The Alien Cube
The Alien Cube
Game
Game2017
The Land of Pain
Developer Alessandro Guzzo
Something strange appears in the woods. Lost in a dark and unknown place, survive an unrelenting enemy, solve puzzles, and uncover the ancient mystery that’s befallen this land in this Lovecraftian Cosmic Horror adventure. From the Steam store page
194 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Oct 31, 2026 · last updated Nov 4, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
72
Fresh
134 positive · 51 negative
95% range 66–78%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 134 | 51 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 1 | 1 | 7 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
308 of 429 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
72% recommend · 134 yes, 52 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 186 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mostly Positive (597 of 799 positive).
Players praise the game's atmosphere, visuals, and Lovecraftian horror. [1][2][3] Some criticize excessive backtracking and frustrating chase sequences. [4][5][6] Many find it a decent walking simulator with a compelling story. [7][8][9]
Liked
Representative posts
- [5]
Could have been an interesting indie horror game. Unfortunately to pad out the playtime the dev sticks in lots of stupid chase scenes where you're followed by a monster that kills you upon touch and you have no idea where you're supposed to be running to and then get stuck in a dead-end. After the 5th or 6th one of these I just got fed up and uninstalled.
- [1]
Very good game but it lacks couple small things to it such as voice acting, it would be way better if the character was talking and reading notes. And I would like if the game had achievements. But besides this everything was pretty decent, very good graphics with an amazing aesthetic ( that was my favorite thing about this game, the way everything looks, very very beautiful landscapes ). The game has scary …
- [4]
I give this game a neutral review. Pros: - runs smoothly on Steam Deck - there is some lore; you'll get a gist by reading notes scattered around the game's world. - Amnesia Dark Decent vibes - Cthulhu! - eery atmosphere and sound effects Cons: - huge, HUGE map. A lot of backtracking. - 0% puzzles content. It's just backtracking: back and forth, fetch smth and bring it back. - enemy can be outrun just by W-shifting, …
- [3]
Just finished The Land of Pain and wow… this game nails atmosphere-driven horror. No cheap jump scares, just pure isolation and dread. The forest, caves, and ruins all look incredible, but it’s the sound design that gets you—every creak and whisper makes you paranoid. It’s slow-paced, but that’s what makes it work. You’re alone, no weapons, no help, just running and trying to survive whatever’s stalking you. If you …
- [2]
I really enjoyed this game and can't wait to play the other games in this series. The story was pretty interesting, even when you are not into Lovecraft that much. The graphics also looked pretty nice and the best part were the sound effects and atmosphere. Cryengine might be dated but it runs flawlessly. Gameplay wise, there wasn't that much to do but it was enough to keep you invested. There were chase sequences …
Summarised from 34 of the 197 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
The Land of Pain sits at 72% positive across 185 opinionated reactions from 2 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Reactions
60 of 194 · most liked firstCould have been an interesting indie horror game. Unfortunately to pad out the playtime the dev sticks in lots of stupid chase scenes where you're followed by a monster that kills you upon touch and you have no idea where you're supposed to be running to and then get stuck in a dead-end. After the 5th or 6th one of these I just got fed up and uninstalled.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Such a poorly made horror game. Right of the bat, I was greeted by an ever-present mouse cursor that never hides. The game fails to build up any atmosphere, all you get is occasional royalty free sound effects that I assume are supposed to make you scared, boring story and long stretches of road with nothing to explore around. Half the time you don't even get any hints where you should go next or what to do.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pain is always new to the sufferer, but loses its originality for those around him.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The biggest issue with this one is that all the points of interest are too far apart resulting in overlong periods of nothing. Just getting to your cabin in the opening of the game itself is an exercise in tedium, and every area is like this. It all ends up feeling like filler, because that's likely what it is. A means to pad the runtime so it's longer than 2 hours so people won't refund. It's not even like a slow, long build towards something can't work well. But here you just end up…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →⚗️The Apothecary will open tonight at 7pm EDT/4pm PDT! Since Veilguard is going to eat our Halloween proper, we're going to do the requisite spooky game tonight. Join me for the Lovecraftian survival horror game, The Land of Pain! Come enjoy watching me be scared... #vtuber #horror
