Info about Hollowbody:

Official game description:
**It's a Shipper's biggest fear. You're grounded in the exclusion zone, twenty miles of death and decay sealed off by the towering, suffocating walls erected after the collapse.**  
_Alone, stranded, and with limited resources at your disposal you'll have to push your way through the zone, solve environmental puzzles, manage resources and fight for your life as you try to find a way to escape beyond the wall._  
**Play as Mica, an unlicensed black market shipper who will stop at nothing to find her missing partner.**  
It’s been 12 days since Sasha left.  
You talked about it, you argued about it and you even laughed about it. Anybody in their right mind knew going to that place was a death wish, a one-way trip to the end of the line. But Sasha wasn’t one to scare easily, she wanted answers and there was only one place those answers held any truth. Her mind was already made up, you just didn’t expect her to do it without you.  
Twelve sleepless nights later and you finally get the call. Tax has found someone, A border security suit looking to make some extra credits on the down-low. He can get you clearance, a two hour window to fly into the zone, find Sasha and get the hell out of there.  
You make your way across the exclusion zone but something’s wrong. The nav's running in circles and you're losing altitude. Before you know it a blinding white fills the sky. The dash goes dark and your hover drops out of the air like a lead balloon, slamming into the paved streets below.  
You wake to the acrid smell of an electrical fire, rain pounding on the cracked windshield. You're surrounded by the crumbling remains of what were once considered homes.  
**_You need to find a way out. Call for evac, scale the walls. Something. Anything. Survive._**
FEATURES:
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*   Classic survival horror gameplay inspired by early 2000s horror titles.  
*   Cinematic blend of dynamic and fixed camera angles.  
*   Logic puzzles, resource management and limited combat with a focus on narrative and exploration.  
*   Full voice acting.  
*   An emphasis on strong world building set in a dystopian near-future.  
*   Carefully paced save points ensure tension is maintained whilst respecting the player's time.  
*   Difficulty options to aid players who prefer exploration over combat.  
*   Post-game unlocks and features.

Release date: Sep 12, 2024

Categories: Survival Horror, Psychological Horror, Puzzle Solving, Resource Management, Exploration, Multiple Endings, Atmospheric Horror, Narrative Adventure

Feature scans:
- Steam Deck: score 50; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The analysis of user feedback for the Steam Deck experience of the game reveals several key issues. Significant problems with controls and camera have been reported, which severely impact gameplay. Performance issues, particularly on Linux and handheld devices, have also been noted. However, some users have appreciated the variety of gameplay options available, which can enhance the overall experience.

- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $10.00 - $17.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence shows that while many users recommend buying the game on sale, there are several mentions of the game being worth it even at full price. This suggests that the community finds the game valuable within a range that includes both discounted and full prices. The repeated mentions of the game being worth it at full price, alongside recommendations to buy it on sale, indicate that the fair price range is somewhat flexible but generally leans towards a lower price point.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 4.5h
  - Story completion: 4.5h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides multiple direct references to the playtime for Hollowbody. Several reviews mention a playtime of around 4 to 5 hours for completing the game, which aligns with the typical total time to finish the game. The reviews also suggest that the story completion time is similar to the total game completion time, indicating that the main story and the overall game completion are closely aligned in terms of playtime. There is no specific mention of session length or endgame hours, so those fields are marked as null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game starts with a strong and enjoyable first hour but quickly becomes repetitive and boring, leading to a significant drop in fun.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: After the first hour of gameplay
  - Time to anchor: 1h 0m
  - Friction: Repetitive gameplay; Lack of engaging content
  - Unlock drivers: N/A
  - Conditions: Atmospheric setting; Initial engaging gameplay
- Player Archetypes:
  - Completionist Explorer (buy)
    - Motivation: Exploration and achievement hunting
    - Playstyle: Thorough and methodical exploration of the game environment.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: achievement hunter; explorer
    - Reference games: Silent Hill; Resident Evil
  - Nostalgic Veteran (buy)
    - Motivation: Nostalgia and appreciation for classic gameplay mechanics
    - Playstyle: Embraces clunky combat and obtuse puzzles for the sake of nostalgia.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: old-school player; survival horror fan
    - Reference games: Resident Evil; Silent Hill
  - Indie Supporter (buy)
    - Motivation: Supporting indie developers and enjoying unique experiences
    - Playstyle: Supports and appreciates indie games for their creativity and effort.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: indie game supporter; backers
    - Reference games: Chasing Static
  - Value-Conscious Critic (sale)
    - Motivation: Getting the best value for money and high standards for game quality
    - Playstyle: Selective and critical, prefers to buy games on sale.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: hardcore fan; critic
    - Reference games: Singalis; Crow Country; Alisa; Tormented Souls


