Free horror game Golgotha review

Recently, the games of independent developers can be quite impressive. Sometimes the work of a single person can exceed expectations. Such is the case with Golgotha, developed by Craig Lawrence and distributed by Lockley Games. It would be a shame not to prepare Golgotha review.

Golgotha review: Free horror game

When I woke up in the morning, I thought, “I need to be scared today.” I logged in to Steam and started searching for newly released games. When I came across Golgotha, I was convinced that I had found what I was looking for. It reminded me of a virus I remembered from Resident Evil (G virus), so I thought it might be related. But there’s not even the slightest connection 🙂 I decided to give it a chance because ot the low file size (1.13 GB).

Story

The Second World War has many stories, and when you combine it with your own fiction and different genres, you have an endless resources. Black Waters Station in England, which is the subject of the game, is one of these stories. In the 1940s, people were hiding in subway stations to escape the the demolition of war. Sadly, sometimes people could not escape and lost their lives there. Hence the name Golgotha. It refers to the areas where people were buried alive.

After the installation, I start the game and stroy started. In 1942, Black Waters Station was covered in a toxic fog that killed thousands of people as they slept in the station’s tunnels and platforms to escape the war. After the horrific ordeal, the authorities closed the doors of Black Waters and sealed it to the public. No one ever saw or heard of the people there again. It was consigned to the dusty shelves of history.

Our chracter opens his/her eyes at the station. Everything is dark. There is very little we can see around us. Looking at the note next to us, we see that we have to get out of the station. Although it is left unclear how we got here, but we have a mission. To escape and save our lives.

Luckily, there is a lantern right next to the note. When I first started the game, I had to wander blindly in the dark for a while because I didn’t think to pick up the lantern in front of me. When I got stuck, I remembered to go back to the beginning and pick it up 🙂

Gameplay

Golgotha is a single-plane game. You encounter a closed door and you need to find the key to open it. Fortunately, the previous screen hinted where to find the key.

There is absolutely no action in the game. However, as you make your way to find the exit, objects or sounds that appear out of nowhere can make your heart skip a beat. In some horror games, you expect a ghost or zombies running at you when you turn your back. There is no such situation in Golgotha. But inevitably you have to check behind you. It is these types of scenes that create the fear in the game.

One of the most impressive aspects is the sound effects. There are no sudden screams or various noises like in typical horror movies or games to blow your mind. The increasingly disturbing sound effects will stir your emotions and force you to move faster.

Graphics

Designed with the Unity engine, the game can run comfortably even on older computers. However, I did encounter some minor optimization issues that, while not affecting your gameplay, can cause your computer’s cooler to scream. I think this is mostly due to the blurring effect in the transition screens.

Knowing that the game was developed by a single person, I wasn’t expecting a spectacular graphical result. Nevertheless, the graphics are satisfactory. We see great projects created with Unity. For this reason, we can see that the game does not use all the features of the game engine graphically.

On the other hand, the duration of the game was one of the most important factors in lowering the score. I finished it in about 40 minutes. Your familiarity with the genre may shorten or lengthen your playing time.

Conclusion

Golgotha makes you feel the fear in your veins, even if it is short gameplay time. Available for free, I recommend those who love the genre to give it a try. Its impressive atmosphere forced me to finish it a second time. It’s even a game that can be played just for speedrun.

I also got in touch with the producer Craig Lawrence, who is planning to release his second game later this year. I have to say I’m already excited.

You can add the game to your Steam library here.