This was my third time playing this expansion and it only really hit me this replay how much it doesn't compare to the previous entry. It starts and ends well enough, but everything in the middle goes from alright to kinda-stinky in a cycle until the hospital segment.

Gameplay wise it's still FEAR, which is pretty much hard-carrying the entire middle portion, though I did notice in some instances the AI couldn't quite navigate around certain areas in an effective manner, either refusing to follow me into a previous room and entering a neutral state or running in circles around the room I was in. The new enemies themselves aren't interesting either, the minigun Replicas are just walking bullet pinatas and the other two may as well be reskins of enemies that already existed.

I honestly find the additions to the player's arsenal nothing to write home about. The minigun is alright, if not suited for the amount of long-range combat there is before the hospital. The laser rifle seemed fine but since only 3 or 4 enemies in the entire expansion carry it and it runs out of ammo extremely fast, it never seemed worth really using much. The little turret didn't really do much damage-wise and only seems worthwhile as a comically useful distraction.

For the most part the horror and narrative is extremely weak. The horror boiling down to mostly weird jumpscares, a lot of reused visions and voice clips from the original game, and aaaaaaaargh not the flesh men that stare at me and do nothing!!! The narrative is essentially just "We gotta get the fuck out!!"

It's not exactly the most interesting shit out there but it's the best possible thing you can play if you REALLY need more FEAR.

Reviewed on Apr 06, 2023


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