Can I play the Song of Time instead?
Beware the shadows and the darkness which seem silent. Beware the closed doors, the whispering mirrors. Beware the Song of Horror that nests in the cracks of your mind. The famed writer Sebastian P. Husher has gone missing, along with his entire family. Worried, his editor sent an assistant to his house in order to look for him but he never came back… These disappearances spark a set of events that will soon reveal something dreadful: a nameless, dark entity known only as The Presence seems to be responsible and it’s still somewhere, out there, lurking in the shadows, waiting for you… You may die, but the horror continues others will pick the investigat
ion up from where you left it until you all find out the origin of The Presence and put an end to this nightmare.
Song of Horror is old-school survival horror from its fixed camera to its jump scares, but there’s something endearing about that. It’s like a return to form for the genre since most horror games today are either in first person or give you full control over the camera and aren’t anywhere near as scary. The game does have a few tricks up its sleeve like having permadeath for your characters, so if you die then the investigation switches to a new character, with upto 13 potential characters.
Death can come in a number of ways, sometimes unexpectedly and will make you think twice on other playthroughs. The trophy list itself wants you to attempt playthroughs without losing anyone, something that will definitely be a challenge. The story itself is told well and despite some questionable voice-acting does enough to make you want to see the ending, if you make it that far…
As with traditional survival horror games, Song of Horror has its fair share of puzzles that feel right at home. The overall tone of the game fills me with dread, the atmosphere encapsulating, even with visuals that are dated by today’s standards, but I have to bear in mind that this was originally a PC game that was released episodically.
The framerate is decent overall, but I was playing on my PS5, so those playing on PS4 models might experience something different. If I had some complaints about the game itself, I’d have to say the controls are a bit clunky at times and certain areas drag a bit, but other than that I’d say it’s definitely up as a recommended old-school survival horror.
The Verdict
While not perfect, Song of Horror manages to recapture that nostalgia factor of old-school survival horror that makes me want to keep coming back to it till I nab the Platinum trophy…