I did it, folks. I managed to beat the Steam Next Fest demo for Post Trauma, a survival horror game inspired by Resident Evil and Silent Hill, and I am pleased to report that it bangs despite its brutal puzzles.
I won't lie, I came very close to not being able to write this article because I struggled so much with the first puzzle in the demo, which I ended up brute-forcing my way through after multiple failed attempts. Granted, I'm on the clock here and don't have all day to look for clues, but I'd still say the puzzles I encountered in the Post Trauma demo rival some of the toughest Resident Evil and Silent Hill puzzles I've ever seen. There's one in particular toward the end of the demo involving a circuit board that just about drove me mad, but thankfully I was able to work through that one and complete the demo.
If you like tricky puzzles, this is probably music to your ears, but if you're a big ol' goober like me you might be turned off by what I'm writing. But trust me, if you're a fan of the survival horror classics and you're alright with fixed-camera, Post Trauma is well worth your time. And no, it's not another one of those PS1-looking indies that seem to be cropping up everywhere, and which vary dramatically in quality in my experience; Post Trauma bills itself as "a modern interpretation" of its inspirations.
It's also completely distinct thematically, tonally, visually, musically - it's really very much doing its own thing despite working with such a well-worn foundation. You play as a middle-aged train conductor named Roman who wakes up from a panic attack to find himself in the nightmare-inducing alternate dimension where the game takes place. The demo is the first we've seen of the beginning of the game, right when Roman wakes up in an abandoned train with all sorts of reasons to leave. First off, there's blood everywhere, and worse yet there are creepy mannequins whose eyes move to follow you. Unfortunately, the train's exist is locked behind a padlock and you have to explore the whole thing to find the solution, if you're savvy enough to do so that is.
I didn't get to see much of the "unspeakable nightmares" developer Red Soul Games teases in the game's Steam description, but I did beat down some sort of humanoid monster who appeared to have been ripped right in half but inexplicably had the vigor to almost kill me. That was definitely a pretty tense struggle, but I'm excited to see more of the really depraved stuff like what's seen in the image at the top of this article, which I pulled from the trailer.
Visually, the vibes are there. I really dig that the game seems to at least partly be based in Japan as opposed to the small town American locales you usually see in Silent Hill, Resident Evil, and their ilk. But musically, y'all, I'm telling you, even if you don't play this demo and have no plans of ever playing Post Trauma, at least do yourself a favor and check out the main theme, which was composed by Myuu. It's beautiful, haunting, and evocative in a way that seems totally unique to survival horror games of yesteryear.
Again, I've only played 30 minutes of this demo and about the same in an earlier demo that took me through a different part of the game, but I'm highly encouraged by what I've seen. The puzzles have oodles of depth and, so far, variety, the atmosphere is tense and foreboding, the controls (tank optional) are smooth and intuitive, the story is intriguing, the monsters look freaky as hell, and yeah, that music... that music. Post Trauma's ticking a whole lotta boxes in a short amount of time, and I'll be waiting for the full game's release on March 31.
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