Even so, the compressed nature of the helmet and small gauges near the lower edge of your suit offer a continued sense of crushing surroundings. As the only places on Mars a human can survive limited by money, fuel, and the cost of transport and construction, there is a distinct lack of wide-open spaces beyond stepping onto the Martian surface. The padded walls, wires and lines running throughout, and the modular construct evoke a wonderful sense of not entirely out of reach science fiction. The sense of tight, claustrophobic environments lend themselves well to the horror with a legitimate reason for their existence. Where Moons of Madness really shines is its environment and narrative. If you’re even remotely interested in survival horror with puzzle elements, you’ll be able to handle the game and make your way through rather quickly.Īs the truth comes to light, Shane's reality begins to fracture bit by bit Puzzles themselves provide a moment of calm, but none of them are entirely too challenging. Instead, you are provided a decent story that ensures it gets your heart racing with a few jump scares, ominous ambient sounds, terrified evasion among tight hallways, and an overall atmosphere of timid discovery and revelation. There are a handful of simple quick time events when dealing with a few main enemies, but the game is essentially devoid of any direct combat. The game consists primarily of solving a handful of moderately challenging puzzles via a wrist attached “biogage” device, evading creatures taking over the facility, and running between different outposts to try and stitch the facility back together after what is believed to be a small tremor or quake. Bouncing between those childhood memories while investigating Martian disturbances lends itself well to a quickly unraveling reality surrounded by literal alien technology. Shane himself begins to question his own thoughts and wonders if what he is seeing is real, as his childhood memories begin to intersperse themselves into the story through hallucinations.
Handwritten scribblings and repeated sentences on walls in the style of “The Shinning”, about supernatural research into alien technology and Martian monsters begin to evoke an ancient civilization vibe, hinting at Manticore’s desires to control an incredible power. Throughout the facility you find the aforementioned notes and personal entries detailing various crew members’ lack of comfort about lying to their family regarding the nature of their work.
Playing as Shane Newhart, you’ve signed an uncomfortably extensive Non-disclosure agreement with Manticore to work on Mars and have led your family and friends to believe you’re working at a remote research outpost on Antarctica. However, the framework of it can be pieced together from the conversations you have over radio with your fellow researchers as you learn the secrets of what is really happening here. There are plenty of notes, books, and handwritten logs you can scour the game for to fill in the lore. Moons of Madness is a linear, story driven horror game clocking it at approximately eight hours. The clunk and hiss of atmosphere control areas is quite satisfying So begins this hellish nightmare on Mars with little explanation as to why this is happening, leaving the player to piece together the mess and find a way to bring some normal back to the facility before a new support crew arrives. Upon exiting your personal room, you see a shadowy figure down the hallway backlit by ominous red light, a television with a broken signal, and notes hastily scribbled in black ink and blood on a whiteboard that say, “They Never Turn Away”. The scene immediately sets forth the tone of being alone, concerned, and entirely unsure of what is unfolding in a foreign place. Turning to face your living quarter’s window you’re greeted with handwritten notes on the location of Mars’ moons, your character’s distance from home, and a mention of your own birthday. As a transmission comes in over radio offering you the name of your employers, the “Manticore Research Group”, your character awakens panting in a dark and cold room. With it’s opening scene, and with no warning, Moons of Madness immediately thrusts you into the terror of being trapped in the cramped and limited habitable areas of a human outpost on Mars.
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