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:
- Classic survival horror homage (weight 0.97): The game is praised for its nostalgic feel and faithful recreation of classic survival horror elements, reminiscent of PS2-era games like Silent Hill and Resident Evil.
- Enjoyable overall experience (weight 0.54): Players find the game to be a fun and enjoyable experience, with a good story and interesting setting.
- Excellent atmosphere (weight 0.52): The game's atmosphere is highlighted as one of its strongest points, creating a spooky and immersive experience that carries the game.
- Well-designed puzzles (weight 0.4): The puzzles are appreciated for being challenging, well-thought-out, and enjoyable, adding depth to the gameplay.
- Excellent visuals (weight 0.4): The game's visuals and aesthetics are highly praised for their quality and appeal, contributing to the nostalgic PS2-era feel.
- High-quality voice acting (weight 0.31): The voice acting is noted for its high quality and strong performance, contributing significantly to the game's overall appeal.
- Impressive solo development (weight 0.26): The game is recognized as a significant achievement for a solo developer, showcasing impressive production values.
- Great sound design (weight 0.25): The sound design and music are praised for being top-notch, enhancing the game's atmosphere and immersion.
- Replay value (weight 0.16): The game offers replay value through multiple endings, New Game+ modes, and optional side quests.

Common complaints:
- Combat mechanics criticized (weight 0.66): The combat system is widely criticized for being simplistic, uninteresting, and janky. Players find it unsatisfying and easy, with many describing it as clunky and imprecise.
- Puzzle design flaws (weight 0.51): Puzzles are often unclear, tedious, and sometimes require a guide to progress. They can be too simple, illogical, or lack depth and variety.
- Short game duration (weight 0.34): The game is criticized for being extremely short, with a duration of around 4-6 hours, leaving players wanting more content.
- Lack of enemy variety (weight 0.31): The game suffers from a lack of enemy variety, with only a few enemy types that are often similar and uninspired.
- Weak and unengaging story (weight 0.29): The story is criticized for being vague, aimless, and lacking depth and emotional impact. It is often described as uninteresting and shallow.
- Control issues (weight 0.28): The controls are criticized for being unresponsive, clunky, and imprecise. Players report problems with the controls, making the gameplay feel rough and janky.
- Boring and underwhelming experience (weight 0.24): Many players find the game boring and underwhelming, with a poor plot and lack of scares, leading to a tedious experience.
- Excessive backtracking (weight 0.22): Players find the backtracking in the game to be tedious and obnoxious, with some truth and clues hidden behind excessive backtracking.
- Underdeveloped characters and narrative (weight 0.2): Characters are poorly written and lack development. The narrative elements are underdeveloped, leading to a lack of meaningful character progression.
- Lack of polish and coherency (weight 0.19): The game lacks polish, creativity, and a coherent sense of direction. There is a general lack of depth and story cohesion.
- Unremarkable boss fights (weight 0.17): Boss fights are described as unremarkable, generic, and lacking challenge. Players find them easy and underwhelming.
- Unsatisfying ending (weight 0.15): The ending is described as obscure, vague, and unsatisfying. Players feel that the story is poorly told and the game feels unfinished.

