Venatrix

Genre: Third-Person Shooter / Stealth / Horror

Players: 1

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Review:

Venatrix is a Horror-filled Third-Person Shooter or Stealth game (depending on the character you choose) released in 2023 on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch, and then ported to PC in 2024. Set in the Victorian era, this game was clearly inspired by Lovecraftian tales, and has players either taking on strange and hostile creatures using Matthew Kolth’s firearms, or trying to sneak past them as Della Hartfort.

Between these two characters, I felt that exactly one of them was worth playing. It’s really no contest: do you want to play as a character who can defend themselves, or one who can’t? Stealth in this game seems mindless and unrewarding anyway, so there’s little reason to play as Della, save for seeing her perspective on the story. Sadly, the gunplay in this game isn’t very good either. Your range is extremely limited, but enemies aren’t very bright, so it’s easy enough to pick them off once they get close.

It’s hard to appreciate the story here as well, thanks to absolutely terrible voiceover that sounds like it was all recorded in an echoing cave, or from across a large room. The graphics, at least, have their positive qualities – environments are nicely detailed and there’s some decent lighting here, though this game goes way overboard and makes it look like everything has been oiled up to look shiny under the light.

However, the biggest failing of this game on Nintendo Switch is the absolutely atrocious framerates that routinely chug as you’re playing the game. This really undercuts any horror this game might provide, as you’ll be viewing that horror through a slide show.

Were it not for these issues, Venatrix would be a decent but unspectacular Horror game, and a rare example of a game that attempts to take a serious approach to Lovecraftian Horror on Nintendo Switch. But with these significant gameplay, audio, and performance issues, you’re better off seeking your supernatural scares elsewhere.

tl;dr – Venatrix is a Horror game with Third-Person Shooter and Stealth elements, with Lovecraftian themes and two protagonists, with only one of those worth playing. Unfortunately, even beyond this, Venatrix has some serious gameplay issues, audio issues, and performance issues, and these really drag down the experience. Major Lovecraftian nerds may find this worth a look, but everyone else is better off searching elsewhere.

Grade: C-

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