Chased through an awful school by an insane woman - Evil Nun: The Broken Mask Quick Impressions
I don’t like nuns on the best of days. Yes, yes, I know that’s an unfair generalization for the most part, but I attended Catholic school for twelve looooong years, so I know the unsavory flip side of the “kindly old nun” coin all too well. And that flip side is why games like Evil Nun: The Broken Mask exist—because that side most certainly has some very valid truth to it.
The original Evil Nun was a popular horror game for mobile devices, but it is now on Steam completely redesigned with new puzzles, scenarios, and graphics that upgrade the overall experience significantly.
Regardless of my deep-seated issues with nuns, this is a video game, and video games are supposed to be fun. So let’s have some fun, shall we?
THE STORY
The main character is invited to a religious summer camp that promises to be the ideal place to make friends and spend the summer. This turns out to be a nasty trick, and they end up locked in a school that is vigilantly patrolled by a demonic nun, Sister Madeline...who is nowhere near as cute as the daring French schoolgirl, Madeline.
Evil Nun: The Broken Mask is a stealth horror game in which I had to escape from the diabolical clutches of this nun who punishes children with her giant mallet. As I attempted to make my escape from this “school,” I discovered that I was not the only one trapped in this vile place, and I had to solve all kinds of puzzles to free myself and the others in order and get the hell out of there.
PLATFORMS
Evil Nun: The Broken Mask is only available on Microsoft Windows/Steam at the moment and is currently in Early Access.
TIME PLAYED
I played Evil Nun: The Broken Mask for a little over three hours. Since there’s really only one level to play at this point, that was more than enough time invested. As this is an Early Access title, more areas are promised to be coming “soon.”
WHAT’S AWESOME
• Atmosphere. Evil Nun truly set a claustrophobic and upsetting tone right out of the gate, as I was dropped off at the school by a cab that almost ran me down. Seconds later I turned around to see a looming Sister Madeline with her fearsome mallet poised to strike. From there, the game does its level best to constantly make you feel like an unfortunate rodent who is trapped in an (almost) never-ending maze of gloomy, dilapidated hallways and rooms.
• Sister Madeline herself. This nasty piece of work reminds me of something out of a Resident Evil game...and that’s high praise from me. She’s definitely quite the stalker, in league with heavy hitters from that beloved horror series such as Lady Dimitrescu, Nemesis, and Mr. X. Her design is quite cool as well; I’m sure that I had nightmares that featured a devilish nun of her intimidating caliber when I was a lad.
WHAT SUCKS
• Difficulty. Even on the “normal” difficulty Sister Madeline ain’t playin’. She’s on you like white on rice from go. Case in point, on my very first playthrough (about a minute into the game, mind you) I picked up a small statue that was in my room. I then dropped it and it broke. Somehow, she heard this, stormed into the room, and it was quickly “hammer time” upside my unfortunate head. Her unflinching astuteness forced me to dial the game down to “easy” (something I loathe to do), just to figure out what I was doing and get the lay of the land.
• Length. As Evil Nun is still in Early Access, there isn’t a ton of content to experience beyond the initial level. It’s a shame, because once I got a true feel for the game, I wanted more.
SHOULD YOU PLAY IT?
While Evil Nun: The Broken Mask is perfectly fine for what it is right now (and it’s only $14), it still feels more like a demo or sampler in its Early Access state. As it stands now, I would recommend waiting to buy the full, more fleshed out version of the game in a few months or so, as there is a good amount of creepy stealth action here that just needs a bit more time to fully mature.
💬 What are your thoughts on Early Access games? Do you think this is a good idea or should developers just wait until the game is entirely finished before releasing it? Let me hear your thoughts down in the comments below!
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