Insomnis | Xbox Review
Horror games are usually a calming experience for me. I know, that’s weird. The anxiety I feel in the real world is transferred into a fictional space, relieving me of negative emotions. Path Games’ Insomnis is an exception. Without spoiling anything, this game made me incredibly sad. This isn’t a bad thing, mind you; it was just highly unexpected.
Family Issues
You play as Joe Castevet, a man who has inherited his late grandfather’s estate. Upon arriving, you discover it’s dilapidated and definitely not haunted. Ok, I lied. It has some strong paranormal activity going on inside its crumbling walls. Your task is to guide Joe throughout all the rooms of the manor and find clues relating to why the ghosts are here in the first place. I won’t reveal any more about the story, because it’s something that needs to be experienced as blindly as possible. It’s an emotionally disturbing narrative that is wonderfully crafted.
Joe wasn’t a character that I liked initially. In past conversations with good old Gramps, Joe was a rude little brat. He doesn’t really gain any character development during the roughly hour and a half it’ll take you to roll credits, but you don’t feel as bad insulting Grandpa by the end. Joe does have voice acted dialogue, but it’s so scarce that it doesn’t really feel necessary. He also doesn’t show any emotion whatsoever when he speaks, which makes his personal experience feel a little more flat. I do wish he had been portrayed in a different manner, but it’s a small gripe.
Not So Scary Now, Is It?
If you’re hoping you’ll need your brown pants for Insomnis, you’ll probably be sorely disappointed. Besides some jump scares and auditory cues (I highly recommend wearing headphones), seasoned horror vets won’t be kept up at night. If you’re hoping to dip your toe into the genre, though, this would be an excellent option to see if you’d like to go deeper or not. I found this game to be far more emotional than scary. Hell, I was actually rooting for the ghosts. Feeling sympathy for the specters pretty much erases any fear associated with them, but it’s a powerful story mechanic.
Gameplay revolves around solving puzzles throughout the estate to progress through the story. Now, I am infamously terrible at puzzles and appreciate easier brainteasers, but these were a little too easy for my liking. I only really had to put in a minimal amount of mental effort into two of them. The rest had solutions that were immediately evident. I still enjoyed my journey throughout this house of nightmares, but I can see this turning some players off. They do serve their narrative purpose, though.
There are collectibles you can find, such as Joe’s childhood toys and postcards he sent to his grandfather, but they don’t have much of an effect on the narrative. They mostly seem to be there for completionists who hope to gain all of the achievements the game has to offer. The reports you find, on the other hand, have crucial information about the story and encouraged me to search every nook and cranny to add more context to the narrative.
The Final Verdict
Insomnis isn’t a game that will leave you having nightmares. It’s much more of an emotional gut punch than a horror experience, but newcomers to the genre will probably enjoy this far more than horror fanatics. The puzzles could have been a little more challenging but each does fit the narrative beat that it’s supposed to. This isn’t a long experience and you can easily finish it in one sitting. There are two different endings to experience, but your patience with replaying the same scenarios over again will dictate if you end up finding out what both entail. I enjoyed my time with this game, but it’s difficult to recommend to anyone hoping for a truly terrifying experience.
To hear me talk more about Insomnis, be sure to listen to the July 26, 2023 episode of The Gaming Outsider Podcast around the 57:34 time stamp.
This review is based on an Xbox copy of Insomnis provide by Mark Allen PR for coverage purposes. It is also available on PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.
Insomnis
$19.99
Pros
- Gut Punch of a Story
- Doesn’t Overstay Its Welcome
Cons
- Not Very Scary
- Puzzles Are A Little Too Easy
