Traditional survival horror games have often depended on their environments for good scares, as well as forcing players to choose whether to run or fight because of a limited supply of weapons.
Those old-school survival horror ideas return in Syndrome. The new video game by Camel 101 hopes to harken back to the early days of survival horror that literally kept players in the dark and forced them to make quick survival decisions.
In Syndrome, the player takes on a character who just woke up on a space ship, dazed and confused after a long cryosleep. However, a search for the rest of the ship's crew turns up a disturbing fact: most of the crew is dead. As for those who aren't dead? They're not exactly the same as they were before — now, they're monsters. But what happened?
"With Syndrome, Camel 101 takes first person survival horror back to its roots," the developer said in a press release. "In the dark confines of the ship, defending yourself is difficult and not always possible. There are a few weapons scattered about, but nowhere near enough ammunition to deal with all the transformed monstrosities."
That means players have to choose when to run and when to fight.
Here's the official announcement trailer for Syndrome:
Surviving in Syndrome isn't about shooting things, as is the case with many similar games: in fact, sometimes the best thing to do is hide and try not to breathe, because the things in the dark can hear everything, even the quietest intake of air.
However, there are other ways to survive in Syndrome.
"Careful resource management is a key part of Syndrome, but so is learning your enemies' behavior," Camel 101 said in the press release. "What will attract their attention? What will give you a few precious seconds to pass by undetected? Take note — each misstep could be deadly."
Syndrome promises all the gameplay features familiar to survival horror fans, including claustrophobic environments with potential threats lurking around every corner, a limited supply of weapons and ammo, opportunities for exploration and enemies that react to every noise.
For more information, visit the official Syndrome website. Interested players can also help greenlight the game on Steam.
Expect Syndrome to terrify gamers on PC, PS4, Xbox One, Mac and Linix in 2016. Players will also have the opportunity to experience total immersion in the bowels of Syndrome in virtual reality on the Oculus Rift.
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