Well, although I’d planned to review a different horror game, I ended up stumbling across an amazing freeware “classic-style” survival horror game called “The Devil” (2020). And, given how much of a fan of this type of game I am, I just had to play it 🙂 In fact, I even ended up updating an old article about “Silent Hill”-inspired games because this game deserved to be on there.
This game was made during a “Haunted PS1” game jam and it’s well worth reading the website since the keyboard control layout is slightly counter-intuitive. Still, the controls have the benefit of being ambidextrous – with two sets of alternate controls on the keyboard. This game also uses proper old-fashioned “tank controls” too 🙂 Still, if you’re new to this, you’ll have ample time to familiarise yourself with the movement controls at the beginning of the game.
Being something that was made for a game jam, the game doesn’t have the verification or whatever that some operating systems like to see. I got a warning message when I first ran it on Windows 10 but, after scanning it with an anti-virus program (it’s worth doing this yourself, don’t just take my word for it), it was fine and I clicked through the warning. Apparently some versions of MacOS will outright refuse to play the Mac version of the game without using workarounds.
Anyway, let’s take a look at “The Devil”. This review may contain SPOILERS for both this game and the 2002 remake of “Resident Evil”. The game itself contains a fast-moving “VHS static”-like filter and some rather slow FLASHING LIGHTS.
Set in a mysterious future, you play as an unnamed “lifter” – a mechanic/caretaker – who works in a large concrete tower populated by members of a religious order who worship a being called “The Source”.
The tower can seemingly move of its own accord… and it has got lost in a swamp. Not only that, one of the people from the tower has also got lost in the swamp too. And you have been asked to go and find him….
Hmmm… I’ve watched horror movies before. If they “didn’t come back” then will I ?
One of the first things that I will say about this game is WOW! Not only does this game look like a survival horror game from the late 1990s, but it feels like playing one in the very best way. It has that fabled “innovation” and “creativity” which was more common in those days. Even though it is clearly influenced by “Silent Hill” (1999) and, to a lesser extent, the 2002 remake of “Resident Evil” too – it feels like a genuinely new and creative interpretation of the genre.
But, let’s talk about the excellent horror elements first 🙂 Although “The Devil” contains some really well-handled cosmic horror, psychological horror, gothic horror, religious/occult horror, eerie sound effects and creepy places, the main form of horror here is suspense. And what suspense it is! There’s a really excellent progression from an ominous feeling of dread to intense frantic “run for your life!” terror throughout the game. And it really is a game of two halves in this regard.
The first half of the game is very reminiscent of the extended opening segments of the first two “Silent Hill” games. You have to make a long descent down the tower, finding a way through its maze-like catwalks, stairways and passages whilst the camera swoops around in a deliberately disorientating fashion. The tower has dead ends and passages that can easily be missed. If you search everywhere carefully, you can find useful stuff.
Yes, the game helps you out by using an amazing “Silent Hill”-esque camera angle when you find the weapon. But, unless you search a side-room, then you can miss it completely.
You’ll also get to meet the inhabitants of the tower and can even talk to them in a JRPG-esque fashion. But, as you get closer to the bottom of this maze-like tower, you’ll start to notice that something is a bit “off” with the people there.
The further down you go, the more creepy and weird their dialogue will be. Yet, they also leave you alone and don’t try to harm you. All of this happens over enough time that you’ll really start to get the nervous sense that something bad is going to happen.
Surprisingly, this crowd of people chanting “The Devil will not take us!” are from the middle parts of the tower. The people on the lower levels are actually creepier than this…
After you have left the tower and explored the swamp, the style of suspense changes completely when you return to the tower. If you’ve ever played the 2002 remake of “Resident Evil”, you’ll remember how fallen zombies will turn into faster, scarier and more dangerous “Crimson Head” zombies after a while. How, when you saw one of them, your instinct was to RUN! The only solace, of course, being that there were only usually one or two Crimson Heads on screen at any given time….
Now, imagine a whole tower of them. Fast-moving crowds of dangerous zombies who won’t give up the chase until you’ve found a door or a ladder. Because everyone you met on the way down the tower is now out for your blood. Yes, you’ve got a weapon (unless you forgot to pick it up) but you can only move slowly whilst holding it. Your weapon can also jam – and you can only un-jam it if you know where the repair bench is.
