Doorways: Holy Mountains of Flesh

Doorways: Holy Mountains of Flesh
N/A
Metacritic
75
Steam
50.915
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$7.99
Release date
10 August 2016
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
75 (105 votes)

Doorways: Holy Mountains of Flesh is an Immersive Horror Adventure, featuring a Complex Story and Deep Atmosphere.

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Doorways: Holy Mountains of Flesh system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows Vista / 7 / 8 / 10
  • Processor: Intel Core2 Quad Q8400
  • Memory: 4 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560 1GB / Radeon R7 250X 1GB
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 7 GB available space
  • Sound Card: DirectX Compatible

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
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RaptorOnCrackk
RaptorOnCrackk

Game is literally shit. A lot of 2016 games will outshine this game in almost every single ways. Alot of slow-mo moments for no shitty reasons, shit graphic, shit mechanic movement, shit puzzle, everything is literally shit. Atmosphere is probably the least shit of it all. A shitty score of 3 out of 10. Well done shitbot studio. You made a shit game.

kevintheradioguy
kevintheradioguy

At this very moment I have six hours in the game, four of which were spent trying to figure out where to go next. Surely, this might be a design choice, I thought, or just a lack of an experienced leveldesigner. A bad one, but they did their best. Surely, the clunky mechanic and unresponsiveness is just an engine limitations. Surely, the lack of textures is an oversight, after all, it is so dark the QA probably never noticed. Surely, confusing puzzles with no real hints is just me being dumb. Surely, the fact I rely on letsplays to understand what the game wants me to do is my own fault. Surely, buggy movement, light, and sounds are just quality limitations for the team.

But did your really steal all those stock images you used, and not even bothered to wipe the watermark out? At least pretend it was legal. I have no clue how the hell are you on steam with blatantly stolen images that still hold watermarks of known image services. I had checked: did you not have three dollars to buy those? Did you not have fifty to hire an artist online to get a unique peace of art? Was pirating that necessary? You should be ashamed of yourselves!

Ger Bib
Ger Bib

Have to use a bit of brain power in this one...

6 of 5 must play.
5 of 5 great story great game-play.
4 of 5 great story average game-play.
3 of 5 average story average game-play.
2 of 5 play only if it's your favourite genre.
1 of 5 play if you have nothing better to do.
0 of 5 play if you're a masochist.
-1 of 5 avoid.

Doorways: Holy Mountains of flesh score is 4 of 5.

Cali
Cali

Been waiting ages for this game, loved the first 3, amazing atmosphere as usual and obviously, the jump scares...

Helsinky
Helsinky

As a early access, I thought I might be disapointed, but everything feels good. everything acts as it should, and I am empressed.. So far so good... have a look for yourself

https://youtu.be/-6hIIcPjsJw

Ferk
Ferk

Best door simulator 2015. Recommended but you could probably just wait for full release.

So far the story seems interesting but there has not been that much eventful... events, yet. I am sure the game will build up into something awesome and I will update the review accordingly.

Tip for devs. I got jumped by a creature and couldn't help but think that there should have been some creepy noise and sharp music at that moment. Felt a bit stale.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Pyo-q-z5U

Eveline
Eveline

Everyone who knows and likes Doorways, will also like Holy Mountains of Flesh. It`s still early access, so there isn`t too much content. Act1 has a playing time of ~ 2 hours depending on gameplay style. But what you can see in this game will already make you want more. Personally I think the atmosphere is better than chapter 1 + 2, but Underworld is the best part of the Doorways chapters by now.

I have also noticed two negative things, one of it is a bug:

First, the game is extremely dark. Increasing the brightness to higher levels will only influence the lights, while very dark areas remain dark out. The lighting conditions at the transition from outdoor areas indoors isn`t fluently enough.

The Bug:

At the very end of act 1, there is a door that can no longer be activated after your first death in this sequence (the latch does no longer lights up). Says: autosave was created (indicated by short flickering of the screen), you play the sequence and die, after that no matter how often you load the autosave, the door is no longer usable. To fix the problem, you have to exit to the main menu and reload the autosave from there.

I can recommend the game because it shows potential and I think it could deliver what is promised by the developer.

tAreqSm1Le'^^!
tAreqSm1Le'^^!

i played 1-3 all parts are nice atmosphere and this one especially the deepest one.

