Hollowbody is a futuristic dystopian take on the survival horror genre that takes place in England (I think). While the atmosphere sure is there with everything being gray and decayed, it hit me that some parts of the poorer areas of the British Isles already look like that. If it wasn’t for the shambling undead, it could have been set in our times! Jokes aside, the atmosphere is tight, and can probably be best compared to Silent Hill 4: The Room. It has the same kind of depressive aesthetics of a rotting urban sprawl of concrete and crushed dreams. A similar area that I myself have lived in once, so certain stuff hits close to home and makes things just a little more unsettling. I like.
Tank controls optional
While many things are a throwback to the golden olden days of survival horror, the developer has made tank controls optional. Heretical to some, but it’s fine with me. However, the option is at least there, if you prefer tank controls over standard controls. I went with the default, since I figured it was the intended way to play and that the game was probably designed around it. I should also mention, I played with a 360 controller, leaving mouse and keyboard for another title.
Now, the demo isn’t very long, it took me around one hour to complete. Yet, what the game presented during my little excursion into the bleak and dreary concrete jungle only spells good things to come – if Hollowbody can keep the same momentum throughout the whole game, that is. There are some animation jankiness, but overall, it’s pretty well-made considering it does not have an infinite AAA budget. The animations for shooting, and slapping around creatures with melee weapons felt very appropriate for the genre setting. And so do many other things that play into the survival horror type of game. Like the slow build-up of tension, the piece meal lore/plot delivery and the somewhat obscure head-scratching puzzles (the one puzzle that was in the demo).
Essentially, it just felt damn good to play. Nowadays, survival horror games are plentiful, especially those with a retro look and feel. However, it’s unfortunately rare that they are any fun to play, seeing as most are just a shallow copy of better games from the past. Hollowbody stands out from this lot and truly shows great potential. It gave me the impression of being a legitimate passion project, and as I have said many times before: that feeling usually translates to something fascinating in the end.
Welcome to the zone
The plot is fairly spartan in the demo, but from what I can gather is that the world is in a bad state and there exists strange and dangerous exclusion zones. These zones have been made off-limits for the public, much like how it is in the novels Roadside Picnic and Annihilation. And what do you know, our dear protagonist Mica flies over one of these zones when her flying car (next Elon Musk project?) suddenly loses power and crash lands. Since the demo is short, this is basically the story setup, however, I found the premise intriguing enough, especially in combination with the moody visuals and music.
It remains to be seen if the world is literal, as in the monsters actually reside in the normal world, or if it’s something psychological. Like creatures that manifest from the guilt of the main character, or something similar to that a la Silent Hill 2. I hope for the former, even if the idea of someone slowly going nuts could be compelling, but it’s so much harder to pull off and not make it feel like a big waste of time. “It was all a dream” – type of deal.
Hollowbody surprised me, as I thought it was going to be one of those low-effort retro takes on the genre. I’m always happy to be pleasantly surprised when it comes to gaming. Particularly so, since it does the atmosphere so well, and not to forget instill spookiness. The droning unsettling music sure helps in this as well, and those of you that have read my articles knows that I love that kind of music. The combat felt like a nice throwback as well. The UI and the inventory management should also be mentioned. It’s very slick, and contains all the expected functions, like combining and inspecting items. Now we just need to hope the game comes out one day and delivers. Regardless, it’s something new to look forward to. So make sure to add it to your wishlist and give the demo a go for yourself!
Thanks for reading.
/Thomas
Tom's Gaming Vault 