Info about Post Trauma:

Official game description:
Special Edition
===============
About the Game
==============
**Post Trauma** is a Puzzle Horror Game and Red Soul Games is a small studio made up of fans of old school survival horror. We have taken a lot of inspiration from several genre-defining classics and we hope it shows!
*   **Puzzle oriented:** Designed for players looking for a challenge. Escape room style puzzles that require you to study your surroundings carefully. A pen and paper is recommended.
*   **Retro Vibes:** Play a modern survival horror through a retro-focused lens. Fixed Cameras. Save Rooms (With limited saving on hard mode). And continuous tension built through the atmosphere
*   **Tackle Threats**: Or choose not to! Not every enemy needs to be fought or encounter won, so pick your battles wisely!
*   **Multiple Perspectives:** The Gloom isn’t as lonely as it first appears, as the story of Post Trauma is told from multiple perspectives with full voice acting.
In Post Trauma, players control Roman (Togo Igawa), a tormented train conductor who awakes to find himself in a surreal dimension following a terrible panic attack. Faced with horrifying architecture and nightmarish abominations, Roman can choose to defend himself with an array of weapons or try to find the path of least resistance.
Inspired by key staples of the Survival Horror genre, Post Trauma blends fixed camera angles with stunning visuals through Unreal Engine 5 to create a truly unsettling, yet familiar horror experience. But just when you think you have the answers, this hellscape changes the questions as you enter the unknown to face your greatest fears.
To survive this cruel world, you must piece together an ongoing mystery across several, seemingly unrelated settings. Deducing your environments to find unlikely hints and discovering precious tools in unexpected places will help you make continued progress.
As you find clues and solve puzzles, you’ll gradually learn more about where you are and how you can escape, using a delicate mix of patience and cunning to stay alive. And maybe a pad and paper too.
Featuring a fully voice acted cast (Togo Igawa, Autumn Ivy, Hyoie O’Grady) and a captivating, ambient audioscape, elevated by a hypnotic score from Nicolas Gasparini (Myuu), Post Trauma has been crafted to be a homage to beloved franchises and a new merging of playstyles. The intent is to create a truly special, unforgettable horror experience fuelled by pure passion and incredible talent.

Release date: 22 Apr, 2025

Categories: Survival Horror, Puzzle Solving, Single-player Story, Exploration, Resource Management, Atmospheric Horror, Environmental Storytelling


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price: No data
- Playtime Metrics: No data
- Time-to-fun: No data
- Player Archetypes: No data


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Excellent, classic horror atmosphere (weight 0.95): The game excels in its atmospheric horror, drawing strong inspiration from classic titles like Silent Hill and Resident Evil. Reviewers consistently praise the well-crafted environments, sound design, and camera work that contribute to a tense and immersive experience.
- Nostalgic style, good value (weight 0.11): The game's old-school style and low price are seen as positive aspects. The fixed camera perspective provides a nostalgic experience, and the game offers decent playtime for the cost.
- High-quality, atmospheric music (weight 0.1): The game's music, particularly the soundtrack by Myuu, is highly praised for enhancing the atmosphere. Reviewers note its quality and effectiveness in building suspense.
- Terrifying and cool monster design (weight 0.09): The design of the monsters is frequently mentioned as a positive aspect of the game. The creatures are described as terrifying and cool.
- Compelling, tense mystery story (weight 0.07): The game's story is compelling and gradually unfolds, maintaining tension throughout the playthrough. The mystery aspect is particularly praised.
- Mixed camera angle implementation (weight 0.06): The game uses a mix of fixed and dynamic camera angles. While some found this effective, others experienced issues with certain camera placements.
- Relatable, older protagonist character (weight 0.05): The protagonist is an older, relatable character, which is a welcome change from typical hero clichés. This design choice is seen as appealing and adds to the game's unique character.
- Unintelligent enemy AI (weight 0.04): The enemies in the game are not very intelligent, making it easy to conserve ammo. This can reduce the challenge, even on higher difficulty settings.

Common complaints:
- Clunky, minimal combat system (weight 0.66): The game's combat system is clunky, underutilized, and often feels tacked-on, with minimal resource gathering and few enemy encounters. Many reviewers found the combat to be janky and uninteresting, with poor collision detection and a lack of meaningful challenge, making the 'survival' element weak.
- Incoherent story and worldbuilding (weight 0.53): The game suffers from a disjointed and nonsensical story, unresolved lore, and a generic feel, borrowing heavily from other survival horror titles without establishing its own identity. Many reviewers found the plot and worldbuilding to be incoherent and disappointing, especially in the later stages of the game.
- Poorly designed, unclear puzzles (weight 0.48): Many reviewers found the puzzles to be poorly designed, unclear, and often tedious, lacking depth and fun. Some puzzles are difficult to understand, while others involve simply finding scattered items, suggesting they were added as filler.
- Limited saves, scarce resources (weight 0.15): The game's limited save system, combined with scarce healing items and strong enemy attacks, creates a frustrating experience. The inventory management is also cumbersome, as ammunition takes up valuable slots, limiting the player's ability to carry other essential items.
- Poorly designed boss fights (weight 0.07): The chapel boss is poorly designed, featuring unavoidable attacks and slow player weapons. The lack of a retry function and uncontrollable character movement further exacerbate the difficulty, leading to a frustrating experience.
- Lacks note-taking mechanic (weight 0.07): The game lacks a mechanic for players to record information, forcing them to use external tools to track codes and notes. Additionally, solving a puzzle before activating all clues can prevent game progression, which some reviewers found unfair.
- Mediocre voice acting quality (weight 0.07): The voice acting is generally mediocre, with Roman's performance being particularly criticized for poor line delivery and pronunciation. This detracts from the overall immersion and quality of the game.

