Ad Infinitum is about a German soldier stuck in a strange nightmarish loop, reliving the horrors within the trenches and traversing his family’s manor. Players learn more about their parents and upbringing, including the devastating effect of the war on the family. There are different monsters to deal with, either via stealth or by solving puzzles.

What’s going on and how players can escape remains to be seen. You can check out our review, where we gave it a 6 out of 10. Long story short, it’s not a full-fledged horror experience, but there are certainly some disturbing sights.

Looking at all this, it may seem that the developer’s reach exceeds its grasp. While it balances these disparate themes and weaves a dark tale of family, war and loss, Ad Infinitum suffers due to the jankier elements of its gameplay, poor AI and lackluster horror. It’s not a complete failure so much as uneven and delivers some great visuals and voice acting to go with its solid but sometimes oddly matched soundtrack.

"A palpable atmosphere of dread is present at first, but it never quite reaches the heights of, say, the Amnesia titles."

As the player wakes up in the run-down room of their childhood manor, there’s a smashed mirror in one corner while various paraphernalia scattered about bring back memories, good and bad. Venturing into the hallways reveals locked doors galore and the wails of something big and mean.

From the outset, Ad Infinitum is more of an adventure title, one where you locate items and solve puzzles. Some puzzles tend to get a bit more complex, like creating a chemical solution to melt a chain barring a door or searching through shelves for a key that can open a display case for an item that reveals a hidden safe, which requires a combination. There are some moments where you stop and ponder what to do next, with copious amounts of backtracking, but nothing too crazy. It’s very linear with very little experimentation as you’re just combing through the environment for that one thing you missed that’s necessary to proceed.

As you discover various documents, the war from the outside looking in contrasts heavily with its brutal reality as you’re transported through the trenches first-hand. Given the amount of voice-over done to convey the protagonist’s family, the voice acting is pretty decent. It’s nothing revolutionary, and the writing does an acceptable job of encompassing the eventual decline of the household (and the parents’ marriage).

For the most part, there’s a lot of searching and backtracking, trying to find what’s necessary to progress. A palpable atmosphere of dread is present at first, but it never quite reaches the heights of, say, the Amnesia titles. You’re not being hunted so much as uncovering and trying to make sense of your story with the occasional spooky entity here and there (and sometimes not even that).

"When caught by any of these creatures, you’re subject to a button-mashing sequence to escape. It’s easy to get locked into an animation when trying to crawl through an opening, resulting in your quick demise…"

That is until you’re transported into the trenches of The Great War. The gameplay takes on a considerable shift here, with elements like breaking through boards, crawling under barbed wire and tackling various monstrosities. “Tackling” is a strong word – there’s more sneaking going on, and running around to be had as you avoid making any sounds. Certain sequences warrant making noise and then sneaking past, though this highlights the game’s overall jank.

When caught by any of these creatures, you’re subject to a button-mashing sequence to escape. It’s easy to get locked into an animation when trying to crawl through an opening, resulting in your quick demise…but then you’re respawned past the checkpoint anyway. Other areas showcase how uneven the AI can be, especially when it suddenly lunges at you from behind a curtain without any kind of hint of being spotted. Other times, it’s completely oblivious to your walking just a few steps near it as it munches on some remains.

There are bigger boss-like horrors to tackle, though their encounters are more puzzle-focused. One such encounter involved fleeing from a monster and activating three gramophones. You could go with evil music or good, and the decision had long-standing consequences (because the game outright tells you). After that, you activate a single switch and then conclude the fight.

There isn’t much tension to any of this, as the monster has a set radius within which it can pursue you. It leads to some ridiculous moments where you walk into its detection radius, watch it lumber towards you as the music swells and then back out, upon which it returns to casually strolling around. It’s an odd sight, for sure.

"Overall, it’s hard to get a bead on Ad Infinitum. There are horror elements, for sure, with some of the creatures coming across as grotesque…"

Still, there was a lot to glean from wandering the trenches, whether it was the blinded soldier who begged for morphine to ease the pain, gathering the dog tags of the fallen or discovering documents about various atrocities committed on the battlefield. The photos, letters and reports crafted a grim picture of it all and made me want an adventure game solely focused on the war and its soldiers.

As noted before, Ad Infinitum is a good-looking game, whether it’s the environment and its dilapidated textures, the lighting and shadows or the texture quality. The animation for some of the creatures could be better, as they come off looking more uneven than otherworldly or terrifying, especially in the close-up sequences.

