As a seasoned gamer with decades of horror gaming under my belt, I must say that Hollowbody has left an indelible mark on me. This game harks back to the golden age of horror gaming, evoking memories of PS2-era terrors that still manage to give me chills. The eerie atmosphere, the deceptively quick enemies, and the jarring damage cues all combine to create a sense of dread that is as welcome as it is unsettling.
As a die-hard fan, I’m eagerly watching Konami’s efforts to revive the Silent Hill series after a long hiatus. With several new projects on the horizon following a decade’s absence (and some might argue, even longer since a truly stellar installment), there’s a lingering question among us fans: can Konami rekindle the enchanting essence of the early games? While it remains to be seen if they can, at least we have Hollowbody to keep us satisfied. Crafted by a single creative mind, Hollowbody occasionally veers into being an overt homage, but more often than not, it carves out a unique niche in the crowded landscape of horror games, stirring nostalgia and leaving a lasting impression.
This year, Hollowbody stands as a near-identical equivalent to Silent Hill 2, excluding Bloober Team’s upcoming remake. Developed single-handedly by Nathan Hamley under the studio name Headware Games, Hollowbody is heavily influenced by his passion for the series, with some elements of admiration being quite overt. The game’s mechanics, such as navigating its world and discovering new paths through challenging puzzles, as well as combat and multiple endings, all draw inspiration from the PS2 original. A notable portion of Hollowbody’s third-person survival-horror experience mirrors Silent Hill 2’s hospital section, evoking a sense of déjà vu, while the creatures that prowl just beyond the reach of your flashlight mimic the game’s emblematic nurses in their attack patterns.
In some instances, you might stumble upon ominous, pitch-black chasms, plunging into them blind about their end. One passage, specifically, made me ponder the same query that Silent Hill 2’s inexplicably long stairwell had: “How far does this stretch go?” The similarities occasionally border on repetition, but Hollowbody doesn’t stop at being a simple replica of its developer’s preferred game – although it’s intriguing to observe how one individual in 2024 can create something remarkably alike a game that needed a far larger team merely a few decades back.
Intrigued by Hollowbody’s goal of creating a game similar to SH2, what drew me more to it than numerous other games with the same objective is its unique approach. I’m not often longing for games that offer less polished play and visuals compared to contemporary ones, but Hawley has managed to encapsulate that era so authentically without dwelling on its shortcomings. For instance, tank controls are included in the game, but they aren’t activated by default, catering only to those who prefer a challenging experience (masochists). Saving is also part of the game, though not through a bright red book like before; instead, you save at a landline phone. However, there are some auto-saves in the game as well, typically preceding tougher sections.
In the contemporary world, these useful gadgets are effective in diminishing annoyances that certain studios mistakenly perceive as beneficial. However, the persistent issue of bumping into walls, furniture such as couches, beds, and cabinets while searching for interactive spots persists, so Hollowbody doesn’t completely disregard every peculiarity found within its genre. There have been instances where I needed to revisit specific areas multiple times before locating an essential item necessary for progression, which spoiled the otherwise captivating atmosphere.
Engaging in fights within Hollowbody resembles the games from which it was modeled, so it’s usually wiser to steer clear or opt for melee weapons if available, preserving ammo in the process. Regardless of your chosen defense strategy, you’ll frequently find yourself maneuvering through confined areas, making it difficult to escape once you’ve decided to do so. The game employs an efficient auto-aim system with a green crosshair that allows for seamless transitions between enemies.
In modern games, having a reliable system for survival is more straightforward than relying on intuition, as some horror games from the early 2000s demanded from players. I was reassured to discover that while this useful feature existed, combat retained an eerie and exciting tension. This was partly due to the startling audiovisual response when you sustain damage, which gave the impression of monsters leaping out from the screen. The enemies close in at a deceptive pace, and the game’s melee weapons have distinct animations, resulting in differences in their reach, speed, and effectiveness. I suggest you opt for the guitar for best results.
The game’s ambiance is its strongest feature, creating an unsettling vibe throughout the narrative which gave me chills during the four-hour playthrough. Similar to seasoned horror game creators of yore, Hamley skillfully uses eerie, melancholic music at opportune moments and effectively employs silence in others. Each scene is so authentically reminiscent of PS2-era horror games that without prior knowledge, one might think the game was developed back in 2001.
Since this game is shorter than many it aspires to emulate, certain genre conventions are streamlined. For instance, puzzles might be challenging but never frustratingly so, like Silent Hill 2’s piano puzzle. The gap between finding an item that solves a puzzle and actually using it is usually minimal. I had to adjust to the game’s map showing me the way ahead because I initially anticipated more obstacles, even though an arrow essentially indicated, “Go here!” It wasn’t until the latter part of the game that I began to trust the map was genuinely guiding me to the next section. Even when there were puzzles en route to open that path, all interactable doors were highlighted on the map as well.
Similar to the finest Silent Hill games, Hollowbody isn’t only frightening; it’s sorrowful, and the world you traverse carries a sense of tragedy in every nook and cranny. Although its storyline tells a similar tale – searching for a missing loved one in a haunting town – the thematic layers elevate Hollowbody beyond imitation in ways that its dimly lit corridors and hostile creatures don’t always permit. The narrative is actually set in the future, but the town you wander through was abandoned years ago following a suspected bioterror attack. This implies that you depart from a cyberpunk world early on and soon enter a dismal British town that has not only been affected by an event decades prior, but also by gentrification and abandonment for years before that.
Documents found throughout the city reveal a narrative where residents were given false promises of financial support, later discovering that they had been deceived by cunning investors. This storyline resonates with many, although in this instance, it’s not linked to Silent Hill; instead, it mirrors events reported in the real world. Hamley skillfully connects an abandoned town filled with monsters to the theme of economic disparity, which I find intriguing.
Hollowbody is scary, dreary, and sad; it’s all the things I love about horror games. Sometimes, it embodies these feelings because it nearly repurposes the same monsters, places, and predicaments from the games that inspired it. But it’s not all familiar, and the things it does differently are its best attributes, like telling a story conscious of and concerned about sociopolitics and offering a minimalistic but unsettling soundtrack of its own. Maybe the last great Silent Hill game is behind us. I don’t know. But I do know its memory remains alive in successes like Hollowbody.
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2024-09-12 17:09