*Devolpers*

- Everything is fine as previous parts, but make it little real for example i can jump on theater and this is frustrating when i see small stuff can't jump on it.
- Make a custom settings for graphics cause i choose what i want in game.
- there is a bug when the screen becomes small in the middle and sides is Black.
Keep up the good work :P

Nux
Nux

Doorways: Holy Mountain of Flesh is the third installament of the series which is already showing more promise than both of it's predecessors. The strength of the game is the brilliant use of ambient tracks/sounds conveying a disturbing and creepy atmosphere. Some part's of the game the lighting is a bit off (we get the whole "don't go in the darkness.") and there is a noticeable bug but apart from that it ticks all the boxes you expect to find in any horror game.

Just make sure you keep the light on and the stereo up (8/10).

Checkout the gameplay at;

AlphrGaming

Solid Gamer
Solid Gamer

Act I ★☆☆☆☆ Terrible!
Act II ★★★☆☆ Good!
Act III ★☆☆☆☆ Terrible!

Horror (less scary), Puzzles

Whether you’ve played the earlier Doorways adventures or not, your first reaction (and probably many subsequent reactions) is going to be “What the hell?!” In this initial instance, however, it’s entirely justified in a literal sense.

Being unable to defend yourself against the worlds hostilities, and making progress with the story through voice clips and notes found within the world.

So if you are looking for a game that focuses on tension building music accompanied by gritty environments, this may be the game for you. With its occasional jump scares and atmospheric tendencies, Doorways provides a game that could be leaving you lying awake at night.

Italbar
Italbar

IMMERSIVE HORROR FPS WITH AN EERIE ATMOSPHERE

Category Score Comment
Fun/Horror 2/4 Most of the game is standard FPS fare punctuated by a few moments of excitement. Eerie atmosphere but no feelings of dread.
Controls
/Gameplay
3/4 Straight-up FPS mechanics used in an well-realized horror setting
Graphics 3/4 While the graphics look dated, lighting is used to great effect to produce a horror atmosphere
Sound 2/4 Some of the music is jarring, and the audio cues do not always correspond to the action on the screen.
Replayability 2/4 Early Access, so the six total hours is understandable, but nor was the horror sustainable even through the provided limited gameplay

Overall = 60% - Promising start for an Early Access Game

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tFdqeDjPoGg

Lxon
Lxon

The game graphics are very detailed, but
the part with the chemicals was boring and annoying.
The end with the RUN is to difficulty.
Despite everything , the game has become beautiful.

Mytru Mara
Mytru Mara

So. I can't find the Dagger at all or the other items you need to open the first door. So I'll give a review of my first impressions of the Early Access version of the game.

It took me a while before I figured out how to make the video actually work for me. At first it was going at 25fps but now I've got it going at a solid 60fps, most of the time. Whenever I walk into a building it seems like the game has to load the new rooms, because it freezes for a second and then lets me move again, it's only a minor annoyance but it happens at each new building. And the framerate drops significantly in tight areas, not to mention the game gave me hell (no pun intended) just to get the video to run so I wouldn't have flashing lights on the borders.

But this still doesn't matter when everybody else seems to playing a different game. They start out in some sort of building when I start out in the town, I don't know if this is a glitch in the game but it's something you should really fix as soon a possible because it makes looking up a walkthrough or expriencing the game to it's fullest much harder to do.

So right now I will not be recommending this game. Once they've fixed it, or finished it I'd suggest it, but not now.

AuroraMist
AuroraMist

The atmosphere for this game is amazing! The fear produced goes well beyond your typical jump scares. The navigation and puzzles were difficult enough to make the game interesting, but not so difficult as to leave you feeling salty and frustrated. It was really easy to immerse yourself into this world and you can almost feel someone breathing down your neck around every corner. By the end of the first part, I found myself aching for more content. Can not wait for full release!! A must have for all horror game collectors.

Chaos Epoch
Chaos Epoch

so, I found out *after* purchasing this that it's connected somehow to other games in a series. which is quite a big detail to miss in the naming of the game itself. because of this mistake I have no idea how I should be reviewing this as a whole, as all I can really do is review this title specificly. what exactly have I missed?

the game begins as the player descends some sort of tower into a hellish landscape. though it's quickly hinted at that you're inside the mind of a physopath or a killer. there's a sea of exploding lava a couple of miles below you and rocks flying and spinning above you which is overcasting a blood red sky. all in all it's quite a cool setting, which is also suprisngly stable, especially given that this is a indie title.

you seen happen upon a town, which is filled with dark secrets. I know this because as I enter some buildings my ability to control the character is reduced as I'm forced to listen to something. which is really quite annoying, though is something quite usual in horror games for some reason. any chance of an "Immersive" story is immediatly taken away at this point. the town splits off into a few different sections, which quietly attribute to the thought of being in someone's mind in their own little way. quite a difficult thing to pull off.

the game really begins once you've reached the school and you meet the monster, or at least the first one that will appear in this title. the introduction to the monster is done horribly, it's something that will only appear in darkness to attack you, but first appears half basked in the light which lead me to quite a bit of confusion until I figured out how this monster opperates exactly. immediatly it would have been better to have this monster appear in the players vision in darkness, only for it to disapear when some light randomly turns on. from here on out it's "be afraid of the spooky scary dark" as the player goes through several different light puzzles in order to safely navagiate a room.