Gameplay feedback:
- Focus on puzzle-solving. (weight 0.35): The game emphasizes puzzle-solving over combat, with puzzles integrated into the environment. While some puzzles are considered too easy or obtuse, others offer a decent challenge with minimal hints. The game leans towards an adventure/puzzle experience reminiscent of classic survival horror titles.
- Perspective switching present. (weight 0.07): The game incorporates perspective switching, including first-person and over-the-shoulder views. The game also includes multiple protagonists in a story that attempts to be flexible through different narratives.
- Inconspicuous save tapes. (weight 0.03): Save tapes are difficult to see because they blend in with the environment. This can lead to frustration as players struggle to locate save points.
- Inconvenient map location. (weight 0.03): The map can only be viewed on walls in the corridor, the main character does not carry it. This can make navigation more difficult and less convenient for the player.
- Hard mode with limited saves. (weight 0.03): The game includes a hard mode with limited save tapes. This increases the difficulty and tension for players seeking a greater challenge.
- Pointless bathroom exists. (weight 0.02): The game contains a bathroom with no purpose that is fully modeled and textured. This is a minor detail, but some reviewers found it odd or amusing.

Performance notes:
- Control malfunction during boss (weight 0.03): One player experienced a control malfunction during a boss fight, where the controls stopped working. This is a critical issue that can halt progression and frustrate players.
- Atmospheric film grain and lighting (weight 0.02): The game uses film grain effects and spooky lighting to create atmosphere. This is a stylistic choice and not necessarily a flaw, but it's worth noting as it contributes to the game's overall presentation.

Recommendations:
- Wait for sale/patches (weight 0.54): Many reviewers suggest waiting for a sale or price drop due to technical issues, bugs, and performance problems. While some appreciate the potential and indie developer's effort, the consensus is that the game needs more polish before being worth the full price. Some reviewers express disappointment or regret at the current state.
- Significant technical issues present (weight 0.43): Several reviews mention technical issues such as crashes, bugs, and iffy performance. These problems detract from the overall experience and make it difficult to recommend the game in its current state.
- Good for survival horror fans (weight 0.27): The game is recommended for fans of classic survival horror games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil, especially those seeking a PS2-era vibe. Reviewers highlight the atmospheric experience, engaging puzzles, and stylistic elements, making it a worthwhile purchase for genre enthusiasts.
- Polarizing opinions on quality (weight 0.07): One reviewer gave the game a 10/10 rating, while another only recommends the game because of the ending theme. This suggests a highly subjective experience, with the ending theme being a significant factor for at least one player.
- Alternative game recommended instead (weight 0.03): One reviewer explicitly recommends a different game (White Knuckle) as a superior alternative. They cite White Knuckle's scariness, engaging gameplay, length, and lower cost as reasons for their preference.
- More than just strange premise (weight 0.01): This point lacks specific details about gameplay or mechanics. It's a vague statement that doesn't provide constructive feedback or actionable insights.

Other player notes:
- Captures PS2 horror essence (weight 0.09): The game successfully emulates the style and atmosphere of classic PS2-era survival horror games, specifically drawing comparisons to Silent Hill. This is a core design element and a major appeal for fans of that genre.
- Incomplete playthroughs limit analysis (weight 0.05): Some reviewers have not completed the game, leading to uncertainty about later game elements and plot developments. This limits the depth of their analysis and the overall assessment of the game.
- Hope for future improvement (weight 0.04): Reviewers express hope that the developers will learn from this experience and improve in future projects, while also acknowledging the team's small size. This suggests a generally positive outlook despite any flaws in the current game.
- Cryptic, drip-fed story (weight 0.03): The game's story is presented in a cryptic manner, revealing information gradually and requiring players to piece together the narrative. This approach may appeal to some players but could also lead to confusion or frustration for others.
- Overly ambitious project scope (weight 0.03): The game's scope may have exceeded the development team's capacity, leading to shortcomings in the final product. This suggests potential issues with project management or resource allocation.
- Protagonist's limited, odd dialogue (weight 0.03): The protagonist's limited dialogue and occasional use of Japanese are noted as oddities. This could be a stylistic choice or a potential issue with localization or character development.
- Targets and fulfills niche (weight 0.03): The game is designed for a specific niche audience and effectively caters to that group. This suggests a focused design and a clear understanding of its target demographic.

Emotions:
No emotions}