PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Beware the shadows and the darkness that seems so silent. Beware the closed doors, the whispering mirrors. Beware the Song of Horror that nests in the cracks of your mind. Just in time for the holiday, indie developer Protocol Games releases their game, Song of Horror, to get you in the Halloween spirit.
https://youtu.be/20xHEYb2_Es
The synopsis from publisher Raiser Games:
Famed writer Sebastian P. Husher has gone missing, along with his entire family. Worried, his editor sent an assistant to his house in order to look for him – but he never came back… These disappearances spark a set of events that will soon reveal something dreadful: a nameless, eldritch entity known only as the Presence seems to be responsible – and it’s still somewhere, out there, lurking in the shadows, awaiting you… You may die, but the horror continues – others will pick the investigation up from where you left it until you all find out the origin of The Presence and put an end to this nightmare.
Song of Horror is an episodic third-person survival horror game in the vein of classics like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. The fixed camera angles will be familiar to anyone who played Resident Evil, which amps up the dread as you investigate further to try to uncover what had happened here.
In the first episode, you will play as four different characters who all have different reasons for going to the mansion. Each character has their own strengths and weaknesses and each one brings a unique ability that will help them uncover the mystery in different ways.
One unique twist that Song of Horror brings to the table is the addition of perma-death, which is one thing that I really enjoyed about playing. Every mistake could cost you the life of one of your characters. When one of them dies, you go back to the character select screen and choose a new character. After that, you spawn outside of the mansion and have to make your way back to where your previous character died to pick up all the items you had before. Thankfully, everything you had done previously is still there, and you can continue on with the story. But be careful, because once all four characters perish, the game is truly over, and you will have to restart the episode. This adds a whole new level of tension that games of its ilk rarely have. You never know where The Presence is lurking, and that is absolutely terrifying!
With The Presence lurking in the shadows, you have to be cautious of when to open certain doors. Thankfully, the game offers prompts to put your ear up against the door and listen when you are about to enter a room.
The sound design in Song of Horror is one of the best things about the game. From the creaking footsteps as you walk down an empty hallway to the creepy laughter of child-like entities hiding in the shadows, you are constantly on edge. This works as both a tension builder and a way to alert you when something is nearby.
The few negative comments I have are because of the fixed camera angles and the puzzles. I get that it is supposed to feel like the games Song of Horror took its inspirations from, but that can be a good and a bad thing. The camera switches angles on you at weird moments and you have to adjust. The puzzles, while not difficult, can be a tad bit annoying as you are sent scouring every nook and cranny for an item that you need to move on to a new area. Sometimes, I already had what I needed from just exploring, and other times, I found myself going back and forth through rooms I had already been in, trying to find a specific item. But these are minor complaints on what I feel is a great game.
The story for the prelude and Episode 1 has me hooked, and I can’t wait to uncover the mystery behind Song of Horror in the upcoming episodes. Check back here for my upcoming review of Episode 2 which will be coming soon. You can play the first two episodes of Song of Horror on Steam starting on October 31, 2019.
