There are no reasons why this game should be called Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. It's not an adaptation of the movie nor it's an adaptation of the novel by Boileau and Narcejac either (not that I've read more than a synopsis of The Living and the Dead, but only similarities are thematic in nature, if even that). The same can be said about the movie as well, the similarities are merely thematical, and that in itself seems like a very poor reason to license an IP. Of course, licensing the master director's name was most likely an attempt to sell more copies of this game. However, if you ask me, not even the stylistic leaning towards the master director seems like a necessary reason to license his name and profile image to the title. Not even the name Vertigo warrants a license, as there are several other games with the same name and I doubt it is a brand in itself.
So, if you are going into Vertigo thinking you'll see an adaptation of the movie starring James Stewart, you will be disappointed.
But, does the game manage to stand on its own feet then? Most of the time, yes. It does have its weaker parts and the story gets a bit convoluted towards the end, the very ending managing to leap proudly over the shark, kind of flattening what was shown before it. That said, it is an interesting enough game to warrant at least one play-through. Not that it has much gameplay, as Vertigo is first and foremost an interactive movie littered with some quick-time events in an attempt to inject at least a trifle of "gaming" into an otherwise story-heavy experience.
Depending on what you are looking for from a game, this lack of actual gameplay might be another strike for it. Personally, I don't see myself playing through Vertigo again, as there's really nothing much to play. And while the story was decent enough, it wasn't so good that I see myself picking it up again. If it was a movie, I'd give it a second go at some point, but as a game, it's not that gripping of an experience.
A writer Ed Miller wakes up on a dirt road, and his car has gone over a cliff. Then, in the haze, he sees his long-dead father standing on the edge of a bridge going over a deep ravine. He runs towards him, trying to stop the man from jumping, but he's there too late. Distraught, Ed steps on the edge, but just before he manages to jump, he's pulled back. Ed keeps sobbing, about how he has killed his girlfriend and baby daughter.
A bit later, dr. Loomis arrives to see Ed. She's a psychiatrist, hired to help Ed, who is now suffering from crippling vertigo, caused by the trauma. She also needs to find out, if Ed's girlfriend and daughter ever existed at all, or if it has all been just a figment of his imagination caused by deeper childhood trauma.
At the same time, Sheriff Reyes finds a murdered farmer. The traces of the killer seem to point toward Ed, so he too has an interest in finding out if the writer is pretending his condition or if he really did kill the old man for some reason.
The story that plays out is shown, and played, from the point of view of several people, including, but not limited to, Ed, Loomis, and Reyes. It goes through several timelines, jumping back and forth in time until it finally arrives at its conclusions, which you as the player have some effect over.
As I stated, the story is interesting enough, filled with twists and turns. Loomis is patiently sieving through Ed's memories, cutting through his dreams and false memories in order to find the truth of the matter. But, the story also is a bit uneven, and especially from the midpoint, it does feel like the writers wrote themselves into a corner from where a clean escape was more or less impossible, as they had laid so many twists on their path, that restructuring the narrative would have messed things even more. So, while the story is interesting, it's also a bit clumsy as well, at times becoming unintentionally funny.
The gameplay is nothing special. Vertigo is, through and through, in all things good and bad, an interactive movie. So, some quick time events, moving the controller in the right direction or pushing the right button when prompted. Simply put, it's not a game you play because of superb gameplay, you endure the gameplay for the story. And in that, Vertigo does succeed well enough to warrant a single playthrough.
You can get Alfred Hitchcock - Vertigo from GOG and Steam for PC. It's also available for consoles and I'd figure consoles would be exactly the right platform to play this on. Somehow, sitting on a sofa, staring at a big screen TV feels more appropriate for this than a PC.
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