Hollowbody review - A thrilling PSX-style experience that remixes the classic survival horror formula
A new and refreshing take on the survival horror genre that pays homage to various cult classics.
Forget all about the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake, for now at least. Hollowbody is the latest survival horror game on the scene, and when VG247 previously described it as one of our most anticipated horror games, we had good reason to do so. Hollowbody is an exceptional experience that pays homage to many cult classics, while forging a unique legacy of its very own.
Playing as Mica, you are an unlicensed black market shipper in a dystopian British city. And while Mica’s home in Hollowbody’s world looks futuristic, with flying cars and neon hues, it’s the exclusion zone where you’ll be spending most of your time as she strives to find her missing partner, Sasha. As newspaper clippings, posters, and the array of corpses slowly reveal, this exclusion zone was one struck with disaster; a disaster that killed off many civilians and stripped them of their homes, and this disaster was far from natural. In fact, it appears to have been manufactured in a lab, so before you know it, Hollowbody is already providing you with a stark reminder of Resident Evil’s biological terrors.
This isn’t all that there is to Hollowbody’s story, however. The intricate and provocative world-building available allows you, as Mica, to really sink your teeth into these crumbling apartments and desolate streets, and the stories of the people who once walked them. The discoveries you make and radio signals you tune into are so moving at times that it’s hard not to compare the experiences of these characters to the very real experiences of real people in 2024. Hollowbody may seem dystopian and futuristic, but ultimately, it tells an incredibly pertinent tale.
Hollowbody rewards the most attentive of players, but is ultimately a solid starter dish for any horror fan awaiting the upcoming Silent Hill 2 remake. From the environments, to the enemies, to the music; Hollowbody manages to nail the Silent Hill atmosphere and aesthetic tastefully, while providing players with a wholly distinct experience. Enemies that resemble Lying Figures lurk, with some of them having tentacles protruding from their heads that are reminiscent of those infected with Las Plagas in Resident Evil 4.
The soundtrack is redolent of Akira Yamaoka’s work on Silent Hill; it’s eerie, industrial, and builds tension like nothing else. Even the game’s UI reminds me of Signalis, another Silent Hill-inspired indie endeavor that I can’t recommend enough. To put it simply, Hollowbody is a survival horror feast that harkens back to the good ol’ PSX-horror days, and it does this with the utmost passion.
Those who derive as much joy — among other emotions — from Hollowbody as I did will be pleased to know that there’s more in store for the game. Not only is it a short endeavor that lasted me around 5-6 hours (although, you can definitely finish this much quicker than I did), but there’s secret endings and easter eggs to be found in additional playthroughs. Notably, a secret ending involving the developer’s dog… which sounds very Silent Hill 2 if you ask me. There’s a first-person mode to experience in later runs, as well as more difficulties, and even a Ghost in the Shell-inspired outfit for Mica for those who finish the game.
As you progress through the ruined British streets in Hollowbody and piece together the stories of those that once lived there, you’ll also find that there’s more to Hollowbody than meets the eye. No, I’m not talking about secret endings and Easter eggs.
Think never-ending corridors and eco-systems that harken back to Scorn or even The Borderlands (the 2013 film from Elliot Goldner, not that one), or ‘blink and you’ll miss it’ moments that remind me of Sam Barlow’s Immortality. These might give you an idea of what I’m getting at, but if not, it’s best you experience how Hollowbody toys with you and your sanity first-hand; keep a very careful eye on your environment. That’s all I’ll say.
Solo developer, Nathan Hamley of Headware Games, funded Hollowbody via Kickstarter and there are still more goals to reach, with the next and final stretch goal being an added mall setting inspired by Silent Hill 3. The latest feature to be funded, but not yet added, is the ability to set enemy corpses alight, inspired by The Evil Within.
Hollowbody is a testament to the work of Hamley, and is phenomenal within its own right, but the dedication to various cult classic horror and sci-fi games only adds to how enamored I was with the game; this is how you make a game heavily inspired by other media while making a whole new experience entirely, in a nutshell. But don’t get me wrong, Hollowbody is so much more than its inspirations, made up of multiple moving parts that provide fans of the survival horror genre with something new and refreshing.
Hollowbody was reviewed on PC with a code provided by the publisher.