Disillusion is a computer game in the dungeon crawler genre with elements of a visual novel and turn-based combat in the spirit of classic RPGs, but from a first-person perspective. The project was developed and published by Disillusion Dev (presumably by one person).
The game was released in early access on January 6, 2021 for personal computers running Microsoft Windows 8 operating systems.1/10 (64bit). The full release took place on August 30, 2021.
The gameplay consists of wandering through relatively confusing floors in search of exits, chests (made in the form of televisions) and dialogues. The latter can be obtained by interacting with interesting-looking characters who can attack the player or teach him combat techniques.
The author writes about the story: “A mysterious muse calls you to explore the Great Tower in an oneiric land.
Appear without memory in the city that surrounds a strange tower that attracts all living things with a strange desire to climb it. Climb to understand why you’re here. The higher you are, the more you can understand.
Help others on their journey and ask others to help you.»
In Disillusion, the text https://lottoland-casino.uk/login/ is written with skill, even if at the beginning of the journey everything seems somewhat chaotic, meaningless and arthouse. However, the further the protagonist climbs, the more connections he will be able to see in the previously read nonsense.
The plot, like the world, is not served on a silver platter, because there are only a few obligatory scenes where we are told what to do and why. The main character will have to find out the rest himself through searching for secrets in the walls and talking with optional NPCs.
Visually, the game is rich in a variety of images. Some floors are made in acidic colors, the characters are made in different styles and all this is mixed into such a mess that it no longer looks like something chaotic and unintentional.
Unfortunately, the game did not attract much attention at release, but a well-written story and a world in which religions of a wide variety of types and a slight goofiness are intertwined managed to attract attention.
And now, reviews are starting to appear all over the Internet, and the author of the game made a second part within the world of Disillusion. Prequel, released October 27, 2024. At the time of this essay, the project has collected only 159 reviews, albeit very positive ones. But that’s another story.
I decided to get acquainted with this project personally after many hours of analysis, where the entire plot and lore were disassembled almost to the bones. When I finished watching it, it left me with a feeling of dissatisfaction, as if I was missing something and couldn’t see the whole picture.
Probably, this feeling made me launch the project myself together with my sister. In addition to the pleasant soundtrack, which creates a feeling of a deep and, at times, feverish dream, and the visuals, which make me feel the ephemeral nature of the world, I am greeted by good writing and pleasant, meditative combat.
I had a lot of fun talking to these many sprites. Liked and turned your opponents into Dust (local currency). However, what I liked most was the way the author tries to describe his vision of the karmic cycle and why it is capable of bringing suffering to living beings.
Such reasoning and thoughts, woven into games or books, always left warm feelings in my soul. That’s why I was so excited to explore the Silent Hill universe. I experienced something similar when playing “Disillusion”. The problem of the protagonist was especially close to my heart.
What if there is a soul in the world and it influences what kind of body we are able to get in the next life? It turns out that a person with a disability will never know the joy of a healthy body. A thought like this makes my skin crawl.
Can I recommend this project? No. The visuals, although justified by the plot, are very hard on the eyes and on some floors of the tower it is simply physically painful to play.
The game has not been translated into Russian, and amateur translations simply disappear in some places. The story itself may be fascinating, but to find out all the secrets of this world, you need to stick into every wall on all floors. It’s not clear how to get to the true ending, and you can fail the passage only because of an unnecessary conversation with an NPC, and you will understand this only close to the main boss.
Verdict: the game gets 6 out of 10 from me. The world and plot are captivating, but the cons simply outweigh all the advantages of this project. I advise you to familiarize yourself with this work only to those who are ready to put up with the shortcomings and give the game 40 hours of their life.