1917 : The Prologue
Genres: Puzzle, Horror, Story Rich, Atmospheric
Play modes: singleplayer
Release Date: 5-11-2020
Rating: 3/5
Developer: Payara Games
Our verdict
6/10
- Difficulty: Medium
- Players: 1
- Playtime: 1–2 h
1917: The Prologue is a short first-person psychological horror game with escape room puzzles, set in Russia during the October Revolution. You enter a dark apartment block with no memory of who you are, light your way with matches, and solve chains of logic puzzles to piece your past back together. It suits solo players who like slow, narrated period stories more than scares.
With only seven Steam reviews, four positive, the evidence is thin. Players praise the period atmosphere, the sound design and moments like the moving wall pictures and gramophone in the third room. The puzzles get mixed reactions: some find them clever, others say there is too little direction and they ended up brute-forcing solutions. Tags point to choices and multiple endings.
The caveats are clear. Reviewers finished in under two hours, and the narration is in Russian with subtitles, while a short final section is not translated. Players also report broken achievements and some rough textures. As a prologue, it is best picked up at a steep discount by fans of narrative puzzle horror.
Pros
- Unusual 1917 Russian Revolution setting with strong atmosphere
- Match-lit exploration and a striking gramophone room
- Choices and multiple endings
Cons
- Under two hours, which reviewers feel is poor value at full price
- Final section not translated; achievements reported broken
- Puzzles can feel obscure, with little direction
About
1917 : The Prologue is a first-person narrative psychological horror with the elements of an escape room.
Outside the entrance door, which you have just entered, the rain is gloomily drumming on the umbrellas of rare passersby, and the wind roughly tears off the yellowed leaves from the trees, taking them away and throwing them on the ground. Just like many destinies and lives were thrown and broken in the fall of 1917 in Russia.
You climb up the crumbling stairs, and the only noise — the noise of your steps — echoes along the entrance, betraying your presence. Now you have a door in front of you, dimly lit by the timidly quivering fire of a match. But what is this door? Why are you here? Who are you anyway? Do you remember? No? You have only one way to find this out.
