Them and Us Reviews

SOUL That's all you need to know!

When you stop comparing it to Resident Evil and overlook some small problems, it can be really fun! I only played it on easy but it was a lot of fun If you are a fan of the oldschool resident evil games, this could be something for you!

[h3]A Decent Classic Survival Horror Game[/h3] I started this game on hard mode with a fixed camera and tank controls as a lover of the survival horror genre. What a truly challenging experience the first section or hour of this game with fast zombies and very tight resources where avoiding zombies and route planning is a must. When I reached the first boss or special enemy, I realized this game does not really work with standard tank controls because I will get hit no matter how patient or clean my movements are. Rather than evasion, I needed to go for precise head or leg shots for staggers that is in the realm of over the shoulder (or dare I say FPS) controls. One cannot change control schemes and I did not want to, so in a rare compromise I started a new game at a normal difficulty and everything felt better and fairer but this soured my opinion about the game. Let me be fair, this game is fundamentally good adhering to the standard genre tenets. It has a many areas in terms of content and the puzzle mansion is solid. The story being more inspired by Nosferatu is kinda refreshing. It also has a fair bit of references in terms of camera angles, set design, events and locations with their own twist. The common save room in particular is a pleasant surprise. This is a recommendation for genre fans. That being said, I didn't find this game memorable and a bit bloated. While it has many areas, the layout and structure cause more backtracking where an unlimited inventory for key items would make sense. It does not really have good or satisfying puzzles maybe except for the optional weapon even then it feels out of place. The story is serviceable but it is a mess with how it is delivered from its mixed presentation of cutscenes, notes and memories. The twists and unreliable memory just makes me less invested in how its trying a bit too hard. Perhaps out of obligation, it has a second character that could be written out of the game since they matter so little in the story. The one peeve I could not let go is how fixed camera is the worst camera style for the enemies here maybe more so not built with it in mind. Stagger or crippling enemies is mandatory in higher difficulties both to save ammo and create space to move. Enemies and in particular bosses have bursts of speed where stationary firing is a huge negative considering the other styles can move and shoot. Typically, bosses are a mixture of puzzle and resource management without more complex mechanics like dodging or abilities to compensate. Looking at achievements for this game, it saddens me to see fixed camera has the lowest completion considering this is a nostalgic game. In a way, this game mixes so many inspirations and recreations that is ambitious but goes a bit much to remind me of other better games. I suppose I am looking for more personal touch or style.