neutral · AI labelView post →Too much back and forth walking, and not enough event triggers to justify it. It's the SH 2 intro walk into town on repeat, with rapidly declining graphical novelty and an increase in screen fog due to smoke demons.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For a game developed by one person it looks pretty gorgeous. Especially the forests and other nature scenes look great. Sadly for me that was the only positive thing about the game. The "puzzles" consist of randomly picking up objects you need to open the next door, or to interact with an object that will lead you into the next area. The game had a few scares here and there, but the atmosphere never got intense enough to draw me in. I have 0 connection to the character I am playing, which…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For a game called "Land of Pain" you would think it was about gore or masochism right? Actually ironically I think "Pain" is a reference to the painful game elements. Firstly, I cant believe that for once I would had preferred jump scares over the annoying use of an enemy that instant kills you, hes not scary at all and will simply spawn in front of you and force you to reload save, his only purpose is to delay your progress. Thankfully, the game saves pretty often so you wont be loosing…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not scary, not interesting, boring, dropped...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cannot re-bind controls.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →IF HEAD BOB MAKES YOU SICK: Do not buy. Running has terrible swaying. I got a headache instantly and there is no way to turn it off. Unable to continue game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you like walking back and forth a lot in an environment that most of the time looks like it's just 2 stretched pixels then, oh boy, you're gonna be enchanted. Story is nothing much, should've just read more Lovecraft than wasting my time on this. But since I'm not getting back the precious time I lost finding locked doors, going farther on the map to find a key (while finding another thing to open), going back to unlock the door and so on and on on... I might as well complain like the woman…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Visually Beautiful. Even for a "Walking Sim" or "Narrative Experience" Horror game, this one lacks a lot. The Narrative is weak at best. And you do A LOT of walking back and forth down a path to open things. To get to a new way where you walk back and forth to open things. I can't recommend you play this, even as someone who plays a TON of this style of Horror game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very good game but it lacks couple small things to it such as voice acting, it would be way better if the character was talking and reading notes. And I would like if the game had achievements. But besides this everything was pretty decent, very good graphics with an amazing aesthetic ( that was my favorite thing about this game, the way everything looks, very very beautiful landscapes ). The game has scary atmosphere without jump scares and with a good soundtrack in the background that helps…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I recommend the other Lovecraftian game from the devs: The Alien Cube. Main problem of The Land of Pain: 1.Bad hint (lacking of proper update) 2.The puzzle is not hard, finding the item is (long walking distance/ hard to see item). The Alien Cube and The Land of Pain have similar settings: both start in magnificent forest and venture supernatural stuff and power, full of mystery and require some puzzle solving. However, The Alien Cube has richer content, a more complete story, acceptable…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Land of pain started off kinda cool and i am sad at how quickly that wore off. There is a ton of backtracking to do, weird things to fetch in order to get stuff done and eventaully some sort of monster kept spawning (you can outrun it but it's so unnecessary). The atmosphere in this game is really well done and i enjoyed it a lot but the monster didn't really add more horror for me and was more of an annoyance. I also had to look up a video guide because at some point i just didn't know…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Atmosphere, visuals, and overall story are amazing. They really captured the feeling of some of these environments. Unfortunately between the sub par/non-existent enemies, backtracking, and sometimes extremely confusing progression; this one missed the mark for me. A walkthrough was needed for me because sometimes I felt like the game expected me to know what to do when there was no context on what to do next. Or when I knew what to do next the game wouldn't let me do it until I had picked up…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lovely visuals, seamless traversal, and smooth gameplay characterize this title. However, encountering a crash upon toggling windows disrupts the immersion. The narrative lacks depth, There is only one jump scare. While the game shows promise, it feels incomplete, akin to a solid framework awaiting embellishment. At its discounted price of $2.75, it doesn't feel too bad with its 4.5-6 hours of gameplay. The captivating art style and intriguing world draw players in, but extensive backtracking…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Although the sound design, visuals and story(so far) are great, the game is just the same objective repeating over and over again: ''This door is locked go back to where you came from and find a solution(key).'' There isn't even a puzzle just run until you find stuff. Wish they had just removed the whole puzzle aspect of the game and made a walking sim with a good narration.