(OCCULT HQ) Nov. 4, 2024 – Take your role at the helm of the End of The World in Worship’s hands-on Steam demo available from today until the game’s release in early 2025. Worship will kick off the Save & Sound Festival—an online event featuring sales and demos on Steam—today at 10 a.m. PST. The wholesome and also horrifically disturbing roguelike from Chasing Rats asks would-be cult leaders to develop a group of pikmin-like followers to assist in delightfully murderous endeavors to bring about the End of Times (Steam page: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1548180/Worship/).
Behold the grotesque delight that awaits in an all-new trailer released today
The demo, teeming with an hour of eldritch horrors and sacrificial rites, is the first taste of the world of Worship. As a cult leader, you must gather your devout, converting new souls to your cause to feed the insatiable hunger of the unseen gods. As you grow your following, you will find your jolly followers serve many purposes, all splendidly sinister. While this demo supports lone souls only, Worship will launch early next year with four-player co-op, inviting you and your chosen cultists to reign together.
They will purge heretics who stand in your way, offer their blood to restore your strength, and aid in unraveling puzzles. Finally, kneel at the altar and pray for a Test of Faith. Complete it, and you will bring the world one trembling step closer to the end of days as you gain more power.
Worship takes players into a realm of unspeakable horrors, where blasphemy reigns supreme and the macabre is not just celebrated, but rewarded. In the company of up to four cultists, bring chaos to the world in blood-soaked mayhem, where every moment is drenched in the thrill of your sinister pursuits.
STALCRAFT: X is a large-scale MMOFPS set in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Today, this time-tested project is rapidly evolving, reaching new online peak records, with tens of thousands of people logging in every day.
The unique atmosphere of the Exclusion Zone, balanced levelling system, open economy, and nonlinear storylines have been providing players with a unique experience and an immersive game world for more than 10 years.
From October 30 to December 4, players will experience a new event – Black Raid, where everyone will take on the role of a Black Market mercenary. Players will be tasked with infiltrating a secret base on the isolated island of Boral, (a place where dangerous experiments were once conducted) to steal cutting-edge technology and evacuate before time runs out.
Along the way, they will encounter atmospheric locations, exciting missions, and the most dangerous enemies – zombified predecessors and mysterious Murmurs operatives. Complicating matters are also creatures with unique abilities, emerging from the dreadful experiments.
The event offers an exciting session-based game in a mode that combines features of the Extraction Shooter and Battle Royale genres, where stalkers will battle not only against competitors from among other players but also against smart and cunning NPCs. Their goal is to complete various missions on the map, each of which promises unique challenges.
With the start of the event, stalkers will have a great opportunity to complete the autumn seasonal battle pass thanks to the increased amount of experience. They will also have the chance to compete in the rankings to secure an honorable position in the league and claim unique prizes. Additionally, they can look forward to new interesting nonlinear quests in the open world and the opportunity to obtain an exclusive skin!
About STALCRAFT: X
Players will spend their time in the open world of the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. Locations are filled with many kinds of PvP and PvE activities, beloved by fans of Stalker, such as searching for artifacts, mutant hunting, exploration of uncharted locations, doing quests, creating laboratories and participating in faction wars. For those who have less time to play, there are various session modes to experience.
A living open world
The open world of STALCRAFT: X is truly alive, and players create unique situations for each other, forging loyal friendships and relentless enemies along the way. While exploring the game world’s many locations, other factions’ players may shoot you, but you won’t lose all your gear and progress; instead, you’ll only leave part of the resources you’ve collected during that trip. This ensures you retain the thrill of each raid, while setbacks are not overly fatal.
A unique combination of FPS and RPG
The balance of weapons is not typical for open-world MMOs, and somewhat resembles session shooters like Counter Strike and Call of Duty. We define the shooter component as fast-paced, tied primarily to reaction and shooting skills. At the same time, you will remain motivated to progress further on as, over the years, the developers have managed to achieve a unique combination of FPS and RPG mechanics.
