Space, zombies and little to no resources. Few rooms where the combat takes place can actually be called big and even in those scenarios, doubting if it is better than the usual lack of space when regardless you end up being surrounded by hazards anyway, with only a few of them on view. Having some distance is no small thing considering that the tiny number of enemies who do not rely on melee attacks running towards you on sight are still more lethal in close quarters. Not only is the enemy stronger, but you are weaker, since the shooting focusing on taking off limbs to save ammo is considerably harder to execute when the tentacles are dancing around the whole width and height of the camera.
The already tense combat doesn’t stop there as resources are really scarce to the point where I thought the game was virtually softlocked on normal more than once, no ammo, no health, no cures, no money (it’s hard to illustrate how this happens, let’s just say that, for instance, you get 6 bullets for the main gun with every obtainable pack. And the standard magazine capacity is 10 bullets. It’s the only weapon that I had where I recovered more than half of a default charge with every pack). Apart from adding to the tension, the possibility of running absolutely out of everything being quite high adds a new layer to the space. There are melee possibilities, sure, but due to the enemy design it often leads to a (not recommended) trading of damage, a one way trade in the case your blow is blocked. There is another resource of course, using the kinesis power to pick up and throw anything from the surroundings. And each object has its own properties, making the process more physical and a desperate course of action less likely to be successful. Shape, size, weight, everything is taken into account. A floppy ragdoll corpse is rather useless, but the blades of the zombies cut through everything, clunkier objects can grant you some stagger and even sometimes you can carefully place the bigger items in order to block or guide enemies to your mental trap.
Outside of combat the magnificent ambiance assures that the action and tension are never truly gone. Toned down compartments and corridors filled with vapor covering the view and not being sure what may or may not be in front of you, taking into account the multiple traps found while exploring and that monster noises are the soundtrack of the game. The audio is to be noted to the point when there were some moments where I was using the store and I had to take a turn around just to be sure that I was really safe. And being a good indicator of danger, fake and real, it takes a main role in the no oxygen sections where you can only rely on your eyes (it’s pretty neat the attention given to those sections apart from managing the oxygen, having ammo only for the flamethrower in those sections lead to a pleasant horrible surprise). Mix them with the no gravity sections where everything comes at you at (almost) 360 degrees and get to know a new meaning of disorientation.
The already tense combat doesn’t stop there as resources are really scarce to the point where I thought the game was virtually softlocked on normal more than once, no ammo, no health, no cures, no money (it’s hard to illustrate how this happens, let’s just say that, for instance, you get 6 bullets for the main gun with every obtainable pack. And the standard magazine capacity is 10 bullets. It’s the only weapon that I had where I recovered more than half of a default charge with every pack). Apart from adding to the tension, the possibility of running absolutely out of everything being quite high adds a new layer to the space. There are melee possibilities, sure, but due to the enemy design it often leads to a (not recommended) trading of damage, a one way trade in the case your blow is blocked. There is another resource of course, using the kinesis power to pick up and throw anything from the surroundings. And each object has its own properties, making the process more physical and a desperate course of action less likely to be successful. Shape, size, weight, everything is taken into account. A floppy ragdoll corpse is rather useless, but the blades of the zombies cut through everything, clunkier objects can grant you some stagger and even sometimes you can carefully place the bigger items in order to block or guide enemies to your mental trap.
Outside of combat the magnificent ambiance assures that the action and tension are never truly gone. Toned down compartments and corridors filled with vapor covering the view and not being sure what may or may not be in front of you, taking into account the multiple traps found while exploring and that monster noises are the soundtrack of the game. The audio is to be noted to the point when there were some moments where I was using the store and I had to take a turn around just to be sure that I was really safe. And being a good indicator of danger, fake and real, it takes a main role in the no oxygen sections where you can only rely on your eyes (it’s pretty neat the attention given to those sections apart from managing the oxygen, having ammo only for the flamethrower in those sections lead to a pleasant horrible surprise). Mix them with the no gravity sections where everything comes at you at (almost) 360 degrees and get to know a new meaning of disorientation.