Roots of Insanity Reviews

This is just awful. The sloppiest controls I've seen in a horror game, mixed with the most unclear instructions, and the most brain-dead writing. Normally I'd play for hours and write a long elaborate review, but this is not worth robbing myself of the time. How it has a "Mostly Positive" rating with so many red marks in its review section raises serious questions.

Short, but overall, a nice game. Pos: Good graphics Good Atmosphere Good horror elements Fair Story Cons: Minor Bugs - Sound of enemies that are not even there or near remains Fight is a little weird Lame Hitbox (fixing, probably will help the fight weirdness)

So the good news is that after a very long time (years!) the game has finally been updated and now includes functional achievements! The bad news is that upon replaying this game, I am reminded of how bad it actually is -Poor animation, janky design, predictable plot, unsatisfying combat and boring jump scares that don't actually scare. When I originally reviewed this game I pointed out that it tried too hard to be like Outlast. Whilst I still think that this is true, it has absolutely none of the elements that made Outlast so good to play. If you find it VERY cheap (under £/$/€ 1) then it might be worth it for you if you're a real horror aficionado that wants to play/own every horror game there is, but there are SOOO many better games out there that I would recommend playing first.

I remember playing this game a long time ago. Now that there is a remaster, I tried it again. And from what I remember the game looks, feels and plays way better now. Granted the game is short(3 hours at most), and combat is probably a weak point. But I did enjoy the story (again) and would recommend this to any horror fan. The game is cheap so why not try it:)

I'm sure this game had some love put into it, it's not some lazy asset flip or anything like that. But it does what it sets out to do in a sub-optimal execution in most places. The melee combat feels like pure jank, I don't think I ever defeated an enemy without taking damage except in one spot near the end where I had to get enemies to glitch around a corner so I could hit them but they couldn't hit me. The shooting, as little of it as there is feels fine, but with the oddest choice of angle switching, this game has the melee in first person but the shooting in third person view, really odd. Now the reason I had to glitch those enemies near the end is because you can progress without finding the gun. You get it once in a cutscene, then lose it a bit later, then the second time you should find a gun I just didn't, I found ammo but no gun, making some of the final fights nigh impossible. The story is there, it has serviceable voice acting but it's nothing new. Mental hospital, main character with hallucinations, mad scientist stuff, zombies. The usual.

Honestly, this was a great game of horror and a great mix of fighting (PVE), I would definitely recommend this games to friends, if I had any. Overall, good game and can't wait for the new game to come out!

Still not something I can recommend, unless going out of your way to support indie developers is a passion. Even after the update I still find the game to be uninteresting. The combat feels a little worse and the crouch control does not work.

[h1]Roots of Insanity[/h1] I had this game sitting in my library since a few months after it's release, finally decided to give it a try. [h3]Story[/h3] You start in the office, as Dr. Riley McClein. You work the nightshift at the August Valentine Hospital. Mysterious things are happening in the hospital and you have to figure out what is going on. [h3]Gameplay[/h3] You walk around in the hospital in first person with just a melee weapon, dealing with zombies and hallucinations. With a simple camera to help you in dark areas, you have to explore the hallways to find clues while scavenging batteries and medicine potions. While you explore you will occasionally get a scary moment. [h3]Overall[/h3] Roots of Insanity takes about 2 hours to complete the story. If you decide to get all the achievements you may be looking at 4-5 hours depending on your luck. The combat is very luck based, sometimes the zombies hit you from far away or take no damage from your weapon. If you're looking for a game simulair to Outlast then this might be interesting, but I'd recommend getting this on sale, otherwise avoid it. [h3]Pros[/h3] [list] [*]Good graphics [*]Good atmosphere [*]Scary elements [*]Achievements [/list] [h3]Cons[/h3] [list] [*]Combat is clunky and luck based [*]Due to the luck, fighting multiple zombies can easily get you killed [*]Sound issues, you hear zombies that aren't there [*]You can hit zombies through the wall [*]The zombie animations look pretty bad when fighting [*]Crashed a few times [*]Some achievements don't unlock in the current version [/list]

