Penitent Dead

Make friends with Zombies. FREE | LOVELYHELLPLACE. ITCH.IO/PENITENT-DEAD | PC, LINUX

You can’t move for Dark Souls clones these days, but where are the games inspired by its superniche predecessor? I may have answered my own question there, but at least we finally have a candidate in the form of Penitent Dead.

There’s really only one reason to play this, and that’s for the majestic setting. It’s as if a doom metal album cover has been fed into a 3D modelling program, and output at the wrong resolution. Nostalgia aside the ambiguous and jittery nature of the PlayStation aesthetic does much to enhance the low-polygon 3D models and blown-up textures. The already striking artwork feels richer and more tactile. It’s just a shame that the era-authentic soundtrack cuts out almost immediately.

He’s surprisingly chatty for a zombie.

While there are few locks and keys to manage this is a simple exploration game, which you can end almost whenever you want, just by walking through a door. No matter the sights of the island, or the tantalising scraps of lore, the game ends a bit flatly as a result.