There have been many survival horror games made in the style of Resident Evil, with crunchy PlayStation aesthetics. But most have felt lacking, not living up to the hard-to-reach legacy of the past. So, I’m glad to say, after giving the demo for Phase Zero a go, it shows true potential for the future, while feeling like survival horror from the golden era.
Tank controls
The fundamentals to make a genuine PS1 survival horror are tank controls, stylistic (pre-rendered or not) backgrounds, puzzles, and good camera angles – both for atmosphere and gameplay. Which, surprisingly, Phase Zero checks all the boxes. The controls are tight, playing into the muscle memory from past Resident Evil titles splendidly. The backgrounds are static, with a locked camera that highlights cool cinematic angles. And it’s clear the creator has a good eye for scene aesthetics. I found the camera angles intriguing, that together with the little story we got made the demo experience very moody in a zombie horror way. The puzzles, while not hard, fit the genre with a few ambushes in between to get the heart rate up.
The only issue that came to me during the demo was the shotgun. Both animation-wise (in impact) and audio, as it sounded very weak. It acted more like a pop-gun than a terrifyingly loud and scary weapon, that tears limbs from bodies, and crushes heads from force alone. The animations from using it, and the sound it makes, should be improved, to really ring home how brutal this weapon is. Like how it does in the Resident Evil games. Hopefully, it’s something that can be improved. Yet, it’s not the end of the world if it’s final.
Tale of zombies
There isn’t much to the story just now, but what I got was a mix between typical zombie outbreak, and the movie Phantoms from 1998. You see, when you walk down into the cellar, you will find something fleshy, and pulsating, that clearly reminded me of the soul-eating blob from that movie. It seems (from one note I found) it’s the usual stuff: Scientists find something ancient, and then in their eternal wisdom decides to dig it up and place it within a populated area. Classic horror stuff, and I can’t wait to discover more, as it seems right up my alley.
Other than my shotgun issue, I had a great time. The devs captured the important essence of survival horror, and it makes me excited about the future when it comes to Phase Zero. Make sure to give the demo a try yourself, especially if you dig the old-school survival horror genre.
Thanks for reading.
/Thomas
Tom's Gaming Vault 