I don't like stealth or hide and seek horror games usually, though there are the rare exceptions like Little Nightmares, but even still there was something about Song of Horror that enticed me. It had that old school classic horror vibe with the fixed camera angles and the exploration reminiscent to that of Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and other classics from that era that I grew up with. Most of all though, was that the threat in the story was not something physical like a monster, but rather supernatural like spirits and entities. Outside of Fatal Frame, I haven't played a lot of horror games that center around the paranormal so Song of Horror sounded like a breath of fresh air to what I usually play.
In my personal opinion the story for Song of Horror is absolutely fantastic and had me hooked the entire time! During each episode I wanted to read every file I came across so I could get into the game's lore and after I completed that episode I couldn't wait to get started on the next so I could get more answers about the melody that cursed the main character Daniel. After finishing the game though I was initially disappointed in the ending, but after a short while to think on it I found that it was fitting to the tone of the story. However, I think the game would have benefited to having multiple endings depending on how many people made it through the game to the end.
What makes Song of Horror so terrifying outside of the story and jump scares, was the atmosphere. Every location is steeped in shadows and darkness, flickering lights, and an eerie emptiness. Sounds that shouldn't be there like a person running on the floor above you though you know no one is home. The occasional spirit that come out to greet you with it's dead eyes that oozes black tears and adorned with a dreadful grin. This game was so scary for me that I couldn't play it at night and even during the day it still gave me the chills.
Song of Horror has a lot of elements in it's gameplay that is ripped from classic horror titles from the 90's, like fixed camera angles, tank controls, exploration, and puzzles. I think for most people who haven't played a lot of classic horror, they will probably struggle with the controls and wonder why there is no over the shoulder camera like in Resident Evil 4. If you're not accustomed to playing that way I think it can really be frustrating, especially when you have to run and hide from the Presence and you have to be really quick about it. I grew up with this so I didn't particularly struggle with the controls for the most part, and felt right at home.
The puzzles were probably one of the weakest parts about this game and I used a guide the entire time. I don't mind puzzles because I feel they can add a lot to a game, but only if they're enjoyable to solve. I'd say eighty percent of the puzzles in this game were anything but fun because most of the solutions are so obtuse. Not only are some of the puzzles frustrating to solve without using a guide, but some just feel like filler or just slowed down the pacing of the game.
There are two things that makes Song of Horror stand out for from classic horror, permadeath and no combat. There is no way to fight or defeat the presence and the only way to survive is playing through a quick time event that start randomly throughout each episode. Song of Horror starts off with two at the beginning than adds a new QTE with each episode you play to add more variety. After the scripted tutorial for each event, they're completely random when they happened and are based around the players actions and difficulty. Some of the QTEs are poorly explained and some of them are aggravating because there are no button prompts when playing some of them. Along with the puzzles, I feel like this is another part of the game that could have used a little more polish.
When failing a QTE or when walking through the wrong door without listening to what's on the other side, the current character you're playing dies and becomes a ghost that will go on to haunt the next character that you choose to play as. All the items and progress you made will still carry on though, but you'll have to pick up their backpack that contained all the items found in that location. I know that if you talk to a spirit of a deceased character when they're friendly they give you their personal item instead of killing you, though I'm still trying to figure out what personal items even do in this game. If all the characters or Daniel dies, you'll be forced to do the entire episode over.
Personally, I hate games that feature permadeath and the good news is that game features another difficulty called E.T.A Hoffman which lets you start from a checkpoint instead of losing the current character. You can still chose to lose that character to the darkness if you want just for fun too because the game will let you decide. I feel with this mode it makes the game much more enjoyable to play, though it does take away some of the tension.
As I played this game only on PC I won't judge the console's performance, but on PC Song of Horror suffers from some serious optimization issues. I could get all the episodes to run perfectly for the most part outside for episode 4, which the frames per second went from 60 to 30-40ish. It really took me out of the immersion of the game which was really disappointing and I'm still hoping the developers patch it.
Overall:
I definitely recommend this title to anyone that likes horror games and doesn't mind fixed camera angles and tanks controls. However, I strongly suggest that players use a spoiler free guide like Neoseeker when playing because of how awful the puzzles are and the lack of direction the game gives you. Despite some of its issues, Song of Horror was really fun to play through and it's been a long time since a horror game has scared me this much. I can't wait to play it again for Halloween in the coming years.