Progression and open world economy
Don’t let the MMO genre scare you away — there is no levelling mechanic, and you progress through the game by obtaining new equipment. You can acquire it in many ways, including buying it from other players — because STALCRAFT: X has an open economy. You can become a legendary merchant without leaving the base! And by the way, there are no game wipes.
The distribution model
STALCRAFT: X is distributed for free, and there is no catch here — monetization is organized according to the P4T (Pay for time) and cosmetics model.
Any items can be obtained through playing the game, however, the soft monetization method allows you to speed up some areas of character levelling.
In case you missed it, catch the previously released STALCRAFT: X10th Anniversary Day X update official trailer below
STALCRAFT: X is available to play for free now via Steam and the EXBO launcher.
About EXBO
The history of the company began in 2014, when a small team of modmakers launched its first servers, transforming the fan-inspired idea of an online S.T.A.L.K.E.R. game based on Minecraft. By 2024, STALCRAFT: X has become the most popular online shooter in the post-apocalyptic Chernobyl setting, unique in its blend of MMOFPS features with an open world and economy.
Team – Developers with unique knowledge and experience. Our team consists of cheerful, hardworking guys from all over the CIS, who are true professionals in their field. Every one of them has a long journey behind, filled with numerous challenges!
Mission – Develop our unique segment in the MMOFPS genre, a result of STALCRAFT’s: X 10-year evolution; Reinvesting the game’s success into company growth and new exciting projects.
Key Markets – CIS, NA, EU, SEA We spent many years refining all the game mechanics and creating a complex ecosystem before we started opening servers in new regions.Today, our project is confidently gaining popularity in various countries around the world. STALCRAFT: X is very addictive, so it only takes a few hours of play for newcomers to get hooked and spend thousands of hours on the game before they start to get bored.
The creator of the Silent Hill series, along with his team of creative minds, is finally back at the helm of a new horror game. Slitterhead delivers a blend of the eerie atmosphere of Forbidden Siren with the high-speed movement and combat of Gravity Rush, creating a gameplay experience unlike anything else.
We tackle the first few missions of Slitterhead, as the spirit named Hyoki awakens to his abilities and purpose. To navigate the decadent Kowlong, Hyoki can possess humans and even dogs. However, possessing people is the only way to face the Slitterheads, though not just anybody will suffice. Fortunately, Hyoki has a heightened compatibility with certain individuals, unlocking powerful combat abilities within them. We get to know more about these rare characters and the motives behind the Slitterheads’ killing spree.
Slitterhead – Gameplay
Set in the densely cluttered streets of “Kowlong,” filled with obscurity and chaos, this battle action-adventure game casts players as the “Hyoki,” an entity devoid of memory and physical form. His only motive is to eradicate the monstrous beings known as “Slitterheads” crawling around the city, disguising themselves as humans.
Roaming the vibrant neon-lit cityscape, players must seek out allies among humans known as “Rarities,” infiltrate and track dangerous organizations, and engage in battles harnessing the power of blood. As the suspenseful drama unfolds, delve into the mystery behind Hyoki’s existence and the appearance of the Slitterheads.
Slitterhead Developer: Bokeh Game Studio lnc. Publisher: Bokeh Game Studio lnc. Platform: Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S Release Date: 9th November, 2024 Price: $49.99 USD
Recommended – “Slitterhead delivers an intriguing horror story and fast action, but its exploration sections feel watered down, lacking in player agency.”
4 November 2024 – Mythwright today announced Touch Type Tale – Strategic Typing has released on Steam for Windows PC with a 25% launch discount.
A totally unique offering developed by Pumpernickel Studio, Touch Type Tale is a strategy game players control by typing.
In a vibrant story narrated by Oscar-winning actor Jim Broadbent, players are invited to become the unlikely hero of Minsteria, a kingdom whose vacant throne is vulnerable to the grasping hands of sly nobles and warmongering bandits.
Touch Type Tale is controlled only by keyboard. Players will type to construct buildings, mine gold from ore deposits, maneuver armies down a strategic path and even pull the perfect pint. Players will face terrific typing minigames like a cook-off, shooting gallery, rhythm game, bullet hell, and a Grand Strategy challenge.
