Empty Shell Review
Empty Shell
Publisher: Hyperstrange
Developer: CC Arts
Genre:
PEGI: 16
Comments:
Empty Shell is a top-down, roguelike survival horror game that casts players into a desolate, grayscale research facility. The game’s stark visual style, combined with its tense atmosphere and challenging gameplay, creates a unique and compelling experience.
The game’s most striking feature is its black and white aesthetic. This choice not only adds a sense of eerie desolation but also emphasizes the isolation and danger of the environment. The monochromatic palette is used effectively to create a claustrophobic and oppressive atmosphere, heightening the tension as players navigate the labyrinthine facility.
Empty Shell embraces the core principles of roguelike games, meaning that each playthrough is different. Randomized levels, enemies, and item drops ensure that no two experiences are the same. The game’s permadeath mechanic adds a layer of risk and consequence to every decision, making each encounter feel more meaningful.
The combat in Empty Shell is fast-paced and requires careful strategy. Players must manage their limited resources, including ammunition and health, while fending off hordes of monstrous creatures. The game’s difficulty can be quite steep, especially for those new to the roguelike genre. However, the challenge is balanced by a sense of accomplishment when players manage to overcome obstacles and progress through the game.
Despite its challenging nature, Empty Shell offers a deeply satisfying and rewarding experience. The game’s combination of exploration, combat, and resource management creates a compelling loop that keeps players coming back for more. While the game’s length may be relatively short, its replayability factor is high, thanks to the randomized elements and the need to master its mechanics.
While Empty Shell doesn’t offer a traditional narrative structure, its lore is hinted at through environmental storytelling and cryptic messages scattered throughout the facility. Players can piece together fragments of the research facility’s history, uncovering a dark and disturbing truth about the experiments that were conducted there. The creatures that inhabit Empty Shell are grotesque and terrifying. From mutated creatures to hostile androids, each enemy poses a unique threat. Players must learn their attack patterns and weaknesses to survive encounters. As players progress through the game, they will discover various items and upgrades that can enhance their abilities. These include weapons, armor, and consumables that can provide temporary boosts to health or stamina. The game’s atmosphere is enhanced by its sound design. The eerie ambient sounds, combined with the unsettling noises made by the enemies, create a sense of dread and suspense.
In summary, Empty Shell is a well-crafted roguelike survival horror game that offers a unique and challenging experience. Its monochromatic aesthetic, combined with its tense atmosphere, challenging gameplay, and compelling lore, make it a must-play for fans of the genre. While the game may not be for everyone due to its difficulty, those who appreciate a good challenge will find much to enjoy in Empty Shell.
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Article By Kevin Austin
Kevin Austin has been in gaming journalism in one way or another since the launch of the Nintendo Gamecube. Married and father of 3 children he has been gaming since the ripe age of 6 when he got his first NES system and over 30 years later he is still gaming almost daily. Kevin is also co-founder of the Play Some Video Games (PSVG) Podcast network which was founded over five years ago and is still going strong. Some of his favorite gaming series includes Fallout and Far Cry, he is a sucker for single player adventure games (hence his big reviews for Playstation), and can frequently be found getting down in one battle royale or another. If it's an oddball game, odds are he's all about it.
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