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Condemned: Criminal Origins
What twists the mind of an ordinary human into a serial killer?
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-08-31 · quoted reviews as of 2026-05-12.
What reviewers agree on
23 of the 68 reviews raise this.
“Graphics still hold up in 2026. Shame you can't buy it anymore! Boo! Melee combat is satisfying (if a little frustrating at times). Made me fly out of my seats a few times too, especially the mall section... 8/10.”
“Kinda janky and goofy as ♥♥♥♥. Great combat despite the jank.”
“I think this is a very interesting and grabbing story telling kinda game. the gameplay is pretty good (albeit kinda clunky at some points) and it really shows the passion that games (especially horror games) used to…”
22 of the 68 reviews raise this.
“Condemned: Criminal Origins feels like a bad habit you can’t drop. Cold halls, flickering lights, something moving just out of sight — you don’t walk through this game, you drag yourself through it. Every fight is up…”
“Graphics still hold up in 2026. Shame you can't buy it anymore! Boo! Melee combat is satisfying (if a little frustrating at times). Made me fly out of my seats a few times too, especially the mall section... 8/10.”
“One of the issues playing a game that is 20 years old is how the genre has evolved since then. This can taint perspective; after all, the game mechanics are clunky, the story feels shallow, and the jump scares don't…”
7 of the 68 reviews raise this.
“I think this is a very interesting and grabbing story telling kinda game. the gameplay is pretty good (albeit kinda clunky at some points) and it really shows the passion that games (especially horror games) used to…”
“A great horror game with creepy atmosphere and combat with extremely impressive enemy AI. Story also starts off strong but get bogged down later on with plot inconsistences(Much like F.E.A.R) but not as bad.”
“A very good survival horror experience with a very well made atmosphere (reminded me a lot of Cry Of Fear). The phorensics mechanics are something you don't see very often in a game and the story is pretty interesting…”
3 of the 68 reviews raise this.
“While introducing some cool ideas, its a nightmare to play (and not intentionally)! The Story is fine as its pretty much a run of the mill you've been framed and got to find the true bad guy. I do appreciate that there…”
“An excellent first-person horror game with a BRUTAL melee combat system that few games have managed to achieve. The atmosphere is incredibly unsettling and oppressive, mainly thanks to its excellent sound design.…”
12 of the 68 reviews raise this · 9 of them still recommend the game.
“Condemned: Criminal Origins feels like a bad habit you can’t drop. Cold halls, flickering lights, something moving just out of sight — you don’t walk through this game, you drag yourself through it. Every fight is up…”
“Kinda janky and goofy as ♥♥♥♥. Great combat despite the jank.”
“I think this is a very interesting and grabbing story telling kinda game. the gameplay is pretty good (albeit kinda clunky at some points) and it really shows the passion that games (especially horror games) used to…”
7 of the 68 reviews raise this · 5 of them still recommend the game.
“Condemned: Criminal Origins (2005) is a solid first-person psychological horror game that upholds how to showcase both fear and combat in a video game with astute precision. Similar to F.E.A.R (another title of Monolith…”
7 of the 68 reviews raise this · 6 of them still recommend the game.
“I think this is a very interesting and grabbing story telling kinda game. the gameplay is pretty good (albeit kinda clunky at some points) and it really shows the passion that games (especially horror games) used to…”
“One of the issues playing a game that is 20 years old is how the genre has evolved since then. This can taint perspective; after all, the game mechanics are clunky, the story feels shallow, and the jump scares don't…”
“Pros: - intense atmosphere - challenging but engaging combat - big, spooky, heavy vibes Cons: - mid hit detection - story is... convoluted and not well explained Replayability: 5/10, decent vibes but no twists, combat…”
6 of the 68 reviews raise this · 4 of them still recommend the game.
“tho it's showing its age, it is still one of the best games i've ever played”
“Condemned: Criminal Origins (2005) is a solid first-person psychological horror game that upholds how to showcase both fear and combat in a video game with astute precision. Similar to F.E.A.R (another title of Monolith…”
“3/5 (buy on a discount/sale though) Very unique Game, there’s a lot here that modern games could learn from in terms of real-time events and unique combat encounters/arenas. Story is mid and Condemned suffers from a bad…”
6 of the 68 reviews raise this · 3 of them still recommend the game.
“A very good survival horror experience with a very well made atmosphere (reminded me a lot of Cry Of Fear). The phorensics mechanics are something you don't see very often in a game and the story is pretty interesting…”
“Condemned: Criminal Origins (2005) is a solid first-person psychological horror game that upholds how to showcase both fear and combat in a video game with astute precision. Similar to F.E.A.R (another title of Monolith…”
“Needs to be updated for high res systems. 13 fps after 5min of playing at 60”
Counted across 68 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 87.1% positive rating · as of 2026-05-12
“One of the better old school horror games in my opinion, even if it's two decades old now. This game desperately needs a remaster, same with Condemned 2.”
— a player, Steam review · 5 hrs played“Very realistic simulator for life in an American city”
— a player, Steam review · 6 hrs played“Absolute masterpiece from Monolith - the best first person hand to hand combat to date, even 2 decades later.”
— a player, Steam review · 2 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live data self-collected from the Steam API · history through 2026-06 via SteamCharts.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-11. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
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Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-12.
| Genres | Action |
| Player tags | Horror · Action · First-Person · Atmospheric · Survival Horror · Psychological Horror · Crime · Singleplayer · FPS · Detective · Gore · Dark (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Family Sharing |
| Languages | English * , German, French, Italian, Spanish - Spain * |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: OS *: Windows XP Processor: 2.0 GHz Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Athlon equivalent (2.4 GHz recommended) Memory: 512 MB RAM Graphics: DirectX 9.0 compatible video card with at least 128 MB video RAM DirectX®: 9.0 Hard Drive: 8 GB HD space Sound: DirectX 9.0 compatible sound card Additional: No controller support.