FAITH is a very freaky horror adventure that manages to squeeze a surprising amount of terror out of its retro 8-bit visual design, as you play a priest who returns to a home where an exorcism went seriously wrong one year ago.
FAITH uses a simplistic audio visual design inspired by the ZX Spectrum and MS-DOS era of gaming to create an experience that’s somehow scarier than most modern horror adventures. In the game you play a young priest who has returned to the scene of an exorcism that went horribly wrong, searching for answers and some way to make things right. Your actions are (mostly) limited to walking around and pressing spacebar to hold up your crucifix – which is used to fend of demons and vanquish spirits.
After getting out of your car at the start of the game you need to make your way through a forest filled with freaky spider-like demons and various landmarks that you can exorcise the ghosts from. It can be easy to get lost, but the screens will wrap around if you continue walking in one direction, so you can sweep the area for clues of where the possessed person’s house is and the key that will allow you to get in. Sure, the woods are scary, but there’s no respite once you finally do get into the house…
It really is amazing how much tension and atmosphere FAITH manages to build through its retro audio and visual design. The animated pixel art cutscenes are superb and the minimalist 8-bit pixel art are very well done (particularly the monsters), but it’s perhaps the audio that’s the most unnerving thing about it – the sombre chip tune soundtrack, the distorted sound bites and freaky noises that the demons make as they attack really get under your skin.
FAITH is a very tough game, rage inducingly so at times, but the intriguing narrative and incredible sense of atmosphere will drive you on through its demon-filled nightmare. It’s a remarkable bit of game design that manages to squeeze a diverse amount of gameplay and a whole lot of horror out of it’s retro aesthetics. Highly recommended.
Controls: Arrow Keys – Movement, Spacebar – Interact
Available On: Windows
Loved it! Very creepy and atmospheric. I loved the animations (especially Micheals pause menu animation). The endings were interesting and make you wanna dig deeper to understand the tragedy that took place.