This game had a few bad reviews when it was released, mostly because of lazy game magazine workers who wanted to meet the deadline. From reading of these articles, it was clear that the reviewers didn't bother even to finish the first level (screenshots in most magazines were from the first level only as they are here on GOG) because this wasn's one of these overhyped big titles everyone knew months before the release. Instead it was just one of many games competing in the overcrowded PC market in 1997 which nobody awaited. At first, this is a very deserving 7 out of 10 title, not a smash hit, but I would call it a hidden gem bacause of how unknown this game is. It has a great horror atmosphere supported by one of the best game soundtracks in history. Each of the levels has it's own theme and the music will give you shivers with it's pleothra of ambient sounds and dark rhythms. The levels are huge, probably the largest in any FPS game I know, which is great but also a disadvantage because of the lack of automapping. There are only pixelated maps on some walls which usually only cover small part of the mission. This is the game's biggest flaw, together with some traps (if you can't activate the switch by pressing, try shooting into it - yes, it doesn't make sense). You'll spend some time wandering around and trying to figure where to go. There are several environments where the game takes part. You'll start at a big city and continue to a closed shopping mall, sewers, scientific laboratory and even underworld. Some areas are very dark and require finding a light and batteries. You'll be accompanied by a group of other troopers who have weak firepower and who are getting killed quickly, but they are not necessary to finish the level. There are many original weapons which make nice sounds. Go to "Options" and set the game to fullscreen at first, the default is smaller widescreen. Play it alone in a dark room. Volume high. Heating off. That's it.
I'm writing this review mostly because I want to ballance the unfair review by Karca.K, who is obviously biased because he says he was banned from a website for criticizing this game. I guess the real reason was different (like trolling, insulting others etc.) and he is now just whining here. My opinions are based on a few months old Steam version, the one at GOG can be patched etc. I was initially ignoring this game because it looked like another walking simulator mixed with jumpscare horror, but after watching gameplay videos on YouTube, I decided to give this one a try and I was positively surprised. It definitely has elements of walking simulator, actually it could be called tourism simulator, as some of the locations are based on real places and you will walk on pedestrian paths. For enjoying this game, it definitely helps if you are into hiking, depth dwelling or mountain climbing. But the walking is mixed with adventure features like picking and using items and even woodcraft. There are jumpscares but not as many as in most FPS horror games, the atmosphere is rather tense than purely scary. I really like the environment, most locations are beautiful and looking very realistic, things and buildings are not sterile but rusty and used. It's not a true that "a gifted IT student can create such countryside in a free 3D engine" as Karca.K says, it had to take a lot of work to do all of this. The story is not exceptional but not bad and quite adult for a computer game. The game even has multiple endings. What I dislike is the amount of climbing. Climbing works as a logical sub-game and it's fun for some time but later climbs are overly long which makes them rather boring. Some people might have problem with orientation in caves but if you ever played some old dungeon RPGs, this is probably better. Overall, not a game for absolutely everyone but definitely worth these 9 USD/EUR in Halloween Sale for most. Check YouTube for gameplays if you're not sure.