Gameplay feedback:
- Survival horror with psychological elements (weight 0.51): The game is a survival horror with a strong focus on psychological terror, inspired by classics like Silent Hill. It features exploration, combat, and puzzle-solving mechanics.
- Combat with melee and ranged weapons (weight 0.43): Combat in the game involves both melee and ranged weapons, though some players find the combat mechanics clunky and flawed.
- Puzzle-solving mechanics (weight 0.41): The game includes a variety of puzzles, ranging from environmental to logic-based, requiring players to think and reason through challenges.
- Multiple camera perspectives (weight 0.3): The game offers various camera options including third-person, fixed angles, and first-person modes, providing different viewing experiences.
- Cyberpunk survival horror setting (weight 0.2): The game is set in a cyberpunk futuristic world with survival horror elements, featuring a noir-tech atmosphere.
- Environmental storytelling (weight 0.16): The game uses environmental elements to tell its story, providing lore and narrative through the setting and exploration.
- Multiple endings (weight 0.16): The game features multiple endings based on player decisions, adding replayability and depth to the storyline.
- PS2-inspired aesthetics (weight 0.13): The game's visual style is reminiscent of PS2-era graphics, contributing to its nostalgic and atmospheric feel.
- Enemy encounters and variety (weight 0.1): The game includes various enemy encounters, though some players note a lack of enemy variety.
- Difficulty settings (weight 0.09): The game offers different difficulty settings, including a Hard/Punished mode for players seeking a greater challenge.
- Optional backtracking (weight 0.09): The game features linear gameplay with optional backtracking, allowing players to revisit areas for additional exploration.

Performance notes:
- Game is buggy (weight 0.27): There are numerous reports of bugs, ranging from minor text bugs to game-breaking glitches and crashes.
- Performance issues (weight 0.24): Players experience performance issues, including poor performance even on high-end hardware and occasional frame rate drops.
- Long loading times (weight 0.17): Players frequently mention that the game has long and slow loading screens, which can be immersion-breaking.
- Camera issues (weight 0.16): There are various camera issues reported, such as clipping through walls, locking up during chase sequences, and general weird camera behavior.
- Graphics and visual issues (weight 0.16): Players have noted issues with graphics options being limited and unclear, as well as visual issues with interactables and excessive motion blur.
- Audio and sound issues (weight 0.1): There are reports of audio mixing issues, music not looping properly, and stereo-only sound.
- Controller and input issues (weight 0.08): Some players have experienced controller input issues and crashes when adjusting options with a controller.
- Inventory and item issues (weight 0.07): There are technical problems with the inventory and reports of missing essential items after loading.
- Compatibility issues (weight 0.07): The game struggles to run on Linux and has constant crashes unless using Wayland.
- Game freezing and jolting (weight 0.04): Players have reported instances of the game freezing and jolting, particularly during the intro level.
- Softlock loop (weight 0.04): There is a reported softlock loop at the end of a playthrough, which can hinder game progression.

Recommendations:
- Recommended for classic survival horror fans (weight 0.54): This game is highly recommended for fans of classic survival horror games, particularly those who enjoy the old-school vibes similar to early Resident Evil and Silent Hill games.
- Buy on sale (weight 0.36): Many reviewers suggest purchasing the game on sale, especially for fans of the genre who are looking for a good deal.
- Not recommended for casual players (weight 0.1): The game is recommended only to hardcore fans of the genre who enjoy short games and retro gameplay mechanics.
- Use fixed camera and tank controls (weight 0.08): Some reviewers recommend playing the game with the fixed camera and tank controls for a more authentic classic survival horror experience.
- Mixed recommendations on value (weight 0.07): Reviewers are divided on the value of the game, with some suggesting it's worthy of checking out for its price and completion time, while others advise saving your money.
- Consider other games (weight 0.04): Some reviewers suggest playing other games like Lost in Vivo, Cry of Fear, or Signalis instead of this one.
- No resolution expected (weight 0.04): Players should not expect a resolution to the game's story or gameplay issues.

