Neglect all in regards to the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake, for now at the least. Hollowbody is the most recent survival horror recreation on the scene, and when VG247 beforehand described it as certainly one of our most anticipated horror video games, we had good purpose to take action. Hollowbody is an distinctive expertise that pays homage to many cult classics, whereas forging a singular legacy of its very personal.
Taking part in as Mica, you’re an unlicensed black market shipper in a dystopian British metropolis. And whereas Mica’s dwelling in Hollowbody’s world appears to be like futuristic, with flying automobiles and neon hues, it’s the exclusion zone the place you’ll be spending most of your time as she strives to seek out her lacking accomplice, Sasha. As newspaper clippings, posters, and the array of corpses slowly reveal, this exclusion zone was one struck with catastrophe; a catastrophe that killed off many civilians and stripped them of their properties, and this catastrophe was removed from pure. In reality, it seems to have been manufactured in a lab, so earlier than you understand it, Hollowbody is already offering you with a stark reminder of Resident Evil’s organic terrors.
This isn’t all that there’s to Hollowbody’s story, nevertheless. The intricate and provocative world-building obtainable permits you, as Mica, to actually sink your enamel into these crumbling residences and desolate streets, and the tales of the individuals who as soon as walked them. The discoveries you make and radio alerts you tune into are so shifting at instances that it’s laborious to not evaluate the experiences of those characters to the very actual experiences of actual folks in 2024. Hollowbody could seem dystopian and futuristic, however finally, it tells an extremely pertinent story.
Hollowbody rewards probably the most attentive of gamers, however is finally a strong starter dish for any horror fan awaiting the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake. From the environments, to the enemies, to the music; Hollowbody manages to nail the Silent Hill ambiance and aesthetic tastefully, whereas offering gamers with a completely distinct expertise. Enemies that resemble Mendacity Figures lurk, with a few of them having tentacles protruding from their heads which might be harking back to these contaminated with Las Plagas in Resident Evil 4.
The soundtrack is redolent of Akira Yamaoka’s work on Silent Hill; it’s eerie, industrial, and builds stress like nothing else. Even the sport’s UI jogs my memory of Signalis, one other Silent Hill-inspired indie endeavor that I can’t advocate sufficient. To place it merely, Hollowbody is a survival horror feast that harkens again to the great ol’ PSX-horror days, and it does this with the utmost ardour.
Those that derive as a lot pleasure — amongst different feelings — from Hollowbody as I did will likely be happy to know that there’s extra in retailer for the sport. Not solely is it a brief endeavor that lasted me round 5-6 hours (though, you’ll be able to undoubtedly end this a lot faster than I did), however there’s secret endings and easter eggs to be present in extra playthroughs. Notably, a secret ending involving the developer’s canine… which sounds very Silent Hill 2 if you happen to ask me. There’s a first-person mode to expertise in later runs, in addition to extra difficulties, and even a Ghost within the Shell-inspired outfit for Mica for individuals who end the sport.
As you progress by way of the ruined British streets in Hollowbody and piece collectively the tales of those who as soon as lived there, you’ll additionally discover that there’s extra to Hollowbody than meets the attention. No, I’m not speaking about secret endings and Easter eggs.
Assume unending corridors and eco-systems that harken again to Scorn and even The Borderlands (the 2013 movie from Elliot Goldner, not that one), or ‘blink and also you’ll miss it’ moments that remind me of Sam Barlow’s Immortality. These would possibly provide you with an thought of what I’m getting at, but when not, it’s finest you expertise how Hollowbody toys with you and your sanity first-hand; hold a really cautious eye in your setting. That’s all I’ll say.
Solo developer, Nathan Hamley of Headware Video games, funded Hollowbody by way of Kickstarter and there are nonetheless extra targets to succeed in, with the following and remaining stretch purpose being an added mall setting impressed by Silent Hill 3. The newest characteristic to be funded, however not but added, is the flexibility to set enemy corpses alight, impressed by The Evil Inside.
Hollowbody is a testomony to the work of Hamley, and is phenomenal inside its personal proper, however the dedication to numerous cult traditional horror and sci-fi video games solely provides to how enamored I used to be with the sport; that is the way you make a recreation closely impressed by different media whereas making a complete new expertise fully, in a nutshell. However don’t get me incorrect, Hollowbody is a lot greater than its inspirations, made up of a number of shifting elements that present followers of the survival horror style with one thing new and refreshing.
Hollowbody was reviewed on PC with a code offered by the writer.