The new indie horror title Remorse: The List takes players on a journey through the desolate streets of Hidegpuszta, a small Hungarian village shrouded in mystery and fear. As you navigate this unsettling environment armed only with a cryptic list that seemingly offers little guidance, the game slowly unfolds through elements reminiscent of classic survival horror titles like Silent Hill. The developers at Ashkandi and Truthkey clearly draw inspiration from the genre’s roots, delivering a narrative that gradually peels back the layers of the village’s haunting past – we explored it on a PlayStation 5.
The exploration aspect of Remorse: The List stands out as its strongest feature. The village exudes a perpetual sense of dread, ensuring that scares lurk around every corner. The open-world approach grants players the freedom to tackle the mysteries in different orders, enhancing the immersion and allowing for a slightly different experience with each playthrough.
However, as with many (indie) survival horror games, combat proves to be a mixed bag. The limited offensive options you have can lead to frustrating encounters, especially against foes that are stronger and move quickly around a scene. And while the combat mechanics serve their purpose, they’re pretty far removed from the level of polish you get in larger horror titles.
Inventory management and puzzles add depth to the gameplay, offering engaging challenges without becoming overly burdensome. The use of riddles as a gameplay element is a nice touch that harks back to the genre’s roots. And despite lacking groundbreaking innovations, Remorse: The List pays homage to those classic survival horror games in a way that will resonate with fans.
Visually, the game creates a suitably eerie atmosphere, effectively using lighting and detailed interiors to evoke a sense of foreboding. The creatures, while initially terrifying and well designed, can lose their impact over time due to a lack of diversity, while the audio design manages to maintain tension throughout the experience, contributing significantly to the overall immersion when played with the speakers (or headphones) turned up. We ran into a few audiovisual bugs though, which can briefly hurt the immersive nature of the experience.
The game’s duration, spanning around four to five hours, is somewhat on the shorter side – though the game’s asking price reflects this. It’s a fairly challenging game for more casual players though, so you might get some more mileage out of this one.
In conclusion, Remorse: The List offers a return to classic survival horror with its atmospheric setting and engaging puzzles. While it stumbles a bit in combat and there are few technical issues at launch, it manages to deliver an interesting experience for fans of the genre. If you’re willing to brave the horrors of Hidegpuszta, there’s a tale of dark secrets waiting to be unraveled – rough edges and all.
Score: 6.5/10
Press Play Media 