INFERNIUM

First of all, I have finished the game and put a few hours making mods for it:
Infernium is a great game, I compare it to my first feeling on playing Dark Souls: You are lost, you have no clues of what you are doing in this world and red crimson cloak will be the bane of your existence.
But as you progress, read about the lore, learn new abilities and dodge more difficult enemies, you will start to enjoy the fair but cruel level design of the game.
On the modding aspect: The modding tool and tutorial maps provide everything you need to know to make a mod from scratch in Infernium.
You can create a standalone level using only the assets provided, or make models to give a personal touch to your mod, or you can spice up the main game with changing models and sounds of crimson cloaks and energy enemies.
In conclusion, I really enjoyed playing this game and recommend it!

A really, really hardcore survival horror game. You can feel the souls-like influence on it. For me, it is too hardcore. I heard the developer is going to update the game next week with more accessibility options: Slower enemies, no life loss (so no perma-death), walking simulator mode and more in-game tutorials. I will play it again then with more tutorials and maybe slower enemies. I appreciate that you slowly learn all the systems of the game, but I just don't have the time for it so I'll wait for more tutorials. Environments are beautiful and the rest so far, so good. It is just too hardcore to me.

I spent entirely too much time wondering why creator Carlos Coronado marketed his game as a “survival horror approach to Pac-Man.” Don’t get me wrong, the description isn’t invalid; it just struck me as a baffling approach to marketing the game. The blurb certainly has a shock value to it but it’s not immediately palatable – it doesn’t have that “peanut butter and chocolate” factor.
Eventually, I came to the conclusion that while Coronado is rightfully proud of this release, he is unsure of the immediate impact it will have. You see, INFERNIUM is a game best experienced cold. The less you know in advance, the better. Unfortunately, most indie developers aren’t awarded this trust, especially if the price tag is over $20. To that end, I think Coronado’s strategy was two-fold: 1) grab a shopper’s attention and 2) gently guide buyers to understand how to play.
INFERNIUM is a first-person puzzler where the player’s initial goal is to harvest light orbs (akin to Pac-Man gobbling dots). When you encounter your first enemy, an apparition cloaked in red (red ghost, get it?), it will chase you and you quickly learn you have no recourse but to retreat. Crimson Cloak was blocking the bridge which was your only path forward. But if you don’t die, you might recall that there was a path behind you that you could use to guide the ghost through – freeing you to get back to the bridge. I believe that going into the game knowing that it had Pac-Man influences, helped me to understand how I was meant to outsmart my opponent in that moment.
I hope Carlos Coronado’s strategy is successful because INFERNIUM is bold. It’s a risky, yet confident game that people should experience. Unreal Engine is used to great effect with gorgeous vistas and spaces that are thick with ambiance and suspense. What I’ve covered here is just the tutorial because I do believe you should go in as cold as possible; so if you can – do just that.
Courtesy of Notable Releases curator group
Full Review

Although I did not complete it yet, I can already recommend it for beautiful art and brilliant first hour experience. It is tense, enigmatic and frightening, but in a very pleasant kind of way, without pools of blood or detached limbs.

I have been aware of this game since it first released, but at that time, I gave it a pass without a second thought the moment I saw it was from the same developer who made MIND: Path to Thalamus. Indeed, that game is nowhere near a good one in my standards, I even wrote a negative review about it with some harsh words. So what made me give it a second chance this time? Well, simply because the low price point (80% off) it was at and I happened across a review highly praising it.
Naturally, I dived into it with a really low expectation. And oh boy, I ended up mesmerized.
Now I’m completely engulfed in regrets for two things: 1) Dear developer, please forgive me for my harsh words and prejudice before, I apologize sincerely. 2) Purchasing it at such a low price (roughly 2.5USD), is literally a steal.
So the moral to this is: Never let your prejudice towards people misleads your judgement.
Infernium is a game best experienced without knowing much about it, I’ll just have to keep my description as simple as I could: It gave me a similar vibe that I had when first playing Dark Souls, mind you, not just any Dark Souls, but the Dark Souls 1.
Remember the time when you were thrown into a strange world without knowing anything about it, only seeing a huge vista in front of you expands infinitely towards all directions? You had no idea of its inhabitant, its whereabout, and its purpose. Hell, you didn’t even know who yourself was and what you were supposed to do. (kinda like being born, innit? Except without your parents holding your hands.) As you carried on with your adventure, you blended into the world little by little. Like the realization that those light dots scattering at the horizon you saw at the very beginning, were not just background skybox, but actual levels you can march to… By unlocking shortcuts, you started to realize how this world was made, and how levels interconnect with each other on such a large scale… And how many secrets were hidden at every nook and cranny etcetera, etcetera.
For me, these are the reasons why Dark Souls 1 earned a special place in my heart, not its lore, not its combat system, not its misconceived difficulty. I simply rejoiced with excitement that I got the chance to relive all those experiences, once more. For Infernium, possibly provided the most genuine vibe among all souls-like games I’ve played, without even trying to be a souls-like by ripping off every formula that made the souls franchise successful. (Yes, I'm referring to games like Salt and Sanctuary, shame on you!)
I know, those are some bold words, you might as well lower your expectation a little bit. After all, Infernium is a really low-budget production (it’s mostly made by one person), and it has those low-budget feelings (you know what cheap unreal engine games are like) all over the place. Nevertheless, if you’re a lenient person with an open mind who can tolerate rough edges and some amateur design choices, missing this title might be a big mistake you’ll regret at some point.

It's like a surrealist painter had a dream involving Pac-Man and Dark Souls blending into a first person view.

Infernium is the Dark Souls of Pac-Man.
Reviews are currently overall 'mixed' as I write this, and honestly I'm not surprised. Infernium is weird, obtuse, and punishing. But if you stick it out, you'll be rewarded with one of the most unique and satisfying puzzle adventure games of the generation.