Touch Type Tale includes online PvP multiplayer, thirteen supported languages, and a range of difficulty settings to suit all levels of experience.
Touch Type Tale – Strategic Typing is available on Windows PC via Steam for $19.99 / 19.99€ / £15.99 with a 25% discount for the first two weeks of launch. Touch Type Tale – Deluxe Edition is also available, comprising the base game, its immersive original soundtrack, and a set of hand-drawn wallpapers.
Mythwright is an independent publisher founded by industry veterans. Established in 2024, Mythwright has already signed a range of exciting titles including Going Medieval, Bladesong, Innkeep, Deadstick – Bush Flight Simulator and Touch Type Tale – Strategic Typing.
ABOUT PUMPERNICKEL STUDIO
Pumpernickel Studio is an independent game studio made up of a team of three passionate developers located in Münster, Germany. The focus of the studio lies on streamlined strategy games with innovative game mechanics. Touch Type Tale is Pumpernickel Studio’s debut project.
Explore AI and tech’s influence on humanity in this interactive, branching narrative experience
Montreal, Canada, November 4th, 2024 – Signal Space Lab and Actrio Studio are proud to reveal their multimedia sci-fi interactive VR project Human Within. Coming to Meta Quest 2 and 3 on January 9th and coming soon to SteamVR, Human Within is a one-of-a-kind VR interactive experience that explores the profound influence of AI and advanced technology on society, highlighting the potential threats if misused.
Directed by Avi Winkler and Anne Weigel, Human Within unfolds in a modern world where Nyla, a cyber engineer, and her sister Linh, are employed at Forward Industries. Together, they pioneer a groundbreaking supercomputer by harnessing the human brain’s processing power. However, when Nyla seeks to disengage from the project, both sisters are detained, compelled to continue their work amidst suspicions of their employer’s hidden motives. In a daring bid for freedom, Nyla is forced to connect the technology to Linh, and use it in the very way she feared it would be.
Human Within combines a thrilling branching storyline with video game playability. Its blend of original storytelling and gameplay features offer players a distinct interactive experience. It differentiates itself with a unique integration of technical features that includes:
User Involvement: Experiencing the story from Linh’s consciousness within a virtual internet space provides a unique way to observe the events taking place and have a level of participation unlike anything else.
Point Cloud Interactivity: Explore environments in digital recreations. These sequences serve as pace-breaking moments where users engage with the story even further, bringing a whole new degree of interactivity to the mix.
Choice and Consequence: At key moments in the story the events that take place are defined by the user’s choices. These moments define how events unfolded in the past and determine how it all ends in the present.
Style Variety: The story is told across a unique combination of three distinct visual styles: The Internet Space blending 2D film and 3D graphics, Flashback Scenes with interactive 360 degree stereo film, and Point Cloud recreations with 6 dof 3D environments.
Signal Space Lab began pre-production of Human Within, in 2019, including script writing and prototyping the experience under the creative direction of Avi Winkler. Director Anne Weigel and award-winning German producer Actrio Studio joined the project and wrapped principal photography in December 2023. Human Within then began its festival tour in October premiering at FIVARS in Toronto on October 3rd and Beyond The Frame Festival in Tokyo on October 25th-27th, 2024. Supported by Meta, Canada Media Fund, Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, and Filmstiftung NRW Germany, Human Within aims to raise the bar for interactive narrative VR experiences.
“We wanted to explore how advanced tech affects the human experience, and how we connect to one another,” said Avi Winkler, Creative Director at Signal Space Lab. “Launching at a time of rapid advancements, like ChatGPT 4.0 and Neuralink, Human Within no longer feels like science fiction, but rather a timely reflection on the shifting realities of modern life. We felt it was important to use VR to tell this story, as it immerses viewers in the reality of now – and where we’re headed – in a more immersive, nuanced way than through a traditional film or video game. Technology can be both terrifying or connecting. Ultimately, it’s what we do with these tools that matters.”
