Hollowbody straddles the line between Silent Hill homage and clone, but more often than not, it’s a nostalgic and creepy success.
By Mark Delaney on September 12, 2024 at 7:00AM PDT
Konami is trying to figure out how to make Silent Hill games again. After more than a decade away from the series (and arguably many more years since a good one), multiple new Silent Hill projects have recently debuted or soon shall. Silent Hill devotees like me often wonder whether the publisher can recapture the magic of the series’ early games. But even if it can’t, at least we have Hollowbody. Made by a single person, Hollowbody sometimes goes too far past being a homage, but most of the time, it stands apart as a memorable entry in the crowded space of horror games drumming up the past.
This year, Hollowbody is the closest thing you’ll find to Silent Hill 2 that isn’t Bloober Team’s forthcoming remake. Its solo developer, Nathan Hamley (working under the studio name Headware Games), admits his love for the series is the driving force in creating Hollowbody, and there are times when that adoration is even too obvious. Everything from how you explore its world and unlock new pathways by solving tricky puzzles to how you fight enemies and even unlock multiple endings all feel pulled from the PS2 classic. An early section of the third-person survival-horror game takes place in corridors that are so similar to Silent Hill 2’s hospital section that it gave me deja vu, and the monsters that stalk just beyond the reach of your flashlight stumble into attacking you like that game’s iconic nurses.
Throughout the game, you’ll encounter intimidatingly vast and obscure pits that lead you to plunge blindly into the unknown. One particular passage made me ponder, echoing a question instigated by the seemingly endless staircase in Silent Hill 2: just how extensive is this corridor? Whilst there are numerous nods to its predecessor, Hollowbody avoids mere replication, demonstrating the capabilities of an individual developer in 2024 to craft something akin to what previously needed a larger team.
Hollowbody explicitly aspires to emulate Silent Hill 2’s atmosphere but introduces several unique elements that heightened my interest over other similar games. Despite not generally being fond of older games’ poorer mechanics and graphics, the developer Hawley adeptly recaptures the essence of that era without adhering to its most notorious flaws. For instance, while tank controls are available, they’re not active by default and must be manually enabled. Also, the game requires saves at periodic intervals using a landline phone instead of a conspicuous red book, complemented by a handful of autosaves, particularly before challenging segments.
The introduction of these modern conveniences alleviates much of the frustration often mistakenly embraced by other studios as essential hardships. However, Hollowbody doesn’t completely abandon all the eccentric design choices of its genre. I often found myself having to revisit certain locations multiple times to discover necessary items, which momentarily disrupted the unsettling ambiance.
Combat mechanics in Hollowbody closely resemble those from its inspirational predecessors, where avoidance or the strategic use of melee weapons is preferable to conserve ammunition. Amidst tight confines, the decision to flee is complicated by spatial constraints. The game employs a dependable auto-aim feature, highlighted by a green reticle that smoothly transitions between adversaries, aiding in navigation and defense.
This makes survival less dependent on mere guesswork, much unlike some early-2000s horror video games. I was glad to see that, even with helpful enhancements, the game maintained a sense of fear during combat. This was amplified by the stark audiovisual signals when sustaining damage, which made it feel as if monsters were leaping out at you. Enemies approach quickly and stealthily, and the range of melee weapons each offer unique animations, which affect their reach, speed, and impact. It’s best to use the guitar.
The ambiance of the game is its strongest feature, characterized by a continuous, eerie hum that heightened the tension throughout the four-hour gameplay. Like accomplished horror creators before him, Hamley knows when to intensify scenes with moody music and when to let quietness dominate. The visual presentation faithfully channels the essence of PS2-era horror, enough so that one might believe the game dates back to 2001 without prior knowledge.
The game’s brevity compared to similar titles speeds up some traditional genre elements. Puzzles are challenging yet not as perplexing as the infamous piano puzzle in Silent Hill 2, and the interval between discovering key items and their application is quite abbreviated. Initially, I was skeptical of how the pause menu’s map seemed to guide me too plainly, urging me, “Go here!” It took until the latter part of the game for me to trust the map’s guidance, which continued to highlight interactable doors and puzzle-dependent routes.
Like the finest Silent Hill installments, Hollowbody isn’t just frightening; it’s poignant. The environment continually conveys this somberness. The storyline, although resembling those of its genre in that you search for a missing loved one in a spooky town, stands out due to its thematic depth. Set in the future yet exploring a town deserted long ago after a bioterrorism attack, the setting transitions from a cyberpunk backdrop to a bleak British locale plagued by decades of gentrification and neglect.
Scattered documents across the town reveal a storyline where the locals were promised economic boosts, only to find themselves deceived by duplicitous investors as time went on. This narrative might sound like a plot from a haunted town saga, but rather, it takes its cue from real-world events. I admire how Hamley skillfully connects an eerie, deserted town filled with creatures to broader themes of economic disparity.
Hollowbody presents an atmosphere that is frightening, gloomy, and melancholic; it encapsulates everything I cherish about horror games. While it often reuses elements such as monsters and settings from its predecessors, it still manages to stand out. The novel aspects, especially its socio-political awareness and the unique, eerie soundtrack, define its strengths. While the pinnacle of Silent Hill games might be in the past, their influence endures in successful new entries like Hollowbody.
