Noosphere for Windows

Horror game about multiple personalities

Noosphere is a psychological horror game by developer KOEX studio. This adventure game puts players in the shoes of Vincent Martin, a man who survived a car accident only to learn that there’s an entity living inside him. He creates a machine called the “Noosphere,” which allows him to confront the ghostly entity. 

The game is about multiple personalities and offers a fresh take on the genre. It doesn’t have anything innovative in terms of mechanics, but its puzzles are unique and engaging. Unlike other psycho horror games such as Outlast, Noosphere gives the player a weapon to defend themselves.

Gameplay, visuals, and atmosphere

Noosphere’s strong suit is its gameplay. The puzzles are well-designed and they draw players’ attention away from its less favorable elements. Some puzzles may feel too abstract, but they strike a good balance between being fun and challenging most of the time. The game does feature combat as players can fight monsters with an ax. However, it mostly functions as a filler in between puzzles. 

If the gameplay is its strength, the graphics is its weakness. Right off the bat, players will notice the low-quality textures that are only emphasized by poor lighting. There are recycled assets all over the levels and clipping issues are also noticeable. These graphical issues, coupled with the game’s horrible voice acting and awful animations, prevent the game from creating an atmosphere of horror.

This horror game tries to startle players by placing jump scares here and there, but they’re all done poorly. The scares are either incorrectly timed or accompanied by bad visual and audio effects. Some scares could pass as decent, but they’re mostly a nuisance. Jump scares aren’t the end-all and be-all of horror, but it’s better not to have them at all if they’re not going to be done properly.

Mediocre at best

For an indie title, Noosphere is a commendable take on psychological horror. It has an interesting premise and a compelling story that is supported by its well-designed puzzles. Unfortunately, its concept and gameplay can only do so much to cover the rest of its shortcomings. All things considered, the game is worth playing for its story and puzzles, assuming you can ignore its poor presentation.