About Signal Space Lab Founded in 2014, Signal Space Lab is an award-winning interactive creation studio specializing in immersive XR entertainment, video games, and audio production. Our goal is to advance the art of interactive media by imagining and producing original, innovative, and memorable experiences that materialize into sound, visual, and gaming environments.
To someone like myself, Empire of the Ants kind of came out of left field. I feel the game just kind of popped up during the last year, and it immediately caught my eye with its photo-realistic visuals and interesting take on strategic gameplay. Truth is, Microids released a game with the same name over two decades ago, which like this one, was based on Bernard Werber’s novel. There is history here, and an important story to tell. Can this studio make such a niche subject accessible to all and still manage to create a hit for consoles, or is this one story best left to the pages? Let’s find out.
Story
I’m going to be careful with detailing the story too much here as if you are unfamiliar, the element of surprise is what really sets this title apart. Players take control of a young female ant by the name of 103,683rd, who is tasked with several objectives to protect and ensure the continuation of her colony Bel-o-kan through all means possible. It’s a simple enough plot with a deeper meaning, but for this game – the story goes so much further just the well-written dialogue.
This narrative is told through moments. Moments of grief, triumph, and wonder. As you explore, the world just continues to open up around you, where the player has the freedom to feel out the environment at their will or head back to the story which usually leads to battle. There is no human dialogue here, but I remained completely immersed and captivated during my playthrough. Maybe I a just a sucker for nature documentaries and this feels like it’s just missing the commentary of Sir David Attenborough. Truthfully, it’s the intensity that comes due to the importance of the missions you are tasked with, and how difficult they may seem to achieve. This isn’t a “hard” game to play or understand, but you can empathize with the characters here due to how gripping those little story moments become.
Gameplay
There is a bit of everything when it comes to genre in Empire of the Ants. The combat acts as a real-time strategy experience, where your player commands entire legions at the press of a button. It has platforming elements, where you must cross plants, rocks, and leaves in order to progress further. The simulation comes in with everything feeling so realistic, right down to the flutter of a butterfly wing or the flick of an antenna. Somehow, the game is able to pace itself to put together an amazing campaign, where the player never just sits and waits, but is tasked to explore this world and learn the means of survival.
The combat is kind of the centrepiece here. Think a bit of Pikmin, where you control your little colonies to attack. No, you don’t play as an attacker, but you command hundreds at once. Utilizing the controller that is pretty well mapped with commands, players point and select, and watch their colony go attack enemies that may be at large. Colonies are broken up into several different sub-species that can be upgraded by collecting food and materials that keep each nest thriving. To simplify it, you basically go to the next with open chambers, summon your legion (or upgrade them), add specific elements to strengthen by using a dial command based on your stock, and watch battles unfold. It takes a moment to get used to it all at first, but it expands greatly with options as you progress.
All ants (or other bugs that ally with you) have weaknesses and strengths, and the player must understand the paper/scissors/rock-styled card system to correctly coordinate their legions correctly in order to pull off a successful victory. There are spitters that fire projectiles, workers, standard soldiers, beetles with heavy defence, and so on. There are very detailed mechanics in place but made accessible by simply following the formula and ensuring all your nests remain protected while in battle. If a nest goes down, so do its chambers that may have pivotal upgrades, as well as legions associated. Lose your home base and the battle is lost. These moments are intense and satisfying, as constantly upgrading makes things interesting and never gets stale due to how expansive and engaging the combat is when it truly comes together. The player can also launch abilities to cause legions to swarm in rage, boost speed and even heal, which keeps everything very hands-on and engaging.
Combat isn’t the only element by a long shot, however. Exploration makes up a good chunk of gameplay as well. Finding items and “scanning” them through scent makes you want to explore as that leads to finding materials and food for battle. The missions also include having to find missing ants with ant pheromones, which is like an internal radar of sorts that leads you to find a small creature in such a vast place. It sounds easy, but these missions can be tougher than the battles as there is usually a looming danger such as rising water or predators that can quickly make you start the mission over, so you always have a looming sense of urgency during even the easiest hunts.
