Bedlam (2015 video game)

Bedlam is a first-person shooter game developed by British studio RedBedlam and published by Standfast Interactive. It was released on October 13, 2015 for PlayStation 4 and October 16, 2015 for Xbox One. Based on the novel Bedlam by Christopher Brookmyre, it follows an ordinary Scottish woman named Heather Quinn who is trapped inside the body of a video game character in a fictional 90's FPS title, Starfire, which is similar to Quake, in addition to other game homages.

The game received mixed to negative reviews from critics, who praised its comedic writing but criticized its lackluster gameplay and high amount of bugs.

Plot
The game follows an ordinary woman named Heather Quinn, a.k.a. Athena, who is transported into the world of a fictional first-person shooter called Starfire. The game later features other homages, like Death or Glory, inspired by Medal of Honor, and Planetfire, inspired by Halo. A force known as the Corruption is destroying game worlds and the player must escape it and try to stop a villainous organization known as the Integrity.

Gameplay
The game plays in a similar manner to a 90's first person shooter, prioritizing constant movement and dodging rather than the use of a cover system.

Development
The game was created as a tie-in with the novel, Bedlam, featuring a similar concept of a person being transported inside a video game. It was intended as the first game in a trilogy of both novels and games.

The release of the game forced another game called Bedlam to change its name to Skyshine's Bedlam.

Reception
Bedlam received mixed to negative reviews, with an aggregate score of 53/100 on Metacritic for the PlayStation 4 version.

Ben Tyrer of GamesRadar+ rated the game 3/5, calling its world and story "immensely likeable", and its protagonist "one of the most engaging I've witnessed in some time", but noting the amount of "technical and gameplay issues", including "major glitches" that caused important story elements to be skipped and disrupted gameplay. He called the game's shooting mechanics "bland", criticizing slow character control despite the "blindingly fast" movement and weak-feeling guns.

Jaz Rignall of USGamer rated the game 50/100, saying that while the game's concept was "absolutely brilliant", it failed in the execution, having "stiff, unforgiving gameplay" such as "finicky aiming and shooting", "punishing checkpoints" and "awkward difficulty spikes". He noted that it seemed like the developer "bit off more than it could chew". Sammy Barker of Push Square rated it 4/10, saying that the biggest problem with the game is that "you'll wish it was so much better", praising its "razor-sharp commentary" and "fascinating plot" but saying that its "rotten first-person shooter" gameplay did not do it justice, and comparing the guns to "a spud gun loaded with mud".