Multiplayer.it

Three hours with Silent Hill: Townfall convinced us that St. Amelia is a place Team Silent would have loved—especially since it draws on many of the narrative insights of the original game. The air here is thick with salt spray, which has gnawed at the colorful walls of these pastel houses—homes stripped of all joy, perhaps following some technological disaster. Yet technology also offers salvation: it is precisely through tech that Simon Ordell, our amnesiac protagonist, manages to confront the creatures and mysteries of this title from Screen Burn, developed under the supervision of Annapurna and Konami. This is largely thanks to the brilliant concept of the CRTV—an oracle to be consulted for every puzzle and monster encounter. It is a shame, then, that the monsters themselves didn't quite win us over: the stealth mechanics aren't particularly engaging, and the creature designs struck us—for now—as unmemorable. St. Amelia, however, still has plenty of stories to tell. [3-Hour Hands-On Impressions]

The only criticism we would level at the game in this regard is that it is very easy to lose one's bearings in certain sections. There is no in-game map, nor any on-screen indicator showing the path to follow. We certainly wouldn't penalize this design choice out of hand—quite the opposite. The issue is that some environments look very similar to one another, and the path ahead is sometimes extremely well hidden. Triggering specific dialogue sequences helps signal when you are on the right track, but at times, getting lost takes nothing more than a momentary lapse in attention.

Despite its undeniable merits, bear in mind that CULTIC pulls no punches: it begins in a classic, almost electrifying fashion, only to become increasingly sprawling and diffuse. Its core remains the same, but this split personality is something to seriously consider—especially given the shift in pacing and the resulting frustration caused by the more crowded sections.

The new cutscenes—which were originally rendered using the game engine—now feature high-quality computer graphics that make the experience feel far more epic than before. The music remains the same—beautiful as ever—though the tracks have been slightly reworked and mixed in a way that prevents them from truly soaring. This is the exact opposite of the approach taken with the sound effects; in Campaign Evolved, they hit the speakers hard with crystal-clear highs and bass that packs just the right amount of punch. The new voice acting doesn't differ much from that of the original Combat Evolved—at least regarding the excellent Italian version, as the game has been both translated and dubbed into Italian.

Naturally, some limitations remain. Although version 1.0 has significantly improved stability and optimization, one still encounters the occasional bug, minor AI quirks, or sporadic technical issues that hark back to the project's origins. Similarly, certain resource-gathering phases can feel rather sluggish, requiring a significant amount of time spent farming specific materials before advanced structures or equipment can be built. Fortunately, increasing base automation alleviates much of this issue, yet it remains one of the less impressive aspects of the experience.

There are a few shortcomings—particularly regarding the graphics—where the 3D environments and certain actions (such as crouching or the aforementioned shortcuts that compensate for the inability to perform physical movements to solve puzzles) betray the game's VR origins. However, these are minor issues in what is, overall, a highly immersive experience. The key is to understand what you are getting into: this is not a horror game designed to terrify you, but rather an adventure to be approached calmly, with an open mind, and with your wits about you. With the right mindset, The 7th Guest Remake could prove surprisingly impressive in its own way.

Making the whole package even more appealing is the budget launch price—decidedly competitive for a fighting game of this quality—which is enough to make it an attractive proposition even for those who simply want to have fun with friends playing as characters from the Avatar universe.

It is a shame that the experience becomes far too repetitive for long stretches—especially when, at a couple of points, you are forced to do a bit of grinding just to be ready for the challenges of the adventure's final act. The sense that something is missing becomes even more apparent when contrasted with a couple of levels where the developers clearly aimed for more, creating non-linear environments that offer activities beyond the simple run-and-gun gameplay characterizing the rest of the campaign.

Evil Trout Inc. has once again demonstrated its foresight, its ability to spot talent at a glance, and—above all—its knack for making the great ideas of writers and game designers more appealing, readable, and accessible. The voice acting is excellent, the music and sound design add real value, the bonus content is well-crafted, and the interface is impressive; there are also great quality-of-life features (though we recommend disabling the connection hints, which are on by default and undermine the investigative mechanics). Yet, the true star remains the writing—the primordial seed from which this entire restoration project sprouted. At this point, we can safely say we are witnessing a renaissance for the genre, as not a year goes by without a new gem seeing the light of day; this time, it is The Incident at Galley House, an experience that captivates the player, holding them fast within the walls of the old mansion until the final credits roll.

Heave Ho 2 is a game that takes time to master, even though it immediately presents challenges that are far from trivial for the average player.