The controls luckily are tight and responsive. This is a lot of simulation, and the shift to being a platformer can be something else when you are an ant. You can jump, but the jump is charged and only launches one way. This means you have to crawl, aim, jump, and continue to move through dangling leaves and fauna. The camera can be a bit annoying, but honestly – it wasn’t too much of an issue here. Sure, I had moments where I missed jumps due to the camera, but I just retried and was fine to continue whatever I was doing. It’s odd how well that still works and it shows that this team really tried to perfect camera angles, which I am sure was difficult due to the giant sizes of literally every piece of environment in the game. The nature of the gameplay is so accurate you will find yourself looping on a twig – as that’s how ants walk. Because you’re an ant, these minor flaws are forgivable.
Audio
When I first started playing, the soundtrack really didn’t reel me in a lot. Sure, the gentle melodies were sweet in tone, but it wasn’t anything to stand out. This list of tunes however really starts to come together as you get to more intense moments, creating a rich, warm atmosphere that feels super realistic, yet calming and profound. The little sound effects do amazing things as well to pull together the world around you. The small crunches of leaves under your little ant feet, the sounds of winds whistling through trees, and so on really make it feel like you’re immersed in this vast trekked landscape. It’s truly special.
Visuals
I have played a lot of games on my PlayStation 5, and I always kind of look for those visual blockbusters that you can show someone to impress them with how realistic they look. Empire of the Ants is one of those games and may be one of the most graphically stunning games to release to date. The colours, the models, and the heavy amounts of detail where you can see almost every seed of soil just create visual candy for the eyes. I’m no myrmecologist, but Tower Five absolutely did their homework to study these creatures, and their hard work can be seen in almost every frame and polygon within. The animations are also fantastic. Sure, there are some wonky kills at times where a bug will fly up after being hit, but it looks so realistic that it’s hard to really find anything here to complain about.
Overall
Empire of the Ants is a technical masterpiece. The gameplay is rich with strategic elements that feel engaging and fluid while the world is enchanting and a joy to explore. Some games hit you by surprise, as you may have not expected there to be something so complex with a subject so small, but Tower Five really went out of their way to make this tale come off as epic. It isn’t the concept execution that was done so well here that makes it such a marvel. It functions on a console with such ease and creative optimization, making it accessible to anyone with a genuine curiosity. I spend a lot of time flipping through sales and shops, trying to find something that stands out or just feels different, as so many studios just seem to constantly try to point everything in the same direction. Empire of the Ants is one of the stand-outs as it dares to take risks, and pulls them off with such effortless finesse. Big things do come in small packages.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Empire of the Ants is 2024’s dark horse for Game of the Year. It feels fresh, and interesting, and blends its RTS gameplay with exploration to create a truly unique experience. In this footage, we tackle the first couple of hours of the game where the basics of combat are taught, while the world slowly begins to open up.
Empire of the Ants – Gameplay
Embark on an epic journey into the infinitesimal in this photorealistic strategy game. Play as a fearless ant and guide your colony through the dangers of the forest.
Experience an immersive journey and defend your lands through tactical and strategic battles in an epic, microscopic world. Become #103,683, the Ant Savior: lead your colony, rebuild a home, protect it, make it prosper, and conquer new territories throughout different seasons. Exploration, strategy, combat skills, and alliances with local wildlife will be crucial to emerge victorious from the many challenges lying ahead.
Inspired by Bernard Werber’s bestselling Empire of the Ants, the game offers a strategic experience right off the pages of the iconic book series.
Empire of the Ants Developer: Tower Five Publisher: Microids Platform: Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S Release Date: 7th Nov, 2024 Price: $39.99 USD
Recommended – “With its unique take on exploration and deep yet accessible combat mechanics, Empire of the Ants is a gripping masterpiece of an RTS that is wonderous to behold, making it one of 2024’s greatest stand-outs.”
