is still in Early Access, so bugs will be fleshed out in further updates, and possibly smoother mechanics will be put into play.
Besides the overall gameplay, the game offers three full playable levels, with 17 different event types, 15 different types of equipment, three different aggressive entities and over five non-aggressive haunting entities, with supposedly much more to come. If the run is successful, you do earn money, which can be used to buy more equipment and further unlock newer areas. Players can also select from a few different pre-set characters to differentiate one another in the game.
We were provided four codes to test the game with a full party. Two of the other players had the following to say about the game. First, Vroggo said the following, “Deathwathers is a fun ghost-busting game that uses a complex game mechanics system to identify the correct items used in a ritual to exercise a monster haunting a certain place. As with most games, It is very important to go through the tutorial and get used to the different items in-game so that new players do not get too confused as they play. Although as I played the game, I do wish that it did implement some hiding spots around the map or add short-lived items the players can use to ward off the monsters chasing after the players somehow. But overall, I enjoyed how complex the mechanics are because it forces players to really spread their attention to a lot of in-game items to really make sure they have the correct items on hand by the time they do the ritual.”
Secondly, Genno said the following, “The game itself is interesting, especially in how it rewards you for achieving the tasks needed to identify the type of ghost in the haunted place. However, that is the only positive aspect I can mention. The game is not as fun as it seems to be a copy of Phasmophobia with added functionalities but confusing mechanics. I even found the character designs to be similar to Phasmophobia. Phasmophobia, in its early trials, never looked good—it appeared stiff and lifeless. This same issue is happening with this game. It still needs development and should change its concept to something more than just hunting ghosts and logging events. I did like that you could banish the ghost, but I look forward to what is more to come with the game being in Early Access. In addition, the tutorial is not ideal, and the entire setup at the start is unappealing, at least to me. The game did get boring too quickly, so I hope future updates make it more fun.”
If you are looking for a horrific atmospheric ghost-hunting experience where you have to observe your environment and log any conspicuous events, then this game is just for you. You can play this game either by yourself or with a party of up to 4 players. The game features an in-game voice chat, terrifying sound effects, immersive visuals and several levels for you to play around. If sounds like Deathwatchers a game for you, then be sure to check it out!
Overall: 5.5/10
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