To quote Paloma Faith “This is Agony, but is it still a thrill for me?”
Agony is a first-person, survival horror set in hell. You will begin your journey as a tormented soul within the depths of hell without any memories about your past. The special ability to control people on your path, and possess demons, gives you the measures to survive.
Agony looked like a promising game when it was first unveiled, though controversial with it’s oversexualised demons and other elements. A shame then that what we get is a buggy mess that makes the game fall miles short of its potential.
I’ve come across a number of them in my playthrough including dialogue repeating and overlapping, while the game itself handles clunkily and has visual problems too, including screen-tearing and other abnormalities that belong in hell itself. On top of which, adding stealth mechanics in a first-person game is always a mixed bag and in Agony, it lives up to its name.
Agony tries to get by with shock value instead of competent gameplay mechanics, something that is disappointing overall. The visuals are also of a low quality, which is a shame when the first footage I saw showed great promise. There’s no 4K or HDR support either, which is something I thought would be great if it lived upto it’s potential.
The Verdict
I can’t help but get annoyed at Agony, it had such potential when I first saw it and was looking forward to it, but instead we get a game that is nowhere near polished, full of bugs and ultimately dull and frustrating at times with it’s gameplay. Definitely one of the bigger letdowns of the year for me.