Recent reviews by Pixel Crypt

The series needs a breakup

Resident Evil managed to both blow past my expectations, while also confirming my suspicions and reservations with the game.

When they announced that it would be a dual protagonist game, with each character emphasizing either horror or action, my alarm bells went off. My biggest criticism of Resident Evil Village was its lack of clear direction and identity, instead feeling like a Frankenstein monster of cutting room scraps. And well, Requiem retains a similar issue.

If we were to divide the game into Grace and Leon, all of my criticism would fall on the Leon side. The Grace sections were absolutely incredible, perfection, a true successor to the gameplay and atmosphere of Resident Evil 2 Remake while also pushing the series forward in totally new territory. It was a 10/10 for me, and I wish I could end the review there.

But then there’s Leon, and boy I hated his sections. It’s basically the Chris Redfield ending of Village, but stretched out for half the entire game’s length. Just mindless action that completely runs counter to the survival horror genre - you are literally REWARDED points for killing as many enemies as possible. There’s zero strategic avoidance, tension and fear, slow methodical and atmospheric gameplay. It’s just a Call of Duty game, which is the last thing I want when I play Resident Evil.

If I had to guess why Capcom refuses to fully embrace its survival horror roots when its core fanbase is screaming for it to - it’s money. There is a section of its fanbase that only knows the games from Resident Evil 4. And there’s others that come to the series to just have an adrenaline fueled zombie shooter. Capcom, wanting to sell the game to as many fans as possible, decides to always cater the experience to both and neither at the same time.

This time, they billed it as a good thing (in one interview it was compared to sushi, with action and horror being like fish and rice). But no, this disjointed and bipolar game design is really becoming a pet peeve. I don’t know if I’m alone in this, and I would bet money I’m not, but please just make a spin off series that caters to the action fans - leave Resident Evil for the true survival horror fans (the majority of your customers).

Alas, I truly wish I could write a glowing review because half of this game earned it with stripes and stars. If I had stopped the game halfway through, then that’s what this would be. But instead, I am left with completely conflicted and bitter feelings that make me unsure of the future of the series. Hopefully, something will change and RE 10 will finally resolve this problem.

MAKE ACTION RE A SPINOFF, AND LEAVE RE AS SURVIVAL HORROR

I think this is the most extreme case of confliction a game has ever given me. If you had asked me around hour 5-6 of my playtime what I thought, I would have told you this is quite possibly the greatest game I’ve ever played. But as the hours went by, the game suddenly took a severe left turn and never looked back, leaving me with so much angst and sadness at what could have been.

I’ll start what the game consistently does well, and the art style is the obvious one. Literally no game has so perfectly captured the look and ambience of the 2002 Resident Evil Remake, with richly detailed grey drab environments with the occasional pop of color. A mixture of grit, grime, Victorian sensibilities - plus the decay of a poisoned environment. On top of that, the cutscenes are delightfully over the top and B-movie to the core.

But the game lost me on two very key aspects: level design and resource management - with level design being the greatest source of my grief and loss at what could have been (and I truly mean that).

Both Tormented Souls 2 and Echoes of the Living have cemented in my brain my number one pet peeve of the genre, which I will call Puzzle Box design vs. Ooh and Aah design. The former includes level, environment, and pathing design which mimics the feeling of being trapped in a gigantic puzzle box. You start out trapped in a small area with a number of obstacles, you then find an item that unlocks a door on one end, which then gives an answer to a puzzle on the other side, which then gives a key that opens 5 other doors you saw prior. This metroidvania-like structure is what you will find in the greatest settings of survival horror past - Spencer Mansion, Raccoon City Police Department, Wildberger Hospital, etc.

Opposite to this is Ooh and Aah design, a much more linear and sightseeing design plan that prioritizes environment variety and set pieces. It is much less dense in gameplay, as each map section may only have a single puzzle to which you’ll never return, or simply a few enemies. This is much more reminiscent of your typical action games, platformers, and other non-interconnected genres.

I would argue that Puzzle Box level design is just as critical to the survival horror genre as any other element you could point to. And in the case of Echoes of the Living, the game seems to completely grasp this concept and execute it masterfully with the opening area (an art gallery and pub - super unique!). But then all of a sudden, it completely abandons it for the rest of the game, with only brief sections that have a similar philosophy but are only 1/4 of the size or less. This is what destroyed me, as I felt like the developer understood this so well but decided to waste their time embracing a much more linear and, by extension, less survival horror experience.

Aside from this, my other big complaint came down to the resources the game gives you. I played on standard difficulty, and it is comically absurd how many bullets and healing items I had by the end- and this is with killing every single enemy! I’m talking: 300 bullets for 6 different weapons (each), 25 grenades, and probably 45 healing items. It isn’t like I’m a savant at this genre, nor did I bother strategizing which enemy to kill or leave alone once I realized I had more ammo than I knew what to do with.

