Alfred Hitchcock has gone down in history as one of the best suspense and thriller movie makers of all time, with classics such as The Birds and Psycho. In 1958, Hitchcock created the movie Vertigo, and the game, developed by Pendulo Studios and published by Microids, borrows its inspiration, sharing the idea and themes of the movie, but not the plot or the characters from the original. The PC version of Vertigo was released in 2021 but didn’t make its way to console. Now, in 2022, we’re getting the chance to play the Xbox Series S|X.

The game is a narrative-driven adventure and is similar to the styles of Heavy Rain and Detriot: Become Human. For example, the story follows certain characters as they put together the pieces of the overall story hidden on the surface, and the choices that the player makes will impact the outcome of the events that will follow.

Vertigo’s main story follows Ed Miller, an author struggling with writer’s block after a horrific car accident claims his wife and child. At least, this is what he remembers; there is no proof or evidence that Ed’s family ever existed. Ed suffers from a major case of vertigo and is treated by a therapist, Julia Lomas, as she tries to treat Ed and uncover secrets from his past and find out what is really going on. She does this by diving into Ed’s childhood to find out more about his parents; it seems history is repeating tragic events. Meanwhile, the other main character, Sheriff Nick Reyes, is looking into the case while also finding evidence that doesn’t add up with Ed’s statements, making him a top suspect for another crime happening as the story progresses.

While the gameplay is mainly walking and interacting, there are a few quick time events for running and replying to characters that will impact events. While Julia is treating Ed, she will put him into a trance that will bring players to the memory analysis portion of the game, and you will need to revisit a past event and take a better look at what was happening. Happy memories of playing a game with your dad or finding his hidden stash of Pringles in the garage will become you fetching a bottle of whiskey hidden from his wife.

Ed is a damaged character and you will be there as he uncovers it all and start to see what he suppressed for many years, all the while trying to work out if his wife was real or just a writer’s imagination. Other mini-segments can come across as boring and not really needed in the scope of the story, like putting shopping away in the kitchen or performing a secret handshake perfectly, but they do reward the player with achievements, so they’re better than nothing at the end of the day.

There are some stunning environments to experience, but these are somewhat letdown by the characters themselves, which use animation and graphics styles similar to the cell-shaded comic style of Telltale Games. The more realistic environments led to what I feel is a clash of styles, and they probably should have gone in one direction or the other. Character models also had several clipping issues when they were close to objects, and some very obvious desync had them mouthing words while there was no dialogue.

The soundtrack was a high point for me, using music straight out of Hitchcock’s playbook. It was everything you would expect and come to know if you were aware of his past work, offering a tense and thrilling melody. It was a great reference that felt like a bit of an Easter Egg without being so obvious. The voice acting is also well delivered, with the actors really bringing life to the otherwise artificial-feeling characters, both young and old.

Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo is a decent title inspired by the filmmaker’s legacy and work, but it does lack some story elements. While I was highly invested in the main plot, I found the side story and Ed’s past to be slow and felt like they dragged on until they finally arrived back in the present.

The way the actors portrayed the characters and gave them life helped to keep me involved with the game, so I would recommend this title to players that enjoy narrative-driven titles or people familiar with Hitchcock’s work, even if it’s just to see where the inspiration was aiming to land.

Written by: Shane Walsh