The hand drawn graphics are a nice original touch. The music is nothing esceptional. The gameplay is plain and simple point nd click. Some puzzles can be a little hard to resolve and require a somewhat wild imagination. The ambiance and intrigue are gloomy and tense. All in all a good game, but get it on a discount.

Interesting throwback to old point and click adventures closely resembling the Trilby series, if anything. The in-game graphics are creative, dark and hand-drawn, relaying the sense of a nightmare effectively. The gameplay is what you'd expect; point and click. I've occasionally come across a glitch or two, but it was nothing that ever prevented me from playing. The difficulty of the puzzles is pretty high, but none of the solutions are so nonsensical that you'll be stumped and put the game down. The music, however, could have been better. A few of the tracks are great, they're brooding, organic, and really remind me of Akira Yamaoka's work with the Silent Hill series. The vast majority of the music are looping midis which are more annoying that chilling.

Overall, the game isn't bad, but it's certainly not worth it's high price, and there are such better options for horror adventure games for less or no money. I'd recommend the aforementioned Trilby series, or any of the older point and click games on Gog.com.

This game was a mixed experience. At the one side it had a very unique and thrilling visual style mixed with a serious and mature storyline that worked really well the first 2 acts. But on the other hand the game relies a little too much on overdone violence for the sake of being gory and it had a bit too many uncomfortable moments that didn´t seem to contribute that much to the overall storyline. And the final act seems a bit cliché and dissapointing, i had expected more.

Overall a good and unique game, but not without its flaws.

But overall

This game is absolutely a gem.

It' all about horror, psyche, murder and love, and it can be - very - disturbing both for visuals and story. It's not for the faint of heart, NEVER for children, but it will give you something to think about.

Not that I'm a great adventurer, but it is very well narrated and you will nearly never find yourself asking what to do next.... HOW to do it is, anyway, another thing....

The really interesting side of this game is that you will often be free to do something before something else - and it will impact on how you will experience some situations.

There are multiple endings (and the gaem is a bit on the short side), and I can assure you will play this game at least twice... or you will reload a game just to see "what if I...."

All in all a gem, and for 9€ it's a bargain.

Downfall is a point and click horror adventure game that doesn't shy away from bloodshed. Its plot is centered around murder, deceit, sadness, loneliness and misery. Even though some characters and situations offer a break from that bleak atmosphere from time to time, more often than not the game will be about the dark side of the human nature.

The first thing that stands out is that all the graphics have been hand drawn. Your screen does look like a painting on a canvas and that provides an unique atmosphere. It fits Downfall very well as the events on the game seem like a surreal experience. Dreams and hallucinations mix well with this style as none of the characters are entirely sure if they're really there experiencing the events.

It plays like a traditional point and click adventure, you get to explore your surroundings, collect items and use them to your advantage. You can (and should) interact with other characters as well in order to get a better idea of what's going on inside their heads and try to come up with an idea of what's really happening.

The puzzles are very well designed regarding their difficulty - not too easy and not frustrating as well - and artistic design - they all embrace the concept of a twisted and violent dream but they're never silly or ridiculous in their logic (meaning you won't have to "combine" a cat with a cellphone to create a cat bug and listen to someone's conversation.

Music plays a large role in setting the atmosphere as there is no voice acting but I really did not miss it. The floating texts above the characters heads (much like Monkey Island) fit well into the art style and old fashioned look of Downfall.

The plot kept me interested. There are a few interesting choices during the game that led me to play it a second time. I did enjoy the endings, not groundbreaking but well executed. It's a short crazy ride developed by a single guy.

Most of it has already been said.

Those of you for whom the notion ´expressionistic art-style´ actually means something will have a great with Downfall.

The crude and washed out graphic are a fresh take on what a modern storytelling should look like. This also means that you should have certain degree of ´maturity´ to appreciate topics of mental sickness and abuse inside a horror story. Though the actual gameplay is less drastic than the trailer suggests it can be QUITE disturbing at times, comparable to a David Cronenberg or Tobe Hooper movie. Which also means:

This game is not suitable for minors!

There is also no 3D in this game nor any voice over.

It´s a 2D point and click from start to one of it´s several paths to several endings. And it will take you some time until you see them all. A real gem for the connoisseur.

Author's note: review is as spoiler-free as possible. No events or subplots in the game are stated in this review, but certain gameplay mechanics are touched on for sake of information.

Downfall is one of the most morbidly depressing games I've played in recent years, combining both dark humour and an atmosphere that makes your heart palpitate in places, here and there. Gore, as seen in the screenshots, is aplenty, and while it can be a bit too excessive at times - so much so that it becomes overly illusory, rather than having the intended creepy effect - for the most part it manages to deliver a thoroughly spine tingling experience.

