Developer: Amortiz Games
Publisher: Solarsuit Games
Platforms: PC
Release Date: Out Now
Key Provided: Yes
I won’t beat around the bush: Leviathan: Rhino is a short game, with approximately 30-50 minutes for a playthrough, followed by another hour for achievement and ending procurement. However, it packs more themes and existential horror into that time than most horror games that run to 10 hours or more.
Played in first-person, the player controls Petro, an old man living in a quiet, lonely village somewhere in the countryside. Life appears idyllic, but there’s a menace out there, a gargantuan creature that’s sweeping across the land, demolishing everything in its path, either itself or via its heralds that wander ahead of it.
Petro lives alone, but the photos on his desk and wall reveal a past once full of companionship and life. Now, like everyone in this dead-end village, he’s going through the motions, waiting for the inevitable end in whatever form that takes.
While listening to the radio broadcast, Petro realises this particular Leviathan is heading his, and the village’s way. As it closes, he faces several threats and psychological strains, some of which are his own making.
Leviathan: Rhino is a fascinating, albeit downbeat experience. Petro’s age is well-represented on screen: anything other than a slow walk for more than a few seconds reduces him to a coughing, spluttering mess, which takes more precious time to recover from. He drinks moonshine with his pal across the road, and they seemingly share an outlook on the situation… until they don’t. As the Leviathan approaches, darkness descends, the creature’s ‘ticks’ attack, and Petro is left alone to face the gigantic menace.
Throughout its brief runtime, it exudes quality, from the beautifully mournful music to a cast of flawed characters facing an impossible situation. It’s a highly emotive experience on the effects of ageing, those it leaves behind, as well as its unpleasant bedfellows, loneliness and guilt.
Pros: A beautifully despondent tone, with apt music, and a remarkably eerie atmosphere.
Cons: Short running time.
CONCLUSION
It may be fleeting, but for many of us, Leviathan: Rhino’s themes will hit home somewhere and leave you thinking about it for days after.
