I’ll admit, I wasn’t really expecting much from The Ritual on Weylyn Island. Another indie horror title I thought, not much going for it in the presentation department and bound to generic as fuck. But the game surprised me quite pleasantly. Not because it was totally unique, or had great production values, but because it turned out to be a solid experience with an interesting narrative and some genuinely tense moments.
The game puts you in the shoes of Moira Weylyn, a college student who just recently got word of her Grandfather’s passing. It was his will that when this occurred you and your family would inherit his private island. Agreeing to all meet up there, you are the last to arrive, and find that the rest of the group have gone on without you due to the bad weather. You set out to catch up with them, but quickly stumble upon some very unusual and unpleasant revelations.
You see, it seems that dear old Grandpapa was into some kooky shit, and has dragged the rest of his unsuspecting family along for the ride. We’re talking satanic rituals, murder, and a sinister cult that pursues you across the island. As a result much of the gameplay involves escaping from deadly situations and evading cult members, though there are the occasional light interaction elements (pushing boxes to get to higher areas), QTEs and the likes.
It’s a very mechanically simple game, though I don’t think this is too much to its detriment. As a short experience (around 2 hours) the pace is fast, the objective clear (get the fuck out of there) and the tension remains high throughout. I have found a great deal of first person indie horrors post Slender to be rather dull and un-original, but I feel The Ritual on Weylyn Island at least attempts to offer something different in the form of its narrative, and I was certainly engaged throughout. It manages to offer a sinister atmosphere with a solid underlying narrative. The satanic symbols drawn on environments, the creepy audio logs left by your grandfather, and the constant threat of pursuing cult members who make it very clear they don’t just want to be friends. It all combines to form some decent horror moments and a more focussed experience.
And while simplistic, being focussed is what makes the gameplay successful. You start by exploring trying to find your family, then spend the rest of the game being almost constantly chased – running, dodging, trying to desperately figure the way to go – with a few tense but relevant diversions thrown in every so often – you may have slowed down and are in no immediate danger, but you are still desperately moving boxes to reach higher areas, pulling levers to reveal a way of escape, etc. It’s well structured.
The game could have done with a deal more polish however, as it does appear and feel rather low budget. Movement feels clunky, voice acting is hammy to say the least (though I do appreciate the fact that the game actually has voice acting), and it’s certainly no looker. These may seem like fairly innocuous issues, but the cult members become significantly less intimidating when they sound like bored teenagers. There were some unfortunate gameplay sections as well, including searching for a key while trapped inside a house – enemies knocking on the door, though clearly not making any progress to get in – and a part where you need to pull yourself over a cliff sitting inside a cart (so using a pulley system to move the cart across to the other side), it started off as a pressing and scary situation, and then ended almost as a parody with you pulling on the rope for ages with virtually no progression.
It’s a shame, because it’s the first first-person indie horror game I’ve played for a while that I’ve really enjoyed. It seems to make more of an effort to offer something interesting, but is let down by its presentation and unpolished mechanics. If it weren’t for those criticisms I may be giving the game a 7/10, but it’s impossible to ignore and it makes it difficult to take the horror moments seriously. I’d say it’s still worth a look for a short, generally solid narrative, but it doesn’t reach its full potential simply due to a lack of quality.