A survival horror game set in No Man’s Land. Sometimes. The game is split between the horrors of the Western Front and the horrors of your family’s house.
It is a compelling and refreshing take on the horror genre during the war portion, but the “spooky mansion” content rarely surpasses being a knockoff of better titles, such as Layers of Fear. Through collectibles, the game explores many themes, such as waging war when your populace is not interested in it, or using mustard gas with moral hazard. There’s nothing particularly profound about the game, instead just a few bog-standard surrealist sequences masked by vague gestures to profundity.
In the game’s five or so hours, there are only a handful of human characters, although the war serves as a brilliant backdrop for horror, as it tends to show humanity’s worst side. You’ll find plenty of corpses, but living threats are exclusively grotesque amalgams, deeply disturbing to behold at every turn. The creature design is phenomenal.
There is also excellent sound design in No Man’s Land. In moments when you are forced to cross it, there is a haunting stillness and silence that perfectly conveys the horror of that stretch of land. A unique hybrid of sounds, the music deftly weaves horror stings into the classic war sound, creating an intriguing blend of sounds. The environments are mixed. While some areas are well-designed and full of character, many have a muddy, washed-out quality that leaves much to be desired.
It all adds up to a game that is half-decent. If the war idea would have been expanded upon, the title could have been much better.
Pros:
- The war/trenches half of the game.
- Music and sound design.
- Here are some great environments.
- The design of the creatures is excellent.
Cons:
- The mansion is half of the game.
- Textures and environments that are muddy.
- Says nothing meaningful.
My rating for this game is 6 out of 10.