Brokenlore: Follow – The real monsters was my childhood
Gameplay
BrokenLore: FOLLOW plays out primarily as an atmospheric horror walking simulator, focusing more on immersion and storytelling than just straight up jumpscares. The experience is occasionally broken up by chase sequences that change the pace and rhythm, which helped keep me engaged throughout the game. Outside of that, you’ll have various objectives to complete as you progress, but there aren’t any real puzzles to solve. Personally, I didn’t mind that at all. It felt like the developer’s focus was on building a tense and unsettling atmosphere rather than challenging players with puzzle-solving. The game leans heavily into psychological horror, using its environments, sound design, and a few well-timed jump scares to keep players on edge. Overall, it’s very much what I’ve come to expect from the BrokenLore series: a polished horror experience with solid production quality and, in my playthrough, no noticeable bugs. It’s not perfect, but it’s engaging in its own way and succeeds at delivering a memorable atmospheric horror experience.
📕 STORY
We follow Anne, a young woman forced to confront childhood trauma, bullying, body-image issues, eating disorders, and a difficult relationship with her mother. The horror comes largely from surreal, symbolic creatures and environments that represent her inner struggles rather than from traditional monsters. Anne wakes up in her childhood home and begins reliving painful memories from different periods of her life. Guided by a mysterious childhood doll, she explores locations tied to her trauma while being pursued by a terrifying entity resembling her mother. Throughout the game, she must face feelings of worthlessness, self-doubt, and unresolved emotional wounds.
🔈 Sound
The sound design is probably the strongest part of BrokenLore: FOLLOW for me. From the moment the game starts, the audio does an incredible job of building tension and keeping you on edge. The ambient background sounds constantly create a sense of unease, making even the quiet moments feel unsettling. What really stood out were the sudden audio cues and chimes that seem to appear when you least expect them. They’re not overused, but they’re effective enough to make you constantly question what’s around the next corner. The game understands how powerful sound can be in horror, and it uses it to great effect throughout the entire experience.
The voice acting also deserves a lot of praise. The performances feel believable and emotional, helping to sell both the characters and the heavier themes explored in the story. Combined with the atmospheric soundscape, it adds a lot to the overall immersion. More than anything, the audio kept me on the edge of my seat for the entire game. Even during the slower walking-simulator sections, the sound design was doing so much work in maintaining tension and keeping me engaged. If there is one aspect of BrokenLore: FOLLOW that consistently impressed me from start to finish, it was the sound design.und design.
Visuals
The setting and visual identity of BrokenLore: FOLLOW are done in a really cool and unique way. The overall design feels well thought out, with an atmosphere that manages to be both creepy and unsettling at the same time. The game leans heavily into its psychological horror themes, and the surreal environments and creature designs do a great job of reinforcing that feeling throughout the experience. One thing I particularly liked was how each chapter feels visually distinct from the last. The different locations and themes help keep the game fresh, and I never felt like I was looking at the same environments over and over again. That variety kept me engaged throughout the entire playthrough and made me curious to see what the next chapter would bring.
That said, while I really like the design philosophy behind the visuals, I do think the overall visual quality could have been better. I understand that the game is going for a specific gritty style, and I’m completely fine with that. In fact, I think it suits the tone of the game well. However, even on Epic settings, some of the textures and environmental details looked a bit washed out and lacked the sharpness I was expecting. The art direction does a lot of the heavy lifting, but there are moments where the technical side of the visuals doesn’t quite match the strength of the design.
BrokenLore: FOLLOW is another solid entry in the BrokenLore series that successfully delivers a creepy and emotionally driven psychological horror experience. It may not reinvent the genre, and there are certainly areas where it could have been improved, particularly when it comes to the technical quality of the visuals, but the game knows exactly what it wants to be and executes that vision well. The atmosphere is consistently unsettling, and the sound design is genuinely excellent. While the gameplay mostly consists of exploration and objective-based progression, the occasional chase sequences help keep the pacing fresh and engaging. Most importantly, the game never overstays its welcome and constantly gives players new environments and experiences to discover. If you’re a fan of atmospheric psychological horror and don’t mind a slower, story-focused experience, BrokenLore: FOLLOW is definitely worth checking out. Its not perfect but it continues the strengths of the series while offering a unique and unsettling journey of its own.
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