Dementium: The Ward is no stranger to being ported, having seen multiple re-releases and remasters since its original launch on the Nintendo DS. The first major update was the Nintendo 3DS version, released in North America on December 3, 2015, and in Europe in February 2016. This conversion featured improved visuals, circle pad controls for fluent FPS gameplay, and a cool 3D effect while preserving the original’s tense atmosphere. In 2023, the Nintendo Switch port improved resolution and enhanced controls using the Joy-Cons, making it one of the most polished versions at that time. Now on PlayStation 5, there’s an opportunity to enhance higher fidelity visuals, 4K support, and screen filters. They say the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again while expecting different results. Just how insane is Dementium: The Ward?
By now, everyone should be familiar with Dementium‘s set-up. A naked and confused amnesiac in a smock wakes up in a hellish hospital ward. He has visions of a surgeon clad in black leather, and everywhere he looks, there are hints that the protagonist isn’t what he seems, and he probably killed his wife. In broad strokes, Dementium: The Ward follows the same plot as Silent Hill 2. It seems that this was initially pitched as a Silent Hill game. However, the developers made the right decision to create something more original, which, while somewhat cliché, has its own distinct flavour.
Dementium: The Ward takes place almost entirely within the decaying Redmoor Hospital, characterised by bloodstained walls, flickering fluorescent lights, rusted equipment, and seemingly endless dimly lit corridors. The visual style is intentionally bleak and unsettling, using muted, desaturated colours accented by stark reds and cold greys to heighten feelings of isolation. The monster designs are grotesque and nightmarish, featuring distorted humanoids, crawling abominations, screaming heads, and other mutated horrors that look less like something out of Silent Hill and more like they came from the mind of Clive Barker and Sam Raimi’s lovechild. They’re extreme and exaggerated, almost like something out of the Splatterhouse games.
As expected, Dementium on PlayStation 5 hasn’t gotten much of a graphical boost. The enemies have angular, low-polygon models, yet their twisted forms and erratic movements remain effectively creepy. Dynamic lighting and the iconic flashlight mechanic play a central role in the visual identity of the game: swinging the light beam creates shifting shadows, reveals hidden details, and momentarily blinds or repels certain creatures, making darkness itself a constant threat.
On the Nintendo DS and 3DS, Dementium was a big deal since there were so few horror games on those consoles. The novelty isn’t as impressive on Nintendo Switch, and especially PlayStation 5. When games have options like Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Alien Isolation, Silent Hill, Soma, and several Fatal Frame titles, something like Dementium seems utterly quaint in comparison.
The gameplay is standard first-person shooting with a strong emphasis on atmosphere and strict caps on ammo. Cycling through weapons is still a hassle, but the controls are as tight and twitchy as ever. At times, it can be genuinely creepy. Scary, even. The few puzzles present are more Resident Evil-level than anything that might push players to think. Dementium, even on PlayStation 5, remains enjoyable to play, and even veterans who have grown tired of it might still appreciate it, as the game has a comforting, worn sock appeal.
There isn’t much more blood that can be extracted from this game. It’s already a simplistic first-person horror game with little replay value that can be beaten in a day. The visuals look as good as they can get, and 4K image quality yields diminishing returns. The frame rate is still 60fps, as it always was ever since the original release on the Nintendo DS in 2007. Unless the developers completely reimagine and remake the game, there isn’t much more that can be done with Dementium.