Other player notes:
- Silent Hill 2 comparison (weight 0.04): Players have compared the game to Silent Hill 2, indicating similarities in atmosphere, storytelling, or gameplay mechanics.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.18): Players are frustrated primarily due to the game's combat mechanics, which are described as flawed, misleading, and janky. Camera issues, including problematic angles and third-person control problems, also contribute significantly to this frustration. Additionally, various technical issues such as bugs, performance problems, and a problematic save system further exacerbate the players' negative experiences.
- Disappointment (weight 0.17): Players feel disappointed due to the game's failure to meet expectations set by classic titles like Silent Hill 2. The story and ending are often cited as unsatisfying, and the game lacks true survival horror elements. Additionally, the game's overall quality, including repetitive level design, lack of enemy variety, and various technical issues, contributes to this disappointment.
- Appreciation (weight 0.12): Players appreciate the game's unique atmosphere and the effort put in by the solo developer. The game's nostalgia, impressiveness, and atmospheric qualities are highly praised. The heartfelt ending design and the correct tribute to Silent Hill also contribute to the positive feelings.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.08): Players are satisfied with the game's atmosphere, puzzles, and overall experience. The visual style, gameplay mechanics, and psychological horror elements are particularly enjoyed. The game's quality and value for money, as well as its homage to PS2-era survival horror, contribute to this satisfaction.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.07): Players enjoy the game's high overall quality, interesting story, and great atmosphere. The stylized graphics and the game's elements are particularly appreciated. Despite some flaws, the game provides an enjoyable experience.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.06): Players feel nostalgic due to the game's resemblance to classic survival horror games, particularly those from the PS2 era. The game evokes memories of early Silent Hill games and other classic horror titles, providing a faithful homage to the genre.
- Disappointed (weight 0.04): Players are disappointed because the game did not meet their expectations. Issues such as a disconnect between story and gameplay, rough edges, and an unpolished state contribute to this feeling. The game's potential was seen as ruined by poor execution and lack of meaningful development.
- Admiration (weight 0.04): Players admire the game's unique atmosphere and its homage to classic survival horror games. The game's strong classic influences, atmospheric gameplay, and impressive achievement by a solo developer are highly praised.
- Excitement (weight 0.03): Players are excited about the game's engaging atmosphere and story. The creepy monsters, exploration, and achievement hunting add to the excitement. The game's references to Silent Hill and its presentation also contribute to this feeling.
- Happy (weight 0.02): Players are happy enjoying the game's unique atmosphere and control options. The game's features and overall experience contribute to their happiness.
- Hopeful (weight 0.01): Players are hopeful for the developers to make another survival horror game with improvements. They see potential in the game's universe and artistic intention, and look forward to future projects and translations.
- Surprise (weight 0.01): Players are surprised by the game's unique identity and effective storytelling. The fact that the game was almost entirely done by one person and the positive outcome of character interactions add to this surprise.
- Immersed (weight 0.01): Players feel immersed due to the game's strong atmosphere and world-building. The atmosphere and sound design contribute significantly to this immersion.
- Joy (weight 0.01): Players experience joy as the game met all their expectations and provided a unique and enjoyable experience. The game's ability to meet and exceed expectations contributes to this joy.
- Frustrated (weight 0.01): Players are frustrated with camera angle issues and the ability to aim through walls. The annoying subway level and confusing enemy AI further contribute to this frustration.
- Impressed (weight 0.01): Players are impressed by the game's ideas and potential. The game's aesthetics and the achievement of being developed by a single developer are highly praised.
- Boredom (weight 0.01): Players feel bored due to the overall boring and unrewarding experience. The game's lack of engaging content contributes to this boredom.
- Love (weight 0.01): Players love the game's similarity to Silent Hill 2 and its atmospheric gameplay. The reviewer's love for the game and its style is strongly expressed.}