55%PC

It's not terrible but it doesn't get a recommend from me. I'll try to explain why and I won't give away any spoilers. I don't know why the game is called Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, it has zero connection to that classic film. The story here is the only thing that matters. It's a mystery/thriller type deal where over the course of the about 9-10 hours well get puzzle peaces to form a complete picture. For most of the game we have a handful of characters but Ed Miller is the focus of the story. It doesn't help that Miller is not a very sympathetic character. Now I'm not saying he's a bad guy, not at all, and he does redeem himself but when we first meet Ed Miller he doesn't seem like a nice guy. As I mentioned the story is about 9-10 hours long but it only starts getting interesting about halfway through and the last hour or so are quite boring. I didn't even connect all the dots because by that time I was getting bored. The game feels longer than it is and a couple of hours could have been shaved off in my opinion. Suspension of disbelief is also needed as it's all pretty far fetched.

Games with a good story don't need to have branching storylines or different endings but in this case and in this genre I think it would have made it more interesting. Not necessarily different endings but at least some choices that make your interactions a bit different. There are dialogue choices but they're an illusion, they don't change anything. Most of the time the conversation will continue almost exactly as it would have if taken another choice. Another option would have been to add more gameplay elements in which the player has to find and connect clues themselves. In other words some semblance of gameplay and choice could have made all of this better but there's none of that. You're nothing but a spectator and the game doesn't even succeed in giving the illusion that you're not.

Unless you really love these types of games (thing Telltale or Don't Nod) and specifically love this genre of story I can't really recommend this to anyone.

90%PC

+: very good plot, atmosphere
+: good attention to small details
-: loading screens are very often.Sometimes they are replaced by quotes, but it happens seldom

70%PlayStation 5

This game doesn't look or play the best. Its got this weird thing where it lingers on a scene too long and has some weird audio issues but I found the story and its presentation to be very well done. There is good character growth and plenty of twists and turns. Also has one of the most satisfying moments I've seen in a long time.

80%PC

Vertigo is very different from previous games by Pendulo. I can even hardly call it a game: it's an interactive movie, but it's far too linear in comparison to what Quantic Dream, Supermassive and even Telltalle offers. Your choices have almost no effect on the story, and there's definitely no room for replayability. There's no puzzles as well, all you do is go around a location and interact with hotspots.

However, Vertigo has what many games lack nowadays: a great emotional story with a few twists. Some of them are rather predictable, others are more unexpected, but overall they provide a solid experience. And, most importantly, the whole story, characters' motivations and reasoning make sense in the end.

The visuals and animations could be better, but voice acting and writing makes up for it. After all, this is not an AAA game, so don't expect a Quantic Dream level of polish. But again, what Vertigo lacks in gameplay and production quality, it definitely makes up for in storyline. So if that's your cup of tea, definitely check out the game.

60%PlayStation 5

Entertaining, but a little repetitive (—and a pretty predictable climax & end, although the trip to get there is still a fun ride.) [Mostly] hideous voice acting & the pretty by-the-numbers investigations doesn't really make Vertigo stand out much from its contemporaries.

60%PC

Decent lightly interactive media, somewhat similar to the Telltale Games, but with even less interactivity. In fact the "gameplay" was often more annoying than fun, with it mostly consisting of quicktime events for everything from opening a cupboard to running.

It starts out okay, but I felt the writing took a bit of a nose-dive in the second half. The voice-acting is also quite hit-or-miss, some of it is decent, some is awful (Eddie for instance). Perhaps it's better in one of the other languages.

The game has an issue with showing you the same even multiple times in slightly different way, while I liked the idea of seeing the differences the result was quite boring.

I wonder how much different a second playthrough can be, with Pendulo's previous game (Blacksad) you had at least some control over the story, but here it never felt like I did and I was simply along for the ride.

I liked the style, but I can imagine that people dislike the almost charicature-like looks of the characters.

Overall it's not bad, just take into account that it's more of a lengthy movie than a game.

70%PC

7/10 - Going in thinking it was going to be a joke of a game by looking at some reviews, but no, it was surprisingly good and interesting! Yeah there might be some scenes that feel awkward or just feels like filling, but I had a great experience with this game. I wasn't bored or anything, wanted to know more. Lipsync is rough though. Characters look a lil weird but it's nice to have some other art style in games.

Also the inside of homes are very well detailed, was applauding the devs in my head while looking at them, it was on par with Life is Strange's type of details, congrats on that one devs! Looking forward for other games from this studio.

60%PC

Narrative adventure based on a plot-twist style story. It's a pity that the optimization is kinda poor.

Full review here (in Spanish): https://www.devuego.es/blog/2022/03/16/alfred-hitchcocks-vertigo-seras-capaz-de-resolver-este-misterio/