INCOMING SPOILERS:

the final nail in the coffin comes from the fact that the school itself is, well, a school for schoolchildren. whereas the final sequence involves a lot of dismembered adult body parts strewn around everywhere and the player running through many racks of cages with adults slamming on the bars as a spooky darkness approaches. did the school change to a high school or college at some point? is this really how they advertise their early access product with such an inaccuracy? this is proof of concept stuff right here, not anything which actually indicates any amount of development, usually I would overlook something like this given that it is early access, but... the assets used look as if they were placed there to stay there, with no intention of changing it later

there are many things about this game that show promise. the animations are great, art is great, modeling is great, sound is not the greatest but is definetly at a level I would call highly passable, but it looks as if the designer is quite heavily asleep at the wheel and has little concept of what horror is or how to actually implement it.

maybe I'm wrong and this game will turn out great, but initial impressions aren't great.

666BERSERKER
666BERSERKER

JUEGO EXCELENTE ESPERO A QUE SALGA COMPLETAMENTE PARA PODER DISFRUTAR LA ULTIMA PARTE DE DOORWAYS

Charlie
Charlie

Early days.
I was not impressed by Doorways 1,2 and 3 but since I got them cheap on sale I tried my best to work through them.
Lets see where this new attempt goes.
I tried nearly an hour and once the jump scares began repeating themselves I began to lose interest. I think that because the environment (the hellish landscape) is so over the top it kind of renders the jumpscares weak.

Still it's early days lets see if the designers can come up with answers. I still hold out hope ....I paid for it didn't I. Come on guys don't let me down.

Relax its just a game
Relax its just…

After playing and experiencing horror type games such as Outlast, Kholat, Layers of fear, and a variety of other horror type games. "Doorway: Holy Mountains of Flesh" doesn't offer anything new in terms of mechanics. Its your typical linear horror aventure where you walk through an area and figuring out where to go next. I wouldn't really call them puzzles, but rather finidng out how to move forward to the next section.

While I haven't experienced the previous Doorway series Doorways Holy Mountains of Flesh by itself isn't anything that I would find memorable. It's not to say its a bad game just isn't anything people haven't already experienced in these horror type adventure games.

The gameplay for some reason is extremely lagging and choppy. I was able to max the resolution on all the other horror games and Doorways: Holy mountains of Flesh was the only game that lagged sometimes making it game unplayable.

So, the verdict is if you're able to get it at a discounted price like I did 50% off, it yields decent atomsphere like most of the other review suggest as your exploring. Its not scary by any means even though I think the developers added a few jump scares however they were by no means scary in my opinion after playing some of the other horror games.

If your looking for something new in terms of mechanics this game isn't it. If your just looking to pass some time and enjoy the decent atomsphere at a bargain price. Sure, well worth the $4.99 early access.

Nokzen
Nokzen

Im liking this whole series, Its a really good Puzzle/horror experience.
Cheaper and better than most indie horrors, Pick em all up, especially now when they are all on a discount.

https://youtu.be/D5FRZFs_RCI

Rubeus
Rubeus

Let's be honest. The only bad thing about this game is the poor optimization. It's more ressource intensive than some AAA titles.

This said, this game so far is a masterpiece of atmosphere, storytelling and horror. The school is probably one of the creepiest places I've visited in a horror game, and slowly learning what happened there bluilt such a climate of tension and dread, it's pretty amazing actually. I can't wait for chapter 2, this game is definitely worth every single penny.

twoodjr
twoodjr

horrible game relies on dark and backtracking do not buy

RepoMan
RepoMan

just another rubbish find a note game

Severia Zezt
Severia Zezt

Reminiscent of Amnesia. Full of creepy atmosphere and haunting visuals.

Positives:
+ Imaginative hellscape.
+ Pretty fast loading times.
+ Accurate representation of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Negatives:
- Random framerate drops. (50 drops to 10 fps on a HD 4400 Graphics card.)
- Sluggish mouse movement. Turning and stopping seems delayed. (Turning off V-Sync fixes this.)
- Accurate representation of Salt Lake City, Utah.

Lux Custodis
Lux Custodis

I tried to like this game, I really did. Trying to enjoy the atmosphere of the game was a challenge. Running everywhere trying to figure out where to go. But the one thing that killed the game for me was the puzzles. The damn puzzles.