LORDS OF THE FALLEN V1.6 LAUNCHES WITH A REFINED ONBOARDING EXPERIENCE, FURTHER PERFORMANCE & GAMEPLAY BALANCING, AND MORE
Monday, 4th November 2024 – HEXWORKS, a CI Games studio, has today released update v1.6 for dark fantasy, action-RPG Lords of the Fallen, which delivers an enhanced onboarding and tutorial experience based on feedback from veteran players. The update continues the studio’s dedicated post-launch support for the game, with a more exploration-friendly Umbral realm, alongside a raft of additional gameplay and performance improvements. The release of v1.6 arrives ahead of Lords of the Fallen’s launch day debut for PlayStation® 5 Pro, featuring a 40% increase in pixel density, with an enhanced Performance Mode running at 4K60 based on 1440p, and Quality Mode running at a native 4K30.
To mark the release of Lords of the Fallen v1.6, the standard version of the game will be available on Steam at a 50% discount from 6pm GMT (10am PT, 1pm ET, 7pm CET) this evening until 11th November, at $29.99/£24.99/€29.99.
With version 1.6, new Lords of the Fallen players are more empowered on their journey across Mournstead, with a series of changes during the early part of the game. These include a more gradual onboarding into the Umbral Lamp’s unique abilities, and improved navigation in the tutorial area. As for the wider community, a highly-sought player request has been the ability to more thoroughly explore Umbral – the game’s secondary, darker realm that runs alongside its core world. While retaining its dark allure and tension, the changes – which include subtler soundscapes, an adjusted enemy spawn curve for improved pacing, and reduced vignette effect – all combine to better support exploration of the Umbral.
Rounding off the update is a raft of additional performance updates and further difficulty adjustments, including mob redistribution, adjusted ranged enemy perception, and improved platforming. Full patch notes are available to read.
Founded in 2002, CI Games is an independent, global video games developer and publisher. The company has created internationally recognised and celebrated titles for nearly 25 years, including the acclaimed Lords of the Fallen and Sniper Ghost Warrior franchises. CI Games has two internal studios: HEXWORKS, which is currently developing the next major instalment of the Lords of the Fallen franchise due in 2026, and Underdog Studio, which is currently in pre-production of an original, fantasy action-RPG, due in 2028.
New exciting project GAMM – Game Museum to be unveiled during Checkpoint Festival of Interactive Experiences in Rome this month
4 November 2024, Rome: The team behind VIGAMUS The Video Game Museum of Rome has joined forces to create Kabuto, an innovative and tech-driven start-up founded by veterans of the entertainment industry to create, manage, and develop a new venture, GAMM – Game Museum.
Located in the heart of Rome at Piazza della Repubblica, GAMM will launch on November 30, 2024, just after Checkpoint – Festival of Interactive Experiences taking place on 28 – 29 November at Casa del Cinema di Roma.
GAMM was born from the extraordinary success story of Vigamus – The Video Game Museum of Rome, which has hosted over two million visitors from around the world since its inception in 2012. Open 7 days a week, GAMM will span approximately 700 square meters, divided into two levels and three thematic areas. It offers an immersive and interactive journey through the world of video games, combining cutting-edge digital content with a collection of unique, valuable artifacts. It promotes the interactive medium as a form of cultural art and expression.
The museum is designed not only for video game enthusiasts but also for families, young people, tourists, schools, academies, and industry experts, and for anyone interested in discovering the unique cultural medium that has, over the years, captivated and moved people of all ages and backgrounds.
Marco Accordi Rickards, Director of GAMM said: “GAMM – Game Museum aims to highlight the cultural and artistic value of video games as interactive works allowing visitors to immerse themselves in a path based on the combination of history, technology, and the exploration of gameplay.”
Luisa Bixio, Co-Founder of Kabuto said: “GAMM will be an immersive museum space, where video games as a cultural medium can be explored from the origins to the latest evolution, visitors from all over the world will be able to discover a new location in the heart of Rome.”
