If you’re nostalgic for the original Resident Evil games and old-school survival horror, then the recently released Flesh Made Fear has plenty of retro scares to satisfy your cravings.
Victor “The Dripper” Ripper, a brilliant but now psychotic CIA agent, has taken up residence in the town of Rotwood, spreading horrific abominations as he conducts gruesome experiments to try and control the human mind. The Reaper Intervention Platoon, aka R.I.P., is dispatched to Rotwood to take out Ripper, but soon find themselves in a battle for survival with the hordes of undead and other creatures under Ripper’s control. You take control of either Jack or Natalie, who are the equivalent of Chris and Jill from Resident Evil 1. Natalie has les health but more inventory space and Jack has more health but a smaller inventory. Both characters also explore unique locations, so there’s definitely replayability in checking out both campaigns. The game features classic tank controls, as made popular in the PS1 era of survival horror. If you have experience with that style of control, it’s a charming throwback; however, if you’ve never experienced it before, it can definitely take a bit to get used to. As a result, younger gamers who are accustomed to dual analog control may be turned off or struggle to adapt.
There are a few modern touches, including a sprint button, and some quick-time events that give the game a bit more cinematic style than the games that inspired it. There’s a save system that mirrors the RE typewriter ribbon system, this time utilizing paraffin wax pick-ups, and you must decide how and when to use them at the designated save areas. Inventory management is also a key mechanic, and you must determine what you currently need and what can be stored in trunks for later use. You start with a pistol but eventually progress to shotguns, machine guns, and grenade launchers. The shooting is old school, as well as you pull a controller trigger to aim and then another to shoot. One or two enemies are relatively easy to deal with, but running is also an extremely viable option when you are facing multiple enemies.
You’ll start on the outskirts of Rotwood, exploring locales like a gas station or a forest ranger fire tower, before eventually pushing further into town and Ripper’s lair. The game is definitely inspired mainly by Resident Evil, but it also feels like there’s some Silent Hill influence present, with locales shrouded in a spooky mist and creature designs leaning more towards the disturbing creations of Silent Hill than the shambling undead hordes of RE. The atmosphere is fantastic, enhanced by an absolutely killer 80s-style synth score that feels right out of a John Carpenter movie. The game also makes excellent use of the fixed camera angle style of old-school PS1 games, providing interesting shots as you move between screens. The graphics are a mix of retro elements with some newer additions, such as lighting effects. The voice acting is a bit more hit or miss, with some of the cast doing a solid job, but others being a bit more cheesy and cringeworthy. You could argue that’s also a throwback to the original RE. Still, all of it should have been intentionally cheesy, rather than having some of the cast deliver genuinely solid performances. In contrast, others sound like they were pulled into a booth 5 minutes before recording.
Flesh Made Fear nails exactly what it sets out to do, which is to be an old-school throwback to classic survival horror. If you miss that style of game, this is definitely one to check out, and it’s available now on Steam. A demo is available if you’d like to try out the spooky action before making a purchase.
