I'm not going to give any spoilers so don't worry if you're in the middle of playing it, or thinking about buying it, the story shall remain intact for you.
Anyway, first lets talk about some of the good things. This game is definitely a step in the right direction for survival horror. From start to finish, the art style and sound design are extremely atmospheric and the game does a good job of keeping you on edge. The need to eat and sleep, I thought, were really good features and it's nice to see a game in this genre class "survival" as more than having enough ammo and healing at any one time. The most important thing though, is that I was actually scared by this game. At one point I tried to play alone, in the dark, with some headphones on, and wimped out of that pretty quickly. Sure, maybe you'll call me a pussy but there's something about this game that just...bothers me, something seems extremely off about the whole plot that shakes me right down to my core. But you know what, that's the sign of a good fucking horror game, and I've not felt anything like that for a LOOONG time.
But this game isn't all glowing praise and loveliness, there are some things I didn't like about it. The fact that there are only 2 real enemy types in this game really annoys me quite a bit. I'm aware that the game was largely developed by one guy, but surely your mind can produce more than just a thin skin monster and a fat skin monster, right? Yes, I am aware there are 2 bosses but even if you include them that's still only 4 enemies you ever fight, it's a bit weak. It's not a massive problem but by the end of the game, the enemies lose their impact because you've already figured them out completely and they are no longer a threat.
The big complaint I have though is how the game trivialises it's own survival system. I've already talked about how you need food to keep yourself going, so you know how that works, but what I didn't mention is the fact you can get differently coloured pills. Each pill has a different effect but what it really boils down to is one giving you free ammo and one giving you free food. I literally spent the last segment of the game offing a few enemies, blue pilling and sleeping, getting another 21 bullets and then went out killing again. Once I figured this out, I didn't feel intimidated or scared anymore, I just felt like a murder machine. Also if you run out of food, it's no problem because the green pill will give you some free food to carry on your journey. Part of the tension came from having to ration your supplies but once you get hold of these pills that goes out the window.
Also, I'm aware that not using the pills or killing enemies gives you a different ending, but on the first play through I don't give a crap what ending I get, I'm just playing the game as is, and it's that first play through that will have the most impact. Sure, doing the pacifist route may be a bit more challenging, but I've already beat the game now, it's not going to be as scary a second time.
That said, I still enjoyed this game a lot, it was an absolute blast and I would recommend it to any fans of the horror genre. We've not had a good horror game in a long long time, but now we have something to keep us sweating until the big developers sort their fucking lives out.
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