''Bedlam'' is a
first-person shooter
A first-person shooter (FPS) is a video game genre, video game centered on gun fighting and other weapon-based combat seen from a First person (video games), first-person perspective, with the player experiencing the action directly through t ...
game developed by British studio RedBedlam and published by Standfast Interactive. It was released on October 13, 2015 for
PlayStation 4
The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013, in ...
and October 16, 2015 for
Xbox One
The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third console in the Xbox#Consoles, Xbox series. It was first released in North America, parts of Europe, Austra ...
.
Based on the novel ''
Bedlam'' by
Christopher Brookmyre
Christopher Brookmyre (born 6 September 1968) is a Scottish novelist whose novels, generally in a crime or police procedural frame, mix comedy, politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noi ...
, it follows an ordinary Scottish woman named Heather Quinn who is trapped inside the body of a video game character and must fight her way through several environments inspired by 1990s and 2000s first-person shooter games.
The game received mixed to negative reviews from critics, who praised its comedic writing but criticized its lackluster gameplay and high amount of bugs.
Plot
The game follows a digital simulation of Heather Quinn, a.k.a. Athena, an employee at an
artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
technology company whose
mind has been uploaded to a network of simulated fictional video games, primarily first-person shooters. The game takes place within and between these fictional games, among which her fellow employees' minds have been scattered. Some time after their uploading, the company shifted its focus to military application, and is now secretly using these games as training grounds to that end. The player helps Heather's former colleagues to fight against a villainous force known as the Integrity, which is destroying game worlds
in order to locate and extract their consciousnesses for later use. After a final confrontation with the Integrity, revealed to be controlled by their boss, he escapes from the game network to an unknown destination, and Heather follows.
Gameplay
The game plays in a similar manner to a 1990s first-person shooter, prioritizing constant movement and dodging rather than the use of a
cover system
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of ...
.
Gameplay is largely unchanged throughout different environments, game worlds that pay homage to FPS franchises like ''
Quake'', ''
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...
'', and ''
Halo
HALO, halo, halos or haloes may refer to:
Most common meanings
* Halo (optical phenomenon)
* Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head
* ''Halo'' (franchise), a sci-fi video game series (2001–2021)
Arts and en ...
'', as well as
real-time strategy
Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that does not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time." By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, tur ...
games and classic
arcade game
An arcade game or coin-op game is a coin-operated entertainment machine typically installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are presented as primarily game of skill, games of skill and in ...
s.
Development
The game was created as a tie-in with the novel, ''Bedlam'', featuring a similar concept of a person being transported inside a video game. It was intended as the first game in a trilogy of both novels and games.
The release of the game forced another game called ''Bedlam'' to change its name to ''
Skyshine's Bedlam''.
Reception
''Bedlam'' received mixed to negative reviews, with an aggregate score of 53/100 on
Metacritic
Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
for the PlayStation 4 version.
Ben Tyrer of
GamesRadar+
''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and '' Compute ...
rated the game 3/5, calling its world and story "immensely likeable", and its protagonist "one of the most engaging I've witnessed in some time", but noting the amount of "technical and gameplay issues", including "major glitches" that caused important story elements to be skipped and disrupted gameplay. He called the game's shooting mechanics "bland", criticizing slow character control despite the "blindingly fast" movement and weak-feeling guns.
Jaz Rignall of
USGamer
Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and ot ...
rated the game 50/100, saying that while the game's concept was "absolutely brilliant", it failed in the execution, having "stiff, unforgiving gameplay" such as "finicky aiming and shooting", "punishing checkpoints" and "awkward difficulty spikes". He noted that it seemed like the developer "bit off more than it could chew". Sammy Barker of
Push Square
Gamer Network Limited (formerly Eurogamer Network Limited) is a British digital media company based in London. Founded in 1999 by Rupert and Nick Loman, it owns brands—primarily editorial websites—relating to video game journalism and oth ...
rated it 4/10, saying that the biggest problem with the game is that "you'll wish it was so much better", praising its "razor-sharp commentary" and "fascinating plot" but saying that its "rotten first-person shooter" gameplay did not do it justice, and comparing the guns to "a spud gun loaded with mud".
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bedlam
2015 video games
PlayStation 4 games
Xbox One games
First-person shooters
Parody video games
Video games based on novels
Video games about video games
Video games developed in the United Kingdom
Video games featuring female protagonists
Single-player video games