Dementia: Book of the Dead Review

Dementia: Book of the Dead tells the story of a moody witch hunter sent to a remote and seemingly sleepy town to investigate a series of paranormal disturbances, presumed to be the work of demons. In search of the Abbott of the church, he discovers a book on necromancy lay at the heart of the town’s troubles, and sets off in search of the dangerous text.

From the first-person perspective of the witch hunter, players use floating joysticks to navigate the various sites for clues and over-the-top townsfolk. There is also a designated button for switching between a pistol and a gas lamp used to illuminate the candle-lit town. It’s fair to say that Dementia‘s presentation is its strongpoint. The graphics run off the Unity3D engine and are well-detailed, using the sparse lighting and 360 degree sound effects to add suspense and gravitas to proceedings.

Dementia has a few fundamental problems, though. Enemies are a dime a dozen, and while they might give a good scare when they appear out of nowhere without warning or sound, they’re more of an inconvenience than anything. Having to constantly switch between the gun and the gas lamp was my main grievance, especially since he holds the gun in one hand. It’s too much of a distraction from the objective at hand, rather than a challenge.

Speaking of objectives: though the diary acts as a guide for what to do next, the game itself feels somewhat aimless. I spent too long wandering around each area looking for a certain object or person, and it soon started to grate. Lastly, the somewhat poor translation means that the tension and narrative often suffer due to comical and out of place exclamations (did people really say “Jeez” in Medieval England?).

Dementia: Book of the Dead looks great, and thanks to its presentation I did feel suitably nervous as I rounded each corner. The story moves along at an acceptable pace and it managed to conjure up enough intrigue to keep me interested, but sometimes the dreary search for a specific item became too much – especially when the checkpoint sigils are few and far between. Still, for those in search of a paranormal horror game Dementia might be something worth hunting down.