It might seem odd to review Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 movie Vertigo in 2022, and you’re right! It would be strange, even as we’re approaching Halloween. However, we’re not reviewing that classic thriller. We’re checking out Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo, a recently-released video game that is heavily inspired by the Vertigo film and other works by the legendary director.
It’s a modern take on the imagery, themes and twists that Hitchcock played with in the original movie, all through the video game medium. It’s an interesting premise, for sure, but does it work? Read on for our thoughts on this curious narrative adventure game, which launched on consoles earlier this month.
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Basic Info
Release Date: Oct. 4, 2022
Developer: Pendulo Studios
Publisher: Microids
Console we played on: Xbox One X (digital copy)
Platforms it’s available on: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC (Steam and GOG)
Voice cast: Florian Hutter, Margeaux Lempley, Tiffany Hofstetter, David Coburn, Matias Luoto Meister
Where to Buy: Amazon (Limited Edition, which includes an artbook and the soundtrack)
Gameplay
The gameplay in Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo is best summed up as an adventure game. There are point-and-click elements here, quick-time events and branching dialogue-based scenes. The story is the emphasis here, with it feeling like an interactive movie or TV show at many points.
Plot (non-spoiler)
Main character Ed Miller (Hutter), experiences a great trauma at the start of the story and is left bedridden with vertigo as a result. As he recovers, authorities see that not all the pieces of Ed’s story make sense. You shift between the perspectives of Ed, his psychologist Julie Lomas (Lampley) and the local sheriff Nick Reyes (Coburn) as you dive into Ed’s memories and search investigation locations to determine the truth.
Just know that things get dark. There are some pretty traumatic events in Ed’s past, and you will even be put in the shoes of characters making incredibly twisted decisions. This is an M-rated game, with the ESRB noting that “Blood, Intense Violence, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs” are involved. Head that in mind, and know there will be some uncomfortable moments ahead.
The Good
The strength of Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo is its presentation and story. It’s got some wild twists, and its narrative elements will have you invested and curious about what exactly is going on and why. If you’re a fan of narrative games, such as those in the Life Is Strange series and titles produced by TellTale Games, this is that type of experience. Even if it’s not a groundbreaking narrative, I personally get hooked on these types of titles. It’s like starting a well-made Netflix thriller series. Even if it isn’t amazing, I’m interested to see where it’s going. If you’re the same, I suspect you’ll see some value here.
The Hitchcock homages here are also done well. This is far from a strict adaptation, and it’s not like you’re seeing 1-to-1 recreations of scenes with these characters. It’s all about vibe, plot elements and visual cues. While it might seem like a cash grab to license Hitchcock’s name like this, I think the elements at play here are strengthened by being straight-up labeled as inspired by his works. Plus, adding some of the touches from his films, like the color flashes from Vertigo, raise this above what could have been a much blander game.
And just to reiterate, the twists here are wild. If you like the sheer audacity of big splashy twists, you’ll dig what’s at play here. Even if you start to piece together the overall mystery, individual moments will take you aback.
The Bad
While Alfred Hitchcock — Vertigo was a memorable experience and one that narrative fans like myself will want to play, there are lots of problems. On the technical front, it ran in-game pretty well on the Xbox One X, with only one crash as I ran through a large area. However, the loading screens can be a bit long. While it’s not a dealbreaker by any means, they can take a bit and throw off the flow/momentum of the story. Additionally, dialogue and facial animations don’t always sync up well. I got used to it, but it definitely softened the impact of some of the very heavy story moments as a result.
The gameplay is lacking and should have been condensed. The point-and-click portions are often just boring — which is somewhat the point since repressed memories are an aspect — but the sequences involving simple tasks can drag on too long. This aspect is worsened by the interaction icon being a small white dot. They will either be hard to find, hard to focus on, or be confused with standard environmental effects. I just think you could have gotten the same effect of “normal life vs. tragic truth” with shorter sequences.
While the plot is an interesting puzzle box with wild turns, I do wish scenes would have been sequenced differently. At the start of the game, details are left ambiguous, giving you the impression you will either have to deduce the truth or even sway the narrative towards your hunches. However, a ton of ambiguity is taken away in the middle of the game, and the characters then kind of snap to the determined path, even if you had expressed different hunches prior to that point.
That also brings up the lack of diverging paths in the narrative. I’m not a stickler for “choice-based” gameplay with drastic plot differences based on decision. However, there was an awkwardness to the line of questioning in many scenes. Even if you want to opt for other responses, there’s clearly a “right” one that you will eventually have to guess. If you ask questions out of the preferred order, it can often feel like the impact of the scene is softened. I wish they would have just taken the choice aspect away to make scenes stronger.
Verdict
While I know there are problems, I’m glad I played Alfred Hitchcock — Vertigo. I’m a sucker for narrative-heavy experiences. This scratched that itch. The vibe worked especially well for the week of Halloween, even if it wasn’t a fright-filled ordeal. It’s a psychological thriller, one that might even work well in that post-Halloween haze where — if you’re anything like me — you aren’t quite ready to transition to winter holidays. Just know that the gameplay has major drawbacks. If you’re looking for an incredibly fine-tuned experience, you might want to pass. If you’re just looking for some wild twists and turns as you solve a mystery, you could do worse!