In any of the Penumbra or Amnesia games, which this game seems like its trying to be a spiritual successor, the puzzles in those games were fair and solvable. Gave you a good amount of informtion & hints to solve them. Made you think and they were fun to solve, without taking you out of the atmosphere of the games.

However, in Doorways Holy Mountains of Flesh, the first few puzzles have very little information to very vague hints, breaking you away from the excellent atmosphere of the game. Puzzles done wrong? This game is an excellent prime example of how you do not program puzzles and supply little to no clues on how to solve them.

This is a Walkthrough kind of game. Which means you have to watch someones Lets Play. Skimming through someones video just to see how its solved. Which makes you feel like you're cheating and that you're really stupid. Then you find out that when they're trying to find the solution, they needed help or look it up themselves.

I cannot recommend a game that breaks you away from the atmosphere due to its unforgivable puzzles. The rest of the game however is superb. But when it comes to the first Doorways game, it was a great game. Was scary, excellent atmosphere, and it managed to grab the attention of the player with ease. This game provides puzzles that frustrate and breaks you away from what the original game provided.

I will not say do not buy the game. If you like hard as nails puzzles, like in the old Silent Hill days, then this is your game. A word of warning however, when you get stuck (and you will get stuck often), do not be ashamed to use a walkthrough. Because this game alone literally frustrates you enough to look for one.

blancalucia1717
blancalucia1717

I love the immersion that this game achieves.

LotusTri3
LotusTri3

Fun & entertaining, although in my opinion, not quite like the first two in the series, which truly invoked fear and emotion in me. ALTHOUGH, I have NOT played straight through with the NEW cinematics added, so fingers crossed, & update to follow. I would say this entry may be more coherent and smooth gameplay-wise, and hopefully the fleshed out final version does live up to be the (finale'?) of the series' that kind of brings it together..
**UPDATE** O.K. with all the features and graphics revised I DO consider this way up to par with the others if not by far, much more creepy. I am truly amazed at just how good it has been brought together by the devs, and it truly manages to freak me out EVEN after already playing a while back, it strikes up the perfect balance of memories and being like whoah I don't remember that;) All in all a great treat, especially for the longer term fans that have been here throughout, what a great experience, I love it..

Matt Sicness
Matt Sicness

just really quick this is a review in progess, so when i am done with the game i will have a full review (side note i might forget later to do that so im sorry if i don't) this is my experience with the game so far. if you guys want to see gameplay of it, to see if its good or not sure of what the game is. click right here to see my gameplay on youtube - http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=741794583

no lie man, this game is the scariest Psychological horror game i have ever played. i really hate how much details they put in to the sound effects and the atmosphere alone is just Crazy. i will not spoil anything of the story, what i can say that this is by far the best representation of Hell in a game. this game will f!ck with your head with, fear, anxiety and having to play alone is soo fcked. i really don't like this game in a good way, of it being so scary. so far there are no jumpscare's which i love but, i have spent more time pushing my self to play it, then i have actually played. for me this game is a love - hate relationship, i love that its a scary game, but i hate how scary it really is. plus im used to horror game's that are FPS like Doom.
so far to sum it up, its worth $15.00 bucks.

Bongo The Bear
Bongo The Bear

Argentinian Amnesia. The game does very little to explain itself, and some of the puzzles, while not overly complex, will have you back tracking because you failed to spot a particular item, or read a certain note. I'm pretty happy to find that it's light on jump scares, relying instead on atmosphere and a surprisingly well developed back story to put you on edge. So far this is a solid 7/10. Really solid indie horror, for those who have some patience.

mharris
mharris

Probably the worst game I've ever played. Buggy controls, horrible mechanics, sucky graphics. I don't know who's rating this game so highly but mark my words, it's horrible. Don't bother.

CjuGames
CjuGames

Solid end to the Doorways series. Each act focuses on a different member of the Torres family, who challenge us to pay attention to our surroundings, complete mind-bending puzzles and think outside of the box, all the while providing us with more than a fair share of horrific imagery.

Definitely worth a play, especially if you've enjoyed the previous Doorways games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdbT8wS0O9M&list=PL3AISiWybyWeyLt9R6cxb…

⸸ JΔI ΜΔЅƬΣΓЅ ⸸
⸸ JΔI ΜΔЅƬΣΓЅ ⸸

That was worth it just for the song at the end... GOTY GOTY

Ψ
Ψ

If you're looking for a "scary" horror game, this one might not satisfy you. However, if you're looking for an atmospheric, psychological horror game with solid gameplay, you might enjoy it.

