Conscript

Conscript is a survival horror maintained in the style of the first parts of the Silent Hill and Resident Evil series. The independent studio, Catchweight, has prepared a game in which the atmosphere of horror is mixed with riddles from adventure and puzzle games, and a bit of action.

Plot

The action of Conscript takes place in 1916 during the Battle of Verdun, or more precisely - during the defense of Fort de Vaux against the advancing German troops. The main character of the game is Andre, who was sent to the French army in the company of his brother, Pierre. During one of the enemy attacks, the hero lost consciousness and when he regained it, he noticed that all members of his unit (and thus his brother as well) had been killed or had disappeared. Andre decides to go to the rescue of Pierre and his remaining allies.

Mechanics

In Conscript the action was shown from the top-down view. By traversing the extensive locations, including muddy trenches, a ravaged city, gloomy underground, a fort and the no-man's-land, we are completing tasks pushing the story forward. In addition, we solve a variety of puzzles, such as manipulating elements of the environment (some of which can be viewed at close range) or searching for specific objects, thus gaining access to blocked parts of the levels. In addition, during the game we face our enemies, among whom we find both enemy soldiers and terrifying creations of the hero's imagination.

We eliminate the enemies by making use of firearms or cold weapons. Pistols, shotguns and rifles require ammunition (which we never have too much of), and wounds sustained on the battlefield require medication. The fact that we have limited space for resources complicates the matter, so we have to constantly juggle the collected items, wondering which ones to keep with us and which ones to get rid of.

Interestingly, although we are given the opportunity to save the game at any time, we may also decide to make it difficult to save only in specially prepared rooms.

Technical aspects

Pixelart graphics of the Conscript was maintained in a gloomy style. Soft lighting and "dirty" colours effectively build a gloomy atmosphere, which is enhanced by the dark soundtrack.