Developer: Outfox Games
Platforms: macOS, PC (Reviewed)
Gene(s): Massively Multiplayer, Strategy
Publisher: Outfox Games
Ritual Night is a social deduction game. The game was developed and published by Outfox Games. Ritual Night is similar to other games like Among Us and Lockdown Protocol. The game is available for Windows and macOS, currently in Early Access.
Ritual Night is a 4-8 player game where your goal as a monster is to perform a ritual that will summon Cthulhu whilst the stealthy humans cause chaos and sabotage the summoning. You play as monsters, where some are disguised as humans and perform several fun party games in order to collect items needed for the ritual. Be wary, as you can never be too careful with those around you.
Ritual Night is an online multiplayer game, and it’s best that you try to fill up your lobby with up to 8 players to get the full experience. You can choose between three different regions: Europe, Asia and North America. As we are based in Europe, we tested out the European region. We were given four codes to test out the game, and with four players the game was still pretty fun because there were several ways to bring players back to life even after they had been banished away to prison. The game will not start unless four people are in the round, and obviously, this is done because it allows for the game to be played with the right intention and not make it too easy. Unfortunately, even after the game was released on Steam, we tried the three different regions, and it did not seem anyone was active in playing the game at the time, so we never got a chance to play with a full lobby. I would 100% say that the experience with a full lobby will be so much more enjoyable. Especially because the game has an in-text chat option as well as voice chat. We found that the voice chat worked really well with the game because it made discussions/accusations so much easier than having to type them in text. Plus, you easily had the ability to mute/unmute yourself accordingly.
The controls for Ritual Night are straightforward, as you can see action icons and keybinds at the bottom of your screen, but the tutorial itself does a wonderful job of allowing players to thoroughly understand the mechanics of the game from both perspectives. You can easily access the tutorial whenever you need it from the main menu, which is a great option for players who may revisit the game after some time. My favourite control in this game is the kick option, which is so adorable, as the monsters make a little grunt as they fall over. The controls worked very smoothly, and there was no evident delay.
The visuals for Ritual Night are so visually pleasing as they are spooky-cute hand-drawn visuals. The opening sequence of Ritual Night is so well done, especially as it is accompanied by voice narration, which makes it sound like you’re watching Frankenstein. The opening cutscene grabs the player’s attention and does a good job of setting the story.
The visuals add a quirky charm to this 2D detective-inducing game. The characters, the little egg-looking goblins/monsters, have such bright, wobbling features that make them stand out so nicely. The goblins begin to look even better once you start using the cosmetics. So many details in the game are nicely made, and I felt the map of the mansion was designed without it being too small or big. There is a realistic yet slightly cartoonish look to the game, which allows for the game to be brought to life. I do have to say that the sound effects are so cute, and you can hear little grunts, squirms, and giggles from the monsters. Additionally, general sound effects from the environment to the party games add to this environment. Music at the beginning of the game consists of jazz-like instruments that match the feel of the game.
The game offers a shop section where you can get items for your character’s wardrobe. As you play the game, you will gain experience that will level you up and give you tokens. Tokens can be used to buy cosmetics for your little monsters. You can also claim cosmetics by completing quests and claiming them in the achievements tabs. The game also offers daily and weekly quests to give players a bigger aim to work towards in a round.
It was quite interesting logging into the game after the game was released because you got a free battle pass premium upgrade token for owning the game, which is a fun way for players to try to unlock rewards in the battle pass.
Now, the game can be compared to Among Us in the sense that you need to find the imposter, in this case, the icky human who is trying to sabotage your ritual. What I like about this concept is that you do not play as a monster when you are the imposter but rather a sneaky human. The main premise of the game is to go around barrels and carry out party games that will give you an ingredient at random. You need to collect the list of ingredients for the ritual that is told at the beginning. I found that the party games were different and fun nothing was too challenging, which was nicely balanced. In the hub area, before starting the round, you can even practise some of the games through the video game console.
Humans have the ability to disguise themselves as monsters, which gives players who play as humans a great way to try and blend in. I had encountered one in my game where the NPC was moving weirdly around me, only to find out that it was an actual human. Humans will also burn barrels with the ingredients needed for the ritual to prevent monsters from getting them. This keeps players on their toes to keep an eye on who destroys barrels and who is cleansing them. The humans also have the ability to steal ingredients from monsters, so everything in the game makes it so that people are cautious of one another.
For the price of Ritual Night, I highly recommend checking out the game mainly because it puts a twist on the usual social deduction games. Rather than evicting people off the bat after voting they get the opportunity of being saved from their fellow mates.
One of the other players we played with, Vroggo, had the following to say, “Right off the bat, I thought that the start-up cut scene was dramatic and well done. It set off the mood for the player’s initial gameplay, and I thought it was really cute and funny how the monsters (and NPCs) were portrayed to be so round and egg-shaped.
There’s a lot more interaction between the monsters and humans compared to other similar party games. For example, I liked that there are ways for monsters to defend themselves, revive others, and set up traps to actually get away from the opposing team. I also like that because of these interactions, there’s more basis for deductions to root out who the imposters are.
The minigames are easy to grasp and fun to play. My favourite would be the lock-picking game because of how tricky it actually felt trying to complete it. Overall, it was a fun party game to play with friends and hopefully with a full lobby soon!”
If you are looking for a cute, spooky, social deduction game where you have to be wary of sneaky humans, then this game is for you. Play Ritual Night with 4-8 players where you can use in-game voice chat, enjoy quirky cartoonish visuals, complete party games, and avoid accusation, all while trying to collect ingredients to summon Cthulhu. If Ritual Night sounds like a game for you, then be sure to check it out!
Overall: 8/10
This is S & S. We are world game explorers. We play games. We have played over 10,000+ games! We travel, we write reviews AND we play more games!!!!