You might be wondering, from some of the screenshots on the Store page, if this is a third-person horror game, or at least a game with third-person sections. The answer is the latter: it's mostly first-person, with some brief third-person moments when you get your grubby hands on a firearm. Emphasis on "brief". For the most part, though, it's more like "Outlast with zombies"; complete with the video-camera-as-your-only-lighting trope, and deja vu-inducing graphics that leave you suspecting that a Red Barrels team member - outraged at being fired in the early stages of Outlast's development - decided to exact his "revenge" against the company by recycling an early build into an entirely different game. It really does look and "feel" that familiar at times. Which isn't to say, of course, that this game is in the same [i]class[/i] as Outlast. But it's a fairly impressive effort, just the same; especially for something so clearly low-budget and, well, kinda short. That's the first thing many of you probably need to know: this ain't a long'un. A couple of hours, tops, if you [i]really[/i] take your time. Which the game doesn't exactly encourage you to do, given how quickly those pesky camera batteries run out...and you really are gonna need that warmth-giving green-screen glow if you're gonna make it out alive. The next question many horror fans are wont to ask these days: is there combat, or is it entirely "stealth" and/or chase scenes? The answer to that question is: lots of combat, and a tiny bit of running. No hiding. In fact, the first time you encounter a zombie, the game warns you that you're "a doctor, not a fighter" (!)...then promptly ensures that you can't easily avoid any of the combats anyway, by denying you a crouch button and sticking many of the enemies in your direct and frequently narrow path (e.g. corridors). That's another question I can happily answer for you: yup, it's pretty linear. Not to the point of tedium - there's still a mild air of exploration - but lovers of "open worlds" won't exactly be enthralled. The mapping, on the whole, is solid but uninspired. And the missions, suffice it to say, are exclusively of a find-a-key/fetch-an-item/find-gas-for-a-generator variety. In short, if you're looking for originality, you've come to the wrong place. You've also come to the wrong place if you're a stubborn Achievement hunter, 'cause they're apparently all broken after the first two (and never liable to be fixed by the devs, judging by the forums). If, on the other hand, you can admire a well-executed game working with limited resources, and can ignore a few minor bugs and other shortcomings here and there, then this may well be worth your seven-bucks-or-less. There's certainly plenty to recommend here: some decent scares, a tense atmosphere, some genuinely head-f*cking hallucinogenic antics, and combat that is suitably short, sharp and brutal for a game of this tone. My only semi-major complaint, really, is the story...which starts well, meanders in the middle, then very nearly [i]ends[/i] well, but decides to convolute things unnecessarily in the last moments of the final cutscene. Oh well. A bona fide good'un, just the same. Verdict: 8/10. (PS If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out my two Curator pages: http://store.steampowered.com/curator/9284586-ReviewsJustfortheHELLofit/ http://store.steampowered.com/curator/10868048-Truly-Horrible-Horror-Games/?appid=398210 Cheers!)

Roots of Insanity is publisher/developer Crania Games' debut title, released on April 5, 2017. Since then, a few updates to the game have been issued, and the developer is active in the forums, supporting the community and actively listening to the feedback of those who have supported them. With that said, some of the pictures on the store page are mildly misleading, as this game does not take place in third-person (except during a section of combat, better explained below) but rather first-person. You take on the role of one Dr. Riley McClein, a doctor who suffers from epilepsy. As you attempt to control an oncoming epileptic attack, you decide to make your way back to your office to grab your medicine, only to hear a blood curdling scream coming from the B block of the hospital. Fighting through your hallucinations, you soon discover that many of the staff have been violently murdered, and it's up to you to find out just what's going on in this hospital of chaos. There are notes scattered about, and they're all doctor perspective patient logs that do not fully add to the overall story. The brief cutscenes contribute to some degree, but overall the developer does need to work on their storytelling abilities as much of the plot comes off as confusing; this is mostly due to the fact that the plot bounces from subject to subject. At one point, you're trying to figure out where a scream came from, and then you're looking for the main character's father; at times, it really makes no sense. Although the plot isn't the strong point of Roots of Insanity, where it does shine is within its creepy, tense atmosphere. The soundtrack and effects that Crania Games chose for this title are superb, and they help to keep a constant feeling of tension within the player even when no danger is readily present. From distant screams, to groaning zombies, and random pounding on the wall, you're sure to be kept on the edge of your seat for the entire hour and a half duration of the game. Not to mention, the dimly, and sometimes not even at all, lit corridors, blood-soaked walls and floors, strewn-about bodies, feasting zombies, and foggy hospital exterior all contribute as well. There are some jumpscares, which have a 50/50 chance to be effective, but the true horror lies within the game's incredible ambiance. Of course, those who have said that Roots of Insanity reminds them of Outlast are completely right. This title does have a camcorder mechanic, complete with the survival element of needing to find batteries to use it. It's not completely essential, but much of the game is dark, and the camera does help to light your way. You must also find medicine to use when you get injured from fighting zombies, who can take good chunks of your bar away with just a few hits. Traversing from area to area, you will be required to perform certain tasks before a new part of the game will open up, although you will find yourself completing circles and coming back to the same base areas a few times over. It should be noted that right now, only two of the 13 achievements work. There was an update to the game as recently as May 16, 2017, but it did not address this particular issue. The update also improved the combat system, although it still is a bit janky and hard to get used to. During a fight sequence, your best option is to repeatedly move backwards while swinging your knife or axe at a zombie, and if you're outside you're able to use your gun. However, when using the gun, you enter a third-person mode, which is very weird since the rest of the game is in first-person. The gun provides very little feedback, so the zombie kills feel very unsatisfying to say the least. Despite all of the downsides to Roots of Insanity, it's clear that Crania Games have poured a lot of love, time, and effort into their debut release. Their inspiration has been wholeheartedly taken from the Outlast series, but they've been able to put a unique spin on a pre-existing concept by meshing it with a deep psychological horror mindset. All this title needs is a bit more TLC via patches and updates to truly polish the product, and then it can stand on its own as an excellent low-budget indie horror title. It should also be noted that the game features excellent optimization, and doesn't suffer from any game breaking bugs or crashes. [h1]Rating: [b]3.5/5.0[/b] - Average, can take it or leave it.[/h1] The Horror Network [url=http://store.steampowered.com/curator/28221963/]Curator[/url] | [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thehorrornetwork]Group[/url] Click for Gore