File Destined Review (Xbox Series X|S & PC)

I’ve often found that psychological horror games that have the power to warp reality and shift the narrative with hallucinogenic effects are arguably some of the best in the field. Take File Destined, for example. While its plot is all rathe cliche and just the slightest bit forgettable, its ability to effectively build and maintain the narrative with world-altering facets and frequent brain-gauging moments of uncertainty makes it a lot more appealing. It’s a serviceable IP, and above all, a sleeper hit that you might just want to take a gander at the next time you’re in the mood for a short yet surprisingly gripping interactive thriller.

File Destined doesn’t spend a great deal of time filling out the pages of your journal with detail. Instead, it puts you in the shoes of Oliver—a detective who just so happens to have access to a simulation software that allows him to retrace the history of an unsolved murder case—and it hands you a pocket lighter. The bleak corridors of an old hospital call out to you, and, being a detective with little to no evidence to lean on, you decide to waltz into the darkness and begin sifting around in the shadows for clues. You don’t know what to examine, and you have absolutely no idea how to compile your report. Simply, you have a series of rooms to explore, a laughably poor source of light to guide you, and a vague sense of what is happening.

Without sounding overly bitter, File Destined could have quite easily left out the cliche plot and still found a way to pack a punch with its tender atmosphere and well-timed jump scares. Given its admirable fixation with hallucinatory behavior and psychological effects, File Destined could have been a serviceable substitute for the likes of Layers of Fear, even. Sure enough, it’s eerie, thought provoking, and absolutely bursting at the seams with all of the B-movie creepiness that we know and cherish. And of course, there is a plot here to stitch all of these tender embellishments together. The thing is, it doesn’t quite meet the same standard.

In the sixty minutes that I spent with Oliver, I often found myself itching for another slice of horror, but not so much a piece of its loosely crafted storyline. I’d gather evidence, and I’d mull over the facts, often forgetting the reason as to why I was even in a crime simulation, to begin with. But then, out of the blue, something would drag me back and give me another reason to continue. Creativity alone would compel me to spiral even deeper into the rabbit hole, and before long I’d find myself back on my toes and in search of the next beat.

If you’re a fan of Layers of Fear, then it’s highly likely that you’ll find plenty to write home about here. In a similar vein as Bloober Team’s cult-like series, File Destined prioritizes environmental manipulation over traditional linearity. For example, rather than walking from one room to another, the game often tasks you with glancing up to unlock a new corridor, or simply panning the camera around to find doors and rooms that weren’t there before. And to be honest, that’s what File Destined is: a perplexing corridor romper that has a habit of warping its world to keep you on your toes. It works, too, all things considered.

With a handful of genuinely terrifying moments and a good helping of well-timed jump scares, File Destined does a solid job of holding your attention as you carve through its sixty-minute investigation. The voice acting is believable enough to keep you immersed for the long haul, and the graphics are striking enough to satisfy your senses. The plot, as well as the twist, on the other hand, aren’t quite as captivating. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t a bad script, but to call it a brilliant story-driven crime thriller would be an overstatement.

In spite of its few minor plot-based shortcomings, File Destined is, above all else, a great game that gets a lot of things right. Aside from it being definitively creepy, it also plays as well as it should, with little to no game-breaking bugs or technical issues to dampen its mood or composition. The lighter mechanic, too, adds a great touch to the overall experience. Granted, the act of finding fluid for the pocket zippo is a bit of a nightmare. Although, it isn’t quite as daunting as it is in, say, Outlast. Fuel is plentiful; batteries, however, are not.

I won’t pretend that I had an easy time with File Destined, as a lot of the time I did have a lack of data to go on. A room would highlight dozens of items for me to examine, but more often than not, most objects had no business in the investigation itself. Inspecting medical tools, for example, carried no weight, and plucking through photographs and documents added no real value to the story. To that end, the journey was all rather padded, with a lot of unnecessary baggage that, frankly, didn’t need to be there in the first place.

Aside from the occasional lull from the investigation procedure, File Destined often had me on tenterhooks with thanks to its creative jump scares and disturbing atmosphere, of which there were plenty to grovel at. The flame from the lighter would go out, and I’d often be left alone in the dark, reluctant to pour more fuel into the canister. And thankfully, that apprehensive attitude remained a permanent fixture throughout the experience. It had the fear factor, and that alone was enough to keep me going.

Verdict

File Destined counters its lack of a memorable plot with a genuinely terrifying psychological effect that yanks on your heartstrings from the moment you launch your investigation to the second you compile your final report. With some clean voice acting, well-paced jump scares, and a ton of creatively executed world-shifting sequences, it stands tall as a sleeper hit that can and more than likely will keep you awake long after you locate the final pieces of evidence.

While there isn’t a lot of gameplay to sink your teeth into here, there are plenty of quality moments to keep you immersed for the duration of the story. And, to be honest, that’s often all that you need from a game like this: a brief bout of fear-inducing horror that can keep you second guessing your each and every move. It might not be the best psychological thriller to grace the screen since Layers of Fear, but it certainly comes close.