There are some pop-in issues, which got especially egregious in one part where an entire area suddenly loaded in, but overall performance is fine. The music is composed well, though there are times when it feels unnecessary, diminishing any feeling of tension. It did reinforce the feeling of playing through a dark thriller instead of a horror title, for whatever it’s worth.

Overall, it’s hard to get a bead on Ad Infinitum. There are horror elements, for sure, with some of the creatures coming across as grotesque, but you’re not bombarded with jumpscares or subject to mounting tensions in the dark while managing your resources. Sometimes, it can border on a walking sim (well, running, if you feel like it). At others, it’s more rudimentary stealth with some light puzzle-solving.

"Did I expect much more beyond this? Not really, but there’s no denying that what’s here is very straightforward when it doesn’t feel overtly janky or uneven."

To that end, much of your enjoyment will come from the story and atmosphere as you attempt to unravel the threads governing your identity. Perhaps you make peace with the never-ending cycle of psychological torment, discovering why you’re stuck in this purgatorial loop. The visuals could draw you in as you admire the environmental details, even as you comb over the same annoying locked doors for the nth time.

The horror feels more like an accessory than the main selling point at times, but this still isn’t an experience for the faint of heart. Ad Infinitum lacks polish in other areas, making it an even tougher sell for those seeking thrills. It’s serviceable and even enjoyable when you get into it, yet entirely above average.

This game was reviewed on PC.

The trailer was premiered at the recent Future Games Show, and does a good job of setting up the sort of tone we can expect from Ad Infinitum, offering a taste of its brand of psychological horror, as well as its World War 1 setting, and what unique flavours that will bring to the game’s story. Check it out below.

Ad Infinitumi is set to launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC not long from now, on September 14. Pre-orders for the first person psychological horror title are also live on all platforms. Stay tuned for more details on the game in the lead up to its release.

Originally set to launch in April this year, the game got delayed into September. Now, a specific release date has been confirmed. Nacon has announced that Ad Infinitum will launch on September 14, with pre-orders now live. A new trailer also offers promising glimpses of what it will have in store in terms of its environments, its brand of horror, and some of the monsters you’ll be crossing paths with throughout its nightmarish World War 1 journey. Check it out below.

Ad Infinitum will be available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

The trailer itself gives us a good look at some of the gameplay from Ad Infinitum, focusing on its aspects of exploration, as well as a look at the sort of survival horror experience that the game will be presenting.

Ad Infinitum, revealed back in July 2021, will feature a blend of a historical World War 1 setting alongside horrifying monsters, and a personal story that hopes to deal with madness and tragedy. While the game was originally announced for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, the latest trailer doesn’t mention versions for the PS4 and Xbox One.

A gameplay trailer released in July 2022 gave us a look at Ad Infinitum‘s gameplay, showing off a hospital on fire, as well as the trenches of a battlefield, all the while as the protagonist is chased by a sinister-looking monster.

Perhaps the biggest release on the calendar, Daedalic Entertainment’s The Lord of the Rings: Gollum originally planned to release last September for Xbox One, PS4, PS5, PC, Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series X/S. It was delayed by a “few months,” and the publisher recently confirmed it would release sometime between April and September 2023. Perhaps a release date will be announced at Nacon Connect.

RoboCop: Rogue City is the other heavy-hitter, developed by Teyon of Terminator: Resistance fame. It’s coming to Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC and Nintendo Switch in June and could also receive new gameplay footage. Stay tuned for more updates when the digital showcase premieres next month.

https://twitter.com/Nacon/status/1623245248414769153

The trailer gives a good idea of the sort of tone and atmosphere Ad Infinitum is going for. It alternates between a hospital crumbling in flames and the trenches of a battlefield, with the protagonist being chased by a sinister monstrosity as he rushes through the surroundings. Clearly, the game will be combining its period setting with some horrific sights and sounds. It’s looking a bit rough on the technical side of things, but the trailer does mention that this is alpha footage, so there’s that. Check it out below.

Ad Infinitum will launch on April 20, 2023 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

The trailer for Ad Infinitum is a brief one, but it promises impressive visual fidelity and sets the mood pretty well. Meanwhile, the developers are also promising a blend of its historical setting with horrifying monsters, a personal story that deals with madness and tragedy, a world that reacts to the choices made by players, weapons and customizations that are historically accurate, and more. Check out its trailer below.

Ad Infinitum is out in 2023 for PC and consoles. There’s no word on a more specific release window, or exactly which consoles it will be releasing for.