Doorways: Holy Mountains of Flesh is a horror game with a lot of puzzle solving just like the previous two games in the Doorway trilogy ("Doorways: Prelude" and "Doorways: The Underworld"). I'm impressed that the devs are devoted to the atmosphere building, the story and the level design of the game to create a sense of psychological horror rather than relying on jumpscares or flashing lights and ear-piercing sound effects commonly used in other try hard wannabe "horror" games.

Before playing this game, It's highly recommended that you play the previous two games in the trilogy as the story is consecutive in them. You play as Thomas Foster, an investigator working for an organization called Doorways. His mission is to pursue four psychopaths and uncover the mysteries behind them. Thomas had already dealt with the first three psychopaths in the previous two games and this time he'll face Juan Torres, the last villian on the list. What's more, the player will discover the true colors of Doorways and the evil side of the protagonist.

The game has an unique artstyle resembling a remote devil worshipping village in Argentina. Environmental elements like the crimson sky, grotesque structures, floating mountains with burning lava underneath all add to the amosphere. Optimization is good as it runs perfectly on my PC.

Puzzles and platforming are two main elements of the game. Some of the puzzles are quite challenging for me as one of them even took me nearly an hour to finally figure out, but they are well-designed and cause little interference to the general pacing. As for the platforming parts, they're fun to play due to the smooth control of the game.

The game has several chapters and each of them has its own scene, for example, the school, the mansion, and the temple. There're notes and collectables scattered around the map in each chapter, which are rewarding for the player's effort in exploring.

In the game, you'll also encounter monsters. Sometimes you'll get chased by them and need to escape, while sometimes you need to avoid them. The final boss is fun and thrilling to fight, you'll not be battling it face to face wielding a weapon but to beat it with timing and your platforming skill.

All in all, this is a very well made game with a lot of efforts put in by the devs and I throughly enjoyed it.

Abomination72
Abomination72

I really liked the first two parts in the Doorways series and this one is no exception.

Some say the in-game graphics look a bit dated, but they sure do trick for me. Personally, I think it's an amazing art style throughout the whole series. It's pretty disturbing and so are the background stories and the creepy sounds you'll hear from time to time when discovering new areas. This one tops it on all levels.

One downside of the previous two parts was that the puzzles were a bit too easy. This one delivers more. Especially in the part called 'The Mansion' which is also amazingly beautiful.

I do wonder about the mental state of the developers though.. the last part is.. sick! Loving it!! :)

Swidtter
Swidtter

Sick and twisted!

8/10

If you are into investigative horror this is just a brilliant game to play. Enough paranoia and tense horror mixed in with a few jumpscares and adrenaline sequence to keep ya at the edge of your seat at all time.

Game mechanics are a bit wonky, jumping can be difficult at times. But overall the game feels smooth to play.

FullMetalNoob
FullMetalNoob

This game caters to a specific type of gamer.
It is certainly not for everyone.

If you pay good attention to detail, enjoy puzzles, appreciate well-written stories, but also like some creepiness and the occasional (very occasional) jump scare, this game is for you.

This game also carries an element of mystery, you're essentaily a detective with a psychological gift, who is attempting to solve the mystery of a lost city. For spoilers sake, I won't say more. I will only say that the story is quite original and well-thought out.

The atrocities that take place in this forsaken city are grotesque to say the least.
If you've got a dark side and appreciate some great atmosphere and a solid story, this game is for you.
The score is also great.
Voice acting is good.
Visuals are done well.

Only complaint is that the ending seemed a little bit rushed.
Other than that, one of the best horror-mystery-indies I've yet to experience.

8/10, would solve bloody skin-crawling mystery again.

Lopper
Lopper

Quite a spooky little horror game. Production value has definitely increased since the previous games and that definitely helps a lot. The graphics are quite nice, the story is interesting and the puzzles are challenging. Bit frustrating at times since you can't kill anything but oh well. Not as annoying as the last game cause you don't have to run away from things as much, the enemy encounters are more of a puzzle than another amnesia clone which is good. Some of the puzzles are bit too hard though if you ask me, should be an option for easier puzzles. Since I'm not very patient I did have a few hints to get past some of the puzzles quicker but aside from that it's a neat game. Not very long though unless you're trying to 100% it, best to get on a sale.

Collaboradev
Collaboradev

Just beat Doorways: Holy Mountains of Flesh. I have to say, this ones a hard call. The cut scenes were complete crap and the controls were clunky at best. But, there were still some great visuals and the idea and story line once you actually got far enough in the game were good. Overall though, I don't think I can actually recommend this game.

