Remember Hollowbody for the PlayStation? PlayStation 5, that is. You will, if you decide to get this game, which I suggest you do if you’re a fan of old school survival horror that toys with enough ambiguity that you’ll be thinking and/or talking about it in the years to come. It’ll be a game you talk about in the same sentences as Silent Hill 2.
Wow, that’s quite the accolade, right? The thing is, this will share the same breath as the Konami classic, as the game is heavily influenced by it. The only thing really missing is the fog, and we all know why that was used in the first place, right? It’s also quite uncanny as the game is set in Blighty, so the fog would fit.
Hollowbody takes place a little bit in the future. A biochemical attack has affected the British Isles, yet nobody seems to claim responsibility. Instead, the area is walled off and left to rot. Including those who are left behind. We begin our journey as Sasha, but we won’t be with her very long. Before you can say “hazmat,” she mysteriously disappears. Then, 12 days later, Mica takes over on a reconnaissance mission to rescue her chum.
It’s clear when this takes place, as the year is stated at the beginning, but the Blade Runner hover intro of a dystopian cyberpunk future is juxtaposed with the grey of the British Isles. This looks like Aberdeen at night, so there’s your colour palette, if you’re willing to use your imagination. All the tech soon disappears on arrival at the scene where Sasha was last found, as the hover vehicle is totalled, and the only connection to the outside world is a 3D map and your pal, Tax, who is potentially your lifeline to safety. Now what?
What happens next is full of the Silent Hill effect, with only a torch to light your way, boarded-up houses, and corridor after corridor. Before long, you’ll encounter your first hollow, which again, takes its inspiration from the survival horror classic, only these are massively dehydrated. Combat is poor, as despite having a target system for meleeing, it’s very easy to miss an attack and be countered, and general feelings of inaccuracy. That said, I more or less stuck with melee weapons throughout as the enemies soak up bullets and shotgun pellets like nobody’s business. Besides, I couldn’t find the bow to complement the arrows I found earlier.
Hollowbody is relatively short, but doesn’t feel rushed either. Puzzles are fair, and while I initially thought a graveyard puzzle was irritating, it actually was fine and not an issue. My beef with Hollowbody was the invisible walls. This is very apparent in the opening scene, as walking on the beach will be incredibly restrictive. This control then pops back in a park as you run quite comfortably, until another wall or two appear, which just doesn’t make sense.
I can put up with the occasional dodgy camera angle. Playing from a fixed perspective, because you should, maybe once or twice, the camera got stuck behind a wall, though the game is fair, so it didn’t result in some ragebaiting while being ambushed by an enemy you can’t see. That said, the dogs you encounter are annoying as you can’t seem to hit them, nor do they attack unless you’re in the middle of attacking something else blocking your way! Oh, and I won’t mention a scene in the train station where you get jumped by a dozen enemies and have to use the first aid sprays you’ve successfully squirrelled away.
So, technical issues and occasionally gameplay niggles aside (there weren’t many), the story, paired with the ambience, was brilliant. Mica is quite hollow herself, but the titbits left around that insinuate some Umbrella-like corporations being bumholes to ‘the undesirables’ are really interesting, plus the (multiple) endings leave an open debate on what’s happening/what will happen next. The overall themes, without ruining key plot information (Dr Malcolm Crowe is actually dead), are very modern in today’s climate, so while the aesthetics point to a 90s wave of nostalgia, it’s a relevant, engaging story.
Undoubtedly, fans of Silent Hill, and perhaps the original Resident Evil, will enjoy this, but won’t help themselves comparing the menu systems, occasional jump scares, level design and perhaps underlying conspiracies and tragedies to their beloved games. I, however, will compare this to Plastomorphosis. Sure, it pays homage to those original titles and nails the vibe, while also catering for the controls for modern gamers, but it’s an original title in itself. I’m glad it didn’t go the cyberpunk route, and I’m really happy with the ominous conclusion. It’s refreshing to play a game where it means something to reach the end, and feel good about it, too. Genuinely looking forward to Headware Games’ future projects, who also made the excellent point and click, Guard Duty.
