This Chilling Psychological Mystery Ramps Up The Horror Big Time
You are instantly dropped straight into a gloomy 1940s Transylvanian rectory, where a young priest gets tangled up in forbidden desires and a mysterious death. The heavy atmosphere immediately builds a tense, psychological setup where every dark corridor feels loaded with secrets waiting to explode. You are navigating a slow descent into guilt and shame, trying to work out exactly where the line between faith and sin completely blurs.
QUICK NAV: [Specs] [Gameplay] [Performance] [Settings]
What have you done, Father? PS5 Review
- Developer: Darkania Works
- Publisher: Making Port
- Official Store Link: PlayStation Store UK Page
- Download Size: 5.28GB download size.
- Trophy List: Platinum trophy with 31 trophies total. An easy trophy list where you just have to finish the story and find priest portraits.
What have you done, Father? PS5 Review
The story drops you into a beautiful 3D game world where you play entirely in a first-person perspective, but the game switches things up by tossing all in-game cutscenes and character interactions into the third person. I really like the world they create here, showing off some truly fantastic locations and set pieces that keep you moving forward. When it comes to the puzzles, they can either be laid out directly in front of your face or completely spread out across the area, meaning the real challenge is simply having to work out what the expectations actually are rather than solving a clever brain-teaser. You do not get a specific set of tutorials to guide your hands, but you do get interactive icons and helpful button prompts popping up, while your current missions are safely tucked into a text box that you can toggle on and off whenever you like.
The narrative definitely ramps up the tension and horror at chapter 3, turning the experience into a proper action thriller ride. You can click through conversations to speed them up if you want to get a move on, but a real major beef and a total mood killer for me is that during the multiple-choice interactions, the characters are not always voiced. You speak with someone, and yes, you get options and their facial expressions can give tells, but having the voice work only show up in cutscenes and not in regular interactions is a proper buzzkill since you do way more interacting than watching. To make matters worse, you cannot skip the cutscenes even after you have already watched them, and when you go back to do the portrait trophies later, the game does not tell you which ones you have or haven’t got, forcing you to basically replay all the levels, which are thankfully unlocked for replay at will after finishing the story.
What have you done, Father? PS5 Review: Performance & Fidelity
- Graphics: Awesome graphics that bring the creepy 1940s setting to life.
- Voice Acting: Solid voice work performances, though at times some of the supporting characters feel a bit flat.
- Level Design Hurdles: Features invisible walls, which suck, or if you wander off too far away, the game resets you, though it isn’t a constant issue.
- Stability Issue: Did have the game black screen on the final chapter, which was highly annoying, and I had to reboot the game, and I couldn’t skip the cutscenes.
Settings, Customisation & Control Details
- Controls: Simple, easy-to-learn controls with zero combat or stressful fights to worry about.
- Audio Sliders: Includes dedicated sensitivity, music/SFX, and voice sliders to tweak your audio setup.
- Haptics: Toggleable controller vibration option in the menu.
- Subtitle Options: Offers game settings for subtitles and subtitle size, but honestly, all of them are still way too small for my weak ass eyes.
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What Have You Done Father? Review:
Summary
What Makes What Have You Done Father? Worth Playing?
The game treats you to awesome graphics and a beautiful 3D game world packed with truly fantastic locations and set pieces that construct an excellent atmosphere. I really like the world they create, and the narrative definitely ramps up the tension and horror at chapter 3, transforming the experience into a gripping action thriller. The controls are simple and easy to learn with absolutely zero combat to worry about, letting you enjoy the ride. Plus, the levels are split up nicely, and you can replay them at will after finishing the game, making the easy trophy list a fun chase to bag a platinum trophy with 31 trophies by hunting down hidden priest portraits.
The Biggest Frustrations In What Have You Done Father?
My massive beef and a real mood killer is that voice work is only present in cutscenes and completely missing during regular character interactions, which sucks since you do way more interacting than watching. Even with multiple-choice options where facial expressions can give tells, the silence ruins the vibe. The subtitles and subtitle size settings are also a joke, remaining way too small for my weak-ass eyes. You get annoying invisible walls that block you, or the system resets you entirely if you wander too far away. You cannot skip the cutscenes even after already watching them; the game black-screened on me during the final chapter, and when going back for portrait trophies, you don’t know which ones you have or haven’t got, forcing you to play them all.
What have you done, Father? Overall Verdict: Is It Worth Playing?
Honestly, at the end of it all, the game was a fantastic ride. Okay, so the gameplay parts are not the strongest, and there is a bit of mechanical awkwardness throughout, but the engrossing story and presentation make this a journey you absolutely want to check out. The experience is only a few hours long and holds no real replay value except for cleaning up the remaining trophies, but it remains a thoroughly worthwhile journey. I am very excited to see what the developers do next after this project.
