Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo Review: Does It Live Up To Hitchcock’s Legacy?

I’m a huge fan of the work of Alfred Hitchcock. While his films aren’t all great, they all feel like the distinctive work of an artist with something to say. Whether he was making blockbusters, gothic horror, romance, or the suspense films he so often is remembered for, you could always feel his view from behind the camera lens. While Vertigo isn’t my personal favorite of his work, it’s the one that is often called out as among the best films ever made, and not without good reason. It’s a film featuring startling levels of insight into paranoia, guilt, and trauma. There’s a reason it wasn’t a big success on its initial release. Vertigo is a challenging film that wasn’t at all what audiences expected from Hitchcock in 1958.

The idea of creating a video game around these themes is fascinating, even if it’s far from the first Hitchcock film I would have chosen to adapt. I was actually more intrigued, not less, when I found out that Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo isn’t an adaptation of that film or even of the same story. It’s actually an original story, inspired by his work, with Vertigo simply acting as the film that most directly influences its plot.

Being intrigued by a game and actually liking it, though, are two different things, and in truth, Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (the game, not the movie, something which a slightly more distinctive title would make less confusing) is a mess of a game and a story. While there is clear inspiration from the films and filmmaking of Hitchcock, they’re mere homages with little of the director’s depth and themes being effectively captured.

A Lost Past

While you play as a variety of characters, the story of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo centers on Ed Miller. A writer seemingly living alone, he survives a car crash that leaves him on the side of the road staring down an embankment his car has flown over. That’s bad enough before he starts telling anyone who will listen that his wife and daughter were in the car, in events that clearly mirror his own past, despite the fact that there’s no record that he had a wife or daughter. With Ed unable to trust his own mind, he develops a case of vertigo that seemingly prevents him from even standing.

Other characters get involved, including Dr. Lomas, who is called in to help analyze Ed and figure out what is going on in his mind. Sheriff Reyes is another major character you’ll get to meet, as he begins to suspect that Ed might have a connection to another crime committed in the community against a couple Ed was friendly with. Various plotlines come together and bounce off each other in ways which are unexpected and which can offer some real thrills. Some of the late-game twists are pure nonsense, though, and the story and character development here don’t sell me on them as logical ways for things to go. One sequence, in particular, asks players to make a choice involving assault that quite frankly feels indefensible, particularly when there’s no way to progress the game without taking it.

Struggling For Identity

In terms of playing the game, this is a very standard adventure game with clear similarities to narrative titles like those Telltale is most known for. There’s a very limited amount of puzzle-solving involved, you mostly just walk around and select distinctly labeled items in the environment. Sometimes you’ll be asked to press a button or move the stick a specific way to simulate some sort of action your character is taking, but you can’t fail these moments, and they’re far from immersive. It mostly just feels like busy work.

My favorite parts of the game were Ed’s therapy sessions with Dr. Lomas. She works him back through his childhood trauma that, feels like it has a direct connection to what’s happening in the present, and these sequences are mostly well done. Scrubbing back and forth through footage, revisiting scenes with additional context to find some of the details from your last time through were false memories, they seem to capture some of the feel of faded memory in a way which is mostly effective. Some of these went on a bit too long, but they work.

Mere Homage

While the work of Hitchcock is constantly centered, whether it be with story beats inspired by his work, or camera shots similar to those he used, or little Easter eggs for players to find in the environment, it doesn’t feel like the developers have as strong a feel for the subtext of his films as they do for the text. None of the emotional depth or complexity of Vertigo is here. Most of the nods feel unnecessary. Yes, I understood that moment was a nod to Psycho, but what does it bring to this project? Even if it wasn’t a great homage, it could still be a great game on its own terms, but while the story beats are interesting at times, nothing comes together.

If I had someone to root for, it might be easier to recommend Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Ed is terribly unlikable, though. He’s dealt with a lot of trauma, and some of that is understandable, but there’s no character who actually grabbed my attention or anyone for me to want to see succeed. Some art thrives on that specifically, but it doesn’t feel like this is necessarily intentional, and it’s certainly never anything the game uses to its advantage.

Conclusion

At times the story of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo can be interesting, but it never fully comes together. Succeeding neither as an homage to a great director’s work or on its own terms, it might be better served if it didn’t have the expectations its name provides, but that wouldn’t make it a great game. There are simply better adventure games more worth your time available this year.

Final Verdict: 2/5

Available on: Xbox Series X (Reviewed), Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PS5, PS4, Switch, PC; Publisher:  Microids; Developer: Pendulo Studios; Players: 1; Released: September 26th, 2022; ESRB: M for Mature; MSRP: $39.99

Full disclosure: This review is based on a copy of Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo provided by the publisher.