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Dementium: The Ward

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Dementium: The Ward
Developer(s)Renegade Kid
Publisher(s)Nintendo DS
Nintendo 3DS
Renegade Kid[6]
Switch, PS4, PS5
Atooi[5]
Director(s)Jools Watsham
Designer(s)Jools Watsham
Programmer(s)Bob Ives
Artist(s)Gregg Hargrove
Composer(s)Jools Watsham
Gareth Vilday
Platform(s)Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
ReleaseNintendo DS
Nintendo 3DS
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: October 12, 2023[5]
PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5
  • WW: April 19, 2024
Genre(s)Survival horror, first-person shooter
Mode(s)Single-player

Dementium: The Ward is a survival horror first-person shooter game developed by Renegade Kid for the Nintendo DS. The game was released in North America on October 31, 2007, published by Gamecock Media Group. After Renegade Kid gained back the rights to the title, an enhanced version of the game was announced under the title of Dementium Remastered for the Nintendo 3DS. The remastered version was released in North America on December 3, 2015, and Europe on February 11, 2016.

Gameplay

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In Dementium: The Ward, the player takes the role of William Redmoor, a man with amnesia, and has to venture through a hospital's rooms and hallways in order to find the exit and escape the establishment. The game uses a first-person view. In order to advance in the game, the player has to resolve puzzles and defeat monsters. At the beginning, William only has access to a nightstick that he can use to defend himself against enemies in addition to a flashlight. As the game progresses, he finds more weapons, such as a revolver.[7] The console's touch screen is used to move the character's vision, to change weapons and to interact with some nearby elements. It also displays the health bar and can show a map or the player's inventory.[8] In addition, the player is also equipped with a notebook in which they can jot down clues with the stylus.

Plot

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The protagonist, William Redmoor, wakes up in a medical ward with amnesia. Equipped with a flashlight, he discovers that the hospital he is in is abandoned and crawling with unspeakable creatures. As he makes his descent from the seventh floor, Redmoor collects more weapons in his effort to make progress.

Throughout the game, Redmoor discovers newspaper clippings and staff notes about a man who brutally murdered his wife, and that authorities believe that Redmoor is the killer. He also sees visions of his daughter Amanda running in the corridor as well as a man dressed in black who calls himself 'The Doctor.'

After battling his way through the derelict hospital, Redmoor encounters the Doctor in the basement, who possesses supernatural powers. Defeating him triggers an ending where Redmoor is seen reuniting with his wife and child in a well lit room. However, this appears to be only a dream as it immediately cuts to a scene where Redmoor is being lobotomised by the Doctor. The Doctor then concludes that the patient has successfully completed phase 1 and is now ready for phase 2.

Development and release

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Dementium: The Ward was originally planned as a Silent Hill game for the Nintendo DS, but Konami turned down Renegade Kid's pitch, causing the team to create an original game instead.[9]

Reception

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Dementium and Dementium Remastered received "mixed or average reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[27][28]

Craig Harris of IGN said that the visuals were "outstanding: the lighting effects and texture work in Dementium: The Ward are pretty special when you consider the Nintendo DS' capabilities." He also noted "the flashlight effect might not match what other developers have done on more powerful systems" but "it's a believable technique that's pulled off better than anything seen on same-level hardware."[7] Pete Sellers of Deeko was more positive, commenting on the DS version's many pros and few cons in a parody of The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe: "Visually, Dementium's divine and every facet is designed / To create a sense of ambience that offers frights galore. ... / If you've the guts to enduring gaming in which you do lots of playing / All the while softly praying, preying on some churlish horde, / Go out and buy this game now quickly! Preying on churlish horde / Within Dementium: The Ward!"[31] The DS version was criticized most prominently for its short length and lack of replayability; but also for its save system, and that most of the in-game enemies respawn on revisit, leaving a player short on items and ammunition and discouraging exploration.

In Japan, where the DS version was ported and published by Interchannel-Holon on June 26, 2008,[citation needed] Famitsu gave it a score of two eights, one six, and one eight, for a total of 30 out of 40.[14] On September 22, 2008, the Japanese Association of Psychiatric Hospitals published a protest against the DS version,[32] asking it to be taken off the shelves because "the game uses the tradition of psychiatry in name but uses imagery of attacking patients".[33]

The DS version sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide.[34]

Spiritual successor and remastered version

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Following the release of the sequel Dementium II, Renegade Kid lost the rights to the intellectual property due to licensing agreements with the publisher. The studio created a spiritual successor, Cult County, which it attempted to fund through a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter.[35] The campaign, started in 2014, failed to meet its funding goal of US$580,000.[36]

Renegade Kid regained the rights to Dementium in September 2014.[6] The studio released a remaster of the game, Dementium Remastered, in 2015 with enhancements including checkpoints and improved graphics.[37] Watsham later announced a remaster of Dementium II as well as the third entry in the series.[37] When Renegade Kid was dissolved in 2016, co-founder Gregg Hargrove retained the rights under his company Infitizmo.[38] Hargrove died from pancreatic cancer in 2018.[39] In April 2023, Watsham tweeted that his company Atooi had retained the rights to Dementium, hinting of potential sequels and ports.[40] On September 28, Atooi announced a port for the Nintendo Switch and it will be released on October 12 the same year,[5] with versions for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 releasing the following year on April 19, 2024.[41]