Petr Stránský
Petr Stránský

Good conclusion to Doorways series but not a perfect one. It still has the same dense atmosphere, good level design and great puzzles. But it also has a few problems:

    • Too much object hunting. It's so easy to miss a crucial object, get stuck and have to search through every single room in the level again to look for what you have missed. Gets boring really fast.
    • The room sliding puzzle. Great idea, nice design, BUT it's just too complicated. Too many necessary actions, too complex solutions, too few clues. After an hour I had to use a walkthrough.
    • Controller support. Turning around is slow and stiff. Most of the game it's ok but during the platforming sections where you need to go fast it's really bad. I had to switch to kb+m to be able to complete them.

But it's still a good horror game, much better than most games on Steam in this genre.

The Java Punk
The Java Punk

This game is being sold on its puzzle solving and atmosphere. And yes it does have a good atmosphere and yes there is some puzzle solving, so of which is interesting and different from what I've seen in the past. HOWEVER, the thing not clear in the trailers etc, is the "platformer" nature of the game. What do I mean? Jumping puzzles. Timing runs through areas. And so on. I quit the game early on because I don't like jumping and timing runs, etc. I was very agrivated when it became clear this was going to be a staple of the game.

Now, all of that said, if you like timed runs and jumping puzzles then this might be somethng to look at. The game trades on fear, especially fear of things in the dark. It does an excelent job of it. Its got a really well put together hellscape feel and I can't say the moster I did see didn't make me jump, it did. This game is a find the next key type afair as well, so you'll be hunting through buildings and rooms liking for the next key/clue. If none of that turns you off then you will probably want to check this one out.

Chr1$
Chr1$

Atmosphere is really great. Puzzles are OK. Liked it.

Road Runner
Road Runner

Good game and it was fun playing

jmaunsell
jmaunsell

Loved the whole Doorways series. Found it all very challenging especially Holy Mountains of Flesh. As I am not that great at jumping across platforms it took me a long time to finish the game but so satisfying to finally finish it.

RAIZO
RAIZO

So I finally got around to playing the Doorways trilogy/saga/episodes....however you want to put it, and it's definitely pretty fun. I wouldn't say it's worth the price when not on sale (too short and a little wonky with some of the gameplay mechanics) but as far as horror games go, it certainly has some moments.

Of course, there are highs/lows to the series and I don't feel like writing a review for all 3, so I'll just use the final chapter (hmof) to state my findings:

Doorways: Prelude - could have been great but the horrendous lighting making you feel like you're some kind of blind cave creature struggling to make your useless eyes work to see your surroundings is not fun. Seriously, it's that dark at times and the ability to adjust brightness in the options menu is useless. Also, you get a torch but it's quite possibly the s******** torch you'll ever lay hands on in a game.

Doorways: Underworld - much better than the first 2 chapters in Prelude. The enemies you encounter are far more terrifying, you'll need to run/hide at times, the lighting is much better and overall the experience is more engrossing with creepier environments. That final part with the maze and switches though.....F that noise!!

Doorways: Holy Mountains of Flesh - definitely better than the first 2 chapters and the lighting is, yes, much better than in Prelude. Also, you can play from a 3rd person or 1st person perspective, which is cool. The enemies are pretty cool but somewhat annoying. Those puzzles though....F that noise again!!!

Merim
Merim

The last chapter from the previous 2 games, this is more disturbing and has more difficult puzzles than the previous 2 games. Involving jumpscares as well, but I noticed it also lack the same feeling from Underworld where you would feel at any moment you would get chased by a creature. But still, there are still some chase scenes and the disturbance throughout the game really makes it even more horrifying. It also really goes from what the title of this game is saying too.

kozak.eti
kozak.eti

Empty, boring, dull, controls are dodgy, and it's pretty much unplayable on PS4 controller - maybe a little warning would be nice? You know, before someone wastes their money on your joke of a game?

UnrealBanana
UnrealBanana

Much longer than the first 2 games and overall a much improved experience. One of the puzzles was extremely frustrating and required a walkthrough. Still, worth the purchace on a sale.

Thaylog
Thaylog

Game Play - 0 Play Time - 1
Engaging - 1 Stability - 1
Sound - 1 Innovation - 1
Story - 1 Replay - 0
Graphics - 0 Price - 0

Total Score - 6/10

Note: Better than point and click but not by much. Worth at a discount for the sheer madness.

Johnny Don't Speak
Johnny Don't Speak

After playing the whole saga, I have to say they were saving the best for last. Very catching story and interesting puzzles. I'd say this one is the scariest of the three. The environments are so diverse and suit perfect for people who likes horror games, they've also pretty much solved the darkness problem. The suspense/thriller is present as always and has some surprise elements which make the game an awesome experience for playing at night in a dark room (come on, don't be a chicken! ;)

Recommended if you like this type of games, would not regret, give it a try!

