Doorways: Holy Mountains of Flesh Demo

Horror means more than darkness and creepy faces, because those are things that fade from the audience’s memory a few hours after they are done playing or watching. Instead, video games need to create a unique atmosphere that lingers for a long time after that, much like it was the case with Silent Hill or the Penumbra series. Granted, it’s much easier to use jump scares, which is why everyone is doing it.

Doorways: Holy Mountains of Flesh is a horror game that tries to impress through atmosphere and story instead of cheap jump scares, and it actually manages to create something unique in the process. On top of that, the level design is magnificent, which contributes a lot to the overall atmosphere, not to mention the great story that keeps you guessing about what’s going to happen in the end.

Speaking of which, the game is actually part of a whole series of separate episodes that present the investigations of agent Thomas Foster as he takes on a very weird case. As such, he visits a variety of creepy locations along the way, only to find himself in mind-bending places that look more like hell than anything real. However, all of this is presented in a mature way, so it’s certainly not just for show.

Most of your time is spent exploring the environment and solving the puzzles that arise along the way. These puzzles are not very groundbreaking most of the time, but they can be pretty challenging, especially if you are a beginner with the genre. Most of them lack explanations and guidance, but that’s exactly how things should be. Other than that, there are a few pure survival sequences as well throughout the story.

As for the graphics, it’s amazing how much detail there is in almost every object you stumble upon, even if it doesn’t have any function other than to enrich the environment. You truly feel like you are walking through a real place, not just a random location quickly modeled by some hasty 3D designers. The soundtrack and the sound effects are bone chilling as well, which once again contributes to the overall atmosphere.

In the end, Doorways: Holy Mountains of Flesh is obviously not everyone’s cup of tea, mainly because it features a lot of gore and disturbing imagery, but it’s one of the few horror games out there that truly make you feel uneasy and downright frightened. Hence, if you are aching for some fresh nightmare material, the game at hand can lend you a big helping hand.