If you explored properly during the first half of the game, you’ll have found the “almost, but not quite, hidden” corridor that leads you to this repair bench. If you haven’t, well, you’re up a certain creek without a paddle….
Each zombie can be downed with just two shots, but that won’t help you if ten of them have swarmed you and started slashing at you. Especially if you’ve only got four bullets left. No, your best defence is to run. Run fast and keep running!
Seriously, make one mistake in some parts of this game and you’ll be swarmed by a horde of angry zombies. More than you can fight. There are no gaps in the crowd to flee through. It’s certain doom…
It’s a really clever concept and it makes the game feel like more than the sum of its inspirations. All of this is helped by the game’s mysterious story, part science fiction and part fantasy, and just the general atmosphere and visual design of the game too.
The best way I can describe the game’s setting is that it looks like what the Tricorn Centre would have looked like if it has been designed by M. C. Escher. It’s this amazing Brutalist concrete edifice, filled with a network of staircases, narrow passages and stuff like that.
Woo hoo! 1960s-style architecture and 1990s-style graphics 🙂
Combined with the PS1-style graphics, this evokes the desolate atmosphere of the first four “Silent Hill” games absolutely perfectly, whilst also being something intriguingly different at the same time. Again, it really does feel like playing a new and innovative late 1990s survival horror game 🙂
The fixed camera angles are really amazing too – not only do some of them feel like they could have come straight from “Silent Hill” (1999), but the game also does other innovative things like – during about two or three parts – using an angle that imitates the “over the shoulder” cameras that became popular during the mid-2000s.
Literally my only criticism of the camera was one “long-distance” angle which made it difficult to see which direction the main character was pointing during a frantic chase sequence. Still, virtually all of the time, I cannot praise the camera in this game highly enough.
Yes, it’s an “over the shoulder” camera… but it is only temporary, and it is used in areas that are actually suitable for this type of camera. Not to mention that most of the game includes a wide variety of more creative and interesting camera angles than this bland mid-2000s relic of an angle….
I should probably talk about the difficulty though – this game can be absolutely brutal here. So much so that the designers not only included very simple cheat codes, but actually tell you them on the website.
However, I’d advise against cheating. The later parts of this game are challenging in a fun way. If you grew up during the 1990s, you’ll recognise the “keep trying until you make it” difficulty of these segments. How, like an old platform game of the time, you’ll end up learning by rote and gradually getting better and better with each try. You’ll formulate strategies and you’ll get so good at some parts that you can do them in your sleep. If this kind of progression seems satisfying to you, then don’t cheat.
Still, in a concession to fairness, the game actually includes a couple of auto-save points after you return to the tower. These aren’t marked, and you’ll only know about them after you’ve croaked it. But, perhaps echoing the limited saving systems of old, they are spread out quite a bit. And, if you don’t know where the healing pool is, you can miss the second one. Even if you find it, you’ve still got to complete about half of the tower in a single run to get the ending. The really difficult half of the tower. Again, this is a game for people who enjoy this sort of challenge.
The second auto-save point is in this amazing Brutalist room 🙂 Not only that, the healing fountain also serves as the only time in the game where you can refill your health meter too. Ok, theoretically, you could return here.. but, well, the hordes of zombies kind of make the final quarter of the game a frantic one-way dash for safety.
As for length, this is technically a short game – but it feels longer than it is, in a good way. The way that you will traverse the tower twice adds length to the game – but the change in both direction and gameplay make it feel fresh both times around. Likewise, the difficulty level means that the amount of time you spend with the game will depend on your skill and level of determination. It took me about 2-3 hours to complete, but I imagine that it could take anywhere between 1-6 hours depending on all sorts of factors.
The game’s sound design and music is really good too. As well as lots of wonderfully creepy sound effects that add atmosphere to the game, the music has that kind of eerie “1980s synth” and/or vaporwave kind of sound to it, but in the style of an old PS1 game. It adds a lot to the game.
All in all, this freeware game is amazing 🙂 Not only does it do something a little bit different with the genre, but it’s something that fans of the original “Silent Hill” will still really enjoy. If you want a classic-style survival horror game that is both ominous and frantic. If you enjoy a challenge or just like well-designed and innovative games, then this one is worth playing.
If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would get a five.
PekoeBlaze - the official blog 