Poor Yurik
Poor Yurik

Extremely challenging and atmospheric puzzle/horror game that knocks the Lovecraft vibe out of the park.

The game has great synergy between its visuals and sound design -- everything looks and sounds genuinely creepy.

I loved the environments (and other things I won't spoil). The ambient music + the sound effects made the scary bits quite unnerving, and bonus points for the narrator; he brought the writing to life and was a dead ringer for the voice from Darkest Dungeon.

Just know that there is zero hand-holding -- this isn't a long game, but many sections (including figuring out how and/or where to progress) are quite difficult. I can't stress the difficulty enough, but if you want to overcome some tough challenges in a very immersive and disturbing world, it doesn't get much better than this.

The French Pickler
The French Pickler

This game is absolutely amazing! If you like horror/puzzle games then this is the game for you! The puzzles are very well put together. Not too hard, but not a breeze to go through either. The setting and story actually made me feel physically ill a couple times it's so grotesque. I love it!

GSBatt
GSBatt

Too much time spent jumping, realy tiring.

REYVAKYS2022
REYVAKYS2022

It's too short and too complicated, but I have to recognize this is one of the best puzzles created for a game. Awesome.

not_imposter_lynx
not_imposter_lynx

If you're a fan of a bit of puzzling, walk/run sim-ish features (exploration) and a great eerie atmosphere I DO recommend the game.
Do I think it's worth the price? Playtime wise yes(?), however I did have one thing bother me a bit Mansion rooms puzzle was hard af for me, which had me put the game aside for 12 hours .
Other than that the story is still solid, controls wonky at times.

8/10 total. Recommend buying on a sale if in doubt. ;)

MoonlitStarscape
MoonlitStarscape

Great game! I have been wanting this one for a while and finally started computer gaming enough to warrant buying it. This game is short, but very good. The puzzles are complex, which I like, but this may turn off those who were not looking for a puzzle heavy game. There are not a lot of them, but they are indeed challenging. This game is truly scary and the atmosphere, BGM, and sounds are on point. Monsters were terrifying, minimal jump scares, and the story was cool too. I think that my favorite thing about it is that it seems like a lot of horror games these days almost tend to piggyback off of the Silent Hill series. I've been playing SH since I was a kid and it's still one of my all time favorites. This game stands apart with its own feel and story and I was very impressed. Highly recommend.

BoJustBo
BoJustBo

I'll just review all three parts in one go since they're really just one episodic game as obvious not just by the continuing story throughout but by the fact that only the first part has a tutorial in it.

One thing you wanna do when you start the first two parts is to go into the options and crank the brightness up to 10, it'll still be extremely dark but at least you'll be able to see the floor during platforming sequences.

Prelude: Mostly puzzle and platforming based with a lot of huge, almost surreal locales. There's a constantly dying torch mechanic that doesn't return for the other parts as well as a push and pull mechanic that is gone for part two and returns in a different for for part three. Took me 97 minutes to beat.

Underworld: Much more claustrophobic tunnels and such. Has a lot more enemies that'll either patrol, or be in chase sequences. There's also a lot of backtracking in the middle parts of Underworld even if you know what you're doing, which you of course don't always do. Took me 2 hours to beat.

Holy Mountains of Flesh: A better mix of open and cramped areas. They finally implemented a run button and some hotkeys for items, The game is also significantly brighter than the other two, only being as dark as the others when it serves a purpose, and if you crank up the brightness even those areas become bright without any pitch blackness, so don't crank this games brightness to max like the others.
In between levels there's a hub that is a little too labyrinthian for its own good.
Quite puzzle heavy, and the puzzles are much harder than in the previous parts. Get ready to tear out some hair during the multi-part puzzle in the mansion. :P
Despite me looking up some stuff on youtube when getting stuck on this one it still took more time to get through than the other two parts combined at 4.4 hours.

ΤΣΠΠΘ
ΤΣΠΠΘ

After two disheartening prevenient chapters, Doorways has ultimately managed to attain mediocrity. Holy Mountains of Flesh exhibits some phenomenal art and level design, specifically the village and temple, exploring these areas is the pinnacle of the entire Doorways experience. I'll also commend the voice acting of Sam A. Mowry who has given a good performance across all three games despite the lacklustre material, his sonorous manner greatly complements the trilogy's tone. Unfortunately the story, characters and puzzles haven't improved, the cutscenes are laughably bad and everything outside of the aforementioned levels is a banal galling slog.

