SONG OF HORROR
Forget Wonderwall, this new jam is even more spinechilling
“YOU HAVE TO PICK A NEW CHARACTER IF ONE MEETS A GRUESOME END.”
Horror is best when it’s surprising, and that’s Song Of Horror’s spooky bread and haunted butter. The Presence, a Lovecraftian-style being, has been unleashed from a music box that plays a melody that won’t get out of the heads of those who listen. Mechanically the Presence is an AI, learning from how you play to come at you in new ways, at times that are hard to predict, so no two playthroughs are quite the same.
Dread and anxiety build up as you explore, never quite sure where the next scare is going to come from. When we go hands-on with the first episode (all five will be bundled together when it releases on PS4), not only does the Presence disappear, so does the character we play as in the prologue. As a result, one of four characters then attempts to find him in an old manor while avoiding the strange Presence.
A SENSE OF FOUR-BODING
Each character in the quartet plays differently, has their own tools (like nerve-steadying scented candles), and has different things to say about the objects they find. The manor’s housekeeper, for instance, has extra insight into what to expect.
Cue cautious poking around as you solve puzzles and hunt for items. Listening at the doors of rooms is a must, as is jamming doors closed when the many-handed dark entity tries to force its way into a room, or hiding in a closet until it passes on, trying to keep your breathing steady so it won’t find you. (That one’s going to delight Clock Tower fans.) Thanks to permadeath, you have to pick a new character if your current one meets a gruesome end. The new investigator will have to pick up the last victim’s inventory. If they all die? Back to the start of the episode.
Song Of Horror naturally lends itself to being replayed. Things can always reach a different conclusion, and trying to make sure everyone stays alive is a challenge. Each episode sees you exploring a fresh location, with some new characters and some that carry over. It’s genuinely tense and brutal, and one of the most exciting survival horror games we’ve played in an age.