''Perception'' is a first-person

survival horror Survival horror is a Video game genre, subgenre of Survival game, survival of the players as the game tries to frighten them with either horror graphics or scary ambience. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel l ...

adventure An adventure is an exciting experience or undertaking that is typically bold, sometimes risky. Adventures may be activities with danger such as traveling, exploring, skydiving, mountain climbing, scuba diving, river rafting, or other extr ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device to gener ...

developed by The Deep End Games and published by The Deep End Games and Feardemic. It was released for Microsoft Windows on May 30, 2017, followed by the

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

versions on June 6, and by the

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a tablet that can either be docked for use as a home console or used as a portable device, making it a ...

version on October 31. The story follows Cassie Thornton, a blind woman who perceives the world using echolocation. The player assumes the role of Cassie and must use her unique skill to explore a large mansion in

Gloucester, Massachusetts Gloucester () is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It sits on Cape Ann and is a part of Massachusetts's North Shore. The population was 29,729 at the 2020 U.S. Census. An important center of the fishing industry and ...

and uncover its secrets. The development team behind ''Perception'' consists of several former

Irrational Games Irrational Games (known as 2K Boston between 2007 and 2009) was an American video game developer founded in 1997 by three former employees of Looking Glass Studios: Ken Levine, Jonathan Chey, and Robert Fermier. Take-Two Interactive acquired t ...

employees that had worked on ''

BioShock ''BioShock'' is a 2007 first-person shooter game developed by 2K Boston (later Irrational Games) and 2K Australia, and published by 2K Games. The first game in the ''BioShock'' series, it was released for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 pla ...

'' (2007) and ''

BioShock Infinite ''BioShock Infinite'' is a first-person shooter video game developed by Irrational Games and published by 2K Games. The third installment in the BioShock (series), ''BioShock'' series, ''Infinite'' was released worldwide for the Microsoft Window ...

'' (2013).

Gameplay

''Perception'' is a first-person

in which the player assumes the role of Cassie Thornton, a blind woman who navigates a mansion through means of echolocation. This skill allows sounds such as Cassie's footsteps, dripping water, or flowing wind allow the player to catch a glimpse of their surroundings. Through use of echolocation, the player must explore the environment to examine objects and unravel the game's story. The player also has a cane which they can tap to provide a complete view of any given room. If the player taps too much, the game's antagonist haunting the establishment, known as the Presence, may kill them. The Presence cannot be killed directly, and has been compared to the enemies in other horror games such as '' Amnesia: The Dark Descent'' (2010), ''

Outlast ''Outlast'' is a 2013 first-person survival horror video game developed and published by Red Barrels. The game revolves around a freelance investigative journalist, Miles Upshur, who decides to investigate a remote psychiatric hospital named M ...

'' (2013) and '' Alien: Isolation'' (2014). Cassie also has a cell phone which the player can use to send pictures and text to an operator who can describe the content to them.

Development

''Perception'' was developed by The Deep End Games, a

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital and List of municipalities in Massachusetts, most populous city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financ ...

-based development studio founded by Bill Gardner. Gardner had previously worked for

where he had worked on ''

'' and ''

''. The studio consists of several other former Irrational Games employees that had also worked on the ''BioShock'' series, and also Gardner's wife serves as writer and producer. Development had been under way on ''Perception'' for around six months and was being self-funded by Gardner before the team launched a

Kickstarter Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, K ...

crowdfunding campaign in May 2015 requesting US$150,000. The campaign concluded successfully a month later with $168,041 raised towards the game's remaining development. ''Perception'' is set in

. Gardner explained that he drew from

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian province ...

's reputation for being a reoccurring setting in horror fiction, such as in Lovecraft stories. He also described the architecture of the estate in the game to resemble that of architecture in the region.

Release

''Perception'' was released for Microsoft Windows via

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporizat ...

and GOG.com on May 30, 2017. The

and

versions followed on June 6, 2017. The game was published by The Deep End Games and Feardemic for Xbox One, an independent publisher in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 159 ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. On October 31, 2017, the

version was released; on the same date, the game received a "Remaster Update" that added new difficulty modes and script changes.

Reception

''Perception'' received "mixed or average" reviews, according to

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

. The game was nominated for "Most Fulfilling Community-Funded Game" at the 2018

SXSW Gaming Awards The SXSW Gaming Awards are awards given to video games during the annual South by Southwest Festival (SXSW), held in Austin, Texas typically in March of that year. The Awards are part of the SXSW Gaming Expo which is part of the SXSW Interactive b ...

Notes

References

{{Reflist

External links

Developer website
2017 video games Adventure games First-person adventure games Indie video games Kickstarter-funded video games Nintendo Switch games PlayStation 4 games Unreal Engine games Video games developed in the United States Windows games Xbox One games Video games set in Massachusetts Survival video games Horror video games Works set in country houses