Pros:
+great story
+amazing atmosphere
+easy mode that removes permadeath
+good sound track
Cons:
-obtuse puzzle that frustrating to solve without a guide
-poor optimization on PC for episode 4
-some QTEs are poorly explained
In my personal opinion the story for Song of Horror is absolutely fantastic and had me hooked the entire time! During each episode I wanted to read every file I came across so I could get into the game's lore and after I completed that episode I couldn't wait to get started on the next so I could get more answers about the melody that cursed the main character Daniel. After finishing the game though I was initially disappointed in the ending, but after a short while to think on it I found that it was fitting to the tone of the story. However, I think the game would have benefited to having multiple endings depending on how many people made it through the game to the end.
What makes Song of Horror so terrifying outside of the story and jump scares, was the atmosphere. Every location is steeped in shadows and darkness, flickering lights, and an eerie emptiness. Sounds that shouldn't be there like a person running on the floor above you though you know no one is home. The occasional spirit that come out to greet you with it's dead eyes that oozes black tears and adorned with a dreadful grin. This game was so scary for me that I couldn't play it at night and even during the day it still gave me the chills.
Song of Horror has a lot of elements in it's gameplay that is ripped from classic horror titles from the 90's, like fixed camera angles, tank controls, exploration, and puzzles. I think for most people who haven't played a lot of classic horror, they will probably struggle with the controls and wonder why there is no over the shoulder camera like in Resident Evil 4. If you're not accustomed to playing that way I think it can really be frustrating, especially when you have to run and hide from the Presence and you have to be really quick about it. I grew up with this so I didn't particularly struggle with the controls for the most part, and felt right at home.
The puzzles were probably one of the weakest parts about this game and I used a guide the entire time. I don't mind puzzles because I feel they can add a lot to a game, but only if they're enjoyable to solve. I'd say eighty percent of the puzzles in this game were anything but fun because most of the solutions are so obtuse. Not only are some of the puzzles frustrating to solve without using a guide, but some just feel like filler or just slowed down the pacing of the game.
There are two things that makes Song of Horror stand out for from classic horror, permadeath and no combat. There is no way to fight or defeat the presence and the only way to survive is playing through a quick time event that start randomly throughout each episode. Song of Horror starts off with two at the beginning than adds a new QTE with each episode you play to add more variety. After the scripted tutorial for each event, they're completely random when they happened and are based around the players actions and difficulty. Some of the QTEs are poorly explained and some of them are aggravating because there are no button prompts when playing some of them. Along with the puzzles, I feel like this is another part of the game that could have used a little more polish.
When failing a QTE or when walking through the wrong door without listening to what's on the other side, the current character you're playing dies and becomes a ghost that will go on to haunt the next character that you choose to play as. All the items and progress you made will still carry on though, but you'll have to pick up their backpack that contained all the items found in that location. I know that if you talk to a spirit of a deceased character when they're friendly they give you their personal item instead of killing you, though I'm still trying to figure out what personal items even do in this game. If all the characters or Daniel dies, you'll be forced to do the entire episode over.
Personally, I hate games that feature permadeath and the good news is that game features another difficulty called E.T.A Hoffman which lets you start from a checkpoint instead of losing the current character. You can still chose to lose that character to the darkness if you want just for fun too because the game will let you decide. I feel with this mode it makes the game much more enjoyable to play, though it does take away some of the tension.
As I played this game only on PC I won't judge the console's performance, but on PC Song of Horror suffers from some serious optimization issues. I could get all the episodes to run perfectly for the most part outside for episode 4, which the frames per second went from 60 to 30-40ish. It really took me out of the immersion of the game which was really disappointing and I'm still hoping the developers patch it.
Overall:
I definitely recommend this title to anyone that likes horror games and doesn't mind fixed camera angles and tanks controls. However, I strongly suggest that players use a spoiler free guide like Neoseeker when playing because of how awful the puzzles are and the lack of direction the game gives you. Despite some of its issues, Song of Horror was really fun to play through and it's been a long time since a horror game has scared me this much. I can't wait to play it again for Halloween in the coming years.
Pros:
+great story
+amazing atmosphere
+easy mode that removes permadeath
+good sound track
Cons:
-obtuse puzzle that frustrating to solve without a guide
-poor optimization on PC for episode 4
-some QTEs are poorly explained