Pneumata Review: What's a Pneumata with this game?

Pneumata Review

Pneumata is an upcoming game from game developer Deadbolt Interactive. In September 2023, we were given access to the demo. Originally, Deadbolt Interactive scheduled the game to release on Halloween 2023. That date proved optimistic, as the game’s release ended up being delayed a year after the demo was made available. So it’s September 2024, and Deadbolt, a small indie team, is now ready to release the game. Have they made good use of the extra time?

Let's see.

Horror game tropes

Pneumata is a psychological horror survival game. The creatures have a Silent Hill or Lovecraftian feel to them, something the developers acknowledge. Pneumata means ghost or spirit, even holy spirit. The game takes place in a small town in Missouri, specifically in an apartment complex called Clover Hill. The game also employs a basic horror trope, the unreliable narrator, the character you play. You are searching for Jamie, your wife, who has disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

The game uses quite a few horror game mechanics. The game provides detailed information through notes and video tapes. There are save points scattered throughout the levels. There is also health, ammo, and more weapons throughout the level. You will solve puzzles to access new areas.

The game provides you with a flashlight, a knife, a shotgun, a pistol, and limited ammo for both. For melee weapons, you'll find a section of rusty pipe to wreak havoc with. Resource management will be key. You have very limited amounts of ammo for the pistol and shotgun. Additionally, melee weapons and running have stamina limits. You also have to manage your stamina.

Unreal Engine 5: Blessing or Curse?

My experience with the various versions of the game left me with a nagging feeling. Have the developers set out to bite off more than they can chew? The appeal of Unreal 5’s power and new features is understandable. The environments, assets, and detail are incredible. I’ve never seen such realistic lighting effects in a game. This is immediately apparent from the start of the game, when an outside noise wakes you up in the middle of the night. The glow from electronic screens and streetlights outside is impressive. A figure in your driveway with the glow of a car’s taillights behind it is downright creepy.

Shortly after, you arrive in a small town at night during a thunderstorm. The rain and lighting effects are truly amazing. The storms light up the countryside and woods around you in a way that is truly unnerving. It can create ghostly lighting that adds to the spooky factor. The light sources such as streetlights, lamps, fire, and especially lanterns are glorious. I have never seen such realistic graphics for a lantern. Not only because of the way it illuminates objects, but also because of the shadows it casts.

Unreal Engine 5 can certainly produce amazing visuals, but it seems to come at a cost.

The PC version of the game requires a powerful machine. I'm using a rig that's designed for 1440p gaming. Running the game straight out of the box was a disappointing experience. A target frame rate of 60 FPS could not be reached. The game ran in the mid-40s/50s FPS range. I had to employ the frame rate options on my AMD 7800 XT card and lower the graphics settings to get the frame rate to an acceptable level. I can only assume that on consoles the graphics settings will need to be on medium or even low.

Game disconnection

As impressive as the environmental graphics are, I found a disconnect between myself and the game. Interactions and movement in the game are sluggish, if not downright slow. The default walking speed feels more like a crawl. Running speed isn't much better. Movement in the game is just too slow. This also affects combat.

The game's design decisions also make it difficult to open doors or grab items. Instead of having outstretched hands, the game displays a hand icon. You press a button and doors simply swing open. You select a pair of pliers from your inventory to pick a lock, and it's all done with the press of a button.

Another baffling game design decision is restricting you from using weapons whenever you want. I wanted to explore an area with my pistol in hand, but I couldn’t. Instead, the game gives me a message that says, “You can’t use that here.” It’s immersion-breaking, to say the least. And it’s very frustrating. Another immersion-breaking game design decision is the way the game takes control of the camera away from you to show a point of interest. It does this without returning to your initial camera position when it’s over. I much prefer the approach where the game lets you explore points of interest. I much prefer having items highlighted by a flashing icon or object outline.

I'm not too impressed with the character designs either. To be fair, perhaps their renderings are an artistic choice. They strike me as crude and uninspired. This also applies to the creature designs, especially in the context of the stellar environmental elements.

Unreal Engine 5: Blessing or Curse?

Add to these gameplay issues the decision to use Unreal Engine 5 and I suspect the developers had to deal with a learning curve. The number of delays the game has experienced further reinforces this impression. Most worrying are the game's glitches. I've experienced several of them, which are disconcerting at this stage of the game's development.

The developers will release Pneumata digitally via console and PC stores on September 20. PS4 and Xbox One will launch digitally a week later. There will also be a physical version for PS5.

Pneumata – Jekyll and Hyde

To put it in horror terms, Pneumata is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde creation. The game's environments, sound, and lighting are top-notch, but the gameplay is lackluster. Maybe future updates will improve the gameplay, but for now it feels pretty predictable, so I doubt it.

*****Steam code provided by the publisher*****