DaRmaZat Final Fall opens not with exposition, but with pain. You are Ophelia, a broken woman who wakes up naked, bloodied, and disoriented in a hospital after a failed suicide attempt. She doesn’t remember why she’s here—or even who she really is. Outside, thunder cracks through stormy skies. Inside, she staggers past vomit- or blood-stained sheets, scoops up heavy pills from a cabinet, and stares into the void. There’s no clear objective—only ghostly red words floating mid-air, disturbing whispers in what sounds like German, and a ringing phone. When answered, it threatens her with ominous warnings from a man who claims to know what she’s done. Something’s definitely going on…
A Fragmented Reality
Built in Unreal Engine by solo developer Emmanouil Kaparos Kaparakis, Final Fall doesn’t hold your hand—it grips your throat. This is psychological horror stripped to the bone, dealing in schizophrenia, trauma, and self-harm, with survival mechanics that punish carelessness. And just when you think you’ve found your footing, a surreal, shadowed creature—part man, part alien nightmare—emerges from the darkness to remind you: this is no ordinary game.
The opening piano-pop track sets the tone immediately, as Ophelia speaks directly to the player, though her words are scattered, elliptical. She references the moment before the fall—was it an accident or intentional? The lack of clarity is deliberate and disquieting. Ophelia’s movements are sluggish at first, echoing her physical state, but after showering and dressing, she regains mobility. The shift is abrupt, but the game embraces that instability as part of its fragmented reality.
Hallucinations Made Flesh
Once you begin exploring, items like a flashlight and a box cutter come into play—the latter serving as your first weapon. Inventory management is intuitive, with no tutorial, forcing you to experiment. Items like car batteries, disinfectants, and DVD-ROMs all have their purpose. One of the videos reveals Ophelia’s diagnosis: schizophrenia. Her therapist, Dr. Edwards, calmly explains the voices as symptoms—but even this explanation feels suspect. The truth, if it exists, remains elusive.
What sets Final Fall apart is how it gives physical form to Ophelia’s internal collapse. Enemies like the Hallucinators aren’t just obstacles—they’re manifestations. These distorted, inhuman figures must be resisted using a special input, but the mechanic is left vague. Through trial and error, you learn to spam the left mouse button. Failure means death, and death resets you at the phone—a chilling checkpoint tethered to guilt and threat.
This kind of opaque design is rare now. In a gaming landscape filled with tutorials and handholding, Final Fall opts to confuse and punish. Puzzles require actual thought: reading letters, deciphering codes, even playing an in-game piano. While there’s a basic hint system via the phone, the game expects attention and intuition. As you progress, the structure evokes a minimalist Resident Evil—key-based progression, resource scarcity, calculated exploration.
Brutal in All its Facets
Perhaps most shocking is the inclusion of player-triggered suicide. Certain weapons allow Ophelia to end her life at any time. Do so, and the game doesn’t just end—your save is deleted. It’s a brutal system, but it isn’t exploitative. It reinforces the core theme: this is about consequence, not shock. Fragility is part of the mechanic, not just the story.
Technically, the game performs well. There’s no stuttering, even without modern features like DLSS or FSR. But there are caveats: controller detection is finicky, key remapping is absent, and cutscenes can’t be skipped. However, while facial animations are stiff and lipsync lacks precision, the overall visual presentation holds together surprisingly well for a solo-developed AA project.
Final Thoughts
Final Fall isn’t polished. It isn’t kind. But it doesn’t need to be. It’s a game that plunges deep into the psychology of its protagonist, dragging the player down with her. Whether or not you make it out depends on more than just your reflexes—it depends on your willingness to understand pain, endure confusion, facing both the shadows and the truth within.
Additional Information
Release Date: May 14, 2025
Reviewed On: PC. Download code provided by the publisher and PR agency.
Developer: Emmanouil Kaparos Kaparakis
Publisher: Emmanouil Kaparos Kaparakis
Relevant Links: Final Fall on STEAM
