The Works of Mercy
'The Works of Mercy' is a psychological thriller inspired by the classics of the genre. The game’s plot revolves around mysterious killings committed on seemingly random victims. Only this time it’s the player who becomes the murderer. The game tells a story of a personal tragedy and wrecked psyche. When a cryptic tormentor forces the protagonist to kill people in order to save his family, the game’s hero (and the player) is posed with a series of dramatic questions. Who is the tormentor? Why is he so vengeful toward the protagonist’s family? How far do you have to go to satisfy him? How can you justify the killing in the sake of saving someone’s life? And how will you cope with the sense of guilt? Answers to the posed questions can be found in multiple endings playing more than once. The game will leave the gamers with a lasting impression and face them with the question: how much could I sacrifice for my family?
Steam User 29
I decided to buy this game even though a lot of reviews gave it thumbs down.
I am picky about my games.
Due to the bad reviews and the 15$ price tag, I wasn't expecting much.
The atmosphere is great. The graphics are great (no blurry textures in the basement imo) - sometimes borderlines photo realism. No frame drops here (1080 ti 4k max details) whatsoever, the idea is pretty sweet.
I like the ending, I've played it twice and only realized what's happening on the second time. There are two endings and once you notice the "hint" of how you should think in the game (it's in plain sight, just open your eyes), you can reach the "good ending" pretty easily.
It combines horror, psychology and actual real beliefs in some Christianity streams.
Yes, you do easily feel the lack of experience of the developers.
Yes, except the great graphics you can sense that they simply don't know how to animate a head blow up or a drill that goes into someone's skull, so they simply blackens the screen and put you right back in the scene a second after.
Yes, it might get somewhat boring at times.
Yes, it is about an hour long and there's no save feature (which is the weakest spot, no doubt). I had a game breaking bug, stuck in a position I can't move from at some point in the game, had to start over. No other bugs noticed.
But the idea and the real horror is, overall, pretty much fun, for 15$.
Don't expect to much, you might mildly enjoy it. It's certainly shows some new concepts for the first time in a game.
Steam User 12
Had this game on my radar for a while... then the DEMO came out and I was pleasantly surprised by the intrigue of THE WORKS OF MERCY. However I had decided to skip its KickStarter campaign.
Basically, you're a man that you receive "orders" to kill people from a stranger calling you on the phone.
THE WORKS OF MERCY is a very short game. Granted, I think I saw somewhere that there are more than one ending but to replay the whole thing without any save feature is annoying.
The visuals are pretty impressive overall, minus the basement portion of the game.
Story is straightforward and keeps you guessing until the very end. The voice acting is fine for an indie project, same with the music.
I'd recommend you wait for a drastic sale before getting this!
Steam User 3
Let me be very clear- I paid $1.49 for this game. I am recommending this game based on buying it ON SALE. Wait for a sale. I would not recommend paying more than five dollars for this. I won't be discussing the actual story because there's not much of it and saying anything will spoil what fun you could get out of this brief game.
Also, I understand there is no longer any support for the game and the devs have gone silent, and there may have been some shady practices regarding fulfilling Kickstarter benefits. I am not reviewing the game based on any of that. I am only reviewing this from the perspective of someone who knew nothing about this game, and bought it cheap.
From my experience, I can say the game worked, it had a beginning and an end, it didn't crash and I didn't encounter any bugs. You may notice that at the time of this review, I've played for an hour and forty minutes. That includes restarting the game twice to try out different dialogue choices and to see if there were alternate paths the short narrative had to offer. There are, but it's a closed loop regardless. From what I can tell, you will always wind up at the same ending, and if you've played any indie horror games over the last six or seven years, it's an ending you're probably very familiar with at this point. I am sick to death of that ending, and of playing the kind of character that leads to that ending, over and over again, but I'm not going to judge the game based solely on that. I AM sick of that ending, but the game offers a better one if you make every right call.
Pros:
*Graphics are pretty good. Most of the action takes place in a photo-realistic horror apartment using the Unreal Engine. It seems almost an indie-standard at this point for these types of games, and it's a small space, but a lot happens in it and it looks nice. Character models aren't quite as nice, but they're serviceable.
*Voice acting was surprisingly decent. I didn't flinch once.
*You get to make important moral choices that effect the lives of others in a thriller-based scenario.
*I was never at a loss for what to do. Simplistic, intuitive game design. Nothing great, but nothing terrible.
*If you enjoy the works of David Lynch, or violent, trippy thrillers in general, this game has something to offer you. It's not much, but there's some mildly twisted fun to be had here depending on your choices.
*Music was good. Not memorably good, but suitable when you're in the moment.
Cons:
*This game can be beaten in about an hour. I DO NOT RECOMMEND PAYING FULL PRICE.
*Depending on your choices in the dialogue, some of the responses you get don't make any sense. This is probably due to improper translation from the game's native language, but it's still mildly annoying when it happens.
*The ending. The same. ending. as. always.
*There are no saves or continues. Once you start the game, you have to finish it then, or restart from the beginning.
*Ultimately, the choices you make in the game don't matter. Your choices do matter. I messed around a bit more and found out how to get the better ending. It's nothing revolutionary, and it doesn't make sense given everything that happens, but there your choices do matter.
Despite restarting twice before finishing the game, I am still within the time limit required to request a refund. I am not going to do that. For the price I paid, I am not dissatisfied with the experience the game offered. Not really much of a spoiler but I'll cover it anyway. There was a bit at the end that I quite enjoyed, as a hitchhiker related a harrowing experience to the main character while he huddled on the MC's daughter's bed. While he was telling the story, I noticed one of the daughter's drawings, and it gave me a little spook. This is not a horror game, settling for mostly just unsettling, but that moment was pretty great.
If you're willing to take a chance on a game most people seem to hate, $1.49 would be the price to do it at.
Steam User 2
Worth £1.13. Quick no thrills psychological horror. Would recommend it for the sale price. Lots of different endings.
Steam User 20
best graphic with LSD hehe.
Steam User 5
so basically you are a serial murder and abuser who hires prostitutes for torturing and killing them in the worst manner possible. highly recommended to mental disorder extreme aggressors
Steam User 3
Imo game is cool. Graphics are amazing for an indie game but it could use a bit more optimalization but overall it works nicely.
Story is okay. Could be longer.
There are some graphic glitches in forest but other than that i didn't see much of other glitches.
It's nice to get in on sale and you can always return the game if you don't want it or if it won't work for you or any other reason you have.
Overall it could be more polished but still a nice game 87/100