DeVuego ES_COR

In summary, Shines Over: The Damned falls short of its ambitious goals, offering a brief but ultimately forgettable experience. While it may appeal to fans of the more experimental side of horror, the game’s flaws outweigh its strengths, resulting in a game that struggles to leave a lasting impression. With a lack of compelling gameplay and narrative depth, Shines Over: The Damned ultimately fails to distinguish itself in the competitive landscape of psychological horror games despite a decent first impression.

At the end of the day, this is a small, weird, experimental, arthouse PlayStation exclusive title that came out in the same week as the much bigger horror title of Alone in the Dark. It isn’t likely to break through into the mainstream and will probably fly under the radar of most, as its target audience is clearly arthouse horror nerds much like myself. I reckon if this was a full priced game, then I would be far harsher on it, but for an asking price of $14.99 I’d say that Shines Over: The Damned is worth taking a punt on.

Shines Over: The Damned is not the atmospheric and uneasy horror title I hoped it would be. It's not much of anything actually, offering no scares, no story, an eerie soundtrack that leaves as quickly as it starts, and some rough visual design. Despite it's brisk pace, I can confidently say your time is better spent elsewhere playing any other horror video game.

If it wasn’t clear already, Shines Over: The Damned is a really bad game, which isn’t worth your money or your time, even if it lasts just half an hour. It’s a short, but definitely not sweet experience, completely lacking in scares, story, atmosphere, or inventive ideas. To make matters worse, it costs way too much for something so short. The easy platinum trophy you can get from it is not worth the price tag. At its worst, it was a frustrating gameplay experience. At its best, it is an experimental snorefest.