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Land of Pain is a game by indie game horror developer Alessandro Guzzo, whose only other game I've heard of is the spiritual sequel to this game called: The Alien Cube. I didn't know much going into this, I wishlisted it a long time ago because I'm a sucker for Lovecraftian Horror, then unwishlisted it because I lost interest; then my boy Melon played it and so I decided to give it another wishlist until ANOTHER friend of mine (Shoutout to Demenza's Gate, plug here:…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a game that left me nothing. It's a very short experience and yet it's filled with padding, mainly walking long distances to go from point A to B, with some "puzzles" even designed so you have to go back and forth. The puzzles are pretty intuitive and even enjoyable at first. Story may feel interesting at first, but the more you get towards the end, the more it feels random. The horror elements are a mixed bag: through sound design and lighting, the game overall feels immersive, but…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really enjoyed this game and can't wait to play the other games in this series. The story was pretty interesting, even when you are not into Lovecraft that much. The graphics also looked pretty nice and the best part were the sound effects and atmosphere. Cryengine might be dated but it runs flawlessly. Gameplay wise, there wasn't that much to do but it was enough to keep you invested. There were chase sequences where you had to hide or outrun a creature. You also had to read notes to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly it's a decent game. Bit of a walking sim, fetch questy / back tracking type horror without any real scary stuff. But the story is appealing enough to get through it in one sitting. Best part. Half way through the game, while stranded on an alien earth like planet, you just break into a house .. and just .. casually take a dump on the toilet. 10/10 .. would poop on planet Cthulhu again.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hopping on Twitch to play another horror game. This time it's The Alien Cube, sequel to The Land of Pain. I'm expecting a lot of Eldritch spoops! www.twitch.tv/possiblyrhodri
neutral · AI labelView post →Come watch me play The Land of Pain by Alessandro Guzzo. It's always time for a good Lovecraftian horror and it makes me happy that there are so many! 😃 #indiegame #indiegaming #lovecraftian #letsplay youtu.be/Tnk7uGf1XEg
neutral · AI labelView post →Good walking sim with atmosphere and story. Wouldn't say I recommend it, but ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ on it would be a sin.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Only if you have played this game with a controller will you know the true horror!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I give this game a neutral review. Pros: - runs smoothly on Steam Deck - there is some lore; you'll get a gist by reading notes scattered around the game's world. - Amnesia Dark Decent vibes - Cthulhu! - eery atmosphere and sound effects Cons: - huge, HUGE map. A lot of backtracking. - 0% puzzles content. It's just backtracking: back and forth, fetch smth and bring it back. - enemy can be outrun just by W-shifting, no stealth is needed. - basically it's just a walking simulator, not much…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pros -Nice atmosphere -Good Graphics -Story not bad -Walking simulator Cons -Can get lost (Help!)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played The Alien Cube first and then this game. I like both, but The Land of Pain has more walking parts and is too dark at some points. It's definitive worth to play. And it's nice to see the improvement of the devs =)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Land of Pain (AKA this Door is locked) You will traverse the world of locked doors, Cthulhu has beaten you again with his incredible power of locked doors, you will click and click and click but... they are locked.. look for a key you idiot (you shout) but few appear... I continue to run in my walking simulator becuase I will be damned if the next door is locked before I get there. Doors till I fall asleep.. and fall asleep this game make me