Overall, the biggest take away for me is the importance of a puzzle box design philosophy, which I wasn’t quite able to articulate when I found myself not enjoying Tormented Souls 2 as much as I did the first game. I really hope this talking point becomes much more commonplace and realized in survival horror discussion places, as I imagine I am not the only one who feels the difference between the two- especially given the types of locations that are iconic in the genre.

I wish I could give this game a 5/5 as I know how much work and effort and mastery went into it. I applaud the effort and believe it’s a work of art that every genre fan should play. But everything after the art gallery really just made me feel dissapointment, so I can’t say it is one of my favorites.

6/10

A fairly enjoyable mini PSX survival horror. Despite what other reviewers say, I don't think it explicitly rips off Alisa (the curtain and store and music and vibe are similar though). But for the most part, I found it to be enjoyable, but a couple things held it back.

The map sucks. It doesn't show your current location, random rooms and doors do not appear, it doesn't always feel properly representative of the space. It does update when doors are locked or not, and shows puzzle locations and clears when they're completed. But it just kinda felt unreliable and frustrating to use.

Combat is simple, easy, and has some really cool designs. I especially loved the lungs and legs boss (though I still don't understand the purpose of that whole room). Puzzles are ok, nothing too fun but serviceable. Exploration is also ok but hindered by the map.

Overall not one of the best in the ranks of low-budget indie projects, but I do think its worth picking up for any fan of the classic style. I would give it like a 6/10.

Dead Format is a very unique and well-crafted survival horror that simultaneously retains many core components of the genre, while also creatively bending the rules. It is a unique experience with some meta overtones, combining Survival Horror with Analog Horror in a similar vein to last year's Among Ashes. It is very fun, but there is a couple places where there is room for improvement.

You begin the game by breaking into your brother's apartment after he had gone missing. You find some mysterious notes and a birthday present - a video tape in GHL format, which is basically VHS but with haunting properties. You pop it into the VCR and suddenly the front door transports you into the universe of the film. You then proceed to find other films, and go back and forth between them solving puzzles, facing enemies, and trying to untangle your brother's disappearance.

The game features a limited inventory, some very solid puzzles, a mixture of both classic Resident Evil combat with a Tyrant-style stalker enemy, lots of backtracking to explore previous areas, optional secrets, and some really cool atmospheres. Every film has a Live Action sequence that you can actually watch on the television before entering its universe, and these are GREAT. This includes: very convincing German Expressionist horror, Evil Dead type practical effects, a 70's bright and colorful slasher film... and each world also has a type of filter to make you feel part of that era.

The gameplay has a good balance between puzzles, exploration, and combat - though the combat is not really a highlight. There are way too many resources for a very small amount of enemies, so I never felt that true scarcity-worry that you expect in this genre. The stalker enemy is very intimidating though, and the game does deliver some very tense encounters despite the imbalance of the combat.

The level design is well-built, but there is no map. For the most part, the areas are manageable enough to navigate, but there are definitely times where a map would have enhanced the experience. The puzzles are about 50% simple inventory interactions, but the rest are very clever and unique.

The game took me around 8 hours to finish, so I do wish the game was a bit longer and had more films to explore. The ending was also a little abrupt, though I did find a couple things that seem to indicate replayability and perhaps alternate endings. That said, I absolutely recommend this game if you enjoy first person survival horror / survival horror adjacent games like Among Ashes, Resident Evil 7, or Routine. Dead Format is definitely one of the better horror games I've played this year.

Alruna reminds me quite a bit of Astalon (one of my top 3 metroidvanias of all time). It has super dense level design, tons of secrets, great flow, great puzzles, and solid chunky pixel art. At the same time, it doesn't quite have the same enjoyability as Astalon, due to its wonky controls and underwhelming abilities.

Instead of the standard abilities like double jump, you will find 4 seeds that have multiple purposes - some help you traverse, some solve puzzle elements, some will damage enemies, and some will do a combination of these. You start off the game with a high jump and a dash/slide. You soon learn that all of these abilities have secret secondary functions, like finding hidden passages or collecting items from a distance. So, they are highly creative and unique, but at the same time feel a bit more like Animal Well type abilities that don't have the same classic excitement (for me) as the Metroid-style abilities.

It is a solid ~3-4 hour metroidvania that largely works because of its intricate and fun-to-unlock level design. I appreciate the creativity and uniqueness of the gameplay mechanics, but I definitely prefer the more standard and simple traversal types of abilities in 99% of metroidvanias. I definitely still recommend it though, and I appreciate that the game is somewhat doable to 100%

6.7/10 for me

It’s a pretty rare treat to find a pure escape room style puzzle game in a legitimate horror setting, and Sphenoid nails it. It’s got really great puzzle design, slow-burn horror atmosphere (with occasional intense scares), and a solid prison/hospital setting.

It’s not the most polished game, there’s definitely a pretty low-budget look to some of the animations and characters. But it still manages to satisfy that dark blood-soaked asylum feel.

