Song of Horror is an episodic survival horror game that I feel is well worth checking out if you like scares and games like Silent Hill, The Evil Within, and the original Resident Evil. The game is scheduled to be released over five parts, as I write this four of the five have been released. You can purchase them separately or as a bundle which will save you a few bucks.
How to Download Song of Horror
You can download the game and its episodes (counting five at the time of writing) from Steam. Click on the Download button at the end of the review.
The Game Review
A good horror game for me needs a strong premise and I like what they are doing with Song of Horror. The game starts out by having you play as a man called Daniel who ends up being called to this strange/haunted house. This is the game’s basic tutorial and it works very well. Before long, Daniel goes missing and the real game begins.
What is really cool here is that the game lets you pick from one of a few different playable characters. As well as each having their own personality each character is either related to Daniel or the house in some way. This is a really smart idea and it means no matter who you pick, you have a connection to what is going on.
The gameplay is rather interesting. I would say that the older Resident Evil games are a clear inspiration here. You move around the house, examining things, collecting items, combining items, solving puzzles, and so on. You always feel like you have something to do, but the house is not always going to let you!
This horrible house feels like it is alive and it kind of is. You see this game has AI that works around you and it is very effective. You have three ways that the house will come after you. It can be a horrible sound on the other side of the door, the house turning black and you needing to hide, or something bursting through a door that you need to hold shut.
These kinds of events happen at random and it is the clever AI that dictates it. You have a real sense of dread and fear as you play this and when you let your guard down, you often pay for it with your life. Which by the way is not a massive game over. Instead, you pick another character and if you go to where the previous character died, you can get back all of your stuff. It is annoying, but at least it keeps you moving forward.
The presentation is pretty solid. They make clever use of lighting, which along with the soundtrack makes the game scary and tense. The fixed camera angles are kind of cool, but I would bet these are not everyone’s cup of tea. The visuals fit the theme of the game very well and I really do not have any issues with the presentation of the game.
I love horror movies, games, books, and so on and I am interested in what they have done here. Song of Horror is a cool horror game and I do actually like the story enough that I want to play beyond the first episode. If you enjoy horror then I think this is a game that you are going to have a lot of fun with.
