FAITH: The Unholy Trinity (Nintendo Switch) Review

FAITH: The Unholy Trinity is an example of what I always hoped the indie scene would look like: short, memorable games that demonstrate you can have the same impact as AA or AAA games through smart design, rather than massive budgets and bloated length. Across three chapters, it tells a story of courage and redemption in the face of evil, as young priest John Ward deals with the aftermath of a failed exorcism – and it does so while emulating the gameplay and audiovisual limitations of Atari 2600 or 5200 8-bit consoles.

To be clear up front, you have to buy into that premise to enjoy FAITH: The Unholy Trinity. Aside from checkpoints and its storytelling ambitions, you’ll find few modern niceties. It plays out screen-by-screen, with the controls limited to moving in the cardinal directions and a button to raise John’s crucifix; restrictions that don’t always apply to the spirits or demons you’ll encounter. This means battles are often won through observation and pattern recognition, reactive but precise movement, and trying to line up John up to inflict as much damage using his crucifix as quickly you can. The shorter the battle, the less likely you’ll slip up and die to a single hit.

There are also plenty of puzzles or puzzle-like encounters – including some truly convoluted interactions if you want to see all the endings – which forces you to keep an eye out for environmental clues and read the many notes scattered throughout each area. You can review notes at any time, and it was never too difficult to progress, but unlocking secret boss encounters and ending variations can require a lot of backtracking that highlights the slow movement speed. Mercifully, checkpoint placement has been tweaked since the PC launch – including several placed between boss phases – and demon patterns are a little less random. As a result, sudden or repeated deaths are less frustrating, and the narrative flow is smoother.

It’s a much-needed change as, given the limited gameplay complexity, the biggest draw is the unravelling narrative and your investment in the fate of the small cast. Despite Airdorf Games’ self-imposed technical limitations, FAITH: The Unholy Trinity does a lot with very little, and with considerable style. The writing is excellent; there are frequent, horrifying rotoscope-style cutscenes; there are simple but unsettling melodies that generate atmosphere; and the distorted, low-bitrate voice work feels both authentic and adds to the terror when confronted by a demon.

FAITH: The Unholy Trinity was originally released as three discrete chapters that were bundled together for this release. Each subsequent chapter is longer and more complex than the last, as John explores the house and surrounding woods where his first exorcism went wrong; investigates cult activity around an abandoned church and the catacombs beneath, battling alongside a fellow priest; and he finally attempts to stop the “Profane Sabbath” ritual ushering in the end of the world, across three locations over three days, finally discovering who or what the mysterious Gary is. It’s worth noting the second and third chapters define the canon endings for the prior ones, but the sprawling third chapter is the pay-off, with six potential boss encounters and four ending variants.

The last thing to touch on is how it runs and plays on Nintendo Switch and, as you might expect, there are no issues. It runs smoothly, loads quickly, looks great on an OLED model display, and the simple gameplay works perfectly even with standard Joy-Cons – controllers I normally despise using. On Nintendo Switch, you’re getting a version identical to those playing on a Steam Deck or handheld PC.

As such, my conclusions haven’t changed much since 2022. If you can’t stomach the thought of relatively authentic Atari-era gameplay, steer clear. If, however, you enjoy retro-styled indie games that push the storytelling far beyond what past developers would have thought possible, FAITH: The Unholy Trinity is a fantastic choice and, with several quality-of-life changes since the PC release, it’s even easier to recommend now.

FAITH: The Unholy Trinity was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a code provided to gameblur by the publisher. It is also available on PC.