Reviews - RavenITA

Cry of fear is a very good horror experience, centered on surviving. Even if you spend most of your time killing things, it doesnt mean that this product is not a survival horror. To be fair, the border between horror and survival horror has been crossed quite easily over and over again by far greater games with bigger budgets, in some weird ways - look at Alan Wake for example, or the not-so-recent Silent HIll 4, with his survival horror main structure, but in the end it relied too heavily on killing and much less on solving puzzles. Cry of fear does just that, but in the opposite. It relies much on solving puzzles and manages to balance the killing process, although not quite in some parts of the game. I felt it had a very cool oppressive atmosphere and overall a decent lighting, although it could've been improved somehow, using elights for example, or making extensive use of Paranoia's dynlights with other textures applied to them to simulate advanced shadowing and generally smoother lights. I also felt the lack of bloom, but graphics wise was cool enough.
I liked the use of the moving first person camera and how cutscenes were made, also the extras and small touches here and there were a clear sign of the passion behind this project. The story wasnt so bad, but it also wasnt something I didnt hear before, and I wasnt surprised at all at the end (or the endings). Speaking of which, the endings werent as satisfying as I expected - not even the bad ones. Some of them didnt require voice acting, but a better use of the elements in Simon's apartment. Most of the game is inspired by Silent Hill 2 and it shows in nearly every aspect of it, and its a good thing considering that the carefully made levels and puzzles inside them were all studied to produce similar results inside the player's mind. Symbolism is used wisely from static elements of the scenery to the monsters themselves, making it a joy for old SH and Forbidden Siren fans alike.