The Feast Review (PC)

Sitting at the table during a celebration with two family members, one friend, and one work colleague can be a source of frustration and anger. When the room also harbors a big and dark secret, there are a ton of other emotions one might want to express.

But the game doesn’t offer too much nuance and the most disruptive thing my character can do is simply scream, letting her anger shine through but failing to find any way to actually communicate how horrifying her situation is.

As the other guests are trying to convince her that everything is alright, I find a moment to get her away from the table she was forced to sit at. I decide breaking the mirror is something that this character needs to do. Maybe she can find a few other things to destroy in this living room to show others the insanity of their situation.

The Feast is developed by Sever and published by Prismatika. I played it on the PC using Steam. The game uses classic adventure ideas, with a focus on unsettling moments and atmosphere.

Players take on the role of Ksenia, a youngster invited to a family dinner that quickly veers into weird territory. Within two interactions with the player, the mother character locks a door and decides it’s a great idea to swallow the key. The situation only escalates from there and reaches some truly creepy moments.

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There are only four other characters to interact with, each with their own weird elements. A male work colleague who seems to be trying too hard to fit in. A pregnant friend seems aware of the big problem they have to deal with but says little about it. An uncle that says little and a mother that organized the whole creepy gathering and is determined to see it through, even if it affects her daughter negatively.

The Feast writing is good, with short lines for most conversations and a limited number of choices. They manage to inspire a sense of dread with an undercurrent of hopelessness. The game doesn’t create a deep backstory for the characters or the place they live in. But there are tantalizing hints of a totalitarian regime or maybe a cosmic horror that is forcing certain behaviors and reactions.

The names sound Slavic and the game is influenced by Communist era design. The gameplay is standard adventure game stuff. Gamers will control where Ksenia moves and who or what she interacts with. Each object and person has a limited range of actions linked to it, which do not evolve as the story progresses.

When the events that mark the game's three acts happen, gamers also have a range of potential responses. Each of their actions influences three meters, which track suspicion coming from the other guests, the ability to ruin the entire party, and how amiable everyone is. It’s a simple way for the player to evaluate their own performance and create limits for interactions.

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Maxing any of them will lead to one conclusion to the story but neither of those feels satisfactory. Ksenia is better served by keeping her reaction and potential actions close to her chest before she acts decisively in her own interest. Make sure to get a clear understanding of the layout of the living room before acting.

The game is short. My first playthrough took around 20 minutes. There are six endings to push for and the differences in the actual narrative progression aren’t pronounced. Make liberal use of the Space key to speed up both dialogue and characters' actions, it’s the only way to make working for another ending bearable.

My first time around, I move straight through the experience, with no clear aims, just to see where it goes. There were enough surprises and weirdness to make it memorable and intriguing. For my second playthrough, I was more methodical, carefully looking at each character and item, seeing how many options they offer and how they can influence one another.

I like how the game takes a weird setup, adds absurdity and creepiness, and then gives players some freedom to try and deal with it. Ksenia does not have enough personality to actually play as her so reactions will, at first, be those that gamers might have if they suddenly entered this hellish place.

After my first attempt, I thought about my reactions and wondered what they meant. The Feast would be interesting to give to friends for one playthrough only and then debate how each member of the group approached it and what it made them feel.

The problem is that there’s little in the way of mechanics here and most people might be unwilling to engage with it long enough to generate discussion. Such experiences need more polish to attract an audience that will stick around to experience their weirdness.

The Feast is not impressive when it comes to presentation, although the small size of the development team might account for that. The characters are simple and lack personality, and the movement is jerky. The design of the game’s space manages to evoke the décor and oppressive atmosphere of Communist and other totalitarian states. The soundtrack is pretty good, with orchestral moments that underline the title's most important moments and add to the eerie weirdness that permeates the experience.

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