Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo

Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo
Developer(s)Pendulo Studios
Publisher(s)Microids
Director(s)Ramón Hernáez
Producer(s)
  • Juan Miguel Martín Muñoz
  • Pau Farré Sereno
  • Rita Fortuny
Designer(s)
  • Ramón Hernáez
  • Josué Monchan
  • José Céspedes Martínez
Programmer(s)
  • Carlos Colomé García
  • Pepe Romero Hernández
Artist(s)Alberto Lozando Domínguez
Writer(s)
  • Ramón Hernáez
  • Josué Monchan
  • José Céspedes Martínez
Composer(s)Juan Miguel Martín Muñoz
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows
  • WW: December 16, 2021
Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Series X/S
  • EU: September 27, 2022
  • NA: October 4, 2022
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo is an adventure video game developed by the Spanish company Pendulo Studios and published by Microids. It is loosely based on the films of Alfred Hitchcock, particularly Vertigo (1958). The story follows a man named Ed Miller, who enters therapy to cope with the mysterious after-effects of a car crash.

Pendulo and Microids announced Vertigo in early 2018, during the development of their game Blacksad: Under the Skin. It was first shown at the Guerrilla Collective Showcase in June 2021. The game was released for Windows via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG in December 2021, and was for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in September and October 2022.

Gameplay

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Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo is an adventure game that takes place in a three-dimensional game world. The player controls three characters,[1] with a focus on solving mysteries tied to flashbacks.[2]

Plot

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Vertigo tells the story of Ed Miller, a writer whose life is changed by a car wreck.[2] Although he is left mysteriously uninjured, he claims that his wife and daughter, both missing, were in the car with him.[1] Traumatized and experiencing intense vertigo, he enters therapy in an effort to learn what happened.[2]

Development

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Publisher Microids and developer Pendulo Studios first announced Vertigo in March 2018, during the production of Blacksad: Under the Skin.[3] Rock, Paper, Shotgun reported that Microids had licensed director Alfred Hitchcock's "name and likeness",[4] and Microids revealed that the game would be "loosely" inspired by his film Vertigo, primarily in aesthetic and theme.[5] Pendulo disclosed in November 2020 that development of Vertigo was already "quite advanced".[6]

The game was first shown at the Guerrilla Collective Showcase at E3 in June 2021, under the name Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo.[7][2] At the time, narrative designer Josué Monchan called the game "freely inspired" by Hitchcock's Vertigo, but noted that the film was "not our only frame of reference". He also cited the director's Spellbound, Rebecca and Psycho as influences, among others.[2] /Film reported that the team "studied Hitchcock's camerawork (including the famous 'Vertigo shot,' or dolly zoom) and tried to lean on the aesthetic of film mysteries and thrillers".[8]

Initially, Vertigo was set to launch across Windows and game consoles in the fourth quarter of 2021.[2] The Windows version was released on December 16, 2021.[9] The console versions were subsequently delayed to 2022, and were launched for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on September 27, 2022 in Europe and October 4, 2022 in North America.[10][11]

Reception

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Pre-release coverage

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Reacting to Vertigo's announcement at the Guerrilla Collective Showcase, Jeuxvideo.com named it one of the "10 indie games that caught our attention" during E3 2021.[12] In The Guardian, columnist Stuart Heritage wrote that Vertigo "excited" him because it is a non-literal adaptation of Hitchcock's work, pointing the way to film-adapted games drawn from "a director's aesthetic rather than simply aping the nuts-and-bolts narrative".[13]

Critical reception

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Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo received "mixed or average" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic.[14][15] In Rock Paper Shotgun, Kim Armstrong wrote that Vertigo is not "a bad game", but argued that it "doesn't quite stick the landing".[21] Ouest-France was more negative, calling the game "a heartbreak" and faulting it for pacing issues, pixel hunting and poor use of quick time events.[22]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Marshall, Cass (June 7, 2021). "Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo is a game now in this unexpected adaptation". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 7, 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e f Kleffmann, Marcel (June 6, 2021). "Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo: Psychothriller zwischen Realität und Fantasie angekündigt". 4Players (in German). Archived from the original on June 7, 2021.
  3. ^ Martín, María P. (March 13, 2018). "Microïds hará una adaptación de Vertigo". IGN Spain (in Spanish). Archived from the original on March 13, 2018.
  4. ^ O'Connor, Alice (March 13, 2018). "Alfred Hitchcock's face licensed for a Vertigo game". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived from the original on March 15, 2018.
  5. ^ Wöbbeking, Jan (March 14, 2018). "Vertigo: Pendulo und Microïds arbeiten an einem Adventure zu Hitchcocks Kino-Oldie". 4Players (in German). Archived from the original on December 31, 2020.
  6. ^ Oller, Martin (November 28, 2020). "Pendulo Studios, los españoles que quisieron competir con LucasArts". MeriStation (in Spanish). Archived from the original on November 28, 2020.
  7. ^ "Guerrilla Collective: Microids unveils narrative game Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo through a first enigmatic teaser" (Press release). Paris: Microids. June 5, 2021. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
  8. ^ Pearson, Ben (June 7, 2021). "A Vertigo Video Game, Inspired By the Alfred Hitchcock Movie, is Somehow On the Way". /Film. Archived from the original on June 7, 2021.
  9. ^ Simón, Jaime San (September 14, 2021). "Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo llega a PC en diciembre". Eurogamer Spain (in Spanish). Archived from the original on September 18, 2021.
  10. ^ Pillon, Thomas (August 23, 2021). "Alfred Hitchcock Vertigo : Les versions consoles reportées à 2022". Gameblog (in French). Archived from the original on August 23, 2021.
  11. ^ "Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo for PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch launches September 27 in Europe, October 4 in North America". Gematsu. July 20, 2022. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  12. ^ Tiraxa (June 8, 2021). "E3 2021 : 10 jeux indés qui ont retenu notre attention". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Archived from the original on June 9, 2021.
  13. ^ Heritage, Stuart (June 9, 2021). "Vertigo the game: could it delete the horrific history of movie tie-ins?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on June 9, 2021.
  14. ^ a b "Alfred Hitchcock: Vertigo for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
  15. ^ a b "Alfred Hitchcock: Vertigo for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  16. ^ Cress, Laura (January 7, 2022). "Review for Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  17. ^ Tiraxa (December 20, 2021). "Test Alfred Hitchcock Vertigo : Un thriller qui donne des Sueurs Froides ?". Jeuxvideo.com (in French). Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  18. ^ Escribano, Javier (September 27, 2022). "Análisis de Alfred Hitchcock Vertigo, adaptación interactiva del maestro del suspense". HobbyConsolas (in Spanish). Archived from the original on November 6, 2022.
  19. ^ Hetfeld, Malindy (September 28, 2022). "Alfred Hitchcock: Vertigo review – uncomfortable for all the wrong reasons". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group plc. Retrieved November 5, 2022.
  20. ^ Oller, Marta (October 27, 2022). "Alfred Hitchcock Vértigo, análisis. Nada es más peligroso que la mente". MeriStation (in Spanish). Archived from the original on November 6, 2022.
  21. ^ Armstrong, Kim (December 22, 2021). "Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo review: a psychological thriller that falls short of true greatness". Rock Paper Shotgun. Archived from the original on December 22, 2021.
  22. ^ Benoit-Gonin, Corentin (December 24, 2021). "Jeux vidéo. Notre test d'" Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo " : la psy cause, le joueur s'endort". Ouest-France (in French). Archived from the original on December 24, 2021.
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