There certainly is a fair bit to lament about this throwback to the retro survival-horror classics of yesteryear...
Creating an experience meant to instill terror with a cutesy pixel art style seems like a paradox, yet titles such as Lone Survivor and Claire have shown it is entirely possible to do so successfully. If they stand as proof of the method's effectiveness however, then Lamentum is without a doubt their antithesis. Often the imagery it presents is more goofy than frightening. Leading to a descent through the spirals of madness that simply isn't scary, and not just because of its occasional corny touches which include abandoned nurseries decorated with children's wooden ABC blocks that have been arranged to spell out the words "die" or "hell" (ooh, petrifying π) either.
It may come as a surprise though, that this isn't the game's real problem. That would be how it more frequently serves as a showcase for the less fondly remembered aspects of the Silent Hills, Resident Evils, and other PS1 era genre greats it's paying homage to, rather than the qualities that made them so beloved. To be fair, it does get about half the formula right. Developer Obscure Tales really nailed the exploration and puzzle-solving element, tossing you into a very Spencer Mansion-esque setting full of satisfying head-scratchers that make the loop of figuring out what items need to be used where as the number of areas you have access to only grows larger extremely addicting indeed. Unfortunately, the stuff they got wrong was enough to suck quite a bit of my enjoyment out from even this portion and left me wishing they had made a straight adventure offering instead.
Now, having to carefully manage your supplies, contend with limited inventory space, and potentially lose lengthy stretches of progress should you happen to meet an untimely demise on your way to the next sparsely located safe room is always annoying to a degree, but far from atypical for the genre. Just look at Lamentumβs obvious inspirations. So the fact that all that stuff actively irritated me here whereas I've been able to basically overlook them in its influences means that I either can't hang with survival-horror anymore (totally possible) or that this one doesn't manage to bring these hurdles together in a way that healthily adds to the tension as opposed to merely introducing greater frustration. Naturally, I'm leaning towards the latter.
I think the reason it fails to make everything click for itself is because it doesn't get the combat right. It wasn't until around the halfway mark when I finally found a melee weapon decent enough to make defending myself when backed into a corner, a regular occurrence given how much of the runtime takes place in tight hallways, a legitimately viable option even with the fairly reliable dodge mechanic. With bullets needing to be rationed for boss battles, up until then trying to squeeze past monsters and healing up whatever swipes I may have taken (and usually did take) along the way was genuinely the best means of preserving my resources, which turns the process of getting from point A to point B and back again into an unengaging, tedious, and at times downright aggravating slog. Especially since one of the protagonist's lungs apparently explodes the second he tries to run more than three steps when in the presence of an enemy. Word of advice, turn off the RE1 style limited saves and maybe just play on easy.
Another, minor in comparison flaw that left me nonetheless baffled is the game's approach to endings. I achieved 3 out of the 4 different conclusions. That fourth and final one, meanwhile? Unless you're willing to awkwardly hump every square inch of scenery I have no idea how you would unlock it without resorting to a guide as it requires you to collect a certain number of items (6 human teeth and 10 "strange" coins to be precise) that often don't have any sort of visual indication of where they are onscreen and are sometimes hidden in scripted hallucination scenarios that give you only a single opportunity to grab them. I also still don't know what you're supposed to do with them afterwards. By far the most cryptic set of finale requirements I've seen since trying to spare Cybil in the first Silent Hill.
Ultimately, in spite of all my complaints and grievances I did push through to witness the credits roll. Drawing strength from the consistent dopamine hit of finding that next key or tool that would grant me access to another section of "Grau Hill" and the secrets inside. The devs definitely delivered on the brainteasers, but the manner they dropped the ball with the action and horror causes this to be difficult to recommend. If they can manage to notably improve in those departments for their already announced sophomore showing βINANIMAβ then we could have a true standout on our hands. Unfortunately, their debut effort leaves a lot to be desired.
