Trapt review

Yes the most violent none-violent games in recent memory. That is, it’s the kind of game to make you go “ick” without actually forcing copious amounts of blood and guts in your face. No, Trapt isn’t like that at all.

Instead it’s about creating the most extravagant Grand Guignol death sequences possible. By laying traps for your enemy. To get a good idea where this game’s head is at, imagine the Final Destination films. The fun doesn’t come from deep characters or an original plot: it’s from watching each character die in the most elaborate ways possible.

That’s Trapt, essentially. The most violent non-violent extravagant death sequence simulator. But is it any good?

Trapped

The story goes a little like this: You’re Allura, daughter of a noble King. When he’s mysteriously slain your evil stepmother blames you – swearing she saw the mark of the Fiend on your hand. The Fiend is an ancient evil that attaches itself to people, morphing their arm to do its bidding.

Your stepmother Catalina orders your death at once – and together with your maid Rachel you hole up in a decaying mansion. But this is no ordinary mansion – it just so happens it’s the home of the Fiend. It’s also home to a number of vicious traps that, using your newly accustomed Fiend’s hand, you can add to.

With a high price put on your head many people will be jumping at the chance to cleave you. Thankfully you’re prepared, and going about offing them is some of the most satisfactory gameplay we’ve played in a while. Trapt is without a doubt a highly amusing videogame – which says a lot about is given how bloody violent it is.

The Fiend

The problem with Trapt is that it isn’t as original as it might initially appear. To us Europeans maybe, but not generally. It’s actually the fourth game in Japan’s Deception series – a franchise of games built around offing your enemies in very sick, twisted and extravagant ways. But to us here in Blighty it’s the first taste we’ll have of this series – hence the new title.

That isn’t necessarily a good thing because Trapt brings with it an assumed knowledge of the franchise and how it works. The story is original this time and that’s OK. But the developers clearly expect you to know what you’re doing. And given the fact we obviously didn’t, it meant our first hour with the game was the worse.

To say Trapt drops you in at the deep end is an understatement. You just have no idea what you’re doing. It takes a long time getting used to the mechanics of Trapt but once you do you’ll be laughing maniacally and creating bigger, more elaborate traps in no time.

Death… at a Cost

But you’ll become used to Trapt’s rigid structure in no time – and it’s here where the game disappoints the most. This isn’t your traditional survival horror videogame because you can only actually play it when you’re fighting enemies. As soon as they are all dead you’re either looking at menus or watching a cutscene before the next chapter begins.

Trapt essentially follows this routine: you watch a number of cutscenes, Intermission (which is your planning page between chapters and allows you to study your enemies and pick traps, as well as save the game), Chapter begins, you run around setting traps until the enemies are dead, more cutscenes, stop. Repeat.

It’s interesting to begin with but soon becomes boring. As you progress the enemies become harder and it slightly shifts out of that routine – even going as far as bringing in what can be considered boss characters. But that’s basically the structure of this game. And while the long cutscenes compensate for the amount of time you won’t actually be playing (as chapter’s can last anywhere from a minute to several), the story isn’t exactly the kind to really grip you.

Deception

Trapt is a very interesting game. It’s definitely original to us, although we do acknowledge that won’t be the case with some players. But that doesn’t mean it’s a brilliant game. It’s a very sadistic one, but the sadism is very much a product of Trapt’s main gimmick: how disgusting can you be to your enemy?

Unfortunately it never appears to break from its rigid structure and that’s a damn shame. As bizarre as this sounds Trapt would earn extra points if it was a more formulaic game in terms of structure. By letting you explore the mansion and other location at your own discretion, we could have had a brilliant title on our hands.

But by basing your encounters around the exact same vignette structure it means we merely have a good one. So it’s a 6. But that’s the very highest, most bloody and twisted six there is.