I gave this game a fair chance, as I was expecting it to deliver from my POV given that I am a big fan of survival horror. I love many installments of the resident evil series as well as LOU, Evil Within, etc. Unfortunately, this was not up to snuff with the standards I have for the genre.
I knew not to expect a game with any action to the gameplay going in, but even with that standard, this is a tremendous disappointment. The quick time events, unlike better horror games such as Until Dawn, are unexceptional. By a few hours in, they feel more like a chore than an immersive interaction.
That being said, I could have given it a break for that if there was other depth to the game that delivered. Until Dawn, for example, allows progression of relationships and has actual story choices that determine the fate of its characters. This game's death mechanic is limited to absurdly cheap button press deaths. Accidentally press x instead of triangle near a door? Sorry, you're dead.
I'm a hardcore gamer...I have no problem with permadeath and have greatly enjoyed some extremely difficult games that include it (Darkest Dungeon for example). The problem is that a mechanic like the one in SOH should serve a purpose instead of being introduced solely to try to force repetition and use of the other characters. It should be based on story logic, or just in-general, something more satisfying and less cheap. It doesn't help that the story itself is incredibly bare bones and has extremely minimal player influence. If you want a horror story game, I can't recommend Walking Dead and Until Dawn enough over this shallow, undercooked experience.
The one piece of this game that does deliver a bit is the environments. They're classic resident type levels, although I feel the puzzles are lackluster comparatively. Still, they just aren't even close to enough to carry the game for players who want more than a walking simulator. Even if I could overlook everything else and just focus on the environments, I'd expect the music to provide an exceptionally gripping atmosphere if that's what is supposed to carry the game. Instead, what was there was minimalistic and generic. One of the most forgettable game soundtracks I've ever heard.
Overall, between the aesthetic, the level design, and the character variety, there was the start of a good idea here. Yet, it didn't get the development and depth it needed to succeed. Survival Horrors are too plentiful for anybody but the absolute most niche to force themselves through this bust. Those games feel like eating a NY strip steak compared to this undercooked piece of flank. Dropping this halfway through and instead beating Dark Descent was a choice I'm incredibly thankful I made.