References

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  1. ^ East, Tom (April 9, 2009). "Win! DSi and Dementium". Official Nintendo Magazine. Archived from the original on March 14, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  2. ^ Bozon (2007-10-26). "Dementium: The Ward - Director Diary". IGN. Retrieved 2023-05-08.
  3. ^ Brian (November 26, 2015). "Dementium Remastered targeted for January/February release in Europe". Nintendo Everything. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  4. ^ James (November 19, 2015). "Dementium Remastered has a release date". Pure Nintendo Magazine. Retrieved December 3, 2015.
  5. ^ a b c Brian (September 28, 2023). "DS horror FPS Dementium: The Ward returning on Switch". Nintendo Everything.
  6. ^ a b McFerran, Damien (September 17, 2014). "Renegade Kid Now In A Position To Produce More Dementium Games". Nintendo Life. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  7. ^ a b c Harris, Craig (October 31, 2007). "Dementium: The Ward Review". IGN. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  8. ^ Logan (July 3, 2009). "Test du jeu Dementium : L'Asile sur DS" [Review of the game Dementium: The Ward on DS] (in French). Jeuxvideo.com. Retrieved October 2, 2018.
  9. ^ Campbell, Evan (April 27, 2015). "Dementium: The Ward Was Pitched to Konami as a Silent Hill DS Game". IGN. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  10. ^ Whitaker, Jed (December 2, 2015). "Review: Dementium Remastered". Destructoid. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  11. ^ Bennett, Colette (October 31, 2007). "Destructoid review: Dementium: The Ward". Destructoid. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  12. ^ Edge staff (May 2008). "Dementium: The Ward". Edge. No. 188. p. 99.
  13. ^ Reed, Kristan (April 10, 2009). "Dementium: The Ward". Eurogamer. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  14. ^ a b Brian (June 18, 2008). "Famitsu review scores". Nintendo Everything. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  15. ^ Vore, Bryan (December 2007). "Dementium: The Ward". Game Informer. No. 176. Archived from the original on January 9, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  16. ^ Melick, Todd (December 17, 2007). "Review: Dementium: The Ward". GamePro. Archived from the original on January 4, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  17. ^ Hudak, Chris (November 19, 2007). "Dementium: The Ward Review". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on September 10, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  18. ^ Anderson, Lark (November 6, 2007). "Dementium: The Ward Review". GameSpot. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  19. ^ Lewis, Cameron (November 5, 2007). "GameSpy: Dementium: The Ward". GameSpy. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  20. ^ Couture, Joel (November 29, 2015). "Review: Dementium Remastered". Nintendo Life. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  21. ^ Schreiner, Paul (July 12, 2009). "Review: Dementium: The Ward". Nintendo Life. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  22. ^ "Dementium: The Ward". Nintendo Power. Vol. 223. December 25, 2007. p. 84.
  23. ^ Miller, Zachary (December 2, 2015). "Dementium Remastered (3DS 3Shop) Review". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  24. ^ Miller, Zachary (January 17, 2008). "Dementium: The Ward". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  25. ^ Aranda, Ramon (November 20, 2007). "Dementium: The Ward (DS) Review". 411Mania. Archived from the original on November 21, 2007. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  26. ^ Dahlen, Chris (November 12, 2007). "Dementium: The Ward". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on November 15, 2007. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  27. ^ a b "Dementium Remastered for 3DS Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  28. ^ a b "Dementium: The Ward for DS Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  29. ^ "Best of 2007 (Best First Person Shooter)". IGN. Archived from the original on January 5, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  30. ^ "Best of 2007 (Best Graphics Technology)". IGN. Archived from the original on January 4, 2008. Retrieved January 4, 2008.
  31. ^ Sellers, Pete (November 6, 2007). "Dementium: The Ward - Review". Deeko. Archived from the original on November 9, 2007. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  32. ^ "Letter of Protest". Japanese Association of Psychiatric Hospitals. Archived from the original on October 8, 2008. Retrieved October 5, 2008.
  33. ^ Ellison, Blake (October 1, 2008). "Japan Psychiatric Association Wants Survival Horror DS Game Pulled". Shacknews. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  34. ^ Prell, Sophie (January 3, 2013). "Hackers claim to have gained entry to the 3DS - developers sound off on possible homebrew and piracy". Penny Arcade. Archived from the original on January 6, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
  35. ^ Matulef, Jeffrey (2 April 2014). "Renegade Kid launches Kickstarter for survival horror game Cult County". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  36. ^ Burleson, Kyle (3 May 2014). "Renegade Kid's Cult County Kickstarter project fails". Destructoid. Retrieved 16 September 2021.
  37. ^ a b McFerran, Damien (December 15, 2014). "Renegade Kid Is Bringing Survival Horror Title Dementium To The Nintendo 3DS". Nintendo Life. Retrieved December 15, 2014.
  38. ^ Watsham, Jools. "Unfortunately, that is very unlikely as Atooi does not own the rights to either game". Twitter.
  39. ^ Watsham, Jools. "It saddens me to share the news that we have lost a great friend. Gregg Hargrove passed away yesterday after a valiant battle with pancreatic cancer. The world is a better place because Gregg was in it. I will miss him dearly and cherish our friendship". Twitter. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  40. ^ Watsham, Jools. "I am ecstatic to announce that AtooiLLC now has the rights to create Dementium sequels (and ports)! EXCITE!!". Twitter. Retrieved 30 June 2023.
  41. ^ Ferdinand, Pam K. (April 18, 2024). "Classic Nintendo DS Horror Game Coming Soon to PS4 and PS5". Game Rant. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
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