Watch the Review in 3 Minutes for Ad Infinitum, psychological horror experience from publisher Nacon and developer Hekate that traps players in a version of World War I where nightmares come to life.
Ad Infinitum Review Transcript
Ad Infinitum is a psychological horror experience from publisher Nacon and developer Hekate that traps players in a version of World War I where nightmares come to life.
This thought-provoking thriller is one filled with twists and turns, as players traverse literal and metaphorical trenches as a German soldier. It’s an ambitious story that asks you to discern the difference between reality and the horrible effects war has had on its main character’s mind. I was hoping the deep dive into a soldier’s psyche would be emotionally satisfying, and sometimes it was, but more often than not, the rollercoaster of quality left me confused and tired.
Ad Infinitum begins its journey of suffering with an unfortunate whimper. The first steps down the rabbit hole will see you caught in the weeds of an unnervingly unpolished experience. Visuals, especially in the trenches, are muddy, some animations can be awkward, and if you’re unlucky enough, you might find yourself dealing with a distracting glitch or two. Stilted English voice acting from the soldiers in the trenches does nothing to ease the pain, with matters only made worse when you are introduced to a mansion area that does its best to bring momentum to a halt. It’s consistently dull – until it isn’t.
Crawling through the mansion can be a slog, but what waits on the other side are nightmare versions of war that are seeping with unique mechanics, gripping visuals, and an evolving gameplay loop. For example, Ad Infinitum’s first chapter sees players return to an imaginary version of the trenches, but instead of facing the horrors of real-life war, they will be greeted by agile monsters and even the first of a few bosses. This level has winding stealth sections, while other levels follow with more enemy types and gameplay shakeups. The most terrifying example had me face to face with slow-moving mannequins that freeze when you shine a flashlight on them.
However, as soon as Ad Infinitum captures your attention, something comes to shake that focus. Specifically, most of the story’s four chapters begin with another mansion section. The building’s layout shifts to reveal new areas every time you visit, which did keep me from completely checking out, but the mansion is still lacking when compared to the far more interesting frontline areas. The experience’s abstract story, meanwhile, was interesting enough to keep me scanning through the library of notes you can find, though it did little to distract from the tedious gameplay that kicks off every chapter.
In general, Ad Infinitum suffers from jarring spikes in quality that had my head spinning. Puzzles range from aggressively simple to frustrating, with one brain teaser in a library feeling much more convoluted than it ever needed to be. But for every annoying puzzle, I’d find one that I actually enjoyed picking apart. While animations were occasionally, noticeably undercooked, some visuals were genuinely terrifying and resulted in creepy scenes that will stick in my mind for a long time to come.
I found myself unable to wrap my mind around how Ad Infinitum made me feel by the time its eight-hour journey came to an end. I always dreaded a return to the story-heavy, labyrinthian mansion sections but was excited to see what surprises the true nightmare sequences had in store. I’d also be remiss if I didn’t call attention to the fantastic score, which dodges horror tropes with a solid variety of sounds. However, as I closed in on the last act of the story, the inconsistency had taken its toll, and I was ready to finally lay the adventure to rest.
Ad Infinitum launches on September 14 for $34.99 on PC or $39.99 on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X | S.