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Boring, tiring, not scary. Just a plain walking simulator and you wander back and forth, if the enemy spawns in you're basically dead because it 1-shots you. Honestly just stopped caring about the story and wanted to finish it instead.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Okay, I hate to thumbs down. But MY GOD there is just one tiny single little thing making this game completely unplayable for me. The environment is *gorgeous*, the story is very intriguing, the mechanics are fun to me, I enjoy the problem solving. I do NOT enjoy that the dev claims you can "hide", because no, you cant'. I've respawned like 8 times now at the same spot, during the first encounter with the "entity" which can always spot you and chase you forever. I've tried other routes, I've…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you love ALL things Lovecraft then yeah, you'll enjoy it. As a casual experience, the ride just isn't worth the time.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Perhaps it is my fault for coming to this game looking for a Narrative Adventure experience. This has the Walking Simulator and Exploration tags, and I am a big fan of Lovecraftian cosmic horror stories, so I really wanted to like this one. Unfortunately, the narrative adventure elements are sparse and fairly weak. This is absolutely a survival horror game akin to Amnesia. I found The Land of Pain overall just unpleasant to play. The actual narrative is extremely minimal. The environments are…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I did enjoy this game and spent the time to look into little nooks and crannies and such along the way. This game came out almost a decade ago, and is apparently the developers first game, so with that in mind this is very well executed! Positives: The story was interesting and doesn't ask you to know a whole lot about Lovecraftian Horror to understand it. I found myself trying to piece the puzzle together and used the little exposition at the end of the game to make sense of it all, which was…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Finished a pretty crappy Cosmic Horror Indie game called "The Land of Pain" Every point of interest in this game is about 7 miles apart so you just end up sprinting...EVERYWHERE. which ultimately destroys any sense of tension or fear the game might have had. Looks ok though thanks to Cryengine.
negative · AI labelView post →Just finished The Land of Pain and wow… this game nails atmosphere-driven horror. No cheap jump scares, just pure isolation and dread. The forest, caves, and ruins all look incredible, but it’s the sound design that gets you—every creak and whisper makes you paranoid. It’s slow-paced, but that’s what makes it work. You’re alone, no weapons, no help, just running and trying to survive whatever’s stalking you. If you like Lovecraft-style horror that sticks with you after you quit, this one’s a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played like three hours, then pressed Start then exit and got back to the main menu, pressed down, down, down to the Exit, except it skipped over it and went to the top where it said New Game. Guess what happened Games actually great. Great choice with the CryEngine. This is a standard but good game where you are mostly outdoors. It is more atmospheric and beautiful than most Indie-Horror games I have played. So I guess it deserves a thumbs up!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →wow. gameplay can be frustrating, but the atmosphere is killer and there is a payoff. i wasn't sure about this game until the ending, but glad i stuck it out. definitely worth the ~4 hours if you're down to chthown
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just finished this as its been setting in my backlog for a good minute. Next is the Alien Cube which i believe is the sequel to this? This has a dark and creepy story to it and as you go you unlock the secrets and backstory to what the hell is going on. "Land of Pain" is a first-person psychological horror game that effectively blends the eerie atmosphere with a haunting narrative. Set in a mysterious world, the game focuses on exploration and puzzle-solving, immersing players in an unsettling…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a good Lovecraftian thriller/horror. It's set mostly in eerie forests, industrial ruins and caves. The plot is easy to follow and compelling and it was fun to play it throughout the game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you like Lovecraft, you have to play this game! This isn't going to be a 40 hour campaign that full of cheap gimmicks and thrills. Instead, its about a 2-3 hour experience of tension. Not a single moment, past the opening, did I feel safe. I have read some complaints about the game just being a "point" click adventure, and while there is some merit to that criticism- I don't think it bogs down the game too harshly. Not to mention that the game is beautifully designed by (what I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What an amazing game!! The story is rich and really truely captivating. The level design is quite beautiful. The sound ambiance in this game is a masterpiece. Some puzzles require a bit of traveling back and forth, but overall it was a pleasure to play this game. I played the sequel to this great game : The Alien Cube. I finished it as well and it was a blast to play as well. I really hope the Author is making another sequel to this series!!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No complicated issues juggling with inventories, weapons etc. The game is mostly atmospheric and all that's needed is to walk, occasionally run, keep a low profile and observe. Whatever is needed for a puzzle is normally in plain sight and the puzzles are easy. This game is about immersing yourself in a weird version of Earth. Just sit back, do the minimum and enjoy...