Stealth horror Haunted house Psychological horror

Perception

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A blind woman, a mansion from her nightmares, and every sound a risk.

Platforms: PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch
Stores: Steam
Price: Paid
Rated: Mostly Positive on Steam (72% of 637 reviews); Metacritic 56 for PC; 3.96 of 5 from 247 ratings on the PlayStation Store; Game Informer 8.25
Length: about 4 to 5 hours
Players: 1
Made by: The Deep End Games
Released: 2017

Get it on Steam PlayStation Store (Perception: Remastered, PS4)Xbox (Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)Nintendo eShop The Deep End Games

What frightens You are Cassie, who is blind and sees only by echolocation: every sound briefly draws the mansion in light, but every noise also draws The Presence, a deadly entity stalking the halls, so you are always choosing between seeing and being found.
Content: violence, strong language, sexual themes (esrb m, pegi 16), some jumpscares.

Perception is a first-person horror game about Cassie, a blind woman who explores the mansion from her nightmares by echolocation. Each sound lights up the house around her, but it also draws The Presence, an entity that stalks the halls, so seeing and hiding pull against each other.

About Perception

Perception is a first-person narrative horror game from The Deep End Games, released on Steam for Windows on May 30, 2017, then on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on June 6 and on Nintendo Switch on October 31, 2017. On PS4 it is sold as Perception: Remastered; the October 2017 update added new difficulty modes. The studio is Bill and Amanda Gardner; the store notes Bill's work as lead level designer on BioShock and design director on BioShock Infinite.

You play Cassie, blind since birth, who travels to the Estate at Echo Bluff, a house she has seen again and again in her nightmares, to learn its history. She sees with sound: walking lights up a little of the floor around her, a tap of her cane briefly outlines the whole room in pale light, and other noises in the house, a ticking clock or a radio, show what is near them before the picture fades back to black.

The catch is The Presence, a deadly entity that roams the house. Sprinting or tapping the cane too often draws it to you, so you weigh each sound against staying quiet, and when it comes you hide. The game runs over four chapters, each set in a different era of the mansion, and the house changes between them as you learn the fates of the people who lived there. Cassie's phone, full of messages from friends and family, fills in her own story.

Opinions split. Game Informer called it more unsettling than downright terrifying and scored it 8.25, and Geekscape found it scary enough to take tension breaks; PC Gamer found the house dull to explore, and the PC version sits at 56 on Metacritic. Its frights come mostly from what you hear rather than from jumpscares. It suits players who want horror built on sound and hiding rather than combat, and who enjoy a story-led house mystery in the vein of Visage or Layers of Fear.

How to play Perception

Get Perception on Steam, the PlayStation Store (as Perception: Remastered for PS4), the Xbox store or the Nintendo eShop.
Walk to see a little of the floor around you, or tap your cane to outline the whole room for a moment.
Explore the Estate at Echo Bluff and find the clues to its history and why you are there.
Keep your noise down when The Presence is near, and hide when it comes for you.
Solve each of the house's mysteries to change the estate and move the story on.

Screenshots

Perception screenshot: the mansion's porch, front steps and gables outlined in pale blue echolocation light against a black sky

Perception screenshot: a two-storey hall with a balcony, chandelier and iron beds in orange echolocation outlines, a sound ripple around a device

Perception screenshot: a dining room seen through open double doors in blue outline, with a chandelier, candles on the table and chairs

Perception screenshot: a dark mansion room in blue outlines with a balcony, bookshelf and grandfather clock, a faint ghostly swirl by the rail

Perception screenshot: a brick room in blue echolocation outlines filled with large jointed baby dolls standing, hanging and lying about

Perception screenshot: a wooden tunnel with curved rail tracks in orange echolocation outlines and a crouching figure at the far end

Perception screenshot: a night graveyard of headstones among trees and bushes, their edges glowing pale blue

Tips

Tap your cane only when you need to see a whole room; tapping too often or sprinting draws The Presence.
Look closely at what each tap shows and fix the layout in your mind before it fades.
Know where the nearest hiding place is before you start making noise.
Read the messages on Cassie's phone; they fill in her story between the house's own.
The game has adjustable difficulty in its settings if the hunting gets too much.

Questions

How does Cassie see in Perception?

By echolocation. Footsteps light a little of the space around her, and tapping her cane briefly outlines the whole room.

Can you fight The Presence in Perception?

No. You avoid it by keeping your noise down and hiding.

How long is Perception?

About four to five hours for one playthrough, over four chapters set in different eras of the house. The median playtime among recent Steam reviewers is a little over four hours.

Is Perception on consoles?

Yes. It is sold on PS4 as Perception: Remastered, on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, and on Nintendo Switch, as well as on Steam for Windows.

Who made Perception?

The Deep End Games, the studio of Bill and Amanda Gardner; Bill worked on BioShock and BioShock Infinite.