The story is also very nicely plotted out, despite a few cliffhangers by the end of the game that are best left to the player's guess. There is plenty of dark humour scattered throughout the game, which gave rise to some laughs. I don't remember a single joke that felt out of place. Interacting with the various characters that you'll meet in the game is a joy, as they have their own distinct personalities. Some you'll feel sorry for, and empathize with, further drawing a sense of connection between the player and the game.

You'll also get to make several choices intermittently that will eventually affect how the game plays out, both mid-game and finale, which I thought was a very cool feature, since it makes the game feel less static and more intriguing.

All the above should have easily credited the game with a 5-star rating. However, the game has some fundamental flaws. To begin with the less severe problem, the puzzles are not bad, and thankfully aren't overwhelmingly frustrating or poorly designed purposefully; however, the lack of objective and direction, especially due to no explanation on the character's part as to why certain objects can't be used with certain world entities, can be quite annoying at times, falling into the "why can't I use object A with object B anyway?" category. These moments are few, but they certainly exist.

Next is the speech. An adventure game not having vocals is forgivable; an adventure game not having vocals and having typos all over the place is not. It might not have been that bad if it was just a one-off thing, but spelling and grammar errors in the game are consistent, even until the end of the game. In fact, the most often misspelled word is probably "propably". It's a shame, because there is much creativity behind the writing. Another issue I took up with the writing is the sporadic use of the "f" word. Used sparingly, it can elicit the appropriate tension and mood; go overboard with it, and it takes off with the suspension of disbelief, at times having the unintended effect of incredulity on the player.

Lastly, there are the crash-to-desktop bugs, which are not frequent enough to cause major frustration, but still make their presence known. Not everyone may encounter this in their playthrough, but having successfully replicated the two CTDs that I experienced, I believe it's not a problem with my game. One CTD actually occurred in one of the multiple endings (the 3rd one, for those who have completed the game), making the game impossible to complete via that ending. I've contacted the developer regarding this issue, but he has yet to reply me since, so I'll have to assume it's an issue with the game.

All in all, did I have fun with Downfall? Yes, I certainly did. I really wanted to give this a perfect score, but the lack of proper testing on the final product is its biggest put-down. It has the potential to step into one of the finest adventure games in recent years - there's just so much to like about it. Unfortunately, there's also a lot to gripe about it. The final score I'd give is 3.5/5, rounded up to 4.

Downfall is a great game, plain and simple. Not only is it a perfect throwback to the adventure games of yesteryear, but it also brings to the table a modern edginess and maturity that make it feel fresh and exciting. It ought to be abundantly clear by now that Downfall isn't a game for everyone, but I'd dare say that anyone with even a fleeting interest will get more than their money's worth.

You all know how the gameplay works: you point, you click, you pick stuff up, you put the pieces together. The puzzles aren't top-notch, but they're certainly good, and they never get in the way of the game's excellent presentation. The scenes are nicely varied and well fleshed-out (so to speak), and they make you genuinely want to explore. There is a small amount of backtracking required, but it's always for a purpose and never feels tiresome. The only complaint I have is that the character animations often leave a fair bit to be desired, but it really doesn't matter much.

Okay, so let's be real. The controls aren't perfect, the writing isn't the best in some places, the sounds are a little rough (except the music, which is great), and the graphics are far from cutting edge. In my opinion, however, all the rough spots in the game's polish only serve to enhance its gritty feel and dreadful atmosphere. It's not all painted crystal clear for you; your imagination is a requirement here. This is a game you really have to pay attention to, and those who do shall be greatly rewarded with the game's excellent scene design, memorable characters, and fascinatingly twisted story.

Modest production values aside, Downfall presents itself with the seriousness and attitude of any blockbuster title, and simply demands to be noticed. If nothing else, this is a game with a real abundance of heart. It's easy to see that a lot of love (not to mention hate, pain and anger) went into this game, and I think it's worth playing for that fact alone, but anybody who is looking for a unique and truly terrifying gaming experience will find a lot to whet their appetite in Downfall.

I can't decide if I really liked Downfall or not. It is very well made, with nice puzzles that are logical for the most part. But it's just a bit too dark for me. Or maybe I wasn't in the right mood when I played it, but this game is seriously twisted. The mood, the graphics, the blood, and the dialogue.. everything is just really dark and sick. I read the description so I expected a horror-type game. And I still was creeped out by it. I guess it could be a good thing though, if that's what you're into. Overall it had good gameplay, nice puzzles, not a lot of pixel-hunting, and some nice dark jokes.