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's really short and boring. The entire thing is on rails. There's no variability in the gameplay even slightly from what I can tell. Only one ending, and the ending is meh. Just walk back and forth over and over to get random items that open the one direction forward. Collect an iron bar to open a stuck door, collect a bucket to get some gas for a boat, collect some oil to open a rusty hinge, etc. That's the whole game. It's also pretty buggy. Crashes any time it's minimized.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →THE LAND OF PAIN First game by developer Alessandro Guzzo, I was more or so invested in the game and it was mostly enjoyable throughout the whole playthrough. The Lovecraftian story was engaging, the mystery of exploration and the creepiness of the adventure while avoiding that monster! Yeah... that one annoying and irritating entity that chases you around and doesn't let go! What's most annoying is if you are chased, you can forego any secrets that could be scattered around and that is such a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Madd Vladd brought me here xD - Despite the age of the game, the game looks great and the atmosphere is next level.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Jank simulator where nothing really happens
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I am sorry for giving this game a thumbs down, since it’s made by a solo dev (from the credits, the only other ppl listed worked on translation/proof-reading), and I give kudos to the dev. But the problem is that the game is tedious, mainly because of puzzles requiring you to go and back forward a lot. And calling them puzzles is a stretch since all require finding item A and get it to point B, that’s it, there was one where you gotta adjust pressure in pipes but that’s as complex as it will…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Reading a book is scarier than this walking simulator cuz you at least wont fall asleep reading, its just holding w to go forward with shift i got this game for free and i feel like i wasted my money here
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Land of Pain, developed and published by Alessandro Guzzo, is a first-person psychological horror adventure that embraces cosmic horror themes through atmosphere, exploration, and slow-building tension. Rather than following traditional survival horror formulas built around combat and resource management, the game focuses heavily on isolation, environmental storytelling, and the unsettling fear of confronting forces beyond human understanding. Inspired by classic Lovecraftian horror…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Had The Alien Cube on my wishlist for a while. Finally got it and then found out this was the prequel so decided to play this first. Pretty simple walking simulator with fetch quests while you unravel what's going on from reading notes and observation. The visuals are fantastic. The CryEngine really shines here. That together with the excellent use of sound really immerse you into a sense of dread and fascination. Level design is great too, with impressive attention to detail. Quite an…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For a first game it's pretty good. I'm not usually one for these run and hide types of horror games, but my thirst for Lovecraftian media pulled me to it, and I'm glad I played it. Short, though a little repetitive, and sometimes the enemy can be in some truly bad places, honestly. At least the checkpoints are very generous which made up for that. Not bad.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In this game, everything is nineteen miles away from the next thing you need and you need to run back and fourth like an idiot. Terrible. It is pretty tho. But just rly bad.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hey xD Welcome in my "land of reviews". Kidding. What are you going to look at or maybe play, is the first game in a row. Cosmic horror line with 2 and soon 3 games. With Lovecraftian ideas about another realities, huge monsters, madness and inevitability of doom, if all this got on your way ;) Mostly, it was OK, not too cool and not too bad. I didn't have troubles with the game, but it wasn't entertaining. The second game is better, but not a lot. https://youtu.be/rx_S5srQfJ4
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You walk, sometimes back, and sometimes away from fish man. Kinda goofy, kinda scary, but nothing crazy. Reminds me of modded skyrim and plays 3 amnesia soundtracks over each other. Rating: "Oops, I just missed it"/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unbeatable atmosphere. The sound architecture, the immersive environments, the jump scares, and the overall sense of dread are top tier. Amazing that this game was made by one person.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →⭐️⭐️⭐️ Mediocre Just another cliché Cthulu story-driven game. You like Tentacles? You like eerie atmosphere and very little jumpscares but a mediocre story? Play this.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →⚗️The Apothecary is open! Please come save me...I am very shmol and scared. We're venturing off to The Land of Pain...Since when did they make a video game about my parent's house??? 🧪 www.twitch.tv/drdoriancrane 🧪 #vtuber #horror
neutral · AI labelView post →
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