World War One has long been something we’ve seen adapted in media, be it movies, TV Series, or games, but just because we’ve had a wealth of content that covers aspects of it over the years, that doesn’t mean the interest in such a devastating part of human history is going anywhere any time soon. Ad Infinitum is the latest creation to take us back to the trenches of destruction but this time we are taken back to something darker still with Ad Infinitum bringing nightmares to life.
The game puts players into the shoes of a German soldier, fresh into war in an iteration of World War One in which lines between reality and his darkest nightmares are brought into question as you navigate the effects of war on his mental state. On paper, this deep dive into the psyche of such a heavily traumatized individual should leave for some incredibly touching gameplay experience, however, where Ad Infinitum explores unique ideas, it goes on to deliver them in an unpolished and sometimes questionable manner which leaves this game offering only half the experience it has the potential to.
There are two key areas you’ll navigate whilst playing through the game, one being a seemingly large, dark, and lifeless mansion full of long corridors, large rooms, and notes left lying around that will help you piece together the family drama ongoing in our soldiers life away from the darkness of world war. The further you explore the more it comes to be that shadows are filling the voids, creepy noises break out from the silence of the hallways, and different realities begin to surface.
The other area you’ll be found exploring is the trenches of the war itself. They are miserable, gritty, and full of nightmares, especially when claustrophobic spaces merge with darkness, and the sounds of war dissipate and the sound of horrific monsters start to surface as you progress through the latter stages and are left questioning if this is our soldiers’ reality or a messed alternate reality.
Throughout the game one thing that is fully deserving of praise are the visuals, with Ad Infinitum feeling a lot like it’s taken inspiration from the fantastic Layers of Fear. That’s not to say it gets everything right all the time, as sadly throughout my time with the game the experience was marred with a myriad of visual bugs and glitches that didn’t do wonders for the realm of immersion, but in terms of attention to detail, developer Nacon has really tried to make this a believable experience and for the most part, it gets a lot of things right, especially in the scenery. Unfortunately, other areas aren’t quite up to the same standards, with a prime example being the weapon models, even early on with a rifle in hand, animations just seem wrong, the scale of the weapon doesn’t feel right, and as someone who plays a fair amount of shooters, including some WW1 efforts, firing off a round just doesn’t pack the punch you’d hope it would. Admittedly the rifle isn’t the biggest focus in these early stages but throughout the game, there are multiple other examples in which it feels there is a lot of attention to detail in things such as scenery or enemies and then basic functions just feel out of place or neglected leaving the whole experience feeling a lot like a rollercoaster of quality.
In terms of gameplay, your explorative efforts are led by the hand in a rather linear effort with players required to find certain objects or read certain documents and whilst there are puzzles to figure out, there isn’t anything overly challenging about any of the puzzles you’ll come up against. That’s not to say they are bad, but it’s more a case of ensuring you’ve explored everywhere that’s available to you rather than getting a pen and paper out to try and figure out anything obscure. In the Trench sections, however, things become more action-focused and enemies become a bigger issue, and because of that stealth is often required to ensure you stay out of sight and out of earshot. It can be frustrating at times as the slightest mistake can be punished and a few times had me feeling things were a little unfair as without a light there are a couple of places that feel almost impossible to navigate but overall the stealth sections provided a key change of direction with exploration no longer the focus when an enemy is out for blood.
Gameplay and visuals only go so far and fortunately what helps Ad Infinitum through to the end is some fantastic writing that paints an intriguing story and offers enough to see you question the sanity and reality of our poor soldiers’ experience. The voice acting can occasionally feel a bit stiff, but overall the story does a fantastic job of tying the experience together and making you want to continue on to find out the truth behind the trauma.
The soundtrack here is also something deserving a mention and whilst I’m usually someone who doesn’t pay much attention to music, it has to be said that the often bizarre music played throughout feels noticeable and determined to paint a picture, and if it’s managed to get me to notice, then it definitely does something a little extra over a typical horror game.
Conclusion
Overall, if you want a story set in the gritty era of World War One and don’t want to have to play through a Call of Duty or Battlefield campaign to do so, then Ad Infinitum isn’t a bad way to spend your time. It isn’t perfect and there are areas that clearly need some improvement but for a story that delivers and enemies that offer the chills, this is an experience that’s at least worth the once-over.
This game was reviewed based on Xbox S|X review code, using an Xbox S|X console. All of the opinions and insights here are subject to that version. Game provided by publisher.