Pretty much every puzzle is well-made, zero moon logic. The only thing that got me stuck was some hard to see hot points. But otherwise it was a very smooth and engaging escape room puzzle game in my favorite kind of setting! Wish there were way more games like this.

And yet ANOTHER survival horror game for 2025, and seemingly I am one of… maybe 3 people that have played it? But I was pretty instantly drawn in to the isometric pixel art inside a 3D environment (with a fully rotatable camera!) look, as well as the sleek UI. I am happy to report that the game fully delivers on a classic survival horror experience, though it’s a bit too meager to be one of the greats.

It pretty much checks all of the boxes - limited inventory, strategic combat, puzzles, backtracking, a solid map, and a mysterious haunting story. There are not a ton of puzzles, but the ones that are here are creative and fun. Combat is a little janky, as managing the aiming with the camera controls (which kind of overlap) leads to occasional frustration. And while the 2.5D art style is done very well, the monochromatic color palette and somewhat repetitive interior design gets a bit stale.

That said, for a 2 hour long survival horror experience, you can find a lot worse. It’s not one of the best this year but I definitely recommend picking this one up as a little palette cleanser. Looking forward to hopefully a more ambitious project from the dev next.

Please go give this game some love, it absolutely deserves more attention than it got.

This is a very light recommendation.

Greek Tragedy is another Halloween release: a fixed-camera PSX horror game that kind of slipped under the radar. Amidst the release of absolute classics this month - Tormented Souls 2, Flesh Made Fear, and Echoes of the Living - it didn't really get much notice. Well, now that I have finished it (with 3 of the endings), I can't really say it is competitive with these other titles - especially not as a survival horror game. 

It certainly shares some of the hallmark traits of the genre; there are fixed cameras, puzzles, and a sense of vulnerability. But it also subverts so many others, to a point where I don't even know how to classify it. No map, no inventory management, shoddy combat, linear level design, and an absolutely bizarre plot. 
The combat is somewhat similar to the developer selewi's games - which DO feel like survival horror despite only having a singular unbeatable stalker enemy. Here, you only have a taser gun that merely momentarily pauses the hooded enemies that relentlessly chase you. This flimsy combat system makes the enemies feel more like a nuisance than intimidating. 
The real gameplay here is the puzzles, but unfortunately they are a pretty mixed bag. There are a few that were interesting and clever, but there are many others that are either too simple, bizarrely constructed (in a bad way), or just slightly glorified keys. The overall atmosphere is also a mixed bag; while the art style itself is quite charming, the actual content of the college campus, the characters, the vague fraternity/cult story - I just don't really understand what the atmosphere is supposed to be. 
The game took about 2 hours to finish, and it left me feeling a bit... empty. I don't really understand what the vision was for the developer, on both a mechanical gameplay level or the content and story. Some puzzle fans may enjoy moments of the game, but I really cannot recommend it for classic survival horror fans.

5/10

Wow this game blew way past my expectations! This has been a great year for survival horror, but it seemed like Silent Hill has largely been the raison d’etre for indie devs in 2025. But like a bat out of hell, Flesh Made Fear delivers a true classic Resident Evil style game, and does so with so much grace.

It is soaking wet in 80’s slasher horror film kitsch, and makes no apologies for it. The soundtrack is incredible, with pulsing synths that John Carpenter would absolutely approve of. The voice acting is pretty much a perfect replica of the classic Resident Evil style, with its over the top caricatures-as-characters (the main antagonist being the most over the top example). The enemies are completely absurd body horror creations by Ripper, the mad scientist who has turned the town of Rotwood into an amusement park of horror.

Everything is just… perfect. Perfect goofy tone, perfect puzzles, satisfying combat, fun exploration. If I could think of one tiny complaint - the map is borderline useless. It is very zoomed out and only gives a broad city-wide overview, so no tracking locked doors or puzzles. But to be honest, the level design didn’t really need it, so I won’t knock off any points there.

This is definitely in my top 3 for the year so far, alongside Heartworm and Tormented Souls 2. If you enjoyed Nightmare of Decay, The Lacerator, Classic Resident Evil, or even just cult classic horror films
like Evil Dead - this is the easiest recommendation in the world. I had a blast from the beginning to the end, and I can’t wait to jump back in for the second character campaign.

9.8/10, amazing work.

It's not the worst metroidvania I've ever played, but something about the exploration, level design, and boss designs just feel more frustrating and miserable than fun.

I keep trying to get myself to continue, but I have no desire to. I wish it was more rewarding, breezier, easier to navigate and would provide the feeling of some type of mastery over the challenges it presents. But 90% of the time, the reward is underwhelming and unclear as to where to go next. There is not many "a-ha!" moments like in the obvious competition Metroid, where you finally unlock an ability and know exactly where to go next - INTUITIVELY.

Some metroidvania die-hards that love to get lost, love to see a million secrets that you have no idea how to access, and love extremely maze-like level design could enjoy this. Art, music, and character feel are all solid (except the extremely slow walking speed). But I guess it is just not for me,