Reviewed on: PS4 (Original)

Difficulty: N/A

Calling a game a walking simulator often makes people believe that there is just bare bones mechanics with no meat or substance to it to make it memorable. I, myself, am usually not too far off from making this assumption. But when I played Everyone’s Gone to the Rapture for the first time, and even the second time around, I constantly found myself enamored by the world created by The Chinese Room.

It’s a game where you as the player are set to explore an abandoned, small British community that seems to have disappeared. Now all that’s left is empty houses, an eerie radio broadcast that radiates through each area, and mystic lights that reenact the residents’ conversations that give a deeper look into what happened. Now players must explore this desolate village to figure why everyone has disappeared.

The world feels incredibly quiet and I found that the game’s horror vibes shined brightest in these moments. There’s no jump scares, no blood and guts, no crazy monster hunting you down, but that feeling you get when all of those things happen is there. Lonely is definitely the word to describe it and it constantly feels as if something is watching you. Every turn feels suspenseful in first-person and hearing the emergency broadcast message radiate throughout the valley only makes the game feel even eerier.

Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture also presents multiple layers of storytelling that offer deep insights into the characters’ often heartbreaking stories. Even playing through a second time, I still get misty eyed hearing the different interactions and how certain characters meet their tragic ends.

There are even multiple ways to experience different aspects and angles of the overall story with finding conversations, ringing phones, and radio broadcasts. It’s a game that rewards its players for exploration rather than necessarily completing a task or mission.

There are also no real mission objectives, so players will be able to explore different areas freely and have their own personal experience in the story. Players will never feel lost though as there is a small guiding light that will fly around the map to show players where to go in order to move the main plot in that area forward. The areas also never feel too big, so players won’t get too lost in their adventure.

The game just has an incredible mystery to it and players will undoubtedly want to see this story to the end. Exploring only adds more to the mystery as empty houses and signs left behind paint a clear picture on the severity on what has happened.

For me, there are moments when listening to phone conversations when odd and horrifying noises would cut in and send chills down my spine. It only made me more curious and drove me further to pick up the next ringing phone to go deeper into the mystery.

Experiencing Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture for another time has only made me love it more. It’s a truly unique gaming experience that stays with its players long after they’ve seen the story through. Many may just discount it as a walking simulator, but it’s much deeper than that. Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture has deep levels of storytelling and character and bring unique horror elements that are not seen much throughout the genre.