The city of horror contains many entertaining buildings, this doorway isn't attached to one.

5/10

General_Red
General_Red

Just finished playing this on my Youtube channel - link here to my Doorways playlist for anyone interested in seeing a sample of gameplay before buying (Holy Mountains of Flesh starts at part 26): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDvDu5w9Qu8&list=PL05Yc3_TEBpOiQSKnVxda…

This was a good final chapter to round off the Doorways franchise. The visuals are great and there's atmosphere as usual. But what I liked most of all were the plot implications that this chapter raised. In the previous Doorways games, the main character (Thomas Foster) would always just narrate events as you proceed, whilst little would be said about him. But in this chapter the game focuses a bit more on Foster and really raises some dark questions about his own sanity as well as the purpose of Doorways, the agency that employs him. I thought this was a great note on which to bring the franchise to a close!

The game isn't without some flaws, though (spoilers incoming). The puzzles in the mansion section could perhaps be reworked. The library puzzle might benefit from another clue or two as I did find it a bit confusing. Then there was the sliding room puzzle - I won't deny that this was imaginative, but the problem I had with it was that it was very time-consuming and kind of disrupted the pace a bit as a result. In the end I looked at a walk-through. Though it wouldn't be impossible to figure out on your own, the issue is just that it can take a huge amount of time to do so, as in large part it comes to trial and error - figuring out what combinations of rooms need to go where and in what order, and figuring out what exactly you're supposed to be looking for with each combination. Also, on another note, some of the cutscenes had minor frame rate issues - so perhaps a bit more optimisation is needed.

But, putting those issues aside, Holy Mountains of Flesh is a decent game and worth playing, especially if you've played the other Doorways games.

Promanure
Promanure

Kinda slow, but the environments are nice. WAY better than the last two. Some decent puzzles. No chance I would pay $20 for it, but $10 seems fair enough. I will actually probably play through it again sometime.

Doktur Faustus
Doktur Faustus

The word I would use to describe this game is "incomprehensible". It's hard to tell if it's a language barrier, poor translation, bad design choices, or just that the mindset of the creator was wildly different, but it is a difficult game to wrap your head around not just for me but for many players I saw complaining about the puzzles online. I don't get how it's sitting at a "mostly positive" review score at this time.

First the controller layout is awkward. I found it was possible to change it for keyboard but not controller. Interact is right shoulder button which is the last thing you will try. (X) brings up notes, (B) brings up inventory, so you will frequently bring up menus at inopportune times. Hitting your inventory key while running spins you around 180 for some reason. This is troublesome during chase and fight sequences when you need to quickly pull up a key or knife. There's one chase sequence where you have to drag a large mirror, but it kept letting go every few feet slowing me down and getting me caught.

Movement clunky and the jump is anemic. It's makes the jumping puzzles which include moving and falling platforms extra frustrating. They added checkpoints every few platforms so clearly they saw that it was a problem and took the lazy route to addressing it. The constant camera bob when moving didn't help matters either.

When you enter any room/structure they use this horrible lighting effect. First outside goes pitch black then they put an overlay on the screen showing shadows at the corner. It made searching the many houses frustrating. I had to turn the brightness all the way up to compensate. Looking at older playthroughs on youtube while it was still early access it didn't have this issue. I can't see any reason for it other than they realized they could.

There is one puzzle per area and each is frustrating for different reasons. The chemical puzzle actually broke and stopped letting me interact. I had to reset to continue the puzzle. The sliding room puzzle requires tons of trial and error because it misleads you about the doors connecting rooms. The astrology/bookshelf puzzle has a poorly worded note that makes most people to just brute force it. When creating a puzzle the designer knows the solution. They know all the information that is obscured from the player. Sometimes they take for granted that the player can see and understand the situation the same way they do. These puzzles needed another pass to clarify or simplify the information resented to the player.

This might be a minor gripe, but it's major for me. This does not feel Lovecraftian. That tag is the only reason I bought this game so i feel misled. It might fit into a larger eldritch or cosmic horror genre, but Lovecraftian is a very specific experience. Adding random tentacles doesn't cut it. The experience was very story/lore light. It focused on shock value from gore rather than fear from something unknowable.

Story/spoilers:

Evil All Along trope.
All Just a Dream trope.
Sociopathic Hero trope.
Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu trope.

The cliffhanger ending is pointless. It will turn off most players and the few that get excited for a sequel will cool off in the years it takes to make one.

During the second phase of the final boss battle fire rises from below. I tried standing on rubble to survive but died. This turned out to be a false negative and that's what I was supposed to do. I wasted a lost of time and a lot of deaths trying to figure out the battle mechanics.