Good Psychological Horror: An Edge of Sanity Review

By JT

Players: 1
Platforms: Nintendo Switch, XBox One, XBox Series, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, PC (Steam)

Developed by Vixa Games, Edge of Sanity is a survival horror game sprinkled with a bit of base building elements for good measure. It may not be the most standout title out there, but from the library of games Vixa Games has developed so far, Edge of Sanity feels like a step in the right direction. Employing some good atmosphere and mixing it with the various types of monsters on screen makes the game less of a pain, and more of a challenge. The good and bad tropes can be easily spotted, the monsters can suddenly appear or disappear, and the main story’s focus can be confusing until the end. Does that make for a more compelling plot, or just a confusing one? Also, when I think of how this game handles missions, I think of multiple point-and-click mobile games. I don’t think that was intended, but neither was what I felt diving into this game. Here we are though, about to dive into Edge of Sanity.

Edge of Sanity begins in Alaska around the 1960s where you’re a part of a resupply team helping scientists working in a field lab. Not a trace of humanity can be seen within the walls of the lab. Your team discovers these weird creatures roaming about and decide to split up. Being on your own in a harsh environment, you set up camp in the hopes that the rest of your team isn’t too far away. Bit by bit it's discovered what happened to everyone, between your own teammates, and those working in the labs. Notes are left behind, as well as articles of clothing, giving you the conclusion that everyone left in a hurry. Over time, there is this entity that appears, an all-seeing eye watching over you and your journey. What does it mean? Well, it slowly starts to drive you insane.

Edge of Sanity gives you a couple difficulty options, which are nice but only feel like a small deviation. There’s Normal and Ironman, which only affects how often you save, and the ability to load up from a previous checkpoint. Simply put, in Ironman difficulty once you die, you die. That goes the same with any potential help along the way. The visuals and atmosphere add to the depth of the game, as well as the story for the most part. There are times when creatures can sneak up on you, or get the drop on you, and you have little to no wiggle room. You either take the damage and escape, or take the damage and fight back. The controls can also sometimes fight you, but the more you use the system, the more reflexes take over. Hiccups aside, I'd say that the controls aren’t overly difficult to get used to. There are a multitude of various creatures to slaughter, including some that are blind, some that require more power or skill to avoid or kill, and some that might require randomly set traps to take down. With many different types of weapons to acquire, the fight can either stay challenging or become much easier depending on what the mission may entail. In my playthrough, my resources were very scarce, and I would often use a projectile weapon more than what was necessary, thus creating a new scenario where it would have been much easier just to wait. That rock you pick up could either be your best friend in the moment or even a better friend later in the mission.

Early on in Edge of Sanity, you find your teammate lying in the snow, waiting for either death or a rescue to take them. When you take him back to camp, he tells you of other survivors. It’s up to you to search through various facilities, caves, and forests and rescue them from terrible fate. Luckily, you get a camp to house such people, but they all must pull their own weight. You’re able to build and upgrade the camp from a good water source to a good source of food. Some survivors are too much of a trope for me to even care about what they have to say, so all that dialogue gets skipped. One I almost regret having to rescue is the Human Resources worker, since she was by far the most annoying out of the bunch; however, if you rescue someone once you almost never have to hear from them again. (Almost!) There are some advantages that they can all do, and that is scouring the land for more resources. So just send them and forget them.

Ever play a mobile game, or some budget PC game and just looked at a map and said: “I can do better!” Well, that’s where Edge of Sanity often falls short. That said, if it’s the least of my complaints then this should be a fun game. While there is fun to be had, it’s not a game you can sink any significant time into without something breaking the immersion. Visiting the general map where you get your missions is barren, telling you where you’re going and what is possibly awaiting you there. I classify these as missions, because in almost every other game these would be considered missions. Check the box missions. Even if you’re only there to find resources, they’re still feeling as if they’re checking the box missions. The creatures and sanity are the bread and butter of the whole game, culminating in something meant for fans of horror and those who are opposed alike, giving a good action adventure vibe. There can also be hits to your mind called traumas. Each trauma can add subtle or significant changes to your character, and how they act in the field. You might even gain new crafting skills as a result. The more traumas are tacked on to your character, the more they might slowly go insane. The more dream sequences and experiences you might have with yourself. That ever-watching eye slowly filling your mind with corruption and despair. Possibly the best aspect of the game is your sanity and how you control it.

What this game lacks in depth makes up for in simplicity and artwork. The Alaskan wilderness can be a very unforgiving place and Edge of Sanity supports that notion. Looking truly as cold and as harsh as the climate itself. Your only source of light most times being your lantern, conserving the fuel to keep it illuminated. Some creatures are attracted to light, while others can be defeated by it, so you just must keep in mind which ones are affected. Once the light goes out, it can be very difficult to see exactly what’s in front of you, giving many creatures a chance to sneak up on you.

As far as the horror genre goes, Edge of Sanity isn’t very horror-inducing. There are elements of horror in it, but a lot of that comes from one-off encounters here and there. The game is more survival in nature, with a little bit of base building thrown in. The controls sometimes worked outside of my favor, accidentally throwing items I didn’t want to get rid of. The artwork and atmosphere are something though, and it overall looked good for a game this small in scale. As far as content goes, it feels linear and guided, and can be completed in roughly 8 hours or so. If you do a bit more, maybe another few hours after that. With that, the game was good at setting you up with the expectation of being alone. Most often, it’s just you and whatever you happen to find lying around. Overall, Edge of Sanity is a good deviation from traditional horror games, and I can’t wait for their next game in development, Dust Raiders. The price isn’t too steep either, but it’s always good to wait for a price cut if you’re unsure. Well worth my time, and let’s hope we can say the same for you.

Check Out Edge of Sanity on Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1897110/Edge_of_Sanity/

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Story: B
Gameplay: B-
Graphics: B-
Music/Sound: C
Value: B

Overall: B-

Pros:
+ Good atmosphere.
+ Base building sprinkled in with survivor-style gameplay.
+ Generally good implementation of a new element I’ve rarely seen in most survival games: an emphasis on sanity.
+ In-game Alaska looks as harsh as it probably is in real life.

Cons:
- Controls can be a little clunky.
- Feels very guided, even if there are multiple events that can be missed or skipped.
- Map feels underutilized.

A copy of this game was provided to us free-of-charge by the publisher for the purpose of this review. This did not affect our review in any way.

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