However, this lasted ten to fifteen minutes at most before reverting back to the previous, already too familiar piece of music, as if the character had left their Spotify playlist on repeat. One section of the game did ramp up the horror by dropping the music in favour of diegetic sound effects, such as enemy growling and echoing footsteps. There were only certain audio cues that offered some difference in atmospheric tone, making for just a slight change of immersion before drawing back to the same overplayed, however quite soothing, music track. From the beginning to the end of my first playthrough, only one piece of music played throughout the entire duration of the game. Promising an ‘atmospheric soundtrack’, my playthrough of The Sorrowvirus on the Xbox was fairly lacking. As intriguing as the story may be, however, the experience is too deflated to really provide any enjoyment. Wyatt must also avoid dangers such as zombie-like anomalies that prowl Purgatory, which cause instant death upon being touched. Contained within Purgatory are dolls that taunt Wyatt but also act as guides and even as key items for certain event triggers. Wyatt is critically ill, and by injecting him with the Sorrowvirus, his fate is delayed and brings his parents time to find a cure for his ailments. On a positive note, The Sorrowvirus has a very unique storyline in which the parents of our protagonist refuse to let their son to die and forever place him into Purgatory using the Sorrowvirus, an ailment that traps the soul to wander a fake reality. Purgatory is filled with riddles and puzzles. I found myself hoping for an area of the game to be smoother than the rest, but alas, my dreams were crushed, and it made my playthrough more difficult than it should have been. The Sorrowvirus’ horror elements, including its jump-scares and the creepy atmosphere, are heavily toned down and make much less of an impact when it feels like the game is running around 10fps.
#Faceless gaming series#
The Sorrowvirus is ‘optimised for Xbox Series X/S’, but unfortunately, it felt frustratingly janky and had broken any sort of immersion I could have gained by playing the game.
Upon opening the game, I was met with some of the worst frame-rate issues I’ve ever experienced. A saddening tale, indeed, but The Sorrowvirus leaves much to be desired, and I felt the need to rush through the story in hopes of reaching the ending. This paranormal world is depicted as a place of danger, terror and tragedy. This recurring spiral is caused by The Sorrowvirus, an essence administered by Wyatt’s bereaved parents that prevents his soul from passing on and keeps it trapped within Purgatory.
You control Wyatt Heyll, a man plagued with various diseases that have led him to inevitable death, over and over and over again.
Unfortunately, what follows are cheap jump-scares, a frame-rate more choppy than Jason Vorhees and an uninteresting protagonist whose illness isn’t enough to leave me feeling sympathetic. The Sorrowvirus: A Faceless Short Story markets itself as a riveting horror story packed with unique ideas and chilling atmospheres to terrify its player.