5.5/10
Creating an experience meant to instill terror with a cutesy pixel art style seems like a paradox, yet titles such as Lone Survivor and Claire have shown it is entirely possible to do so successfully. If they stand as proof of the method's effectiveness however, then Lamentum is without a doubt their antithesis. Often the imagery it presents is more goofy than frightening. Leading to a descent through the spirals of madness that simply isn't scary, and not just because of its occasional corny touches which include abandoned nurseries decorated with children's wooden ABC blocks that have been arranged to spell out the words "die" or "hell" (ooh, petrifying π) either.
It may come as a surprise though, that this isn't the game's real problem. That would be how it more frequently serves as a showcase for the less fondly remembered aspects of the Silent Hills, Resident Evils, and other PS1 era genre greats it's paying homage to, rather than the qualities that made them so beloved. To be fair, it does get about half the formula right. Developer Obscure Tales really nailed the exploration and puzzle-solving element, tossing you into a very Spencer Mansion-esque setting full of satisfying head-scratchers that make the loop of figuring out what items need to be used where as the number of areas you have access to only grows larger extremely addicting indeed. Unfortunately, the stuff they got wrong was enough to suck quite a bit of my enjoyment out from even this portion and left me wishing they had made a straight adventure offering instead.
Now, having to carefully manage your supplies, contend with limited inventory space, and potentially lose lengthy stretches of progress should you happen to meet an untimely demise on your way to the next sparsely located safe room is always annoying to a degree, but far from atypical for the genre. Just look at Lamentumβs obvious inspirations. So the fact that all that stuff actively irritated me here whereas I've been able to basically overlook them in its influences means that I either can't hang with survival-horror anymore (totally possible) or that this one doesn't manage to bring these hurdles together in a way that healthily adds to the tension as opposed to merely introducing greater frustration. Naturally, I'm leaning towards the latter.
I think the reason it fails to make everything click for itself is because it doesn't get the combat right. It wasn't until around the halfway mark when I finally found a melee weapon decent enough to make defending myself when backed into a corner, a regular occurrence given how much of the runtime takes place in tight hallways, a legitimately viable option even with the fairly reliable dodge mechanic. With bullets needing to be rationed for boss battles, up until then trying to squeeze past monsters and healing up whatever swipes I may have taken (and usually did take) along the way was genuinely the best means of preserving my resources, which turns the process of getting from point A to point B and back again into an unengaging, tedious, and at times downright aggravating slog. Especially since one of the protagonist's lungs apparently explodes the second he tries to run more than three steps when in the presence of an enemy. Word of advice, turn off the RE1 style limited saves and maybe just play on easy.
Another, minor in comparison flaw that left me nonetheless baffled is the game's approach to endings. I achieved 3 out of the 4 different conclusions. That fourth and final one, meanwhile? Unless you're willing to awkwardly hump every square inch of scenery I have no idea how you would unlock it without resorting to a guide as it requires you to collect a certain number of items (6 human teeth and 10 "strange" coins to be precise) that often don't have any sort of visual indication of where they are onscreen and are sometimes hidden in scripted hallucination scenarios that give you only a single opportunity to grab them. I also still don't know what you're supposed to do with them afterwards. By far the most cryptic set of finale requirements I've seen since trying to spare Cybil in the first Silent Hill.
Ultimately, in spite of all my complaints and grievances I did push through to witness the credits roll. Drawing strength from the consistent dopamine hit of finding that next key or tool that would grant me access to another section of "Grau Hill" and the secrets inside. The devs definitely delivered on the brainteasers, but the manner they dropped the ball with the action and horror causes this to be difficult to recommend. If they can manage to notably improve in those departments for their already announced sophomore showing βINANIMAβ then we could have a true standout on our hands. Unfortunately, their debut effort leaves a lot to be desired.
5.5/10
3 Comments
@molochthagod I feel like the Resident Evil series is the best example of why all that stuff is annoying. Even when they went full action game for 5 and 6 they were content to only give you like four bullets at any given time. Itβs annoying that a franchise which emphasizes the combat aspect of the genre so heavily never seems interested in giving you the tools to utilize it effectively.
@TheQuietGamer I feel like 5 stuck more or less close to the template of 4. I actually don't remember having ammo problems in that game. But in 6 I did run out of ammo plenty of times. Which is yeah, ridiculous.
molochthagod
16 days ago