Dawn of Fear starts with a good notion. It brings back all the memories of the 90s horror games so many gamers love. Sadly, for this indie project, it seems to have no passion for backing it up regardless of the formula.
Dawn of Fear takes after the great titles of Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Alone in the Dark. It does not, however, give them justice because of the clear bugs and problems this game has compared to its predecessors.
Problems After Problems
At the start of the game, you will be greeted with a short back story that doesn't explain anything and seems pretty lackluster when especially if it tries to imitate some sense of dread, it really doesn't.
Mainly the text just says that Alex, who is the person you will be playing throughout, is returning home after years. Also that his stepmother committed suicide after her husband and only son passed away tragically. As you the reader, the backstory seems a bit off and does not inspire dread.
Audio and Editing Blunders
This game has no voice acting whatsoever, which should be fine based on the inspirations the game came from. The problem is that it's poorly written, and when texts do pop up, it's hard to translate into meaningful sentences. This, in turn, end up to be just broken English most of the time.
Some descriptions of items as well are as funny as it is annoying, in-game you will be greeted with an item like a key, for example, and its only description is that it "opens locked door.", that's it. Again, funny and annoying at the same time.
Camera and Controls Need Help as Badly as the Protagonist
Borrowing from the inspiration of bad camera angles from the past and clunky controls. When you try to move Alex and the camera angle switches so now you have to also move the analog stick to the new direction in which he is facing. When it comes to combat, this is also very hit-and-miss, to effectively hit the enemy, your character has to face the target to land a hit directly. It also does not have any damage indicators unless if it was a knife or a shotgun that you can deal with damage, which is disappointing to say the last, no satisfaction whatsoever.
Weapon Inbalance at its Finest
Let's dive right into the issue here. The knife is the most powerful weapon in the game which mind you, has guns in it. You read it right, the knife can kill a zombie with two or three swipes, the shotgun does about three to four shots before it can take one down. Finally, the pistol takes about four to five shots.
If that's not imbalanced enough for you gamers out there, then, by all means, go use the glitch they have on the knife right now and feel powerful in the face of adversity.
Puzzles and Music are the Only Good Thing in This Game
The puzzles were actually a nod from the old survival games like Resident Evil, and it was a fun experience to have despite all the issues in-game. As for the music, they play classic piano songs like Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven and other really good songs that can make your spine go cold with suspense.
Dawn of Fear promises to bring back nostalgia. Yes, it did so but with the added bugs and glitches that were not present in previous titles.
