Hollowbody Reviews
There are two ways of looking at Hollowbody. As an homage to a bygone gaming era, a conceptual love letter to an influential time, it succeeds pretty well. Without the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia, Hollowbody is a pretty unsatisfying experience.
Hollowbody is a solid survival-horror experience that takes clear inspiration from the genre's early 2000s offerings.
Hollowbody is a testament to the work of Hamley, and is phenomenal within its own right, but the dedication to various cult classic horror and sci-fi games only adds to how enamored I was with the game; this is how you make a game heavily inspired by other media while making a whole new experience entirely, in a nutshell. But don’t get me wrong, Hollowbody is so much more than its inspirations, made up of multiple moving parts that provide fans of the survival horror genre with something new and refreshing.
Hollowbody is a classic survival horror experience which will delight fans of those PS2-era frights, but some of the dated elements will frustrate.
Hollobody is a tribute to the survival horror era with ideas from PS1 and PS2, but with a slight twist and its own setting and aesthetics that results in a tremendously interesting experience, even if it is not always consistent in its approach.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Hollowbody does a great job of capturing the mood and feel of survival horror classics whilst removing some of the genre's more annoying aspects and sits at the very top of the indie horror tree alongside the likes of Crow Country and Signalis.
I’d say Hollowbody was disappointing but everything it gets wrong about the horror genre is so common it's practically expected at this point.
In many aspects, Hollowbody can be considered a tribute to the past games of the horror genre, and as a title that takes its example from those games, it offers a satisfying experience,
Review in Persian | Read full review
Hollowbody is a survival horror game that takes players back to the nostalgic era of classic PS2 horror games. Inspired by titles like Silent Hill 2, the game offers psychological horror, challenging puzzles, and intense combat, all accompanied by atmospheric audiovisual cues. It captures the essence of survival horror while introducing modern conveniences that’ll have veteran players coming back for more.
Hollowbody is like a love letter to the old PS2 horror games and all of their many tropes. It’s a great change of pace that’ll keep you on your toes while getting a little blast from the past. The visuals might not be the greatest, but that’s what adds so much to the atmosphere. If you’re a fan of the old horror games, you’ll have a hell of a time with Hollowbody and it’s many tropes.
I wanted to like Hollowbody more than I did. It’s a game clearly made with a lot of passion for the likes of Silent Hill and Resident Evil. A classic-style survival horror. There’s a fair bit to like, however lacklustre encounter design and a disappointing final boss let down some excellent world-building and a really tense atmosphere that lasts throughout the whole game.
Hollowbody is an engrossing horror experience that’ll keep players on the edge of their seat thanks to its sinister world design and harrowing storytelling. I absolutely loved exploring each eerie locale, whilst the clever puzzle design and enjoyable combat ensure it gets all of the basic elements of the survival horror genre right. Sure, the melee combat could be a bit clunky, but it’s a small issue in what is otherwise a thrilling old school-inspired horror adventure.
Hollowbody is the best horror game of the year, standing out with its remarkably good use of tension and incredible atmosphere. Clocking in at about three hours, your short time with this game will surely be memorable, tense, and terrifying.
Hollowbody is a good game that feels even more impressive when you realize that one person pulled all the strings to bring it to life. Hamley is an incredible talent whose attempt at replicating the PS2 era of horror slots in near-perfectly with its inspirations. It's flawed, but some of the best horror games are, too, and the vibes are worth sinking into no matter what.
Hollowbody is a brilliant tribute to horror games released over the past thirty years. Despite some small glitches, a short runtime, and a gameplay/story that doesn't quite reach its full potential, the game manages to create a modernized spin on the survival horror genre with smooth gameplay, a horrifying atmosphere, and a premise that is likely to draw any longtime horror fans into its rich and terrifying world.
The game has high highlights in terms of atmosphere. However, that is surrendered in the middle of the game for boring walking around and solving too easy puzzles. That makes the game a bit difficult to recommend. Nevertheless, outside of the middle part I enjoyed Hollowbody a lot. It is a game that gives an interesting look back at how horror games used to be. Including that stiff combat that we have now exchanged for more action-oriented gameplay.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Hollowbody offers an intriguing biopunk setting but fails to engage players due to clunky gameplay, underwhelming sound design, and the lack of a gripping story.
Hollowbody is a nostalgia-fueled horror game, inspired by older Silent Hill titles, with excellent art, sound design, and a gripping story that evokes despair, loneliness, and fear, making it ideal for horror fans.
Review in Dutch | Read full review
Hollowbody is exactly what I wanted as a fan of survival horror. I will fully admit the early section did rock me somewhat in terms of enjoyment, but by the end of the game, I was eager to jump back in with a higher difficulty to find what I had missed and earn even more bonuses. It's got a thought-provoking story, some genuine scares, and gorgeous visuals all nicely tied together in a short but sweet package. Hollowbody is a quick horror fix that'll no doubt stay with you a lot longer than you might initially think.