In Empty bodyAn early 2000s third-person survival horror game by Nathan Hamley (the solo developer behind Headware Games), the real terror comes not from its hideous monsters, but from living in a world where ordinary people have been failed by the system. to die
Empty body is an homage to the classics of the PlayStation 2 era that helped define the genre. It also adds a “tech-noir” spin; the first few Silent Hill games, ie Silent Hill 2and a touch Blade Runner. It’s heavy on atmosphere, relying almost entirely on tension rather than action to create a palpable sense of unease. The game does this even though it brings PS2 graphics to life no subjects you to tank control (if you don’t want them, there’s a switch for that, sickos).
It is set somewhere in the British Isles in the not-too-distant future, in a ruined city decades after the region was subjected to a supposed biological attack and then bombed while under quarantine. A short introduction tells the story of corruption and conspiracy surrounding the true events of the disaster. The initial attacks targeted cities “suffering from economic hardship and immorality,” and the affected areas were walled off to prevent the spread of any infectious diseases – but not before people deemed “high-value” were allowed to flee to the artificial island. dubious utopian name (Aeonis).
The game opens with a group of researcher-activists gathering at the entrance to one of the exclusion zones where they plan to go in search of answers. After one of them, Sasha, disappears, her partner Mika gets into a flying car to find her at any cost.
It’s in this early sequence that we really see the tech-noir part Empty body‘s description follows: Mica looks out the huge glass window of an apartment overlooking a crowded city Blade Runner 2049; zipping between skyscrapers in a flying passenger car; idle chatter with the smart navigation system. Of course, Mika has an accident while riding, loses contact with someone who can help him, and has to walk to Sasha.
After that, the technoir bit is largely ignored until it returns late in the game and Empty body ‘science experiment turned local extinction event’ takes on a more traditional survival horror mold. There are some touches of this distinct technological vision—at one point, Mica walks past a broken-down mechanism the size of an apartment building, and in one room there’s a glowing child’s toy that looks vaguely robotic—but it doesn’t quite pan out. Mica’s personal gear and inventory menu style serve as the only real reminders of this angle for most of the game.
There are a series of puzzles to solve as you explore the abandoned buildings and parks of the city trying to figure out how to get the hell out of there. The solution to most of these is fairly obvious once you come across the clues sprinkled everywhere, so the fun is more in the exploration.
There was an occasional head scratcher that sent me in circles. It didn’t help that the surfaces I was able to interact with would sometimes continue to display indicators like “Fetch” or “Search” even after I had taken everything usable from them. I found myself checking certain spots over and over in the cluttered rooms, wondering if I had missed something. These instructions will appear in some places because of Mika making trivial observations like commenting on dirty dishes or sheets that have not been washed over the years, and he will repeat the same words when he comes across the same arrangements in different places. apartments.
Thankfully, this doesn’t detract too much from how frustrating the setting is. The music is haunting and combines with loud ambient sounds like rain, radio static and Mika’s echoing footsteps to create a truly visceral soundscape. If Mica is ever inside a building or underground structure, you can be sure it will be dark and labyrinthine. It always felt like a monster would jump out any second, although usually it didn’t. (But sometimes it did.) Outside, Mika appears, and it doesn’t take long for the monsters to notice and gather around him.
The monsters themselves are amazingly hideous. There are bipedal abominations, some thin, others heavy and headless, with rough rods protruding from their upper halves. Empty body there are also some demon dogs, plus a few squealing insectoid creatures that pose no threat other than creeping you out. Cat-sized worm creatures will slither past you, and their hilariously sloppy animation might become the most PS2 in the entire game.
It’s not very combat-oriented – often, you can just run past enemies – but there are future weapons and a few makeshift melee weapons. Using the latter was a bit stiff and slow at times, especially when facing a group of animals, but I was still able to make hunting gear to save ammo. And I enjoyed the thud of the street sign ax meeting wolf meat. I also liked how Mika was able to pick up her electric guitar from the wall and use it as a weapon. Given the weight, this may not be the most pragmatic approach, but the clink when it makes contact with its target is very satisfying.
Each turn features corpses in various states of decay, and Mica’s scanner will give you an instant reading of who the deceased is and how they died. In many cases, the cause is not something paranormal: dehydration, starvation, murder, etc. A narrative takes shape through certain sites through documents and audio flashbacks that tell of financial struggles and gentrification in the city long before the biological disaster. the people living in the subsequently quarantined area could survive only as long as the dwindling resources allowed.
Mika finds a letter mentioning impending rent increases, a construction violation going on at all hours of the night, and a past notice for unpaid utilities showing the monthly rates. He comes across a note from a dying man wishing for a better future for his family and humanity. On a post-quarantine note, starving civilians who ask to leave the city are shot dead by armed forces. It’s all incredibly bleak, and I didn’t have to suspend my disbelief too much to imagine a reality where things would turn out this way.
But the explanation for why there are monstrous, fleshy humanoid monsters roaming the streets never fully reveals itself. (At least not with the ending I reached and all the material I gathered.) The most substantial clue on this front came from a newspaper clipping, the contents of which I’d rather not spoil here. An article plants the seed of an idea, but it’s largely up to the player to fill in the blanks beyond that.
There are touching snippets of Mika and Sasha’s story as well, but the duo’s connection to the place and its apparent importance in its current course never achieved the neat conclusion I was hoping for. While the ending was a beautiful, emotional scene, it felt like it brought the story full circle thematically, while also making me feel like: Wait, what happened? It looks like there are other endings that could be more decisive in later games. Beating the game also unlocks a more difficult option and a first-person dungeon crawl mode, which made things feel instantly scarier when I fired it up.
Even with its flaws, Empty body is a solid survival horror title that feels especially impressive considering it was made by a solo indie developer. Vibes are part of what made their predecessors unforgettable and Empty body‘s oppressive mood hits all the right notes.
