Just last week, I was introduced to Apocalipsis: The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, a puzzle-solving game with graphics inspired by 15th and 16th-century art. A true adventure through and through, Apocalipsis especially focuses on pairing the hand-drawn graphics with eerie music and sound effects in the background. This game gives players a real feeling of dread, especially with black metal band Behemoth adding to the music, with the lead singer, Nergal, narrating during the cutscenes. All sounds well, but some evil definitely lurks throughout…

STORY

Apocalipsis: The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil tells a story about a man named Harry, a poor farmworker. When he finds one day that his one true love has gone missing, he sets out on a dark journey through ominous and unwelcoming lands to find her. Venturing out of his familiar homestead, Harry has to navigate through new environments, sometimes having to travel through a sea full of debris, through truly chilling corridors filled with corpses, and even into the depths of hell.

GAMEPLAY:

With controls following a point-and-click style, the gameplay was very straightforward. Solving clever puzzles to get through the map, with each scene blossoming with details. I personally find point-and-click games to be perfect for a PC game, and sometimes a little more difficult through a console with the controller, but this game ran smoothly and made perfect sense for this game.

Some of the puzzles, however, were a tad random. Some of the solutions didn’t make much sense, at times coming off as illogical or confusing, that had us wondering while playing, “How does that work?” I almost feel like a bit of an explanation during certain scenes could portray better what your goal was. Yet even without the characters talking, they did depict what was happening and what you had to solve.

When the cutscenes did arrive, I was looking forward to them every time. Nergal added such a dark and foreboding vibe that fit in perfectly with the game and what they were trying to accomplish. He gave a very clear indication of what the end goal was, which was ultimately Harry wanting to find his love!

One of my favorite scenes came earlier in the game in a dungeon of sorts, and entering one of the paths available led you to find corpses chained to the wall in all sorts of different positions, with blood-curdling screams in the background, making you wonder what else is happening behind closed doors.

PROS:

• The game overall is very enjoyable, especially for a price point of $4.99. If you’re looking for a shorter but still challenging puzzle game, this is definitely a great option!
• The visuals in this game truly shine a spotlight on the 15th-century European inspiration. Haunting scenery, which was perfectly illustrated with this style, stuck with us for days.
• Behemoth taking such a prominent role in the music added such a depth to this game that made it genuinely unique, and left me wanting more!
• Apocalipsis is available on Xbox One (reviewed), PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch. A platform for everybody!

CONS:

• I found that some of the puzzle solutions were confusing and feel that a bit more guidance as to what the goal is would help solve that, especially getting closer to the endgame when the puzzles got more and more challenging.
• Apocalipsis is a little short, only taking me about 3 hours to complete. They do have additional DLC’s, but I found that both DLC’s focused on a different plot entirely, so they didn’t all fit in fluently. They are definitely still a great option if you want to continue exploring the world in-game!