GAMM Opening: November 30 Location: Piazza della Repubblica, Rome Opening hours: 7 days a week from 9:30 AM to 7:30 PM, and on Fridays and Saturdays also from 8:30 PM to 11:30 PM Website:www.gammuseum.com
Checkpoint – Festival of Interactive Experiences Dates: November 28-29 Location: Casa del Cinema, Rome, Largo Marcello Mastroianni 1 Admission: Free, subject to availability Website: https://checkpointconference.com/
GAMM Website:www.gammuseum.com (the website will be active from November 4, 2024)
About KABUTO s.r.l
KABUTO is an innovative and technological start-up with a rich heritage rooted in over 25 years of experience in the field of interactive works. It was founded by the team behind Vigamus Group. GAMM – Game Museum aims to constitute the evolution of the Group’s history in preserving, promoting, and expanding the cultural and artistic value of the interactive medium as a cutting-edge museum space. Our journey has seen the development of several key assets, including the VIGAMUS – The Videogame Museum of Rome, which opened its doors in 2012, and the VIGAMUS Academy, offering specialized training since 2014.
Slitterhead is a horror and sci-fi-themed action-adventure game, although it’s not a scary game like Silent Hill, which is designed to elicit fear in the player. The game marks the return of Keiichiro Toyama – one of the key minds behind the first Silent Hill and the three Forbidden Siren iterations – as a game director, and also the first title released by Bokeh Game Studio. Toyama’s previous horror games stand out for their originality, weirdness, and suspenseful, non-linear storytelling that gets stranger as the player advances through the game. That was one of the main reasons why I kept coming back to the Siren series, as my curiosity got the best of me despite the games being hard in a kind of tiresome way. Slitterhead is a spiritual successor to Siren in many ways, encompassing many of its elements while providing more action-focused gameplay. That said, can Slitterhead deliver an enticing and accessible experience without losing its soul in the process?
Story
Slitterhead is set in the cluttered streets of the fictional Kowlong. The city is inspired by the real-world Kowloon, a chaotic walled city in the middle of Hong Kong that was demolished in the 1990s. The story follows Hyoki, an entity devoid of memory and physical form, and the people he possesses as a means to hunt and eliminate shapeshifting, brain-devouring creatures known as Slitterheads.
The hunt will lead Hyoki and his group to understand more about the origins and motives of the Slitterheads, which are connected to something even more sinister than their preference for human brains. The protagonists also experience some development, with their backgrounds being revealed gradually. The overall plot is also drip-fed, which makes things interesting at first but ends up dragging on for a bit too long. Regardless, Slitterhead provides an intriguing story with many layers, and it all gets more and more strange and sinister as the player advances through the game.
Gameplay
The game is divided into missions that take place in the streets of Kowlong and other specific locations. Slitterhead pays significant homage to another title by Toyama, Forbidden Siren. Thus, fans of Siren will appreciate Slitterhead‘s Asian urban setting as well as the sound direction and gameplay elements directly drawn from Siren. The missions are also structured similarly to the aforementioned title, featuring a “second loop,” where players get to replay missions but with new objectives and story developments. That’s a clever way to add substance to a game while sparing resources, but it also means that players will only have a handful of locations to explore.
Slitterhead‘s gameplay features a mix that involves investigation, rapid vertical chases through the streets of Kowlong, and, primarily, combat against the Slitterheads. The investigation and exploration sections of the game mainly involve locating and eliminating them. Using Hyoki’s synchronicity with the Slitterheads, players can briefly see their most recent memories left in items and other objects. Hyoki can also hijack the enemy’s field of view, allowing players to see what the monster is currently observing, further aiding in the hunt.
Since Hyoki does not have a physical body, he must possess living creatures that have enough affinity with him in order to pursue his prey. Common humans’ basic abilities and the blood jump mechanic – which enables the player to reach high places in seconds – create a fast-paced, dynamic, and enjoyable navigation experience. Hyoki can possess and dispossess humans at will. For instance, if the player is on top of a building but a Slitterhead escapes to the streets below, they can execute a suicide jump and possess another human before hitting the ground.
