Level X is an atmospheric horror puzzler, albeit on the short side for the length of time you will be playing it.

The graphics are basic at best, whilst the puzzles are not very challenging

You play a no named first-person protagonist; you find yourself in a corridor with no explanation. When you do find someone to talk to, they tell you that they have found a wall whose connection with reality has been eroded. They want you to step through and see what’s on the other side as it is likely to be another reality

It’s an intriguing start to a game which does not fulfil its potential. Step through and you're greeted with what looks like an updated version of the old Doom game. Lots of corridors which all look uninterestingly the same. These are inhabited with moaning shadow-like creatures which you must avoid whilst making your way through the various mazes.

Now, there is nothing inherently wrong with a maze game, except they are rather easy to work out if you know how mazes are laid out. Occasionally the game will tell you that someone is watching you and the only genuinely scary section tells you to run. Some sections are better than others and I did enjoy the pool rooms. The hotel relies on creeping you out with a shadow land, just as well that equipped you with a torch.

The ending provides you an interesting explanation of what has happened, but it only makes you feel that this was a squandered opportunity.

The graphics are basic at best, though the soundscape is suitably atmospheric and creepy. The puzzles are not very challenging though in the end I don’t think this is what they were aiming for. It a short little horror game at pocket money prices, something to load up and finish in an evening, more like an escape room than a full horror experience.

5

Charles Packer