Special humans with a heightened affinity with Hyoki compose the main cast of the game. Designated as “rarities,” these characters possess exclusive and powerful combat abilities that are partially shared with other rarities and ordinary humans. This leads us to the central element of the gameplay: Combat. It’s not like missions are teeming with monsters, forcing the player into combat frequently. Rather, enemy encounters are relatively scarce for a good chunk of the game. That said, there’s a lot of emphasis on combat mechanics, allowing players to unlock and enhance rarity skills by using points earned through exploration and stage completion. These skills are varied and intriguing, granting rarities something akin to “jobs” in RPGs. Some rarities focus on healing and support, others on manipulating humans, while some rely on sheer brute strength, even using humans as suicide bombers.
The combat is brutal and bloody, just like the rest of the game, and occurs from the same third-person perspective as the exploration sections. Fundamentally, the combat works well with solid controls. Players have access to attacks, blocks, and dodges that form the basic combat mechanics. Common humans are clumsy and deal low damage, but their real function is to serve as bait, ammunition, and sacrifices. Furthermore, their abilities highlight their true usefulness; for example, the War Cry ability compels a Slitterhead to attack the human who used it, allowing rarities to regroup, heal, or strike unexpectedly with longer and more powerful combo strings and skills.
Combat can be fun and varied. This diversity does not extend to enemies, who are generally the same few simple mobs, with bosses that do not change much in appearance or attack patterns. That said, the most significant issue with Slitterhead lies in its exploration and enemy-tracking set pieces that take away much of the agency the player could have during these segments. That means that the answer to any little obstacle that could require a bit of thinking is handed to the player for free, with Hyoki even repeating the answer after a couple of minutes. Furthermore, secrets revealed through sightjack and dialogues with rarities during intermissions are eventually resolved by the characters themselves.
Hyoki’s sightjacking abilities would be enough to detect enemies, adding depth and challenge to the gameplay, so why does the game feature colored auras and deafening sounds pointing to enemies’ exact location? In Siren, Shibito were located solely through sightjack. It was challenging and somewhat tiresome to use in that game, but in Slitterhead, the explore-able area is relatively small with numerous landmarks for cross-referencing. This results in exploration that’s little more than a glorified visual novel with constant interruptions and cutscenes, making the game feel dragged-out and boring. None of these issues would be as problematic if players had the option to disable tips, markers, and unnecessary visual clutter as desired. The four difficulty levels only affect combat. It’s high time developers started providing a more customizable experience that accommodates different skill levels and tastes.
Visuals
The graphics are simple but effective. The neon-lit streets of Kowlong feel lifelike, with busy open-air markets and rows of buildings on every side, creating a mature, dark 1980s atmosphere. The models and textures of common characters are basic and tend to overlap, with variations mostly in clothes and hairstyles. However, the rarities feature more varied and appealing designs, such as textures featuring small details like the scratches on Alex’s helmet.
Common monsters suffer from the same issue as ordinary human characters, with repetitive designs inspired by marine creatures. I expected the game to be more grotesque and disturbing in this regard, but to be fair, it offers its share of unsettling moments. Regardless, the art style and themes in Slitterhead are unique and should appeal to players seeking something unconventional.
Audio
Akira Yamaoka, from the Silent Hill series, is responsible for the soundtrack and overall sound design. The guttural chants from Siren are present, further emphasizing the game’s mystical Asian atmosphere.
The soundtrack combines Yamaoka’s signature chill, ambient tracks with more action-oriented and suspenseful tunes which frequently feature Asian motifs that will probably sound strange to many but fit the game very well. Regardless, the intermission menu track contains a vocal passage that annoyed me to no end.
The game mostly doesn’t have voice-overs. The few lines the characters have are mostly spoken in English, although NPCs usually speak Chinese. The remaining dialogues are grunts and repeated one-liners.
Overall
While Slitterhead can be considered a true spiritual successor to Forbidden Siren, it’s not the return to form I expected. The excessive emphasis on accessibility during exploration made it redundant, serving only as story exposition and making it feel like padding until the next encounter with enemies. The implementation of diverse combat mechanics ends up feeling a bit wasted on few and repeated enemies. Despite that, the story retains the suspense, mystique, and gruesomeness that Siren is known for, making Slitterhead an interesting experience for horror fans.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
